Nikon D80 Digital Camera with 18-135mm Lens

Product Rating
4.33 of 5
9 reviews

Price Range
$949 - $1199

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Product Description

Summary

My first Nikon. I did alot of reseach before chosing this model. This camera has radical high ISO performance.stunning color rendition, in-camera editing that is second to none.
A lot of people have given this camera a bad review for the matrix metering mode.I must say You must know when to use matrix, when not to.This is a fantastic camera, ULTRA light. It weighs less than my S1is, it fits in your hand like a glove.This is a camera that you must work.I must admit the learning curve is/was steep(exposure settings) Experimentation wil let you fall in love with this rocket ship of a DSLR.The D200 is a far superior unit,but it was ment to be. So,See what's stunning check out my gallery. hehehe.
I have been using different lenses{Sigma,Tokina,Nikkor} I have found the Nikkor lenses meter the most accurately. No surprise.With my Sigma lenses, I have to step up the E.V. +1.2-1.7 to comp. If you like to customize your work, this is the camera for you. B/W. mode is sweet, the filtering options are very nice.In camera cropping is great as I take the biggest files, get usable photos from the resize.
This is a camera for someone who is not afraid to push the creative envelope.
Auto mode works fantastic with a Nikkor D or DX lense lense. The flash system has a powerful processing engine, I have takenflash closeups, with amazing results.In my opinion.The flash of the D80 is the most advanced ever produced for an internal flash.Very powerful, completely custom for any situation. Some users report soft images. *This camera does not tolerate cheap lenses...PERIOD. To obtain the level of quality this camera can /will achieve You must use the best Nikkor/Sigma lenses{ED,EX glass} If you can afford this camera then invest in Premium Glass. I'm just starting to use RAW mode, Nikon Capture NX software is a dream.(highly Rec.)
If you are not afraid to work hard, learn...This camera will make you look like a pro. FANDAMTASTIC NIKON camera !!!

Strength

Viewfinder the size of Texas. Bright, Clear.
11 zone metering
Fantastic color capture capacity
10.2 M.P. Auto Focus system is superb.
A choice of Legendary lenses that rivals many manufactures.
In- camera editing, resizing. D-lighting
L.C.D. viewfinder-> WoW 170 degree viewing angle.
High ISO performance second to none.
Flash system that NASA could take credit for {fantastic}
Indoors portrait Excellent! skin tones accurate, clear images with the right lense.
Delete option right after capture.Love that.Don't waste storage space .
D.O.F. preview.
-Manual- mode rocks. Customs settings menu is RADICAL
***** Point, shoot in Auto mode (with Nikkor lense) is FANTASTIC !

Weakness

Alot of experimentation needed to learn the quirks of metering.
Takes an experienced person to understand.
Requires the best lenses. $$$
Will perform poorly -> low light in auto mode.

This camera requires work or it will work you.

Summary

This camera is really a great bargain. It has many of the features of the D200. It is lighter and although not having the rich features of the more pro-like feel of the higher big boys cameras, It can hold its own. One thing I love is the weight and feel.

Strength

Outstanding picture quality. Superb resolution.

Weakness

None

Summary

I'm coming at it from a D70 background and I shoot semi-professionally, on average a couple hundred frames a week. I shoot jpg exclusively and post process everything.

My evaluation gallery is at:

http://www.pbase.com/hsandler/d80

The major advantage of this camera over the D70 is the larger, higher resolution, and more viewable reviewing screen. This is very important if you use the screen after shooting a test shot to judge white balance, focus and exposure like I do. With the D70, the look of the shot changes with the vertical angle to the screen, and I had to be careful to view it exactly from the right angle to judge skin tones in portraits. This is not necessary with the D80. The calibration of the screen is excellent and tones match a monitor calibrated to a 5500K white point very well, so skin tones can be judtged in-camera with confidence. The playback zoom also goes in further with the D80, well beyond 100% (one pixel of image per pixel of screen seems to correspond to 6 button presses of the zoom key, and there are two more steps beyond that), so focus is easier to judge. A trick I discovered in playback is that rotating the command dial while zoomed in allows you to cycle through a number of frames, all zoomed in to the same magnification and spot in the frame. This is good for judging focus or subtle facial expressions in a series of portraits.

