http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/ Engadget Comments for Nikon D80 pics revealed http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 26th 2006 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Upgrading my EOS 350D anytime soon :)]]>Jul 26th 2006 8:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Also, there's now a soft-button above the DOF-preview. Very nice, hopefully it's programmable, and hopefully we get a few shooting and user banks to select from.

Biggest UI change seems to be the addition of an AF button, which will hopefully let you change M/AF-S/AF-C without digging through the menu.

Hopefully, the ISO cycle will include "Auto" as well.]]>Jul 26th 2006 8:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/This camera joining the D50 and D200 kinda gives Nikon a clear lead in this range of the market.

]]>Jul 26th 2006 8:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
So you're changing an entire camera system because the competition has a slightly larger sensor at this moment in time?

Yeah, that makes sense.
]]>Jul 26th 2006 9:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Does anyone know if the sensor in the A100 is the same as the new D80 ?]]>Jul 26th 2006 9:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Placing this camera on the market at this point is kind of like Dodge hoping to sell more of those station wagons just by putting in bigger engines. ]]>Jul 26th 2006 10:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 26th 2006 11:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
I do like my D70, but I also get jealous of little digicams with huge lcds on the back compared to the D70's tiny display, looks like this might fix that. The two things I've noticed in comparing my D70 with the Canon 20D is that the D70 has too much noise at high ISO's and long exposures, and isn't quite as good at focusing in low light with comparable lenses. I hope these problems are addressed with the D80.

Other than those few little things, like Matty said, a lens is going to make way more difference than a few extra megapixels. I'd choose to spend a few hundred on a good wide angle before upgrading. ]]>Jul 26th 2006 11:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 12:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 1:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 1:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 2:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 2:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 2:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Good! Cause the initial reviews have shown that high ISO noise is pretty bad on the a100 compared even to the D200! Is it too much to hope that high ISO performance is improved in the D80 and closer to what we've seen with the D50 (near-Canon like noise performance)?]]>Jul 27th 2006 2:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/I definitely like that the size of the VF appears to be identical to the one on the D200.
The new lens also has me interested.
As for anyone trying to go and get themselves a new D70s or D50 had better go and get it quick; most authorized dealers are nearly out of stock.

]]>Jul 27th 2006 3:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 4:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Image quality is all that matters, which means good lenses and good sensors. I grant Nikon has produced some exceptionally fine lenses, but it stops right there... They should kick Sony in the butt and try to produce some themselves. That is, if they even want to have a chance to beat Canon.]]>Jul 27th 2006 5:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
In addition, I have also decided my next camera must be a full-frame DSLR, for even better low-light performance (therefore, the 5D is at the top of my wishlist!). In the meantime i'll continue to use my XT and 20D.

In the end, like people have mentioned before, it's the glass (canon OR nikon) that makes the most difference. I think you would be better off only upgrading camera bodies once every other (or even every 3rd) camera cycle, and spending the money earned on nicer lenses. ]]>Jul 27th 2006 6:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
DITTO]]>Jul 27th 2006 8:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Nikon designs their own sensors; Sony just does the fabrication for them.
Nikon has a lot of interconnected relationships with other manufacturers.
If a fabrication deal went sour between Nikon and Sony, they'd have at least several other alternatives to consider, like Fuji, Kodak, even themselves if need be.
It’s unclear if Canon can manage this same task quite as easily as Nikon, considering they've sort of isolated themselves from everyone else. It’s provided well for them now, but I’d be skeptical how well this approach works out for them in the future.
]]>Jul 27th 2006 8:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/This looks like it will be a great little camera!
GOODONYA Nikon seems you have won the race for now.]]>Jul 27th 2006 9:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Sounds like a fanboy statement to me.]]>Jul 27th 2006 9:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/]]>Jul 27th 2006 10:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Why have the ISO/Thumbnail and WB/Help/Protect buttons swapped position from where they are on the D50, D70, and D200? What is the OK button about?]]>Jul 27th 2006 10:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 10:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
A salesperson at a camera store told me that the reason you can rarely ever find non-pro cameras with CF instead of SD anymore is because people jumping on the digicam bandwagon would buy 8MP cameras, put 1x cheapo CF cards in them and then return the camera because it was "too slow".

Since no pro cameras were getting returned for this reason, they usually still run on CF.]]>Jul 27th 2006 11:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
For the rest, I'm still laughing though. Have had some experience shooting a Nikon D70 in low light conditions at a wedding. Jasin, please make me laugh even harder by calling that lazy shooting - at your wedding I'll bring some lighting equipment to add to the atmosphere. Anyway, nice camera but the noise was totally unbearable. No way you could get rid of that even when stacking Photoshops noise reduction on Noise Ninja and Neat Image.

