Nikon D80 In Depth Review from DPReview

[Abstract]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/


Price is high, and I wish it had a faster shutter speed, but still quite good.

And the noise test was my favourite. The Nikon D80 performed better than the 400D, IMO. Yes, the noise on the black card was slightly higher than the 400D, according to DPReview. However, the colour noise is much lower than with the other 2 cameras, and to me that's the most significant conclusion, because who wants to see a black sky with little blue and red coloured speckles littering the sky?

And it's strange how Sony's camera produces so much more noise using the same sensor as the Nikon D80. I guess this is where photographic knowledge comes into play.

 

[drlunanerd]

Great, I've been waiting ages for a proper in-depth review.

I actually passed up on a D80 body yesterday that had my name on it. Lovely camera but I feel the price is too high still. In the UK shops have just started discounting it, but I predict prices will fall closer to the 400D. I also decided to hang on a bit longer for Photokina next week on the rumours Nikon may release a D50 replacement. Frankly if they give it a bigger viewfinder and LCD that will be enough for me, as otherwise it's a cracking camera.

I sold my D50 recently for an offer I couldn't refuse, so am having to borrow another body at the moment. Am off to shoot the British Touring Car Championship today at Brands Hatch and give my 18-200VR lens a real workout

 

[FleurDuMal]

I can't wait to get my hands on a D80 and play around for a bit to see if it justifies the hype. I have a D70s which I've only just bought (before I knew anything about the D80) which I am quite happy with, so the D80 will have to be pretty special for my to switch.

I'm most interested in the larger viewfinder, as the most frustrating aspect of the D70s is it's smallish viewfinder. Also, I wanna know how much difference those extra pixels will really make...

 

[Abstract]

I can't wait to get my hands on a D80 and play around for a bit to see if it justifies the hype. I have a D70s which I've only just bought (before I knew anything about the D80) which I am quite happy with, so the D80 will have to be pretty special for my to switch.

I'm most interested in the larger viewfinder, as the most frustrating aspect of the D70s is it's smallish viewfinder. Also, I wanna know how much difference those extra pixels will really make...

Going from 6MP to 10 MP, it will make a somewhat significant difference, especially if you find that you crop often. You may be getting an extra 800 pixels in length, say around 3800 or so pixels as opposed to your D70s' 3000 pixels across). For people who want to go from a Canon 350D to 400D, going from 8 MP to 10 MP will make very little difference and doesn't seem to be worth switching.

I've thought about switching from my D50 to a D80, but I'm not sure if it'll be worth it for me right now. I'd rather spend my money on the Nikon 105 mm f/2.8 with VR and keep the D50 body.

 

[Silentwave]

the pixels will give you a noticeable boost. I tend to think i'm a technically good photographer, so using the same technique and proper settings going from my D70 to D200 I noticed improvements in detail and so on.

Color seems to be improved noticeably, and one of my friends who reviews cameras got the D80 for himself after trying it out. He says its got great auto WB.

And when you don't want huge files, just turn it down to JPEG Medium size, that puts you at 2896x1944- 5.6mp versus 3008x2000 6.0mp of the d70.

Do that at high ISO and based on those charts you'll be mighty pleased with performance there over the D70s

 

[sierra oscar]

I was previously looking at this camera with earnest - looks very tidy - thanks for the heads up on the dp review

 

[Over Achiever]

That is quite the glowing review ... looks like something to look forward to when I move up to dSLR!

 

[bossass]

sigh. Got my D70s in January. Oh well, it still takes as good of shots as it did before the D80 was released. And that's pretty darn good.