D80 over D50

[bearbo]

has there been reports saying that their d80 is amp glow free?

people who didn't say anything dont coutn

 

[m-dogg]

You may also want to look at renting lenses online for your safari trip. I just got back from 2 weeks in South Africa & Botswana on Tuesday and was in a similar situation before I left.

Rather than buy (I couldn't afford what I would have liked), I ended up spending $200 to rent a 10-22 wide angle and a 100-400 telephoto (I have a Canon). It's a good way to go because it can help you learn what need/like before you invest in your own lenses.

I loved the 10-22 and plan to buy it. The 100-400 was nice, but realistically, I don't think I could justify buying something like that. It is quite large/heavy. That was fine on game drives where I could rest it on my lap when I wasn't using it, but in other situations I could see it being too cumbersome. I also realized there are a lot of things I don't like about my 18-55 kit lens.

Regardless what you decide, have a great trip! I'm still in denial about being back home right now...I was back at work the day after I returned, soI'm looking forward to this weekend and reviewing the ~3,000 pics we took!

 

[edge540]

I know I have changed my mind and posted quite a few questions, but this is a big purchase and i want it to be right. Looking at lenses, and trying to go for getting 3, I have come up with the following:

Tokina 12 - 24 f/4
Nikon 50 f/1.8
Nikon 70-300 f/4 - 5.6 VR

I was also planning on probably doing some plane spotting once I get this set, so was wondering if these lenses would hold up to that task too.

Thanks

 

[ChrisA]

is it a problem with all d80s or individual cases?

how much does it affect night shots... say if i shoot a busy street intersection for, oh i dont know, 5 minutes, with buildings around and cars zooming by (i mean, that much light..).. is it still gonna be very obvious on the corner?

The general term is "thermal noise". You can't aviod it. The CCD itself is running at whatever the outside air temperture is and "glows". You can correct it. This glow is very predictable. What you do is take a "dark" exposure. That is one with the lens cap on. The dark exposure is the same lenght as the "real" exposure and must be taken with the camera at the same temporure. Later you subtract the dark from the real exposure and the glow is removed. The Nikon DSLRs automate this process so you don't need a lens cap. They take the dark exposure with the shutter closed and later automatically do the subtrsaction.

Astronomers have been doing long exposure CCD imaging years before there were DSLRs avalable. They go further and cool their camera to very low temps with stuff like liquid nitrogen or thermo-electric coolers and evacuate the space between the lens and CCD to keep frost off the CCD. Even so there is still some thermal noise.

 

[cube]

There are reports of the automatic dark frame subtraction of the D80 not being effective.
The problem in this case is not with the ambient temperature, but with the heat produced by circuits.

 

[Abstract]

Why would Nikon use a shorter dark frame subtraction in the D80? That just makes no sense to me other than for less dead time between consecutive night shots.

 

[cube]

Maybe that bit about the half time was nonsense. But I found some other reference to shorter dark frame on D200.
There's still reports about ineffective NR.

 

[compuwar]

I was looking at buying a DSLR cause i cant stand the pictures my P&S takes anymore. I am also going away on a very expensive trip to Kenya this winter and want to take an inmense amount of photos that are very very good quality. Enough for me to get large prints of them and frame them on the wall or something. My question is, is the price difference between the D80 and D50 worth it? My only concern is that if i get the D50, i might want to upgrade down the line and in the end costing me more money. I want to just buy one camera and get it over with.
I also looked at the XTi and I did not like the feel of it, dont like the controls either really. I got kinda hooked on the D80 with its feel, controls, and layout. Im just trying to justify spending the extra money on this camera. Any thoughts?

The D50 will be easier to shoot than the D80 because the larger sensor sites won't (a) magnify poor technique and (b) show issues with marginal lenses. Either will produce fantastic pix up to 8x10, and 11x14 with good upsizing on the D50 pix. I'd advise you to spend the difference on a good lens.

 

[edge540]

I know I have changed my mind and posted quite a few questions, but this is a big purchase and i want it to be right. Looking at lenses, and trying to go for getting 3, I have come up with the following:

Tokina 12 - 24 f/4
Nikon 50 f/1.8
Nikon 70-300 f/4 - 5.6 VR

I was also planning on probably doing some plane spotting once I get this set, so was wondering if these lenses would hold up to that task too.

Thanks

Anyone?

 

[Abstract]

80-200 mm f/2.8 instead of the 70-300 mm f/4-5.6 VR. Yes, it has VR. Great. That lens is likely still similar to the 70-300 mm ED lens, which still isn't good. VR doesn't save that lens from being average. The 80-200 mm f/2.8 isn't an "average" lens. If you got that lens + a teleconverter, you could get the same reach (300 mm) and still have a faster lens (eg: an f/4 lens).