This may be the best 5 dollars I ever spent on eBay for a camera body.  My test roll of film on this Nikon N6006 seemed horrible.  But the film developers at the discount pharmacy assured me there was something wrong with the film.  I didn’t believe them.  They lied.  This is what the Nikon N6006 can do.

Do I really like a 1990 camera with nearly auto everything?  It’s like a point and shoot SLR.  Perhaps I need to get to know it better, read a manual, and learn how to use it manually.

Purchased Oct 30, 2011 for $5.50 and $5.55 shipping it was an impulse buy.  Surfing eBay I saw the auction was ending, I had wanted a Nikon N6006 for a year, so I snapped it up around 8 PM.

Nikon N6006 Err Problem?

You need to know one very important feature/problem regarding this camera from Matt Denton, N6006 rescue:

BIGGEST TIP: the lens *must* be set to the smallest aperture for the camera to shoot at all in auto mode. This gives the camera the lens’ capability. You will get a somewhat inexplicable flashing E error if the aperture ring is not set to the smallest aperture, and this is the first place you should look if the camera doesn’t fire. Other than that, the N6006 (and N8008) has more features than you can shake a stick at, best bet is to keep in PM mode and fire away

Provenance or History

No fancy provenance on this camera.

Purchased Oct 30, 2011 for $5.50 and $5.55 shipping it was an impulse buy.  Surfing eBay I saw the auction was ending, I had wanted a Nikon N6006 for a year, so I snapped it up around 8 PM.  It came from Kentucky, I have no idea on the history of the camera.

My Repairs for the Nikon N6006, None

No repairs needed.  Frankly, I’m not terribly good at repairs.  What I am good at is persistence and the ability to keep learning how to use old cameras.

Nikon N6006 Battery

Most battery powered cameras purchased on eBay or Craigslist long distance are a risk.  You don’t know what you have in the camera until you power it up.  It’s not fun purchasing a battery and then it fails on you.

Although its cheaper purchasing batteries on the Internet that doesn’t help when you don’t even know if the camera will power up.  You can buy a cheap battery on the Internet and be stuck with that battery.  My solution has been to visit my local battery store and purchase batteries with this verbal agreement.

If the battery powers up the camera, I’ll buy the battery.  If not, I’ll give it back to you immediately.  Agreed?

My local battery store has agreed to this method.  I’d rather pay a few dollars more for a battery that powers up my camera rather than be stuck with an Internet battery for a camera that will not power up.  Makes sense to me.

The Nikon N6006 takes either a 6V lithium CR-P2 or 223A for a battery.  As I recall, the battery cost me $14 a few weeks ago in October, 2011.

How does the Nikon N6006 feel?

It feels like a professional SLR:  heavy, solid, it even makes a nice sound when it advanced the film automatically..

But after one botched roll of film, my confidence was shaken in the camera.  But in every regard, the Nikon N6006 felt good in my hands and seemed to work properly.

Nice features of the Nikon N6006.

1. Solid, but not horribly heavy.  Yes, that sounds like a disadvantage.  But as long as I’m not hiking on some long walk, carrying the solid weight of the Nikon N6006 wasn’t a problem.
2. Loud but comforting.  Again, I am using a strange description.  Don’t expect to take family photos of children unnoticed with this camera.  But the sound of the shutter and the automatic film advance seems re-assuring.
3. Feels good.  Yes, it feels good when you shoot it.  It also has a hand grip on the right side so you can hold it with one hand down at your side without fearing you will drop it.  But always have a strap around your hand.
4. Point and shoot mode.  The Nikon N6006 does have a point and shoot mode.  It makes decisions for you, and those decisions are good generally.

Problems?  Yes.

1. Nikon N6006 Err Problem.  In program mode, the camera with its AF lenses doesn’t work unless the lens is set to the smallest aperture possible.  Understanding the Err problem is the first thing you need to learn about a Nikon N6006..
2. Battery cover.  This wasn’t a problem for me but I have read others have lost or broken the battery cover on the camera.
3. On/Off switch.  You need to turn the camera on and then off with a switch on top of the camera.  Why these devices do not have an automatic timed turn off feature I don’t know.  Leaving the camera on for hours will cost you another battery.

Digital cameras give us disposable photos and consequently, we think we are better photographers.  I do own and shoot with digital.

I write this blog post wondering what teenagers and adults of the digital era would say if they took photos with a Nikon N6006.  It sure feels like a real camera.  It even sounds like a real camera.

Nikon N6006 Sample Photos

Testing a film camera is inherently a dicey proposition.  You don’t know if the film camera works or how well it works.  For that reason, let me introduce you to Kraneis Photography Rule #1.

Take a dependable camera with you.  Wherever you go, whether you’re testing a camera or not, take a camera that will work dependably.  You never know when you’ll come across the Pulitzer photograph of a lifetime.

My first roll of film through the Nikon N6006 had some photos of my homeless friend Oly at Kilbourn Park that I will never see.  I’ll never see those photos because a film developer department at a discount pharmacy botched my first roll.  Those photos are gone forever.  It’s not a nice feeling.

The discount pharmacy on Milwaukee and Pulaski in Chicago said the film had a problem.  I didn’t believe them.  My second roll of film through the Nikon N6006 proved me correct.

My Second Roll of Film

This was fun.

I took a roll of ASA 400 expired film from the summer (purchased twenty rolls for about twenty cents a roll at a garage sale) and inserted it into the Nikon N6006.  I used programmed mode on the Nikon N6006 for everything.  All I did was focus my zoom lense as needed.  Basically, I used a Nikon N6006 as a glorified point and shoot camera.

My duck photo on a downed tree at the pond is a bit overexposed.  The best of cameras seem to have trouble with light metering reflections on a pond.

If a camera comes with flash, I try it.  The Nikon N6006 has an onboard flash that worked fine in my four test photos.  Here my smiling wife.  I think its a nice photo of her.

Nikon N6006 Review – Summary

This is a very nice camera.  I look forward to learning how to use its different functions.  I shot the first good roll in programmed mode.  Just imagine what I can do when I actually learn this camera.

As for the photos,  I am delighted.  Below is a photo I took at 5:30 PM on a weekday this November.  A night photo, bracing the camera on the top of my car, just pressing the shutter until it did something.  Wow.  This Nikon N6006 can even do night photography.

 

Sometimes a camera returns a lot of joy for what little money you put into it.

1. Cost of Camera – $5.00
2. Shipping – $5.50.
3. One ruined roll of film – $2.00
4. Fresh battery – $14
5. Expired film – 20 cents
6. Costco developing – $5.00

A total of $31.70 to test a Nikon N6006 camera.  Is that expensive?  I could probably sell the camera right now on eBay and recoup my costs.  If I keep the camera I have a wonderful image maker ready at my disposal.

Thanks for reading my Nikon N6006 review today.  If you find one with a lens, I hope it turns out as well as my Nikon N6006 from Kentucky.

Thanks for visiting What is a Film Camera today.