Howard_Creech's Full Review: Nikon N65 35mm Film Camera
During the last few years Nikon has embarked on a complete reorganization of their photo/optics business. The goal was to restore Nikon to the number one position in the digital/analog camera marketplace with both pros and amateurs. The result of this re-organization was a group of groundbreaking new cameras that re-define Nikon’s leadership role in the imaging market. The F5, F100, N80, N65, and D1 are cousins under the skin, they share features, engineering, components, design philosophy, and all have a Nikon Family look and feel.
Nikon’s newest, the N65---IS NOT an updated N60, it is a totally new camera that incorporates all the features that made the N60 so popular, and many exciting new features as well. The N65 is much smaller and lighter than its predecessor, weighs less than a pound (13.9 ounces) and when you first pick it up it is hard to believe how tiny it is. Right away, you notice that the N65 is comfortable to hold, and the controls are well laid out and logical in their placement. Most important of all (for an entry level camera) it has a depth of field preview that functions in all modes. The N65 also offers auto bracketing, another very rare feature on beginner cameras. Other neat features: multiple exposure capability, diopter correction (for those who wear glasses), and five sensor dynamic auto focus (like its more expensive cousin the Nikon N80) with user selected sensor, dynamic AF, or closest focus priority. These are features that seldom appear in beginner/amateur cameras. Nikon is obviously listening to what consumers want.
MARKETING/TARGETED AUDIENCE
The N65 is going to fill an important niche; many serious advanced amateur photographers are going to be seduced by the N65’s incredible balance of light weight/small size, cost, features, and professional options. Backpackers, offroad/wilderness bikers, and budget travelers are going to love Nikon’s new camera, and they’re going to buy it in record numbers. Depth of field preview, multiple exposure capability, total manual control, and auto bracketing are going to convince a lot of potential purchasers that the N65 is the camera that will deliver the goods for weight/cost conscious image makers. Folks who spend two to three grand for a bike, $2000 bucks for a month of backpacking and rail travel in Europe, and those who are willing to shell out $1000 dollars for a week in Utah’s Canyon Country are going to see the N65 as a fantastic bargain. Add Nikon’s new 75-240/4.5-5.6 D AF Nikkor zoom (super resolution, ultra light weight, and only $150 bucks) a Cullman 1002 Touring tripod (about 14 inches and less than a pound closed up, but over three feet extended), an SB27 or SB28 Speedlight, the new Sigma 28-70/f2.8 zoom, and its best traveling buddy the Sigma 17-35/f2.8-4.0 and the budget conscious mobile photographer has a complete kit (that will fit in a day pack, or displace nothing more than two or three outfits and a book in a backpack) for about the same amount that an F100 body and a standard short zoom would cost.
IN THE FIELD/OPERATION & HANDLING
The N65 is a stylish black and silver camera with an improved and simplified control layout, fully automatic and fully manual control of all functions, 3D (6 segment) matrix metering, and focus tracking. Exposure modes include Control/Flexible, Program AE, Shutter & Aperture Priority AE, and five Vari-Programs (portrait, landscape, close-up, sport, and night scene) and Metered Manual. The built in “pop-up” flash is a bit less powerful than the one in the N60 (guide number 40 vs guide number 49) but it offers matrix balanced fill flash, automatic flash mode (the flash pops up when the camera determines that additional light is needed), slow synch, red eye reduction, red eye reduction with slow synch, and flash off. I used the close up mode and the pop up flash (with matrix balanced fill flash) to shoot macro images of an Oak Shelf Fungus with the 105/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor and the slides were perfectly exposed, sharp as a tack, and the pop up flash provided balanced fill, with no “hot spots” or underlit areas.
I spent an afternoon shooting “Fall Color” at Louisville’s only arboretum, Cave Hill Cemetery, using both the metered manual mode and the aperture preferred AE mode, both worked flawlessly. My slides (Ektachrome Elite 100) were beautifully exposed, and the camera’s 3D matrix meter was confused only when the sun was actually in the frame, exposures were “dead on” in every mode I tried. The viewfinder is very bright, and the user selectable AF sensor (there is an AF sensor diagram in the finder) feature is very helpful when shooting something like “fall color” where some of the foreground elements might be out of focus with only a central sensor.
CONCLUSION
What I liked most about the camera was the fact that is was designed with “serious” photographers in mind. Finder information covers just about any eventuality that beginning and advanced amateur photographers are likely to encounter, and the top deck LCD screen provides information on every conceivable camera function. The depth of field preview, auto bracketing, and multiple exposure capability are real “pro” features in an entry-level camera. Dust and moisture seals are excellent. Where does the N65 fail to measure up? If you own manual focus Nikon “F” Mount lenses, they won’t meter (you’ll get focus confirmation in the viewfinder, but no exposure data, like the N80) and the pop up flash is twenty per cent weaker than the pop up flash on the N60.
Technical Specifications
Film Advance: 2.5 FPS
Exposure Modes: Flexible Program, Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Vari-Program (Portrait, Landscape, Close-Up, Sports, Night Scene) and Metered Manual.
Lens Mount: Nikon “F” (AF) Stainless Steel
Auto Focus: TTL phase detection
Focus Area: Five focus points
Metering: 6 segment 3D Matrix Metering with “D” & “G” AF lenses. Centerwieghted (75/25) Metering automatically selected with manual exposure mode.
Shutter Speeds: 30 seconds to 1/2000th of a second
Flash Synch: 1/90th second
Flash Modes: Front Curtain synch, Slow synch, Rear Curtain synch, Red Eye Reduction, Red Eye Reduction with Slow Synch, and Flash Cancel.
Weight: 13.9 ounces
Batteries: 2 CR2 Lithium
Optional Accessories: Remote Control, Battery Pack (MB17)
A FINAL WORD
The new Nikon N65 should be available by the end of October. Thanks to a good friend, who is an Authorized Nikon Dealer, I was able to borrow this camera (and a 75-240/f4.5-5.6D AF Nikkor Zoom) for a thorough (but much too short) test. I was very impressed with its operation and capabilities. The N65 is FUN to use, responsive and creative. Nikon says the camera will retail for $360 bucks, but look for the street price to be between $260-$280 dollars. The N65 is a serious photographic tool, and a real bargain for less than three hundred dollars.
If you would like to read more about 35mm cameras, please see my reviews:
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