If you’d try to name a few most influential Nikon film cameras, I can bet you’d completely forget about this one – the Nikon F-801 from 1988.
Overshadowed by its bigger brother, the mighty F4, introduced half a year later that same 1988, and not as glamorous as its mechanical (and not-so-mechanical) brethren of yore, the F-801 and F-801s remained in production for less than five years but pushed Nikon ergonomics and way of thinking into the modern era – an era spearheaded by the Canon T90.
I’ve stumbled upon a great blog post which inspired me to write this post. Read about why the Nikon F801 is such an important camera at 678 Vintage Cameras: Nikon F-801 – A Nikon in name only?
Personally, I’m not much of a Nikon owner, yet somehow, a total of five AF Nikon cameras passed through my possessions – way more than the AF Nikkor lenses I ever had.
I’ve had the F-801, the F-801s and the F90x. I’ve loved the ergonomics of the F-801(s) a bit more than the ergonomics of the F90x, despite having big hands. It was a good camera, but somehow, the older camera simply felt easier to use, lying better in my hands. I’ve sold F90x and kept F-801s for quite some time. I’ve acquired the F100 and F80 in the meantime, and since I had only one AF Nikkor lens, I had quite a lot of redundancy, and something had to go. Finally, only the F100 remained.
Regardless of everything, the Nikon F801(s) remains one of the best Nikon cameras I’ve ever used. It is a well-built, well-thought-out camera with great ergonomics; it is a solid choice for any photographer using Nikon F lenses.
TL;DR
The Nikon F-801 from 1988 was an important camera and a precursor to modern-era cameras. Its ergonomics were great, but it was overshadowed by its bigger brother, the F4, which was introduced half a year later.
