Nikon F80

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The Nikon F80 (or N80 as it is known in the U.S.) is an SLR camera manufactured by the Japanese Company Nikon for prosumers, that is to say amateur photographers with advanced skills.

[edit] History

The F80 was introduced in January 27, 2000 to the worldwide consumer market. It was the successor to the F70 and was based on the highly successful F100 with the notable lack of the weatherproofing and ruggedness that characterizes that camera.

Three versions of the F80 are available, the F80, the F80QD which has a different back that can imprint date information on the frame and the F80S which can also imprint exposure data between frames in addition to the date information.

Also notable, the N80 was chosen by Nikon to be the basis for the popular digital SLR D100 cameras. Rumors were abound during 2005 that Nikon would make a successor to the F80, and discontinue most other film cameras apart from the F6 and the F80 replacement. Early in 2006 Nikon announced that they intend to drop production of all film cameras apart from the F6 and FM10. Regardless of whether Nikon had actually developed (or even planned) a successor for the F80, this now makes it unlikely that one will ever appear on the market.

[edit] Design

The F80 keeps with the traditional look of Nikon camera bodies, with a black plastic exterior, white Nikon lettering on the prism with a red rubber insert on the inside of the camera's grip.

The F80 accepts all Nikkor lenses with the exception of the AIS and pre AI lenses. Older non-CPU AI and AIS lenses can be mounted on the camera, but exposure must be set manually as the camera will not meter through them at all.