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| The venerable Nikon F801s |
As it is usually the case, it was an impulsive buy, it was for £0.99 with no bids online and I decided that I wanted to compare it with the old trusty F801.
* Background information and history.
Nikon joined the AF race quite early on in 1986 - Minolta's surprising announcement of the Dynax 7000/9000 the year before forced Nikon to release a modified version of the F301 with an AF module - the F501AF. Canon joined a year later with the first EOS camera (EOS 650) featuring a new lens mount with no backwards compatibility.
Nikon's F501 used a very basic AF module with 96 CCDs - this was eventually replaced by the "legendary" (the emphasis is mine) AM200 module (an array of 20 by 10 CCDs) which found its way in all AF Nikons - from F401 to the F4 and even the third generation F50. The AM200 had some unmatched capabilities back in 1987 - it was sensitive to low light (down to -1EV when the Dynax 7000i was down to 0EV and the EOS 650 down to 1EV), AF was also 50% faster than previous model due to a 8bit RISC CPU dedicated for the AF only. The AM200 also covered a much larger area and offered better discharge rates and high resistance to internal electromagnetic noise which translated to less hunting. By 1991, the AM200 module started showing it's age which forced Nikon to pull some other tricks to keep their camera competitive in terms of AF performance.
But it wasn't only the AF module that made the F801 a very desirable camera back in 1988. Nikon picked up the competition glove and offered a camera with a 1/8000sec, the fastest shutter available until the F4 and the EOS-1 came along. Also Nikon used 3 different motors optimised for a specific function (i.e. AF motor, film advance motor and mirror motor) and assigned two 4-bit RISC CPUs for the metering and the exposure modes making the camera more efficient. Add compatibility with manual focus Nikkors that can offer centre weighted metering and the F801 was a very attractive offer back in the second half of the 1980s.
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| Compared to the EOS-5, the F801s is smaller but heavier |
Rumors for an technologically advanced EOS10 in the pipeline by Canon forced Nikon to update the plain F801 to the F801s whilst demand for the original F801 was still high - leading to camera shortages in some markets (i.e. USA). The new F801s was improved in the areas that the professionals wanted the most: new coreless motors with low inertia characteristics were used - Nikon used the "know-how" gained by the development of the F4 to develop a new generation of coreless motors which have more torque, are more quiet and more power efficient. In the F801s, the AF system engages the motors at the beginning of the calculation process rather than the end. This makes the AF feel more responsive, faster and more quiet - to the point that predictive AF can be used now. Other improvements included the inclusion of a spot meter and also some autobracketing abilities with the MF21 data back. Battery efficiency also increased to a 105 films with 4 batteries (!) due to the low power consumption of the coreless motors.
The F801/F801s had a 8 year long production cycle. To put this into perspective, the different iterations of the F801 are as contemporary as the Dynax 7000i or the EOS-1n! It became rewoned for its reliability and found its way into the bags of the pro photographers as an ideal back up to the F4.
When Canon brought out the EOS10 and Minolta introduced the xi-series, it was obvious to Nikon that the F801s was there to buy them some time. The F90 was already on the drawing board by that point.
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| Even with the MB20, the F4 dwarfs the F801s This made it the ideal back up camera |
Even with the introduction of the F90 in the 1992, the F801s was in production simultaneously - Nikon pulled the plug when the F90 was updated to the F90x - just to give way for the new line of F50/F70 cameras. The Nikon F801/F801s remain one of Nikon's most commercially successful cameras.
* Ergonomics and features
The Nikon F801/F801s set the template for ergonomics that Nikon cameras will use for the rest of the 90s. It is very simple to understand and use, there is nothing hidden away behind doors and nothing that will leave you scratching your head about (like in dynax xi-series). The F801/F801s does not carry any of the PIC-modes found in other cameras and rightly so - the advanced amateurs were not interested in these programmes. What is really missing though are custom function modes, these were not available even on its successor, the F90.
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| The interface of the F801s is simple and straightforward |
The F801/F801s has three program modes: P, PH and PD.
P: programme as we all know it. It is shiftable also. That is something that the F4 is missing.
PH: it promotes higher speeds and more open apertures. Good when you are using telephoto lens.
PD: something between the othe two. If you are using zoom lenses, this is the programme for you.
Other
than that, there are the usual A, S and M settings. Also the camera
offers different drive modes up to 3.3fps, autobracketing etc.. etc..
etc..
On the more useful side of things, the metering department
got updated with a spot function (F801s only) and the centre weighted
mode operates on the true and tested 75/25 ratio rather than the more
common 60/40 (found in the F4). The F3 funboys might have wanted a
strict 80/20 but the F801s is going to leave you satisfied with its
performance.
A couple more features that might tickle your tastebuds include a depth of field preview and a variable delay self timer. Nice.
