Customer Reviews:
 Nikon D80 August 27, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Excellent! Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens
Finest Camera in the Competition!!!!!!!! August 24, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I'm going to make this clear right off the bat, i love this camera and the following review will tell you why.
I started off as a complete novice, as innocent as a baby when it comes to photography, I recieved a Sony Cybershot W55 for Christmas in 2007, which was similar to my mothers P150 Cybershot, which basically packed all the same features as the p150 except one critical feature that lead me to the D80, the Sony Cybershot lacked a manual mode, the W55 was completely automatic.
So I began to look into DSLR's as a suitable replacement for a completely automatic Sony Cybershot W55, which i could not take manual pictures, sports shots, or slow exposures with.
I considered the major players first, Canon, Sony and Nikon on my dad's recommendation. I found that Sony's SlR, the Alpha line, pretty much sucked in terms of their performance in low light, the only attraction was the live view, which basically defeats the purpose of an slr anyway.
So now the only two competitors were Canon and Nikon, and by this time, my budget jumped from the initial 400 to 750 dollars which was the starting price for slr's. I read some reviews for the Canon D-Rebel line of slrs, this is the thing about Canon THEY PUNCH OUT THE SAME STUFF W/DIFFERENT NAMES AND COLORS WITH ALL THE SAME FEATURES INCLUDED!!!!!!!!!!!!! the XT and XTi were no different to me and by the time i had purchased the D80, the Xsi had just come out.
I was turned off of the Canon line for two reasons, 1) were negative reviews about the crappy performance and durability of the Rebels, the former of which I noticed myself. Plus, the Rebel's felt cheap in my hands and too delacate; and 2) after doing a lot of spec grazing and review watching on CNET i turned finally to Nikon.
At that point, the competition was going to be between the D60 and the D80, both of which were in my budget.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO:
D60's matrix metering was flawed, while the same system in the D80 worked like a charm, that was the main reason i wanted it, along with modest aperture settings, that stretch from 3.5-22 and 5.6-36 with the 18-55 VR Nikkor, (3.5-22 is at the minimum focal length of 18mm while 5.6-36 happens at the max focal length of 55mm) the final thing that sold me on it were the large number of great reviews from people who loved this camera coupled with some fantastic customer images submitted by people owning this camera.
While the d60 does have a higher ISO index, up to 3200, I find the Nikon D80's ISO 1600 to be pretty good unless the light around me requires it.
The PRO's of the D80
1. Excellent color reproduction in all three color modes, saturation and hue is very good.
2. Sharpness and contrast (buyers should change the default settings to the highest sharpness and normal contrast in CUSTOM mode to acheive the best pictures) are spot on.
3. Lightning fast: powers up in an instant with very quick shutter response, i don't miss a single shot with this camera.
4. Matrix (multi) metering system: very good unless the subject is sillhoetted by a bright sky in which case you should switch to center or spot weighted metering.
5. Intuitive: i barely read the manual for this thing, the buttons are easy to use and manipulate.
6. Speed: I don't usually use the built in flash because i normally shoot in M,A,S or P modes and i can adjust the ISO to the perfect setting.
7. 1/4000 of a second to 30 seconds is a modest gift, and allows me to almost never employ alternative means of lighting WHICH MEANS I SAVE MONEY TOO!!!!!!!!!!
Who should buy this camera?
-Anyone looking to upgrade from a point and shoot with a budget of $1000 or less.
-Anybody looking to grow as a photographer, by using this camera I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY!!!!!!!! AND I'M STILL LEARNING.
-Anyone looking to buy something worth their money!!!!!!!!
NOTES:
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WRITING NEGATIVE REVIEWS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE PICTURS WITH THIS CAMERA.
to those who wrote such reviews, listen to this:
take advantage of the manual, aperture, and shutter priority modes, often times i use those over P mode and always over all that other crap like "Landscape" and "Portrait" which don't do anything, if you want good looking pictures, take advantage of the manual opportunities presented with this camera, IF YOU ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT UNDEREXPOSED OR OVEREXPOSED PICTURES, YOU ARE PROBABLY USING THE AUTOMATIC MODES AND WOULD GET ALONG FINE WITH A POINT AND SHOOT
All around great camera! August 22, 2008
I am a student Photographer and I recently upgraded to the D80 from a D50 and have been very impressed. This camera was purchased refurbished from Adorama for $600 (Body) and paired with a Nikon 18-55dx lens.
Wonderful Updates
1) This camera can shoot in RAW + JPG Fine
2) This camera supports SDHC Cards
3) The Image quality is much better than the D50 or new D40
4) No lens limitations and works well with my sunpak flash.
5) On camera flash works great. A huge improvement over the D50.
6) Very good auto focus!
Nice Extras
1) Big screen and onboard editing capability
2) High ISO
Downsides
1) Cost (the D40x can be purchased refurbished for $400 with less features)
Overall I am pleased that I went with the D80 over the D40x and it is miles more advanced than the D50. The auto focus system in the D80 is great and with one wedding the camera will more than pay for itself.
 Nikon D80 w/ 18-135 lens August 21, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
My third Nikon digital SLR (D50 & D40x). I purchased the D80 as an upgrade when the prices fell. The camera performs great in most situations but there is a tendency for photos to be soft compared to the ones taken D40x. I also experience focus problems when there is a slight fall off in lighting. This is also something I didn't encounter with the other cameras. Overall I am pleased with the results.
Excellent camera August 12, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am quite happy with this camera, but if you are looking to get your first professional camera go a step higher to the D200 AT LEAST. The function buttons on the D80 are extremely useful when you are trying to change settings on the fly. This is helpful if you are a photographer that shoots on different locations (outdoors, indoors, different lighting) during a single shoot. The camera is quite light and the battery consumptions is fantastic. The camera has quite a number of settings that allow you to choose the metering system (center weight with different diameters, matrix), focus area (if not in the center, thank God), sharpness, tonal differences, etc. It can be a point and shoot camera, but it would not be used to its full potential. Great starter camera for the future professional.
The D80 uses a SD memory card. I use a professional SD 4GB by Lexar and it renders me about 300+ RAW images. If that is not enough get the 8GB Professional SD also by Lexar.
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