Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body only) by Nikon
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Digital camera reviews of Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body only)
Digital camera Review: Delivers Superb Images If You dont Mind Babysitting the Exposure Compensation All the Time
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned a Nikon D80 for over two months and made 1200+ shots with the D80 so far. My experience with the image performance of the D80 reveals that: Pros of this camera (most important in my opinions):
1. Nearly instant start up.
2. 10.2 MP sensor offering better possibilities when it comes to cropping
3. Prism viewfinder with grids
4. Excellent usability
5. Most default settings are very reliable
6. Bright LCD monitor on the back
7. It is small and light enough so that the middle finger of my right hand don't hurt after 200 shots in an afternoon without a tripod. Highly recommended to anyone has small hands like mine.
and on and on...
Cons:
1. Metering. The D80 has a very strong tendency of over exposing and its over exposing behaviour is not consistent. I was constantly turning the exposure compensation up and down between 0 EV and -2 (!!!) EV when doing landscape or street shots. On D80 it is very easy to adjust the compensation but still you need at least 10 seconds to press the +/- button, test shoot, looking at the monitor, if not right, execute the action loop again....it has been very frustrating to me sometimes. During a time-critical shooting like a sudden event on the street, the need of twiddling the exposure compensation all the time might make you miss the most interesting moment. And since the memory capacity is always limited no matter how high it is, doing bracketing or shooting raw all the time is not really practical. I really really really wish Nikon could fix this problem in the next version of the firmware for D80.
2. The diffraction is easily visible when the aperture is smaller than f/13. However for "tact sharp" landscape shoots, f/22+ is usually desirable.
These are the only two things which have been bothered me. I would like to give it a 4.5 star, rounded to 5.
When I am on the run, I use the automatic/default setting a lot. The most impressive automatic setting on the D80 is "night scene (landscape)" mode. The over exposure in daytime might be a failure of D80, but it turned out such a nice feature at night. All my night shots using the automatic night mode look brilliant and vivid. D80 not only outperforms other DSLRs on the automatic night scene (landscape) mode, but also beats my manual settings most of the time when shooting city lights.
Digital camera Review: Did not recieve all that was expected
Summary: 2 Stars
I ordered a Nikon D80 camera body. By the description the necessary cables and battery charger were to be included, which they were not. But, I will say that the camera body was in the condition that was listed. I will not buy from this seller in the future.Digital camera Review: Does everything I ask.
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this over a month ago. I was a happy owner of the great D40 but I like using prime lenses and the D40 did not support auto focus on the 50mm 1.8 and 35mm f2. I could have spent money on third party lenses instead but decided to just get a new body. Well, I am glad I made the move. The D80 takes slightly better pictures anyway but in terms of usability, it's way better than the D40. Fully loaded. I love it. The D90 is out now and is gonna be a better machine but the D80 should be a definite consideration if you are looking for a cheap DSLR that will never let you down. The design and quality are top notch. The only minor gripe is that it slightly over-exposes. However, this is a common fault on digital sensors and is easy to fix before or after. Still a winner.
Bottom line. If you are looking at a D40/60 then you will be happy with the results. However, if like me you are the type of person that really likes to get into a hobby go for the more functional D80.
Digital camera Review: Don't Buy This Camera at this price!
Summary: 4 Stars
The D80 is a great camera, with which I have taken many pictures. The description here is accurate...BUT BUT BUT--this model is superseded by the D90 in SO many ways. And for some reason, right now on Amazon, a new D90 is selling for less than this D80. That's insane. Everything the D80 can do, the D90 can do at least as well, and many things better, and you get video, too. Indeed, the D80 is so old now, that in many ways, lower end Nikon DSLRs are superior (D40s, D60s, D5000s). The only person who should buy a D80 at this price is someone who likes to burn money. In a just and fair world, the D80 would be priced around [...] bucks. Then, you'd really have a decision to make--go with the updated D90, for double, or get a great camera at [...].
Again, it's a great camera, but someone is ripping you off at this price.
Digital camera Review: Don't believe the hype - buy it with your eyes open
Summary: 3 Stars
Buy this camera, but do it with your eyes open. There are positives and there are substantial negatives as well.
My advice is that if you get a copy with ANY problems, return it immediately and get a new copy. Don't try to deal with Nikon repair. Also, as I noted below, you may want to look at the Canon 40D or wait for the Nikon D300.
Nikon seems to have a problem with manufacturing and repair quality control. In the very, very short life of my first copy, it went through major repairs and servicing twice, and needed repairs a third time before I got rid of it. Nikon still would not provide me with a new copy. I had to buy a new one. Although Nikon Technical Support is first rate (the guys who pick up the phone and answer technical questions), their warranty repair leaves a lot to be desired (the guys who actually fix the cameras).
My review below is NOT based on the repair problems I experienced, but rather on the normal operation of the camera.
1. Auto-focus. In good light, with a subject that has good definition, the camera focuses very well. However, in dimmer light (such as indoors or at night) or when focusing on a subject without sharp contrast (such as focusing on clouds, on a wall, etc), the camera is unable to focus without constant hunting. This is endemic with all auto-focus cameras to some extent; however, on the D80, it's pronounced. My Nikon Coolpix 3100 auto-focuses better than the D80 (in a side-by-side comparison, the Coolpix out-performed the D80 every time in terms of ability to focus on a subject and speed).