When
you bring the camera to your eyes you get an instant "wow" - the
viewfinder is so big and bright. The aim behind it was to help you focus
the manual focus Nikkors you might have. Information on the viewfinder
is complete, there is everything that you need to know and it is nicely
lit too (this is a point of criticism towards the bigger F4 - the LCD is
not so nicely backlit). Also three different focusing screens were
offered too.
If we believe Nikon (and why wouldn't we?) the F801s has the same High
Eyepoint distance with the F3 - good for people wearing glasses but it
does feel a bit too big if you stick your eye close (I have the same
sort of criticism for the F4 too).
The F801/F801s offered a
remote control terminal which was cool and useful for photographers back
then but no-one is using it nowadays. And to make matters worse, the
cap was designed to go missing - few F801/F801s come with the terminal
cap on.
* Using the camera: The Good, the Bad and the Boring.
I'll start straight away with the Bad:
Believe
it or not, no Nikon AF SLR before the F90 had a dedicated battery
indication function - F4 had with the MB21 battery grip - not with the
MB20. Nikon's attitude was: "if it lights up, it has battery- if not,
change battery". The F801s' only saving grace is its great power
efficiency. I find it such a big omission.
Another thing on the
"bad list" are the noise levels. Although the F801s is more quiet
compared to the original F801, still it is not a quiet camera. Noise
levels are quite similar to the F90x which I also have and use. It's not
only the AF motor - I find the film advance to be noisy. The Nikon F4
is a much more quiet camera (actually the F4 is more quiet than the F5
which makes a different type of noise - like a short clap). Using it in
the street or during landscapes shooting, I doubt it will be a problem
but libraries and theatres are probably a no-no.
Another thing
that I think is in the "Bad list" is the lack of custom functions -
especially leaving the film leader outside when rewinding the film.
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| Another example of good exposure |
In terms of AF, there are no cross-type sensors so the camera quits very quickly with any horizontal lines as it cannot find contrast (see comment below). Also, for a strange reason, if the light levels are below -1EV, it will not even attemp to focus.
A serious omission for a camera aiming to be used by pros is the lack of a mirror lock up function. My F4 has it and I like it. In all fairness, this feature was considered to be a pro feature to be used with some crazy wide angled Nikkors, the F90x doesn't have one either.
The last bad thing I can think of revolves around having to set the lenses aperture to minimum in order for programme to work - and of course changing aperture values with the lens ring. This can lead to you forgetting the aperture on a value other than the minimum and get an "Err" displayed. These issues were later resolved with the introduction of the F5.
* The boring stuff
People will probably rush to add to the "boring list" for this camera - especially if you are used to newer AF SLRs. For newcomers to photography, the lack of PIC-Modes might be a limitation. Also if you are spoiled with multiple AF points you are going to be left high and dry this the F801s.
Other boring things include the rotating button which I don't know how I feel about and the exposure lock button that needs to be kept pressed to maintain exposure. Canon certainly did it better.
Another boring thing is the position of the focus lock button (to be used when locking focus with continuous focus mode). It's awkward where it is and becomes even worse if you have to use exposure lock at the same time (the F4 has this amazing feature where you can combine those two buttons to one if you wish to).
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| The F801s vs the F90x |
Last thing - no external winder/motordrive. I doubt it is an issue for
anyone thought, the internal one is quite sufficient offering single
frame, 2 frames per second and 3.3 frames per second.
* The Matrix metering
The
5 zone matrix might sound basic but works well. It is a direct
descendant from that original 5 zone matrix first featured in the Nikon
FA and is very clever albeit with two caveats:
a) the F801s meter
does not take re-composing into account. No matter what you shoot, the
F801s always assumes that the main subject is in the middle of the
frame. This gets worse when you use the spot meter function! From the
Nikon F4 onwards, any attempt to lock focus alerts the light meter to
re-evaluate the distribution of light - with this early version of
matrix, this is not taken into account and you need to push the exposure
lock before recomposing.
b) The F801s does not have a hydraulic
switch that alerts the camera when used in vertical orientation: that
means that zones assigned on the bottom of the frame might be reading
for the sky.
In all honesty, the matrix metering of the F801s is
very capable and knows what to do. Just keep these occasions in mind as
they might affect exposure.
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| Despite the tricky backlight, exposure lock and centre weighter meter worked well |
* And at last : The Good stuff
There is very little doubt that
the F801/F801s has been built with reliability and ease of use in mind.
The camera will pull out a nicely metered and well focused picture in
pretty much every occasion with the success rate being higher for the
F801s. The viewfinder is big and beautiful and you have a sense of
control over the camera - never does it let you wonder what settings are
selected.
