Nikon N80/F80 Paperback – January 1, 2001

Again, Magic Lantern has the best details and "how to do it" with regards to operation of my Nikon F80.. Get this book if you want to not only know the camera function ..it also goes into the "why and wherefore".

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.

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

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.

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.

With manufacturer user guides for older cameras getting harder to find, these Magic Lantern guides are invaluable. This one for the Nikon N80 does the trick.

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 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