Nikon F801

In my previous blog I mentioned using a Nikon F801 35mm film camera. I also said a blog post about that camera was on it's way, and here it is.This is also a tale of friendship, one that has endured despite us living hundreds of miles apart.

In the summer of 2018 I had been enjoying photography for just over a year and I was beginning to look for other camera's to try as a means of expanding my knowledge of photography and to give my poor old Pentax Spotmatics a break. They had both served me well over the course of the year and I had learned to embrace their quirks and foibles to make best use of them. My SP1000 was in serious need of some remedial maintenance with my SP500 not far behind. For their age they had done remarkably well considering this ham fisted beginner had got his mits on them. Mechanically they are both sound, but light leaks were becoming a problem. It got too bad on the SP1000 and it had to sit on the shelf until I could get it serviced. I was still using the SP500 regularly, but again that too was showing it's age.
 
I was sharing some images from a trip to the Fusilliers Museum in Bury, Lancashire that I had taken with my SP500 and mentioned I was considering getting it serviced when my old mate Murray surprised me with the offer of a Nikon F801 and 50mm lens. I had not heard of that camera before and had to look it up. When I learned what he was offering I began the delicate negotiation on price with the customary "how much do you want for it?" The reply floored me. "Free to you! It's just gathering dust in my attic and I know you will use it." That's the kind of offer I couldn't refuse and arrangements were made to ship it from Orkney to Wigan.
 
When it arrived I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. It was dusty alright, but not as bad as I feared. A quick clean was all that was needed to have this early Nikon autofocus camera looking presentable again. The lens was a bit more challenging as it had a couple of spots of fungus on the front element, but the rest was just fine. A quick wipe and it was clean, but I would need to get my tools out to sort the fungus out. This involved removing the front bezel that holds the element in place. I managed to remove that using the rubber foot off my walking stick to press against the bezel and give it a quick lefty loosey. (That's a bodge to be proud of.) Once I had carefully cleaned and polished the glass it was simple to put it all back together. The camera's battery compartment was nice and clean so four duracell AA's were fitted and my new camera was ready to use. I found a user manual for it online and got studying.
 
As I had given the camera a fairly extensive look over as I cleaned it, I soon learned that this was no low end consumer grade 35mm camera. Murray had given me a fully functioning prosumer grade camera that was put on sale around the same time as the legendary Nikon F4. It shares several of the F4's components too, notably the autofocus module, built in auto advance winder and a shutter capable of a speed of 1/8000th of a second. That's twice as fast as my D90 and a good 20 years previously! To thank Murray properly I had to try it out. I had some Kodak ColorPlus 200 in my fridge, (my regualr supply of Agfa Vista 200 had dried up and I found the Kodak film at a reasonable price on ebay), I loaded a roll into the F801 and headed to my favourite location in town, the park.

Mesnes Park in Wigan was built in the 1870's as a place for the people of Wigan to get some fresh air and relax after a hard week in the Mines, Mills and Locomotive works in the town. All were a dirty and dangerous ways to make a living, a place to relax and go for a walk was much welcomed at the time. In recent years the park has undergone a multi million pound restoration to ensure the people of Wigan can continue to enjoy their park for another century and more.

I fitted my 70-210mm push-pull D lens and began learning how to use the F801. It wasn't difficult as the basic controls and ergonomics are very similar to my D90. It also takes the same lenses which adds to the versatility of my gear. I had an enjoyable afternoon taking photo's of The Pavillion, a great place for a drink and an ice cream, and the various other pieces of public art around the park. The Coalbrookdale Fountain was in full flow on this glorious summers day and I also discovered how well it handled depth of field wth a long shot of the statue of Sir Francis Sharp Powell with the Pavillion and Fountain in the background. 24 frames is soon used up when you're in the zone, and I headed to my local Max Spielmann photo store where it was developed in an hour and scanned to disc for me by the very helpful and knowledgeable staff.

On getting home and viewing my images on my computer I was very happy to see the quality of images produced with this camera was excellent. I was used to manual focus lenses on my Spotmatics, the 50mm lens on the F801 was easy to adapt to and the autofocus 70-210mm was as quick on the F801 as my D90, if not quicker. I had to send a few images to Murray to say thank you for his kindness. Murray again surprised me when he told me he had found the flash that came with the camera and he was shipping it to me asap.

I didn't have long to wait as it arrived a couple of days later. I opened the box and a Nikon SB24 speedlight was unwrapped from it's cocoon of bubble wrap. It was spotless and obviously a perfect match for the camera, I fitted 4 AA's and gave it a try. It worked perfectly. The generosity of my dear chum was humbling and I tried to give hm some money but he wouldn't take it. He reckoned I had done a lot for others over the years it was about time someone did something nice for me. It suddenly got dusty in my house and my eyes started leaking....

I have been using the F801 a lot over since it was given to me and it has been a valuable addition to my learning process. Being able to get great images is always the goal of a photographer and the F801 certainly helped me up my game to another level. Don't get me wrong, I still love my Pentax SP500 and I even serviced my SP1000 before lockdown and recommissioned it into my kit. Their place is assured, being my first camera's I have a lot of memories attached to them. The Nikon F801 is on it's own level. It was an unexpected gift from a dear friend I haven't seen in a while and I have thoroughly enjoyed using it.

As my Nikon collection has grown to include a D700 and a couple more autofocus D lenses, I have been taking my F801 out with a DSLR and enjoying a day shooting film and digital. The interchangability of the Nikon F mount and the similarities between film and digital camera layout makes switching between them a doddle. Familiarity is the beauty of the Nikon design philosophy of the film era and the transition to digital. I know one day I will make the jump to Mirrorless and maybe use that more than my D700 or D90, but I will always have my F801. Here are a few images i have shot with it from that first session in Wigan Park and a selection of others I have taken since then. I hope you enjoy them.