Nikon 8008/8008s

Review Date
April 15, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
Drmike-tattoos , Professional

Price Paid
$800.00 at Gene Hackers

Photography Experience
21+ years , Fine Art

Summary
Ive had this camera since 1991 and still use it . Its a great camera for everyday use but if Im doing B&W fine art photos I still use my Canon A-1 from the '80's. I like the quality of the Nikon. Its a beautiful camera. And when I need a camera with full auto capacity it's great. I have a BFA in fine arts and would never use a digital.I bought it new in 1990 for about $800.

Strengths
For indoor shots ( Im a professional tattoo artist) It takes great pictures of my work with just available light. Color quality is great.

Weaknesses
When I use it outdoors on auto the color seems washed out or overexposed.

Similar Products Used
Canon A1

Customer Service
Never had to use it

Review Date
September 19, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
Dave Duke , Intermediate

Price Paid
$50.00 at online classifieds

Photography Experience
6-10 years

Summary
Nikon's first good auto focus film slr. The 8008 and 8008s are fraternal twins.
Go my first one in 1990, the S version with spotmetering and slightly faster AF. Lasted a decade. Have since bought several more with prices plummeting because of digital. This camera made me capable of taking better pictures. All points good and bad are listed below under strengths weaknesses.
AF somewhat limiting in this day and age. Kind of pushing it for action sports photography (especially regular non S version) but great for general purpose, landscapes, kids, snapshots, concerts, portraits, weddings , fashion and just about anything else!

Strengths
1/250 second flash sync. AA battery compatibility. High eyepoint for easy viewing even for eyeglass wearers. Depth of field preview. Shutter speed range from 30 seconds to 1/8000 second. Iso range from 6-6400. Motordrive shoots at up to 3.3 frames per second. Matrix metering. (N8008s only): Spot metering.
Very cheap on used market, cheaper then some lesser but later Nikons. Ruggedly built chassis. Extremely intuitive interface (similar to N6006 and N90/N90s).
Extremely reliable. A pro level body at a point and shoot price!

Weaknesses
Can't autofocus with Nikkor AF-S /AF-I lenses, Sigma HSM lenses. Only program and shutter priority with Nikon G lenses. Center point autofocus only. No built in flash. No built in autobracketing. (Get an N6006!)

Similar Products Used
Nikon N90s. N6006.

Customer Service
N/A . I took my dying 8008s to a local camera repair shop and they said they could no longer fix it, considering it an "obsolete" model. So I sold it on ebay for parts and bought me three more working ones!

Review Date
April 21, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
thekanbi , Expert

Price Paid
$0.00

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Other

Summary
The AF technology used in this camera is getting very long in the tooth. The single sensor AF is adequate in most normal situations, but can struggle with fast moving action. However, anyone who buys this camera should be prepared for these AF limitations. As a picture taking machine, the results it produces are second to no other Nikon film camera. I take a lot of pictures with the flash, often for fill flash and bounced using a single speedlight. With this camera, I can leave the speedlight in matrix balanced flash mode all the time, even in total darkness and the exposures are spot on. With my F90x I have to switch to standard TTL to get the same results. This camera can also take the MB-10 grip designed for the F90x if you prefer a more substantial grip.

Strengths
Now costs very little. You can get a good one for about £100.

Effortless flash pictures and high flash sync speed of 1/250 makes this camera very suitable for wedding & social photography. Combined with an off the camera TTL flash lead, macro photography is a doodle

Very good viewfinder, compact and reasonably light in weight, very well built, takes AA cells and can use AIS lenses. Has all the features of many modern film and digital cameras.

Weaknesses
AF slow by modern standards. Other than that not much to complain about

Similar Products Used
Nikon F90x, F80 (too plasticky) FE2, D200 (fantastic!), FM2, F2 and a lot of AIS, AF, AFD and AFS lenses as well as a bunch of speedlights.

Customer Service
Not required

Review Date
January 26, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.63 of 5, 8 votes

Reviewed by
Tomas , Intermediate

Price Paid
$350.00 at KEH

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Outdoor

Summary
I have owned my N8008s for 7 years. It has been through deserts, jungles, on Alaska backpacking trips, baked and frozen and has never missed a beat. I recommend it without hesitation. It is smart enough to do things for you and flexible enough to let you control everything if you want. I think it is a great compromise on the technology/cost continuum. There are newer models that may focus faster (I haven't tried them and can not comment) but I have never found that my pictures suffered for lack of any feature or capability.

Strengths
dependable, flexible, good value if you find a good one, strikes a good middle ground between the "gee-whiz" appeal of newer Nikons and the battleship toughness of older manual types

Weaknesses
No real weaknesses, just a different set of compromises from other Nikons

Review Date
December 18, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
Carl Koch , Expert

Price Paid
$0.00 at Inherited from fathe

Photography Experience
21+ years , Other

Summary
I inherited this camera along with the outstanding Tokina f2.8 ATX Pro zoom lenses. While I have yet to find a situation where the automation has failed to produce a technically correct picture I do accept that it is probably possible to find a freaky lighting situation where the camera might fudge. With the Tokina lenses the autofocus is ALWAYS razor sharp. Only a high dollar primary lense might do better. Since my eyesight has failed with age, I had to leave my vintage Canon A-1s behind. The 8008s has been a godsend. I cannot fault it except for it being somewhat noisier than other AF cameras of newer vintage. For an old war horse it excells at just about everything. I do mostly animal photography and the much maligned AF system has yet to fail me. It rarely "hunts" and generally hits it dead on. This is a great buy for a first auto everything camera.

Strengths
It works as designed....flawlessly.
Nikon's excellent owner's manual explains the neat seldom used features in a way you can actually understand them.

Weaknesses
Noisy.

Similar Products Used
Canon A-1, AE-1, F series
Nikon F2 (MF)

Customer Service
None as yet.