The other big improvements over the D70 are separate RGB and L histograms, more autofocus points and modes, and--really important for me--more flexible controller mode for the built in flash. I can now shoot a 3-light portrait with just two external flashes: The built in flash is the master and also provides a useful amount of fill lighting at 5 metres distance, f5.6 and ISO100. One external SB800 or SB600 bounced into an umbrella is the main light, and another can be used to light up the background or provide an accent light on the hair or far side side of the face. All three can be independently adjusted from the flash menu on the camera.

I was really dismayed by the D70's tendency to produce moire patterns on clothing fabric when I shot portraits with my ultrasharp 85mm and 50mm lenses. The D80 is said to have a stronger antialiasing filter over the sensor which should minimize this. I haven't seen any moire yet.

There are certainly some other improvements relative to the D70, such as more flexible auto ISO, a programmable function button on the front, convenient for the middle finger, and dedicated autofocus mode button, but these are less important to me. The retouching features added are all fluff if you post process your photos before printing, like I do.

The camera feels just like a D70, with the exception of the grip being a few millimetres shorter. This is unfortunate because my wide fingers are hard to all keep on the grip now. I tend to curl my little finger under the base of the camera now. I tried the accessory vertical grip at a camera show, but found it too deep for my fingers when held in vertical mode.

The overexposure issue on high contrast scenes with dark subjects seems to be real, from my limited tests so far. I think the matrix metering is deciding to preserve an overall average of neutral tone and lets the highlights go if necessary to do that. On the other hand, the D70 tended to expose so conservatively to preserve every little bright highlight, that I had to brighten a lot of photos in post processing. Whether one has to change exposure compensation more often on the D80 remains to be seen, but my natural light shots require negative compensation more often than not, so far. Flash metering seems to be right on, however.

Some EXIF quirks have come up. With the D70, ISO did not automatically get displayed here on pbase, as Nikon called it something other than what was routine in the EXIF data, so it was not picked up. With the D80, ISO comes out, other than the boosted modes above 1600. On the other hand, Kelvin white balance does not seem to be recognized, and the exposure compensation is not reported correctly. This may have something to do with the auto ISO feature; I still need to investigate. Ignore what you see in the detailed EXIF info for my test shots for exposure compensation, and go by my captions instead. Also, the EXIF does not report that flash was used, at least when commander mode is used for the flash.

Strength

Ergonomics
Large color calibrated, angle-independent, reviewing screen
wireless flash control
viewfinder

Weakness

matrix metering

Summary

The new Nikon D80, which I have shot over 2,000 images with (I also own the Nikon D50 and have previously owned a D100), is a mixed bag. It seems that Nikon is doing the Tokyo Tango – 2 steps forward and 2 steps back, so let me explain.

As posted on other review forums, many people are very dissatisfied with this camera. The D80 is very different than Nikon’s other DSLRs and that includes the D100, D70s, D50 and the D200. Good results can be obtained from the D80 but more work is involved. Just as slide film was the thinking man’s media of choice for film based cameras, the D80 is a thinking man’s/woman’s camera - thus the challenge and maybe the excitement for owning and using this camera!

I just professionally photographed 24 hours of outdoor girls soccer games over a period of 3 days. The light was very bright and contrasty as is the norm in the Southwest. In order to expose correctly, center weight metering and a reduction of the contrast of a value of –1 to –2 had to be used. The D80’s matrix metering system is useless for this type of lighting, which will be the type of lighting most people will shoot in unfortunately.

Noise is also an issue. Since more pixels are distributed in the same sized sensor as a D50 for example, more noise is to be expected. However the proof of the pudding is in the print and in most cases this shadow noise will not be seen. Try not to underexpose images for maintaining the best shadow detail and lowest noise results.

What then offsets these deficiencies and what are the advantages to using and owning the D80: the big 2.5” LCD screen for image reviews; the very large and bright pentaprism viewfinder; great color saturation in diffused lighting; excellent battery life (I am getting ~1,000-1,200 images with a battery charge life of 4-5 hours) and the much improved auto focusing mechanism which makes sports photography much easier and accurate.

All in all, the D80 is a mixed bag of highlights and concerns, some of which I hope a firmware update will fix – you have to use your photographic knowledge to get good pictures with this camera. Are you up to the challenge?

Strength

1. Large 2.5" LCD
2. Bright pentaprism view finder
3. Good battery life
4. Very accurate auto focusing

Weakness

1. Very soft images even with maximized in-camera sharpening
2. Higher noise levels than Nikon's other cameras
3. Useless Matrix metering in high contrast lighting conditions