My Nikon F80 ( the N80s designation outside the US) was bought eight years ago and has been used regularly since. I have travelled round Europe on holiday where the camera has been subjected to vibration and extremes of temperature, altitude and humidity. It has never let me down, I mostly shoot with slow speed slide film which is very unforgiving with respect to exposure. Any mistakes have been down to my own error rather than the camera. I have used the camera metering in very low light condition with shutter speeds of several minutes with a cable release and had very good results.

When I purchased this camera new about 5 years ago, I had a hard time deciding between it and the F100 which was 3x the cost. I knew the camera shared nearly all the same features of the F100, but was built on a poly-carb body rather than the metal frame of the F100.
I expressed my concern to a camera sales person at Hunt's and he told me, "Buy the N80...if you drop it, buy another, you're still ahead on the cost over the F100."
Excellent advice - I love my N80 and even though I shoot my D80 digital SLR frequently, I often come back to the N80 when shooting film "old school." It really can't be beat if you're looking for a feature-packed modern film SLR. Buy one!

Nikon has a winner with this little beauty, the N80. It is packed to the brim with features galore. You can use a variety of metering options (3D matrix, centre weighted, & spot), so it has got enough ground for the beginner to expand to intermediate level. You can vary the focal point with a selector at the film back door, and lock it so you don't change the setting accidentally. Many photographers love the depth of field preview with allows you to see how much is in focus in front of and behind your subject. I found the LCD screen illuminator VERY handy for night photography, where one press of a button, you can check your settings. As expected, it has exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, and even flash compensation. The in-built flash comes in very handy without you having to carry around a separate flash unit. The build quality is good for a camera of this price. It isn't flimsy, although it doesn't have the full range of sealing that the Nikon higher priced professional models have (like the F5 or F100), however, this being an advanced amateur / intermediate level camera, the build quality is more than sufficient. It has 2.5 frames per second advance rate, which is sufficient for most users. Not terribly fst, but not snail pace either. Nikon has a vast range of lenses and accessories, and the F80 is well placed for the owner to enter into the Nikon system. Apart from professional camera bodies, there are many SLRs which now have polycarbonate lens mount, but not on this baby! Still has the metal lens mount, which allows it to undergo frequent lens changes without the owner having to worry about wear and tear. One of the most useful features is the on-demand grid lines. Set using the custom dial, this lays a grid over the viewfinder, greatly assisting in composition, especially for architectural shots. There are 18 custom functions which can be set.

This camera is feature packed, and is a testament to Nikon's strength as an SLR builder. The ergonomics are equally impressive, the grip feels great in the hand. In summary, this is an excellent camera, with plenty to keep the keen photographer amused. Having some features passed down from its higher end relatives like the F5 and F100 means that the F80 will not disappoint the owner. As for reliability, well, my F80 has done about 100 rolls of film and is still going strong. Definitely recommended!!!!!!!!