Should I wait for Nikon D80 ???

[bobafett]

I'm looking at getting a new digital camera. I was leaning towards the D200 but I just found out that Nikon is releasing the D80 in September.

For all you Nikon lovers out there should I get the D80 when it first comes out or should I wait a while and see if there are any bugs with it (being that it is a new model and even the D70 later came out with the D70s).

What do you guys think of the specs on the D80. Do you think its a bargain compared to the D200 or should I dish out the extra cash and get the proven D200.

 

[gregr]

I'm not a regular Nikon user but I will throw my two cents out there I looked the specs of each camera and it looks like they either share the same sensor or a very similar one so the image quality should be comparable. The shutter is probably not quite so robust on the D80 (slower frames per second and probably a shorter lifespan) and the overall build quality will be more durable on the D200 but aside from those two significant differences there isn't a whole lot that seperates the two models. The D80 actually has a stronger built-in flash. I didn't see a mention of sync chord connector on the D80 so if you plan on using it as a studio camera you would be better off with a pro or prosumer camera, but aside from that the D80 looks great on paper. As long as you aren't really hard on your equipment I'd say save the $600 and get the D80. There may some bugs in the first cameras but those usually get ironed out with firmware updates. Anything else would be covered by the warranty- especially if you buy from somewhere like Costco.
Hope this helps,
Greg

 

[VoidRaven]

As a D200 owner, my thoughts are this:

First, what kind of memory cards do you have now? The D80 is SD versus the D200 which is CF.

Second, the D80 is being sort of pitched as the "next level" for D50/D70/D70s users. The camera body is slightly different from the D200, and certainly different from pro bodies (D1x, D2h, D2x, etc). The D80 is also positioned to market against other DSLR cameras such as the Canon EOS 30D and Sony A100. How well it will actually do against those bodies has obviously yet to be seen.

In conversing with other Nikon users, those who run D50's and were thinking of going to the D70s or D200 are now mostly waiting on the D80. Those who have pro bodies are considering it perhaps as a back-up camera. Those who have D70s's are sort of torn...some are thinking about the D80 but most it seems will go D200. Why? Because of the memory card issue. A lot of guys don't want to shell out for SD cards when they have a bunch of CF cards laying around (see first point).

Does the D80 sound like a solid camera for the price? Yes. If I didn't have a D200 would I consider it? Yes. Would I wait at least 6 months to a year to get the bugs worked out? YES!

As with ANY camera purchase, get hands on with it. Make sure it feels good in your hands. It took me a little bit to get used to the D200 from a D1 (smaller body than the D1 but I hope to eventually correct that with the double battery compartment accessory for the D200) but now I love the size and feel of the D200. It's a solid body that I will not have to worry about upgrading from for a LONG LONG time. As it is, the only "upgrade" would be to a D2x/D2xs (which I would rather spend that money on good glass).

What is much more interesting about the announcement of the D80 is the announcement of the new lenses that are coming out as well. Especially the 18-135mm lens, the 18-200mm VR lens, and the 70-300mm VR lens. I've got my eye on a couple of these to replace a couple other lenses I have and make my bag lighter while at the same time more versatile for shooting situations. That 18-200mm VR, if it really proves itself, will be an awesome "walk around" lens. Same could be said for the 18-135mm.


Sorry, started to ramble there. Hope I answered your question somewhere in there. By the way...what camera do you have currently??

 

[scothew]

I had read somewhere that the D80 was basically a D200 stuffed into a D70 body.

Im defintely interested in checking it out when its available, but i would really like to upgrade to a D200 and keep my D50 as a backup. But since my D50 uses SD already, the D80 may be the way to go, but i'd really like more flash capabilities than what I have now, so im torn

 

[gregr]

I bought a 2g cf card yesterday for $29! memory is so cheap I don't see that as much of an issue anymore... just my opinion of course.

 

[bobafett]

I currently have a Fuji Finepix which takes great outdoor pics on a nice sunny day but the indoor pics arent as great and I can't take pics of my tank because no white balance and no manual focus. I just got back from a nice vacation in Europe and was dissappointed in the performance of my old camera so I'm ready to invest in something good. My current camera takes a different memory card so I'm not worried about that. I plan to use the new camera as an all-around camera (who am I kidding, I want to take great pics of my tank). I don't mind spending the extra cash on the D200 (I'll just have to save up for a few more weeks) but The D80 seems like such a great deal for what its supposed to do.

 

[VoidRaven]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7957311#post7957311 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gregr
I bought a 2g cf card yesterday for $29! memory is so cheap I don't see that as much of an issue anymore... just my opinion of course.

Where where where?!?!?!? I NEED one of those!!!!

