Nikon N8008s - My first autofocus SLR

<p>I must dig out my F-801 (= N8008, the 'non-s' model) - it's now cheap enough to take on a trip in my checked luggage! Haven't used it for ages, but remember the excellent viewfinder (up there with the F100) and general solidity, though the pre-F5 interface is a minus. It was already an old model when I bought it as a backup, and my impression of the AF was a bit more favourable than I'd feared, though Mark's 'mainly useful in situations where you don't really need AF anyway' pretty much covers it. How much of an improvement was the 's' version over the original? Odd how the FE2 it more or less replaced in the Nikon lineup is now a much more desirable (i.e. expensive) camera. Much of the film-using community seems to have some sort of Amish-style <em>Ordnung</em> prohibiting technological conveniences introduced after 1985.</p>

<p>When I got started in photography in 1997 the N8008s was a pretty hot item on the used market. Back when KEH Camera always had a big ad in Shutterbug I recall 8008s bodies listed for as much as US $550.00. I think the lure was that it had DOF preview in an era when only high end Nikon AF cameras had it. You could buy a new N90s for $900 or an F5 for $2,800...or an N8008s. </p>

<p>Nice work.</p>

<p>For that sort of price, I may need to rethink my decision not to upgrade my Nikon equipment beyond the F2.<br>

(BTW, now is the time to get in on close to the ground floor for the collection of early generation AF cameras. Since the lenses are often still good, they are not so cheap, but the bodies themselves are overlooked, and are still good workers, not just shelf displays. )</p>

<p>Congratulations. </p>

<p>JDM:<br /> Thanks !. You are correct about the early generation AF cameras. KEH now has N8008s for $13 and N90 for $29 !</p>

<p>I just picked up an n8008s in EXC+ condition from the auction site for $24.99 plus shipping. Has a nice bright viewfinder, but compared to my F100 this thing is very noisy! </p>