Nikon D-80

[Andras Nagy]

Am researching a new Nikon D-80, to replace my current Nikon 8008, which is not digital.

Anyone have any esperience with Nikon D-80? Will my 8008 lenses fit and work with the D-80?

[cairns]

I have a D70S and love it. I haven't come close to learning what the thing will really do but like to horse around. As I recall the other lenses had to be f or higher but I'm sure others know more then me.

[masraum]

I believe it depends upon the lenses. The D80 should work with D type and G type lenses, if that's what you have.

I work with a guy that's got some old Nikon film equipment, then went with the D100, and has upgraded from the D100 to the D80. He considered the D200, but for the money he said there's not enough difference between the two for him for the cost difference.

[LeRoux Strydom]

I own a D80. It is a very good choice, with most of the features (main sensor, 11 autofocus sensors and pentaprism viewfinder) of the pro D200. It will take most Nikon lenses, but will obviously only autofocus with AFS, AFG, and AFD lenses. You can use some older lenses but will have to focus manually. Which lenses do you have?

An excellent review of the D80 (and other models) can be found here:
http://www.bythom.com/d80review.htm

Don't be put off by the amp noise discussion. The review posted above looked at an early production model. On my D80, amp noise is not an issue.

If I have to buy again today, I would also seriously consider the D40x. It is also 10mp, with a pentamirror viewfinder and only 3 af sensors compared with the D80. The D40x only works with the modern AFS lenses.

[kstar]

I'm a Nikon film guy, but just bought a standard D40 - really nice product and I have no gripes about 6MP. FWIW, don't focus (pardon the pun!) too much on MPs.

My next purchase is the reportedly amazing Nikon 18-200 VR lens. IMO, I'd rather have a D40 with the 18-200 than a D80 with a kit lens, if those were my only choices.

Snapped the below pic with the kit lens and bounced flash from an SB-400 with no color post processing - the original image is about 2MB, but the quality is not as good here b/c of heavy compression!

[jyl]

When you mount an old manual focus Nikkor lens on the D40, what features/functions can you get? E.g. are all metering and exposure modes still available? If the lens is pre-CPU, can you "tell" the camera what lens is attached to enable those features/functions?

[alf]

I had a D50 then went to a D80. Great bodies, most AF lenses will work on the D80, the D40 is very limited that way.

A quick search yielded this...
http://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

[jyl]

Hmm, sounds like I will need to get a D200 as the D80 won't meter w/ my older manual lenses.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

D80 is awesome. Of course going from a 2MB 300 dpi file down to 72, you lose a little...

[johndglynn]

I also have a D70S, best thing I ever bought (apart from an Orange Carrera 3). I know nothing about photography, but that camera just makes me want to take pictures. Without it I wouldn't have quite so many favourite shots of the kids, the cars and the rest.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally posted by jyl
Hmm, sounds like I will need to get a D200 as the D80 won't meter w/ my older manual lenses.

That's true for some lenses (non-CPU, I believe), and a major issue. It depends on which lenses you're using on it. See this chart to tell:
http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm

Also, pre-AI lenses can be cheaply converted to work on the body. That's one nice thing about Nikon, is they allow them to work with legacy glass.

Most pros find the D200 to be a much better camera than the D80 and worth the extra money. It has a metal frame and is weather-sealed, in addition to the other features.

[alf]

Originally posted by jyl
Hmm, sounds like I will need to get a D200 as the D80 won't meter w/ my older manual lenses.

Or you could just go out and get some new lenses

I have the Nikon 18-200VR, awesome all around lens. Hardly ever leaves the body. Also got a 55 Micro, great prime and macro hardly gets on the camera because of the 18-200.

What John said, the D50/80 made me want to take pictures. Now my wife is hoggin' up my D80; I do not mind sharing... something very sexy about a beautiful woman using a SLR camera...

