Nikon N55 35mm SLR Camera - Almost Perfect SLR Film Camera
Written: Jul 16 '04 (Updated Aug 02 '05)
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Photo Quality:
Pros: Light, compact, inexpensive, flexible, easy to use, ergonomics, good performance
Cons: No DOF preview, no focal distance markings on the supplied lens, no spot metering
The Bottom Line: I am happy with my Nikon N55. For the money, its combination with flexibility, user-friendliness, ergonomics and performance is hard to beat.
dkozin's Full Review: Nikon N55 with 28-80 lens 35mm Film Camera
My foray into 35mm SLR photography started with Nikon N55 35mm SLR camera, which I carefully chose over Canon Rebel based on the reviews I read, the lens included in the outfit and the price.
The outfit I got consists of the Nikon N55 camera and a Nikon Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G Autofocus Lens. This is the lens the N55 comes with when it is not sold as the camera body only. Both the camera body and the lens came in one box, which also included the wide shoulder strap. The camera needs two CR2 3V batteries, which were not included. After a quick run to Walmart ($10 for two batteries), attaching the lens and loading the film I had (Kodak Gold 200), I was ready to shoot.
Why not Digital?
Indeed, why not digital? Although digital photography has its advantages (ability to see the result immediately, easy web publishing/emailing, ability to edit using software, storage convenience and convenience in selecting photos to print), I do also want to have a decent film camera.
Digital cameras have deeper depth of field (more of the background and foreground appears in focus) than film cameras at the same aperture and same apparent focal length (35mm focal length for digital cameras). This may be an advantage for some, but it limits creativity.
Good digital cameras are more expensive than good film SLR. Inexpensive digital cameras normally feature electronic controls (e.g. no manually-linked zoom, focus or aperture). Most consumer and pro-sumer grade digital cameras have fixed lens and that lens does not normally go as wide as 28mm (35mm equivalent), which I do need when I travel in Europe and take pictures across the narrow streets.
And finally, perhaps I have a strange film-photography fetish. I will eventually get a digital camera which will satisfy my needs.
Manual
The first step for me was to quickly look over the manual to make sure I attach the lens and insert film and batteries properly. The manual can be rated as adequate, although it does have repetitions.
Ease of Use
The camera was easy to use even without reading the manual (after the lens was attached). Most features are controlled by buttons and dials that are self-explanatory, if you have basic understanding of photography. The camera has a full auto mode, which lets you use it as a point-and-shoot model, but with much better results.
Flexibility
The camera’s main function dial has modes from the full “Auto” to the full “Manual” control. In the full auto, you cannot adjust anything, which is a good thing for somebody just starting after being used to point-and-shoot camera. There are several modes of programmed auto exposure, based on the subject.
In the “Portrait” mode, the aperture will be wide open to focus on the subject while blurring the background (shallow depth of field). In the “Landscape” mode, the aperture will be small for deeper depth of field (more items will appear in focus).
The “Macro” mode is used for close-ups, the “Sport” mode uses fast shutter speeds to freeze the action (and thus will use wide aperture). The “Night Portrait” mode uses the flash in the Slow Sync mode do have both the subject in front of the camera and the background to appear (make sure to use a tripod and the timer as the shutter speed will be slow).
More flexibility can be achieved in the “S” - Shutter Priority mode (you set the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture), “A” - Aperture Priority (vice versa) and the “P” mode (sets both aperture and shutter speed automatically, similarly to full “Auto” mode, but lest you adjust them – as you rotate the adjusting dial, the shutter speed increases/decreases as the aperture opens/closes at the same time, as well as use exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, etc.)
The full “Manual” mode is also present. In it, you can set both aperture and shutter speed manually and the lighted display in the lower portion of the viewfinder will indicate if the selected settings will cause overexposure or underexposure, as measured by the camera in the center-weighted mode. You can also use “time” shutter speed in this mode – the shutter opens when you press the shutter release button and will stay open until it is depressed again.
Light Metering
The camera uses 5-Segment 3D Matrix metering with “G” and “D” AF lenses, aside from the “Manual” mode where, as mentioned above, the camera uses center-weighted metering.