2. Sharpness. My copy produced slightly soft photos. I noticed this when I saw results from a D40x that were much sharper. This can be helped in Picture Project, but it is much better to start with a sharp image than use software sharpening. I have heard from others that their images were soft was well. Focus issues also were noted by another reviewer (which may produce soft images).
3. Noise in Low Light. I am impressed by the lack of noise in good light at ISO 100 and 400. Usable photos are produced even up to ISO 1600 in good light. However, in low light or at night, there's a lot of noise for long exposure shots. Long exposure noise reduction (in camera) seems to help with the long exposure night shots (30 seconds +), but noise reduction by its nature reduces picture sharpness.
4. Included Software. The camera comes with Picture Project, a basic software program that can adjust red-eye, brightness, sharpness, and convert NEF (Nikon RAW) to JPG. However, the more robust software, Capture NX is $99 extra. The extra software is needed to correct things, such as distortion and rotation in photos using wide angle lenses. It should be included. I bought (and recommend) Adobe Photoshop instead.
5. ISO Adjustment. In order to adjust the ISO, you need to navigate through the menu. The camera should have a manual ISO adjustment, so that ISO can be changed quickly.
6. No dust management for the sensor. At some point in time, your camera will get dust on the sensor, regardless of brand. This will result in spots (sometimes large) appearing in your images. Removing the dust from your sensor can be a big issue if the camera does not have a dust-off system. Without the dust-off, you will need to lock up your mirror and use a sensor wipe in a dust-free, breeze-free environment. Otherwise, you will get more dust on the sensor. The D80 does NOT have a dust-off system. Not only does it not have a system, my first copy had an excessive amount of dust in the body, due to sloppy manufacturering/repair by Nikon.
7. Take a look at the Canon 40D and Nikon D300 (when available). I had the opportunity to look at images from a friend's Canon 40D. They are noticably sharper than those produced by the D80. However, the 40D will be more expense than the D80 (+ $400) for at least several years. Additionally, if you are a Nikon fan or have an existing investment in Nikon lenses, you may want to wait for the D300 (which corrects some of the issues I noted above). In fact, had the D300 been available when I needed to replace my first D80, I probably would have bought that instead. The D80 is a decent camera, but these issues with it are annoying and the D300 is more moisture resistant. However, by the time the D300 comes out, it probably will be about $1000 more than the D80.
8. No prime lenses for street photography. There are no high speed (f/1.4 - 1.8) prime lenses in the 50mm equivalent focal length available*. This would mean a fixed focal length of 28 or 35mm (the equivalent field of view of a 50mm lens for a 35mm film camera). Several slow speed zooms (f/3.5) and higher speed zooms (f/2.8) are available in this focal length, but the only current manufacture fixed focal close to this niche is the 35mm f/2.0. The 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 also are available, but these are not 50mm equivalent after the APS-C conversion (making these lenses 75mm equivalents). Why is this important? High speed 28mm and 35mm lenses with f/1.4 or f/1.8 are the main-stay of street photography. All others (f/2.0+) are unusable due to available light limitations as the sun sets and indoors.
*note that a Nikon brand 28mm f/1.4 is available, but not in current production. These sell used in good condition for $2500 as of today. A Sigma 30mm f/1.4 also is available. However, in my opinion, due to auto-focus issues experienced by me and well-reported by numerous other people, these lenses are unusable.
9. Seals are light. This camera is not well-sealed. If you live in an environment with weather, you probably want a better sealed camera, such as the D200. I live near the ocean and notice problems regularly when there is humidity in the air.
10. Smaller 8.5MP Fize Size. Although the RAW, large file size in the specs is noted as 10.1MP, the file size of the RAW files does not exceed 8.5MP. I not sure of all of the implications, but Nikon technical support does not know what this means either.
11. Dead pixels. The copies I have seen (including each copy I received from Nikon) have hot (bad) pixels on the LCD screen. Don't accept any bad pixels.
Nevertheless, the camera is light-weight, and there are a variety of lenses and accessories to match the camera. Operation of the camera is relatively easy, although I needed to read the manual and the quick-start guide to understand the menu and gain access to all the features.
My batteries seem to last about 400 - 500 shots (RAW + JPG Basic, VR on intermittently, moderate use of LCD screen), so I highly recommend a spare. Nikon's own battery tests indicate a charge holds for 600 - 700 shots, but none of these tests were performed using RAW format (Nikon used JPG Basic and Normal for the test).
I live in a city that is windy, and the lenses with Vibration Reduction (VR) work like a charm. I would recommend VR enabled lenses, especially in the telephoto lenses. VR always can be turned off. For any serious amateur or anyone else who thinks photo sharpness is very important, you will want to stick with the f/2.8 constant lenses. The cheaper lenses tend to be a bit soft and very, very slow in comparison.
Given all of the options out there (eg, Canon, Nikon's new line, etc), this is still a good, solid choice for the price. When shopping, I did like the feel of the Pentax K10D and because Image Stabilization for the K10D is built into the body and not the individual lenses (Nikon's and Canon's are in each lens). However, the K10D seemed to have a softness in photo quality (moreso than what I am experiencing with the Nikon), which is indicated in comments in various online forums.