BTW you could get a used D50 for about $350, great buy and I do not see them getting much cheaper than that ever. I just 'sold' my D50 with a Nikon 18-135 to a family member for $600.

[jyl]

Originally posted by alf
Or you could just go out and get some new lenses

I have the Nikon 18-200VR, awesome all around lens. Hardly ever leaves the body. Also got a 55 Micro, great prime and macro hardly gets on the camera because of the 18-200.

What John said, the D50/80 made me want to take pictures. Now my wife is hoggin' up my D80; I do not mind sharing... something very sexy about a beautiful woman using a SLR camera...

BTW you could get a used D50 for about $350, great buy and I do not see them getting much cheaper than that ever. I just 'sold' my D50 with a Nikon 18-135 to a family member for $600.

I like to use faster lenses.

My standard MF Nikkor set is 35mm f1.4, 55mm f1.2, 85mm f1.4. I looked through a catalog of Nikkor AF lenses and it would be expensive for me to duplicate these lenses in AF (e.g. AF 85mm f1.4 $900) or not possible (e.g. no AF 35mm f1.4, or AF 55mm f1.2 though f1.4 would be essentially same).

So I want to use the MF lenses on the future DSLR.

I'd get the 18-200mm AF VR too though.

[Brian 162]

I have a D70S that I bought 1 year ago. It's been in twice for repair. I just took it in last week for a recurring problem. The camera jams. It won't focus. The lens won't focus in or out. Nikon says it will take 6-8 weeks to repair. Besides that I do enjoy the camera.

[nostatic]

funny, my 105mm micro almost never leaves the D70 body, but that's my thing. I need to get an 18-200vr though. The 18-70 that came with the camera doesn't send me. I have a 12-24 zoom that is good for some things, but everyone raves about the 18-200.

[barney911rs]

I bought a D50 about a year ago. Love it, takes great pics, but there was something that a friend of mine explained and got the same info from the person at the camera store. I don't recall it exactly. It has something to do with the form factor between the digital sensor and the 35mm film. It changes the focal lengths slightly. For example I think an older lens with say 100-200 zoom, would be like 120-240 zoom (made up numbers) on a digital camera.

Here is a link to an article I found that has some good info.

Lens Info

[Steve Carlton]

The DSLR sensors are almost always smaller than the 35mm film frame, so the image is cropped. The crop factor on Nikons is 1.5, so a 100mm lens is a 150mm equivalent on a 35mm camera.

For $750, the 18-200mm is unbeatable for its versatility considering it's reasonably close to pro image quality. Not a very fast lens, either. But if you got the 17-55m and 70-200mm Nikon pro glass, you'd be spending around $2,700. And switching back and forth.

Andras- consider getting the 50mm f/1.8. For about $100 you won't believe the image quality, and it's fast enough. I suspect once you taste AF, you won't want to fiddle with MF. You'll have so many more keepers and shots you won't miss.

[Andras Nagy]

Thanks very much all you guys.

My Nikon 8008 does have auto-focus lenses, so I'll just need the body for the digital.

As an architect, needing to take profession-related pictures, and as an avid car photog, it seems from all your postings that a used D50 (which my brother also has, but then he's just a hack photographer) would be a good possiblity, or a new D80.

I've handled (fondled?) a D40, but it just seems too small for my huge mitts (I'm 6'-3" with size 10 hands).

WEhere does one buys good quality (unmolested) used camera bodies?

[Halm]

I am kind of in the market for this camera too. Suggestions on where to buy? Or just Pricegrabber.Com?

[Steve Carlton]

Often new stuff on pricegrabber.com is equivalent to used prices on eBay. Be sure to check a seller's reputation on resellerratings.com and buy new from authorized dealers to insure you get a valid warranty. Keh.com has an outstanding reputation for used gear, and usually underrates its condition. Cameta.com is very reputable and sells tons of reconditioned cameras at excellent prices through their eBay store.

For new Nikon gear, I'm a big fan of theimagingworld.com