 

[VoidRaven]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7957415#post7957415 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bobafett
I plan to use the new camera as an all-around camera (who am I kidding, I want to take great pics of my tank). I don't mind spending the extra cash on the D200 (I'll just have to save up for a few more weeks) but The D80 seems like such a great deal for what its supposed to do.

Well, then the D80 sounds like it might be a good fit for you. But again, get the "feel" of the camera (and others) first before settling on anything. You might pick it up and find that it doesn't feel comfortable in your hands...or it might mold itseld too perfectly to you hands and store security wrestles you to the ground as you try to walk out with it! But you get the idea. Don't buy without handling it first.

Another thing you need to consider is glass. Sure, you just bought a camera body for $1,000 (D80) or $1,600 (D200) or a body and lens kit for $1,300 - $2,000 but now what? You spent your $$$ and don't have a macro for taking pics of your tank (which you stated you want to do). Keep this in mind. Don't skimp on the glass. If you can get better glass by buying a D70s or D50 body then you will be better off than buying a nice new D80 or D200 and then suffering cheap glass. Just something else to ponder in the decision making process. 6mp in a DSLR is still very respectable. 10mp is of course nicer, but I've seen folks with 6mp and even old 2mp or 4mp DSLR's producing images far beyond others I've seen with 8/10mp or better. How? Why? Practice, experience, and good glass.

Oh, don't forget your tripod.

Oh yeah, and while on-camera flash is nice in a jif, you'll end up buying a hot-shoe flash anyway. Always good to have at least one.

 

[astrogazer]

I'll try to make this short and sweet, I've owned a D70, D100 and a D200, and I've shot with the D50. First of all, let me say the D80 will be much more of a big brother to the D70/D70s than it will be a little brother to the D200, for dozens of small reasons. The D200 is DEFINITELY an advanced amateur/semi-pro/pro model whereas, especially the D50 but also the D70/D70s and now the D80 will be geared more towards the sophisticated amateur photographer.

As far a a sync port for remote strobe use, there are much better ways to sync these days than the 'old' PC cord. Nikons offer the CLS (creative lighting system), which allow the pop-up flash to remotely control other Nikon strobe units. Not only will it remotely fire the remote flash units but it will also expose for them TTL. take that Cannon owners...

As a summary, if you are new to SLR's, digital or not, then I would think towards the long hail, this is a lifetime hobby, if you think you're going to stay at it and invest of your time to get through the learning curve then I would usually recommend to buy the most camera you can comfortably afford, be aware you'll want a couple of lenses too.

Even though cameras get dated a 10MP camera will produce an 8x10 that will rival film cameras, I've produced 20x24's that were incredibly detailed on my 10.2 MP D200, although all aspects of the image making process must be near perfect to accomplish this.

The D80 will be a very fine advanced entry level DSLR, the D200, IMO is an upgrade for an existing SLR/DSLR user that demands more of their hardware.

 

[bobafett]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'll definitely wait for the D80 to come out so I can get a "feel" for it compared to the D200. Hopefully it will come out next month as planned.

 

[hans1976]

Now that this camera has been out for a bit, has anyone bought it and what do you think?

 

[picklepot]

What about that 2GB CF for $29????

 

[bobafett]

I finally gave in and picked up the D80 kit. I also purchased the 105mm VR micro lens. I am very impressed with the photos I have taken considering I am a beginner when it comes to SLR's. Here is a sample of some of the photos I took using the 105mm lens. The camera settings are straight out of the box in auto mode (& auto focus) and using the standard flash that comes on the camera. I also held the camera with my hands rather than use a tripod to test the VR feature of the lens. The only software I used to edit was PictureProject which came with the Nikon camera (I mostly used this to shrink the photo to meet the 50K requirement and to sharpen and brighten the photos due having to shrink them). I didn't even have to mess with White Balance which was a major PITA with my old Fuji camera. Let me know what you think. I can't wait to see how good my pics come out once I learn how to use all the features of this camera (and possibly even purchase Photoshop)

Also- I was too lazy to clean the algae off the glass as you can see in some of the pics. That lens really picks up every little detail.

 

[astrogazer]

The D80 certainly is a nice piece of equipment, keep working it, you're off to a great start.

 

[bobafett]

Thanks. Its just a matter of finding the time to play around with it.

 

[flameangel88]

I don't know if kenrockwelldotcom have any tips yet for setting on the D80 since it's so new but after reading the tips for the D200 it certainly took days if not weeks off on adjusting certain settings for various effects. Obviously you still have to find the time to test it out and adjust to your liking.

 

[astrogazer]

The D200 has 4 banks for storing profile data , very cool, but took me weeks just to get a couple tweaked just the way I like 'em. I think the D80 firmware, as shipped has most of the same settings the D200 has, the tough part is figuring out what the camera handles best and what can be best achieved in post processing.