Shutter Speeds
The available shutter speeds are 30 seconds to 1/2,000 of a second and you also have the option of using “Time” shutter speed – you open and close the shutter by a push of a button.
Aperture Control
If you are using Nikon’s G-type lens (e.g. the supplied Nikkor 28-80 f/3.3-5.6 G), the aperture is set using camera controls. There is no manual aperture ring on the lens itself.
Focusing
The camera lets you switch between auto focus and manual focus for AF lenses. You can select between three focusing points if you use so-called Dynamic Auto Focus. You can also use Dynamic Auto Focus with Closest Subject Priority, which focuses automatically on the closest subject and also keeps the focus if the object is moving.
The auto focusing happens as the shutter button is depressed halfway (this also activates the light meter to determine proper exposure). You can recompose the shot after the focus is locked on the target and then depress the button all the way, taking the shot.
If you select MF position for manual focus, you can rotate the ring around the lens until the subject you want to focus on is clear. I want to point out that the lens that was supplied with my camera had no distance markings on the focus ring and thus I cannot use the depth of field tables to figure out where I need to focus to get the depth of field I need at the given focal length. Also, the focus ring itself felt slightly flimsy. But for the price, I have nothing to complain about.
What I have a [small] complaint about is the fact that in low light, if the camera is set to AF and the subject is further than the distance the focus beam can reach, the camera does not fire at all. I would prefer if it still did with focus set to infinity. When I take pictures with no flash at night, I have to switch to MF.
No DOF Preview
As I described above, the Nikkor 28-80 f/3.3-5.6 G lens has no focus distance markings. The camera also has no depth of field preview. If you need DOF preview, you will need a more expensive camera.
Flash
The built-in flash is quite powerful and pops up to reduce the red-eye effect. You can forcefully disable flash in some modes for available-light photography by pushing a corresponding button, but that will decrease the shutter speed.
The flash has Auto, Slow Synch, Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch with Red-Eye Reduction modes as we as flash cancel. You can use Front Curtain mode as well.
Handling
The camera is relatively compact and light. The ergonomics are good – the camera is easy to grip and controls are within easy reach, aside from the ones that are located on the front side by the lens. The top deck LCD is not backlit, however. Because of it, it is difficult to see it in low light, and it is quite annoying, since it is exactly in low light when you need to make sure you are using timer while the camera is attached on a tripod and the “timer on” indicator is not available in the lighted viewfinder display.
Film Advance Speed
The maximum film advance speed is 1.5 fps, which is useful for sport events. You can also use exposure bracketing mode, where the camera takes three frames – properly exposed (as estimated), overexposed and underexposed. This way you can choose which of the three pictures is exposed better.
Performance
I have tried virtually all modes of operation, except for “Sport”. I mostly like modes where I myself can choose either aperture (to control depth of field) or the shutter speed (to control blur caused by handheld camera operation or the moving subjects). In all modes the camera (and the lens it came with) worked flawlessly.
The pictures came out sharp, with excellent detail level, contrast and colors (keep in mind that picture quality mostly depends on the lens you use). I did use positive exposure compensation with backlit subjects and dark subjects on bright backgrounds. The pictures were taken with regular (“negative”) print film (Kodak Gold 200). Although the camera supports and automatically sets film ISO from 25 to 5000. I plan on getting ISO 100 film (this way I can use wider apertures at the same shutter speed or slower speed at the same aperture as with ISO 200).
I have not used exposure bracketing feature, but I feel it will be more useful for people who shoot color slides – media with less exposure latitude.
Update 08/10/04: On a recent trip to Oregon, I have used Fuji Superia Reala ISO 100 film and the results were outstanding. Some pictures were taken with a Sunpak Circular Polarizer. The pictures were sharp and clear with excellent color reproduction and vivid yet true-to-life colors.
Since the camera uses an onboard database to determine correct exposure for different conditions, the pictures I took were properly exposed (in both Aperture and Shutter priority modes).
Bottom Line
I am happy with my Nikon N55. For the money, its combination with flexibility, user-friendliness, ergonomics and performance is hard to beat.
Selection of exposure modes including Programmed, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual 3-Point Automatic and Manual Focus modes 3D-Matrix m...More at Amazon Marketplace
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