Customer Reviews

Nikon N80/F80

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On page 20 of the Magic Lanter Guide for the Nikon N80, the reader is encouraged to take camera in hand and try out the controls as they are described in the book: if the authors (or proofreaders) of the book had done so themselves, then maybe the book would not be so rife with errors.

I purchased the book based on the generally high reputation of the Magic Lantern Guides and my hope that the guide would illuminate those areas where the camera's Owner's Manual was lacking. After almost 30 years of use, my old Nikon F was starting to show its age, and my new N80 was my first experience with auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-anything. For me, at least, the N80 Owner's Manual was a bit obtuse when it came to explaining the intricacies of the N80's auto-focus system. The Magic Lantern Guide did, in fact, provide a bit more help in this area -- at least its examples seemed clearer. The book is also well-illustrated and full of examples which might be of use to a novice (or almost novice) photographer, but...

It appears that portions of the book were copied/pasted from books on other Nikon cameras or were based on pre-production models or preliminary spec sheets. For instance, throughout the book are references to focus-assist symbols (">" and "<") in the camera's viewfinder. They sure aren't present in my N80. Page 152 talks at length about variable effective apertures and the use of Custom Setting 19 to modify the effects thereof. There is no Custom Setting 19 on the base N80; the F80S has a Setting 19, but it is used with the date-imprint feature. What these types of errors call into doubt the veracity of the text when it deals with issues of compatibility with accessories, etc. I can't trust the book when it tells me that a particular feature of a flash, for example, is available for the N80, when the text describing the flash interface was lifted from a different camera.

Bottom line: wait for a second edition, and in the meantime, study the Owner's Manual carefully.

This is a useful manual for the N80, even if the text is imperfect. Unfortunately, the publisher merely released a new printing in May 2001, not a new edition and therefore missed a chance to correct the errors that the other reviewers on here have previously mentioned. The reviewers who suspect that some of the technical information was extrapolated from Nikon's F100 camera are clearly right. Not only does the text occasionally describe functions unique to the F100 and not present on the N80, but also on page 179 the author forgot to switch the text and inadvertently calls the N80 camera a F100! That being said, the book has redeeming qualities. I disagree with the reviewer who felt that the Nikon Manual was perfectly adequate. Although the manual supplied by the manufacturer is fairly complete, I was still left with some questions after reading it. Perhaps this is because the whole autofocus SLR concept is new to me. If you are used to more traditional SLR's, this is a whole new ballgame. Comparing this Nikon to my 20-year-old Nikon is like comparing a computer word processor to a typewriter. This manual helped bridge the culture shock for me. And despite some inaccuracies, I have learned some useful information from this manual. One of the better speedlights for this camera is the Nikon SB-28, which is available as the older SB-28 or the newer, more expensive SB-28DX. However, the improvements in the SB-28DX can only be used if one is using the Nikon D-1, not the N80. Sparing me the unnecessary expense of buying the DX model of the speedlight more than paid for the purchase price of the book. And I picked up some other helpful tips as well. The book is useful, but flawed. Its small enough to tuck into your camera bag and for most of us, it probably has something to teach about this complex and wonderful camera.

I have been using a manual focus Minolta for over 15 years, so when I got my N80 I was new not only to Nikon equipment but also to auto focus and the myriad of features available on 35mm cameras today. I felt that I needed more infomation than the user's guide could offer.

The originial edition of this book was published in Germany, and the basis for this edition is apparently a translation of that edition. It may be for this reason that parts of the book are not as readable as other books that bear Peter Burian's name, for example the "National Geographic Photograhy Field Guide."

Having said that, this book expands on the user's guide in a number of areas, and I have found it very useful in learning about my N80. For example, there is a detailed discussion of the various possible combinations of the auto-focus area and auto-focus mode options. Likewise, it describes in detail the various metering options and when you might want to use which.

As another example, the book gives a thorough description of how and when to use the the self-timer. I'm sure that must have been mentioned in the user's guide, but it must have been brief, because I certainly didn't see it.

Overall, if you're new to Nikon or new to auto-focus cameras this is a very useful little book.

As a first time Nikon owner I found the user guide to be lacking in some areas. I purchased the N80 Magic Lantern Guide to better understand the complex assortment of options available with the autofocus and auto exposure settings.

The book explained the use of AF and AE options quite clearly. An early use of the camera in a very high contrast environment and a set of mostly over exposed photos made me decide I better learn what all those knobs did. This was my primary reason for buying the book.

My old camera only had center weighting metering, so the N80 has provided a challenge to learn when to use spot, or average, or matrix metering. This book helped me to grasp the situations where one method may be more suitable than another. It accomplished that nicely.

As with any guide like this, there is a certain amount of boiler plate. Material that is there for novices. But the book also helped you get to know the camera and its capabilities better.

My copy of Magic Lantern's N80 is carried in the camera bag with my N80. I've placed tabs on a few excellent references in the book that give recommendations to specific settings for various photo situations. I have found this book to be not only a great reference for the camera but also a nice refresher on photography. I especially appreciate the info on appropriate add-on flashes.

I recently bought an F80 and found this book (unlike the camera manual) to be the best source for gaining a full understanding of the camera's more complex features. Highly recommended for anyone new to Nikons. Doug

If you understand the basics of AF SLR photography, do not buy this book. It does do a good job of introducing the basics, but unfortunately it falls flat on its face when it comes to explaining the features of your new N80. As other have noted, the book is rife with errors in description of the N80's features and functions. It is difficult to believe the authors had this camera in hand when the book was written. I found the manual that comes with the camera to be much more useful.

I'm the owner of N70 of this book, because this book is not expensive, I decided to purchase the n80 book too, after I aquired my N80, expecting some redundancy.

In general, the book replaces a lot of topics topics compare with the N70. the great benefit of this book is it covers some gray areas either the manufacture manual does not mention, or the manual mentioned implictly but readers might not aware of the implication. For example the book warns you, if you use speed priority exposure, but your len maxium aperture is not big enough to result correct exposure, the camera still fire in auto exposure mode and result underexposed. In additon, if you use shutter speed exceeding 1/125 that exceed flash max sync speed, partial flashing will result. Such problem you can understand but may easily ignore if simply reading the manual.

Another benefit is some general advices, which is especially plus for beginers, I enjoy the coverage of len comaptibilities and some info on recent Nikon Len line up.

As the other reader points out, the book has some errors, F80 frequently refer to as F8, default custom setting for change aperture is to turn subcommand dial (but the book ask you to use main command). Those are simply careless or editing typo. What appalling me is on page P152 , it mentioned customer setting 19, not only the setting is not for the topics discussed there, but also in all custom settings, there is simply no such function for N80/F80/F80s, making me wonder if the author really testing the N80 or simply imagine many mechanism should be the same as F100 (which maybe largely different).

Nicely illustrated, very descriptive
compendium of techniques for the Nikon N80/F80 camera.
I waited at least a year until it became available...
very happy with the product.

This book serves as a good reference guide to the N-80, though I'm not sure if it's necessarily better than Nikon's camera manual. I think the book is at its best when used by beginner photographers, since much of the book covers the use of the camera and its features in practical photographic applications. It also goes into lens and flash selection, and the use of other available accessories.

My first Magic Lantern book was their guide to the N-60. At that time, and as a novice photographer, I greatly benefited from the book. The N-80 book was less valuable to me, mostly because I was farther down the learning curve by the time I read it.

So, it's a great source for beginners, and it's value diminishes thereafter.