Nikon D80?

<p>I am very interested in a new/used Nikon. Can yall give me some advice. I thought about the D80. I am not rich. Thinking about spending around $500.00 to get started. Thanks.</p>

<p>the D80 is a very good camera which will last you for some time to come and with that budget shouldn't be hard to find.</p>

<p>I second D80 or you might want to consider D40x in good condition</p>

 

<p>I would also consider what your future shooting needs might be. Is low light shooting important to you? I have a D80 and it's not the greatest performer in low light. I have a 50mm f1.8 af and and an 85mm f1.8 af so I can get around certain situations. There's a new 35mm f1.8 afs which would work on a D40x and a new 50mm f1.4 af-s, but it's a bit pricey--about your whole budget. Your purchase will also depend on what Nikon lenses you might already have because the D40x will only autofocus with af-s lenses. In that respect a D80 would be better in terms of autofocusing with older Nikon af leneses. While you can manually focus with af or ai/ai-s lenses from my experience it's a challenge with the viewfinders in most Nikon dslrs unless we're talking higher end from the D200 up to the D3, but those are much more than $500.00. Definitely try a D80 and a D40x out with the different lenses and see what's best for you. Just a bit to think about.</p>

<p>Hi Dion.... Welcome! Do you have any lenses? Keep in mind a $450-500 used D80 will not include a lens, unless you get <em>very</em> lucky. I might suggest backing up a little further on the timeline if your overall budget is $500. You can get a GREAT camera that will help you learn, and will be able to make fine prints to 12x18 and beyond when you get it right. There are a couple of good older choices.</p>

<p>My first suggestion would be a D70s. The price is virtually the same as the D70, and you get a slightly bigger screen. The screen, by the way, isn't so important. All you need to see is the "histogram" (you'll learn this as you get into it, but the histogram is your #1 exposure tool). But a D70s is nice because it has two external control wheels, and this makes using the camera much nicer. It can also autofocus the great old AF Nikkors like a 50mm 1.8 or a 35-70 2.8.</p>

<p>The other choice is a D40. I prefer the D40 over the D40x and D60 because the lower resolution 6MP sensor is better in many respects. It's one stop more sensitive than the D40x/D60/D80. It has higher flash sync. It's cleaner at high ISOs. DON'T GET HUNG UP ON MEGAPIXELS. But the D40 (and D40x/D60) is a compact body with no internal autofocus motor so it can't autofocus the 50mm 1.8 and other "screwdriver" AF lenses.</p>

<p>A D40 body or a D70s body should both run you around $225-250. If you really want to learn photography - aperture and depth of field control and shutter speeds - then get a 35mm f/1.8 or f/2 lens. The D70s can use the 35mm f/2 AF or AF-D ($175 used), or the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S ($200 new if you can find one). The D40 can only use the 35mm f/1.8 AF-S lens.</p>

<p>I think there is no better price-dependent <em>photography learning tool</em> than a D70s and a fast 35mm prime for $400-450 total.</p>

<p>Alexander while I agree on the low performances in low light of the D80 I think that it is the lowest entrance for viable use of manual focus lenses. Even without the related magnifying eye cup, that I have always mounted. I've already posted some exmmples of nikon manual focus lenses in my blog. <a href="http://onlandscape.blogspot.com/2009/07/back-from-corsica-rocks-1.html">Todays posted images</a> are all made with a 24mm f2.8 ais with a guessed exposure. The only real problem I'm finding in using mf lenses is in the lack of Dof preview.</p>

<p>i will second joe a. i have both cameras and they are still serving me well. i consider the D40 and D70s better cameras than the D40x, D60 and even the D80 (yes, they are).</p>

<blockquote>

<p>i consider the D40 and D70s better cameras than the D40x, D60 and even the D80 (yes, they are).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>i'm not sure i would agree with this. the main thing the d40 and d70s have going for them is higher flash sync speed. but the d40 only has 3-pt AF and one control wheel, plus no internal motor, and the d70s is a generation behind the d80.</p>

<p>the d80 has somewhat quirky metering and a tendancy to blow highlights, but is in other respects a fine camera. it's better than both the d40x and d60, and has a lot in common with its older brother, the d200. i've since upgraded to a d300, but i've held on to the d80 and still use it when i want a lighter body or for tripod work (where high-ISO performance doesnt matter)</p>

<p>The D40 beats the D80 at ISO 400-800 and shoots really nice jpegs right out of the camera. It also has a 1/500 flash sync. It is smaller and lighter</p>

<p>However the D80 has a higher resolution and brings out much better detail. It syncs. at 1/200, has commander mode for remote flash and will AF with older glass, which the D40 doesn't. It's metering is quirky, outdoors, and I dial down -0.7.</p>

<p>I wouldn't even consider a D70s. It was a prosumer digital, when there weren't as many models to choose from, and many may have taken a beating and possibly have a high shutter count.</p>

<p>There are a lot of D80's around, making it more of a buyer's market. Many have low use as the introduction of the D300/700, made it (I hate this term) "obsolete."</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The D80 is a nice camera. Nothing really special but nothing bad either. I prefer the larger viewfinder of the D80 over the D70/s as it makes the camera much easier to use. The images are clean and sharp at ISO 100. There is a little noise at 400 but I don't find it to be that bad. At ISO 800 and after the noise reduction kicks in if it is turned on and the higher ISO images remain very useable.</p>

<p>After using the D80 for the last 3yrs I concur that in lowlight it leaves a lot to be desired but if you are primarily a day shooter you will love what the D80 can do.</p>

<p>I kept my D80 after buying the D300. I am a night shooter and generally shot at ISO 800. I would sometimes shoot it at ISO 1600 in a pinch. I get about one more stop from the D300. The D80 has a nice viewfinder, is pretty solid, and reasonably compact.<br>

Kent in SD<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3276/2579322130_f7ac3575f2.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="330" /></p>

<p>If you have some experience with cameras you will appreciate the D80's controls over the D40's. I am thinking specifically of the two wheels on the D80, one for aperture and one for shutter. The D40 has only one.</p>

<p>D80...for all the reasons already mentioned.</p>

<p>i own a d80 and i can say that is still a good camera but think also that you will need some good lenses to go along (35mm,50mm ,85 mm work great on d80) so if the money are not flowing in you might want a d40/d40x with some lenses with at least f:2.8 (as the d40/d40x doesn't have internal af you'll need to use manual focus with some lenses but fortunate not with all of them).<br>

i support the d80 but don't think that the other models mentioned won't do their job.think for what you'll use the camera mostly and consider all the thing that you''ll need: camera body,lenses,flash,filters,tripod...<br>

good luck !</p>