Nikon Zoom•Touch 800 (1992)
The Nikon Zoom•Touch 800 was the flagship of Nikon's Zoom Touch compact line when it debuted in 1992 - the year the AF-D lens series arrived. It was pitched as a great all-round camera for enthusiasts who wanted more reach than the usual 35-70mm compact zoom. The 38-105mm f/3.8-9.9 Nikkor zoom was the headline feature. It was a genuinely useful range and set the camera apart from most early-1990s pocket cameras.
It's a fully automatic point-and-shoot. Programmed AE with a 35-step shutter-PAL system, shutter speeds from 1/3 to 1/1000 sec, and a three-zone metering system with matrix (evaluative) and center-weighted options. Focusing uses Nikon's active multi-beam autofocus, with three infrared beams for better lock-on than single-point IR systems. Close-up capability goes down to 0.5m at the wide end. DX coding reads ISO 25-3200 automatically. Film transport is fully motorized with auto-load, auto-rewind, and mid-roll rewind. The built-in flash offers auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, and off modes, with a range of roughly 0.65m - 4.4m at 38mm (ISO 100). Power comes from two 3V CR123A lithium cells, and the body weighs about 250g without batteries.
Owners have been notably enthusiastic about the lens. One photographer remarked that its sharpness exceeded many of the SLR lenses of that era, and the oversized rubber grips get consistent praise for feel. The common criticisms are little manual control beyond flash modes and exposure compensation, and a small viewfinder that isn't especially bright. The IR autofocus can also hunt on low-contrast or shiny subjects - a known limitation of active-beam AF compacts generally.
Period coverage of the Zoom•Touch 800 in the audio press was essentially nonexistent. The camera appears in those pages only via Nikon's own sweepstakes advertising, not editorial review. Audio (October 1992, p.311) ran a "Lucky You Can Be!" contest ad for the camera alongside a BMW 850i giveaway. That suggests Nikon was positioning the Zoom•Touch 800 as a desirable premium compact rather than a budget snapper. No official U.S. list price has surfaced in any source. A forum recollection puts the street price around $450 - $500 at introduction, which is plausible for a flagship compact of that era but unverified.
Surviving documentation is thin on the finer details — no official dimensions, no lens construction data, no battery life figures have been found. The record is clear on what matters most: this was Nikon's top-shelf pocket zoom of 1992, with a lens that still impresses people who shoot with it today.
Known Specs
- Lens: 38–105mm f/3.8–9.9 Nikkor zoom
- Shutter: 1/3–1/1000 sec, programmed AE
- Focus: Active multi-beam AF (3 IR beams); close-up to 0.5m
- Metering: Matrix (evaluative) and center-weighted
- Film: DX-coded ISO 25–3200; auto load/advance/rewind
- Flash: Auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, off
- Power: Two 3V CR123A/DL123A lithium batteries
- Weight: Approx. 250g (without batteries)
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Related Models
- Nikon Lite•Touch Zoom 100W (2003)
- Nikon One•Touch
- Nikon Zoom 100 (1993)