pagespicsNikon F80, first impressions review.
An ongoing review….
I have just bought a Full-Frame camera for $60. This is a stark contrast to models like the Sony A7rii, at over $3000 without a lens (and yes I want one). The catch, it’s a film camera.
Why shoot film? You get consistency if you use the same stock, at the moment I am trying Fujicolor Print, 400ISO colour. Lets see if Fujifilm’s reputation for great colour rings true. Secondly, my shots will not be stored in Data land. I will have them on a CD and in a book of negatives.
The downsides of shooting film, you have to wait for it to be processed, and this means you can’t see if you are shooting with your settings all correct until the film is processed. I made a huge mistake with this camera yesterday and spent an hour shooting with the camera set in a mode that did not wind on the film. The result? 20-30 shots all recorded on top of one another. Film v’s digital – maybe there needs to be a full on post about this soon.
Anyway – the camera.
The F80 (N80 if you are in the states) is lightweight in the hands. As always, this is a good and a bad thing. The weight is great, but sacrifices weather sealing and robustness. Saying that, it did still feels pretty good in the hands and is working fine, despite being over 20 years old.
It takes my 50mm lens from my D7100, in fact I can use all my Nikon lenses with this camera, and it still autofocuses! This is awesome, and if you have a Nikon, then the 50mm 1.8 should be up there on your list of things to get, it retails at around $150.
I can shoot with it in the same way I do with my Nikon D7100. Yes I looked at the classic cameras that don’t need batteries and are all manual but I came away thinking that this would just slow me down. The F80 focuses fast, and powers up quickly. On top of this is has aperture priority mode, a method of shooting I live by. I can control my depth of field in the same way I do with all my other cameras. On top of this it has bracketing (useful for HDR), different focus modes and a flash.
This camera has everything you would expect to find in a modern digital camera (minus a confusing menu system and a screen). It even has a cool little joystick to help select a focus point. This really made it an easy film camera to come to after living with digital cameras for so long.
Picture quality, wait and see. This is an ongoing review so I will add pictures and thought as they come and when the film is developed.
Stay happy, keep clicking,
Chris
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