ThRainKing wrote in message <19971205055100.AAA22097@ladder01.news.aol.com>...

>A used 8008 or 8s is a good deal if you have a reputable source (del's or KEH
>mail order are both great). A used or new N90 or N90s is a better camera, but
>for non-pro use the differences may be minimal. Though i would advise you get
>the 8s over the 8... noticeably faster AF and spot metering.
>
>I'd consider the 8008s the "minimum" in a modern AF (there are times when spot
>metering is invaluable... it's also great to compare spot vs. matrix often,
>just to get an intuitive feel for what the matrix is basing its decisions
>on)... the N90/90s will give you faster AF... the 90s adds choices in AF sensor
>size... a priceless pro feature (esp. shooting at wide apertures)... but do you
>need it for kids/vacations??

I am not disagreeing with anything you have said above, but I can't
resist throwing in my $0.02 worth on this... (since I prefer the 8008 to
the 8008s and the two N90's...). Since I do not use the auto features of
cameras (AE, AF, Matrix, etc. - though I do like the built-in motor and the
newer flash capabilities [manually selectable TTL fill ratios and the ability
to shade off and direct the flash light]), I prefer a camera with the best
manual features. The "center-weighted" (actually it is a "narrow-angle" meter
patch...) meter area in the 8008 is fairly well defined by the large circle
marked in the finder (and sensitivity is reasonably even within that patch,
allowing me to assemble within it a good assortment and proportion of the
subject tones of interest), with which I can make accurate and predictable
exposures. Due to considerations for making the spot meter work in the 8008s,
the "center-weighted" patch in the 8008s has a doughnut-shaped sensitivity
pattern (with a dead center), which I find much less useful (and I rarely
find a need for a spot meter, since good, accurate spotmetering is slow
work - not what I am interested in when using a 35mm [a casually-used
spotmeter is the quick road to poor exposures...;-]). As to the 8008 vs.
the N90, the finder of the 8008 is quite sharp, making manual focus easy a
nd accurate. The N90 viewfinder is nearly unuseable for me for accurate
manual focus - it lacks "snap" and the feel of crispness needed for quick
and easy manual focus (with the fast primes that I prefer to use for best
image quality - I suspect the N90 finders have been optimized for the slow
zooms...).
Hope This Helps
David Ruether - http://www.fcinet.com/ruether