When it comes to reliability, I cannot find a
well-know/well-recorded fault of it. You might get a non working sample
but I don't see a trend building up (i.e. gummy shutters with canon,
broken aperture mechanisms with Dynax or broken mirror motors with
Pentax).
I took the camera on holidays to Greece back in 2017 and:
a) my daughter emptied a bucket of sea water on me and the F-801
b) forgot the camera on the backseat of my car under the scorching hot Greek sun - an hour later it was too hot even to hold.
c) My daughter pulled the bed sheet resulting the camera landing on the marbled floor.
d) Coped remarkably well with 10 days of being carried in the sea, exposed to sand and sea spray.
On
every occasion, the camera worked fine - no issues whatsoever. The
F-801 is build to last and can take up beatings that other cameras
wouldn't.
When buying one, check for corrosion in the battery
chamber - people tend to forget old batteries in it that leak. When the
camera is not loaded with film, it will attempt to pull the film each
time you press the shutter button. This is normal - be alerted if you
press the button and instead of taking one picture, the camera takes
two, sometimes advancing film sometimes not. This is a problem with the
film advance mechanism.
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| The F90x is a much bigger camera |
* The F801s Vs F90(x) debate.
Obviously when Nikon decided to
upgrade the F801s, they went above and beyond a usual upgrade. AF
performance got much better, they upgraded the metering system, added
PIC-Modes, added a battery indication function, increased the weather
sealing, added 3D matrix metering with flash and kept everything that
the F801s was good at (i.e. viewfinder and user interface). As a result,
the F90 feels like a better camera in every aspect except two - size
and battery consumption.
The F90x is a bigger camera in every
possible dimension and is also a good 60-70 grams heavier. Yes, the F90x
feels and handles like a F801s on steroids.
I think that the
F801s has the perfect dimensions. Not too small, not too big - if Nikon
ever produces an F7 I would like it to have the F801s body. It is just
ideal.
The impressive 105 rolls of films on one set of batteries
is also gone with the F90x - now it goes down to a less impressive 50
rolls per battery set which is still ok. Actually, I am struggling to
think of another camera that is as power efficient as the F801s.
Another
nice touch is that the LCD on the F801s shows exposure compensation as
a scale (-2...-1...0...1...2) - the F90x shows is as +- EV. Not a
great deal different but it just looks nicer.
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| The handgrip is bigger and less comfortable |
Due to both cameras having the input dial on the top, the LCD is small on both cameras. On the F801s thought is smaller that I would like too - reading some information (i.e. checking the metering mode) is difficult- on the F90x is easier.
* The Nikon F801s and the competition
I would choose the F801s over any AF Nikon that came before it (F501, F601, f401x or s, etc..) and I would choose the F801s over the newer F50/F60/F65/F75 The F70/F80 are newer cameras with more sensitive AF but when you compare the build quality, those newer Nikon feel like they were assembled in a Fisher-Price factory. May not so much the F70 but the F80 definitely.
I would also choose the F801s over any Canon that came before the EOS5 (with the exception of the EOS-1) due to sticky shutters and battery drain issues.
I would also choose the F801s over any Minolta that came before the 9xi but with a caveat: in the long run I would choose any Nikon over any Minolta due to the aperture mechanism issue that affects *ALL* Minolta AF SLRs.
I would also choose the F801s over any Pentax with the exception being the Z-1/Z-1p. The Pentax is a tremendous camera and pushes the F801s every step off the way failing only in build quality (although the Pentax prived to be very reliable) and user interface.
* Using the Nikon F801s
I thoroughly enjoy using this camera. I am not using it as much as the F90x or the F4/F5 siblings but once I run a film through it, I want to run another too. AF speed is good most of the times but if it starts hunting - boy, it really goes for it. The reason for this hunting is the way the AM200 is constructed: none of those 200 CCDs is cross-type. It was the next AF module (CAM-246) that used 74 CCDs (37 pairs) as cross-type in the F90. As a result I noticed some accuracy issues with slow lenses or in low light - pressing again the shutter button usually helps the camera focusing accurately.
My advice is that if the F801s starts hunting then tilt the camera slightly and usually it finds its focus.
Overall, for most AF lenses I have (50f/1.8, 50f/1.4, 35f/2 and 28-100f/3.3-5.6) the AF speed is as good as the F4. With heavier lenses (i.e sigma 28-70f/2.8, sigma 70-210f/3.5-4.5) you can see the F4 working much faster (bigger motors?).
So far I have not come across a scene that made me miss the more modern siblings of this camera. I think there was a good reason why this camera was in such a high demand until the day production was ceased.
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| Yes, it is... |
* Summary
A true classic for a reason. It does everything you want it to do and none you don't. I thouroghly enjoy mine and I am not going to part with it any time soon. Taken into account that these can be found online for less than £30, there is no reason why you shouldn't have one.
Highly recommended!
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