Cheap Camera Shootout! - Nikon F801S

 When it was released back in 1991, the Nikon F801S was a high end semi-professional grade 35mm film camera, perched immediately below the Nikon F4 in the Nikon lineup. These days it is one of the cheapest semi pro cameras you can buy. I paid £70 for mine a few years back and I fitted an AF Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5 D series zoom for this shootout to even out the specs with the entry level cameras it is up against. I paid £40 for the lens which keeps the cost of this camera and lens combination to a reasonable level. So, what did I get for my money?

I got a chunk of a camera with plenty of features to keep me happy. This camera was designed with the F mount AF-D lenses firmly at the forefront. The camera is a weighty item, courtesy of drive motors for both the auto focus and film advance/rewind, four AA batteries in the large and comfortable handgrip and the advanced electronics. It also has a shutter capable of a maximum speed of 1/8000th of a second.

Features are accessed with the selection buttons on the top left in conjunction with the single command dial on the top right of the camera. It has Program, Aperture priority, Shutter priority and Manual modes to play with as well as Matrix metering to help you get a well exposed photo. Your film iso can be set manually or automatically by the DX Code reader in the camera. There are also Auto exposure lock and exposure compensation buttons which give this camera all the features you still see in Nikon DSLR and Mirrorless cameras today.

It really is a well built, well thought out camera and was used by professionals as a back up to their F4 or even an F3 as that camera was still in production up to 2001. I'm told some pro's preferred the F801S to the F4 as it had all the features plus a significant drop in weight when compared to Nikon's first flagship autofocus film camera. The F801S weighs in at 695 grams or close to 1.5 pounds and it's great for bicep curls. You will need them to carry this beast around all day long.

It was built to professional standards of the time, it's weather sealed and rugged enough to withstand most of the punishment a pro would give it as they sought out the shots they needed. I think mine was a back up camera as it had been looked after before coming into my possession via Kamerstore in Finland. All I have done is fit fresh AA batteries and given it a wipe clean from time to time.

Loading is the same as the Minolta and Canon, insert the cassette on the left and pull the leader over to the red mark on the right. Close the back, switch the camera on and press the shutter button half way. It automatically advances the film to the first frame. I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 and headed to Mesnes Park for a few shots before heading off to another part of town to shoot the rest of my roll.

I enjoyed my wander with my F801S, despite its heft it's a very nice camera to get along with. In aperture priority the matrix metering does a fine job of selecting the shutter speed as I select the aperture for each shot. Autofocus is a bit clunky compared to my lighter and newer Canon EOS 300 and Minolta Dynax 4, but hey, it's over 30 years old and we all start getting a little clunky in our thirties.

I spent some time around the Wigan Pier quarter of town trying to get a couple of shots of the redevelopment of Eckersley Mill as it gets nearer to completion. I also grabbed a few shots along the canal and was lucky to be there when a narrowboat was making its way through the lock by Trencherfield Mill. I soon finished my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 and, with this phase of my cheap camera shootout done and dusted, I put my Nikon F801S in my bag and headed home for another well earned cuppa.

I developed my film in Bellini Euro HC 1+31 dilution B for 5 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, K&F Tripod, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

As I expected from this camera, my shots were all well exposed and compared favourably with my Canon EOS300 and Minolta Dynax 4. Therein lies the crux of the Cheap Camera Shootout. You don't need to spend a lot of cash to get decent film photos in the 21st century. The choice of cameras is vast and you can spend a serious amount of money on getting the shots you want, or you can spend next to nothing and get the same quality.

When folk tell a beginner to buy a Pentax K1000 for £200-£300, in my humble opinion that's not exactly the best way to encourage and nurture their interest in film photography. A cheap, plastic fantastic, auto focus camera from the end of the glory days of film will often give a beginner the best encouragement.

The quality of the cameras is high, the lenses are fantastic and even a ten year old can do it, as my Grandson showed with his Minolta Dynax 500si. He still has his favourite photo of the horse at the local farm hanging on his bedroom wall. He is very proud of that photo and I am proud of him for the effort he put into it.

With the black and white part of this dive into cheap auto focus cameras complete, I can now move to part 2 where I shoot a roll of Kodak ColorPlus in each camera. Can a cheap camera get high quality images on the cheapest colour film available today? Keep checking in for the answer to that question. In the meantime, here's a few favourites from my roll of Ilford HP5+ 400 shot with my Nikon F801s and AF Nikkor 35-70mm lens. As always I have put them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Nikon F801S - Ilford HP5+ 400