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Just came back from local Best Buy. The D80 feels terrific in the hand, and it's LCD is much better than the D50's...so much larger.
Also, the menus seem to be more involved, but that reflects the increased functions.
I'm going to bring my Nikon 80-200 f2.8 push pull to test the AF speeds.
Overall, I'd say that the D80 is a winner.
Funny thing is that the store clerk (boy?) didn't know anything about cameras...he started to ask me questions about the various models. Honestly, didn't know what to tell him about the 30D or the other canon's. The Sony Alpha, OTOH, I told him to avoid recommending it because of the terrible low light noise .
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Having read (most of) the dpreview.com review, I'd tend to agree that Nikon has come up with a really swell camera. Based on the forums there it seems that a fair number of Canon folks are upset that they can no longer boast of superior image quality over Nikon: according to the review the diffences are negligable. (Whether it was ever true that Canon IQ was better than Nikon - I can't say.) If I weren't already commited to Pentax I'd be looking at it very seriously. Me, I'm going for the K10D as soon as I can get my hands on one.
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I agree, I think its a winner. I'll be getting one soon ,either in a kit or w/ the 18-200 vr lens.
The negs I've noticed from handling:
Cheap batt compartment door. No batt lock to keep the batt from falling out.
Cheap SD door, not to mention SD memory in general over CF
Overly complicated menus
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[quote papercup]I agree, I think its a winner. I'll be getting one soon ,either in a kit or w/ the 18-200 vr lens.
I'm a big fan of the 18-200 vr lens. I've had one since very early this year, and use it with my D200. Its balance of price, image quality and convenience is quite lovely.
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Looks like this looooooong review was just posted Saturday.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond80/
Long story short:
10mp is no better than 8mp, but better than 6mp
Nikon still under-sharpens the images, giving a softer-out-of-the-camera image compared to the rivals.
Canon Rebel & Nikon D80 are still neck and neck. ..you pick'em.
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10 is better than 8 to me. The pixel count may seem just a few, but in my Quark and Indesign layouts, I can do much more cropping. Plus Nikon jpegs are native 300 dpi. The D80 is a great machine.
I like the Sony images that are submitted to me. Nothing horrid.
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[quote papercup]
Nikon still under-sharpens the images, giving a softer-out-of-the-camera image compared to the rivals.
I noticed this big-time with the D50. So much so that I would not recommend it. I don't want to have to run ALL my images thru photoshop. I was always a Nikon person but I am much more impressed with the Rebel XT. Actually my wife just got a Canon S3 and after playing with it for a while, I'm wondering if I'll ever buy an SLR! B) Still, I'd like to play with a D80
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>>Nikon still under-sharpens the images, giving a softer-out-of-the-camera image compared to the rivals.
I'd have to see the problem to believe it. There has been an awful trend of oversharpening everything.
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I don't view low-light photography as the "valhalla" that everyone else does. Great for indoor sports and rec parents though. It's just become a bragging point. Something for people that don't know how to get the most out of their tools. Based on that, the Sony is fine.
