Nikon f801 – My favorite Nikon Autofocus film camera

I think I found my favorite Nikon film autofocus SLR, the Nikon f-801 or Nikon N8008 as they call it in North America. The Nikon F-801 is the second Autofocus (AF) film camera Nikon produced and was released in the late 1980s, it succeded one of the most beautiful and underrated cameras (in my opinion), the Nikon F-501/N2020. Both cameras have a lovely “boxy” design with the Nikon F-801 incorporating more rounded edges. One can easily mistake this camera for a digital body because it handles like one, and the controls are very familiar to a modern Nikon DSLR. If I have one caveat about this camera is that the LCD on the viewfinder is sometimes hard to see, you have to have your eye fairly straight with the viewfinder to see it better. Well, that’s the 80s/90s technology for you. Since it’s just Nikon’s second AF camera, the AF is not great but a much better improvement than the Nikon F-501 and to be honest, I’ve never really had any issues with the AF speed. I also own a Nikon F90x but I prefer the smaller profile on this camera over that. The grip is just right for my lovely tiny hands.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous blog, the first thing to do after acquiring a film camera is to test everything out with a roll of film. So I took some expired Kodak Max 400 in our fridge and loaded it in. BTW, unlike the older Nikon F-series film cameras the Nikon F-801 has an automatic film advance and film rewind mechanism and did away with the physical shutter dial on top of the camera. Everything can be seen on the LCD and functions are controlled by buttons and a single control dial – see, very digital Nikon. As always, I was impressed with its performance and the photos came out great. At this point, I think I’ll always be impressed with anything I shoot in film whatever camera that is. 😀 Oh, before I forget, I used the Nikkor 50mm F1.8D lens with this camera to take the photos here. A lens that is more modern and can be used on your Nikon DSLRs today. Yup, that’s the Nikon F-mount for you! Compatibility at its finest.

Comparing the photos I took here vs. the Ricoh 500g (both using the same expired film), I think I got more details and higher-quality photos on the Nikon F-801. Well, that is to be expected because of the lens and the fact that the Nikon F-801 offers more controls. I’ve also always preferred the viewfinder on SLRs because it is at most times bigger and brighter than a rangefinder. Also, what you see in an SLR viewfinder is exactly what you get (framing-wise), while with the rangefinder you have to be aware of the parallax error when shooting closer subjects. I also love the sound of the mirror slap on SLRs but that can also be a disadvantage if you want to be stealthy like when you’re out shooting on the streets. That is when the silent operation of a rangefinder shines.

Overall, it was a great experience shooting this camera, and moving forward I think this will be one of my constants after I finished shooting and reviewing my other film cameras. I’m still getting used to how this camera behaves but that will always be the case because I’ve been shooting with different types of cameras lately. Though I’m not complaining 🙂

Again, thank you for reading my blog and do check out my previous posts for more photography-related stuff. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for more photos. Paalam muna!