THE D80 is the natural upgrade to Nikon's groundbreaking D70, a camera that elevated competition in the D-SLR industry to new heights just two and a half years ago. Fortunately Nikon saw it fit to keep the basic design elements from the D70 with the new model. They are so alike in fact that if you were to put the two cameras next to each other you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart.
Even with their cheaper cameras, Nikon has always built a quality product. The plastic on the D80 feels sturdy and solid and the overall camera is neither too heavy nor too light. The grip is the perfect size for adult hands and overall the D80 has a clean and professional appearance with controls in the places that seem most logical. The D80 is not just simply nice to look at - it takes excellent pictures.
So what's been improved with the D80? Now that Nikon has produced a low-end D-SLR that can compete directly with Canon's rebel series, the D80 has a
surprisingly robust feature set that would even make a pro photographer envious. Mega-pixel count has been increased to 10.2, a significant leap from the D70's 6.1 mega-pixel count. Auto focus areas have been increased to eleven; more than double the D70, and both frame rate and flash sync speeds
options available, no less than 32 functions, so there's very little you can't configure to your way of working plus control over settings otherwise 'defaulted' on most cameras (such as high sensitivity noise reduction).
Image processing has also improved by leaps and bounds over the D70, though it really only becomes evident when you directly compare the two. Images from the older D70 are noticeably softer and without a doubt grainer at high ISO levels. It is obvious Nikon put some significant research into their image processing parameters. And speaking of ISO, Nikon has finally produced a consumer camera capable of going down to ISO 100? Instead of the inexpensive light-sapping Pentamirror, Nikon selected a quality Pentaprism viewfinder setup which is similar to that in the D200. The glass Pentaprism viewfinder with its 0.94x magnification has no distortion and really does offer a big, bright and clear view.
To complement the D80, Nikon has announced two new lense options, a big zoom AF-S DX 18-135 mm (7.5x). This will no doubt become the 'Kit Lens' of choice and features ED glass and a fast, quiet SWM (Silent Wave Motor). It will most likely be generally available with
the D80. The AF-S 70-300 mm VR (4.3x) offers a long telephoto reach with optical Vibration Reduction and again, SWM. It should now be generally available in the international supply chain Sadly, Nikon didn't deem the D80 fit to have any sort of dust removal system from the digital sensor and like many camera
manufacturers, they've switch to SD storage cards rather then Compact Flash. Two relatively minor complaints that should be considered. It's priced just a few hundred dollars more than Canon's entry-level Rebel 400D, but features far superior ergonomics and a very impressive feature set. The Nikon D80 is a great all-around D-SLR that is easy to learn for a beginner, with plenty of advanced functions for the seasoned pro. Quite possibly a modern classic.
www.nikon.com
