Nikon N80 Nikon's N80 provides everything from fully automatic operation to complete manual control, with no hassle. It's a straight-forward camera that we were able to figure out without referring to the instruction manual. Want to set one of the four exposure modes (program AE, shutter-priority AE, aperture-priority AE, metered manual)? Just rotate the mode dial to P, S, A or M. Want to set the drive mode? Move the drive switch to the single-frame, continuous, self-timer or multiple-exposure icon. Want to select the metering mode? Just set the meter switch to the center-weighted, Matrix or spot icon. Want to set the camera for pure point-and-shooting? Just press the two buttons with green dots next to them for two seconds. (Why two buttons? So you don't inadvertently reset the camera by accidentally pressing a button. Same with mid-roll rewind: Two-button operation keeps you from accidentally activating it, and eliminates the need for a pen or other tool to do the deed.) Nikon's N80 puts some of the technology of their pro-model SLRs into an affordable package. It's a fine choice for anyone from point-and-shooter to really serious photographer on a budget. Exclusive on-demand viewfinder gridlines are a great compositional aid. Focusing—The N80 borrows technology from Nikon's pro-model F5 and F100 cameras to provide first-rate autofocusing capabilities. As with the pro models, the N80 user gets five-area Dynamic AF, automatic Focus Tracking with Lock-On, and fine performance in light levels down to EV -1. Five AF sensors (top and bottom horizontal line sensors, left and right vertical line sensors, and a central cross-type sensor), provide a wide AF area and accurate autofocusing for both horizontal- and vertical-format shooting. In Dynamic AF, the camera automatically switches from one AF sensor to another to track a subject as it moves through the frame. You can select the initial sensor, or let the camera do it. (With Closest-subject-priority Dynamic AF, the camera automatically starts with the closest subject to fall under one of the five AF sensors.) There's also Single Area AF, which lets you select the AF sensor that will be used to determine focus—handy when you want to focus on a specific part of a subject or scene. In single-shot AF, the camera will focus on whatever falls under the selected AF target frame in the viewfinder (or on the closest subject to fall under any AF target, in Closest-subject-priority mode), and lock focus there until you either take the picture or let go of the shutter button. In continuous AF, the camera will focus continuously, as long as you keep the shutter button partially depressed. If the subject moves in either AF mode, the camera automatically engages Focus Tracking with Lock-On, tracking the subject's movement, predicting its exact position at the instant of exposure, and setting focus accordingly. Lock-On keeps focus locked on the subject even if something should momentarily come between camera and subject, a wonderful feature. The AF system detects focus and focuses the lens simultaneously, rather than alternately, for quicker performance. Of course, you can also focus manually. Like all Nikon AF SLRs, the N80 accepts all current AF-Nikkor lenses (which range from a 14mm superwide-angle and a 16mm full-frame fisheye to a 600mm supertelephoto, including zooms from 17-35mm to 80-400mm, plus true 1:1 macro lenses of 60mm, 105mm and 200mm, and an almost-life-size 70-180mm macro zoom). Exposure—The N80 provides three metering systems. Ten-segment 3D Matrix is the one you'll use most often, since it provides good exposures in just about any shooting situation, but the camera also provides center-weighted and spot metering (the latter reads only the central 1% of the image area, as indicated by a 4mm circle in the center of the viewfinder). Shifting the AF area also shifts the spot-metering area correspondingly. You can lock the exposure by pressing the AE-lock button, dial-in up to ±3 stops of exposure compensation in 1/2-stop increments, and set automatic exposure bracketing (two or three frames, up to ±2 EV in 1/2-step increments). Photo by Lynne Eodice In program AE, the camera sets both the shutter speed and the lens aperture for proper exposure—great for point-and-shooters. You can switch to a different shutter speed or aperture by rotating the Main-Command Dial, and the camera will maintain correct exposure. Shutter- and aperture-priority AE give you control over those items, while the camera quickly and automatically sets the other control to maintain proper exposure. Metered-manual mode offers full manual control. Flash—Nikon has long been renowned for its fabulous flash system, and the N80 takes full advantage of it. The built-in Speedlight provides 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash, in which the camera automatically balances the flash-lit subject and ambient-lit background exposures, taking into consideration data from the Matrix meter, five-segment TTL Multi-Sensor and the AF system (with non-D-type lenses, you get Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill-Flash, which doesn't utilize data from the AF system). You can apply flash output compensation from -3 to +1 EV for added control. Other flash features include slow sync (the camera uses a slow shutter speed to bring out background details when shooting flash pictures in a dark environment), rear-curtain sync (the flash fires at the end of a long exposure rather than at the beginning, so that ghost-image "speed streaks" follow rather than precede a subject moving across the frame), and red-eye reduction. Add a dedicated Nikon Speedlight to the N80's hot-shoe, and you get more flash power, plus such features as repeating (strobe) flash and both cord and cordless TTL off-camera flash (with appropriate accessory remote cords or slave flash controller). More Features—The fixed eye-level pentaprism viewfinder provides built-in eyepiece correction from -1.8 to +0.8 diopters, and features the exclusive On-Demand Grid Lines (via Custom Setting #4). The grid lines make it very easy to level the horizon and align building verticals. Shutter speeds range from 30 seconds to 1/4000, stepless in P and A modes and settable in 1/2-step increments in S and M. There's also a bulb setting for really long exposures (up to eight hours with fresh batteries). You can make any number of exposures on a single frame by moving the film-advance selector to the multiple-exposure position. A handy depth-of-field preview button is provided next to the lens. The N80 allows you to customize 18 camera features via the Custom Setting Menu. You can do such things as activate or deactivate automatic rewind at the end of a roll, set the AE-L/AF-L button's function (lock both exposure and focus, lock only exposure, lock only focus, lock exposure until button is pressed a second time, activate AF operation), change the self-timer delay (2-, 5-, 10- or 20- second delay), activate or deactivate the AF-assist illuminator, and lots more.