And so I gladly cling to my lazy shooting with a large fullframe 5D with apparantly laughable light fall-off at the edges which is another thing I learned today as it hadn't come to my attention the last few thousand shots... (if you listen very carefully you can hear another burst of laughing right NOW).

Happy shooting!]]>Jul 27th 2006 11:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
And the people saying this camera intro will be pointless unless it has an all new sensor are kind of missing the boat. Nikon isn't trying to upstage the D200, outshine the Canon 5D, or even entice D70 owners to upgrade by introducing this D80. I think their worry is more that the D70 no longer compares well against Canon products in a similar price range. So for the sake of being able to lure newer buyers, they pretty much *needed* a replacement/upgrade to the D70.

And as far as demanding a full frame sensor on your digital SLR, well, that's all kind of arbitrary, isn't it especially for newer buyers with no existing lens set? Why is it that a 35mm sized sensor has to be the best? Why not a larger sensor with an all new set of lenses to go with it? Hint: maybe image quality at any cost isn't realistic in order to sell cameras in the real world? Come on, people! The D50 is one of the best selling DSLRs out there, its fairly inexpensive, and it gets great quality photos in the right hands. So instead of the constant back and forth bitching of Nikon vs. Canon, maybe we all should just go take more photos and learn more about the equipment we already have and photography in general? Another way to say this: I can take shitty photos with $1000 worth of camera equipment and I can take just as shitty photos with $5000 worth of camera equipment.]]>Jul 27th 2006 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Having said that, the D80 does not compete with Canon's full-frame cameras. I think in the low-end DSLR market Nikon and Canon both have their pros and cons. In this price range you could really go either way.

I was a Nikon 35mm user, with a Nikon F4. I decided to change systems to Canon because of their sensors. I fully understand why people love Nikons, the way they feel and the way they're built but I personally feel that they are letting their customers down by not at least OFFERING a full frame camera. Maybe not all their customers, but certainly me.]]>Jul 27th 2006 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 2:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Until they get that under control, I will be living in the Canon Camp...]]>Jul 27th 2006 3:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/It will be make a notice, if it is came with anti-dust system :)]]>Jul 27th 2006 3:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 27th 2006 9:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
Without starting a huge debate, I wanted to know which to buy, Nikon or Canon... so where should I get reviews? dpreview is down right now, but that is probably temporary. Is it the best? Is there anywhere else that does good reviews?

Please help...

P.S. I live in Montreal just incase you were going to suggest B&H in NYC.]]>Jul 28th 2006 2:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 28th 2006 2:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
There we go...]]>Jul 28th 2006 2:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 28th 2006 3:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
James, it usually boils down to the choice of glass. The quality of the Nikon kit lens (18-75 I believe) is far superior to the Canon 18-55, which might explain the difference sharpness-wise. Not surprisingly so, as the Canon is only $100. In the end you get what you pay for.
For both brands, the best lenses with the most resolution power, contrast and the best colour rendition are usually the ones that will cost you dearly. That said, the EF 17-40L f/4 has all those qualities at an affordable price level ($600). It is however not a fast lens (f/2.8 or better). Extreme sharpness can be had with primes like the 50/1.4 or 85/1.8, which are both less than $400. So it isn't necessary to buy the venerable 70-200L f/2.8 IS for $1800 to get extremely satisfying results. The better lenses have a great resale value as well, be it Canon or Nikon. You might want to check out the EFS 10-22 as well - it had me blown away with high sharpness and contrast on my 350D. I'm afraid I haven't got the comparable stack of Nikons but I'm sure you can find the info on the internet; www.photozone.de might be a good starting point.
In the end, if you buy quality lenses, it's the lenses you keep and the bodies you change. Happy hunting for a new set!]]>Jul 28th 2006 3:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 28th 2006 3:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
The Nikon D50 clearly has its virtues when looking at the price level, the D200 seems to be an interesting camera, solidly built, and if the D80 gets rid of the D70's noise problem it should be a hit as well. Then again, I like Canons line-up as well. Have both the 5D and 30D and they produce some lovely images. I shoot a lot of low light and that's where especially the 5D shines. The amount of megapixels is far less important to me.
It's like Joe said: no matter the amount of money you spend on your gear, it is allways possible to produce shit with it! However, if you spend more, you know who to blame for it ;)]]>Jul 28th 2006 4:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Nikon D70 vs Canon 350D Shootout
http://www.pbase.com/wheatfield/d70vs350d
Password: santafe]]>Jul 28th 2006 5:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 28th 2006 8:57AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
How do you Canon folk (ones complaining about Nikon's high ISO) shot the image? I hope you expose for shadows and then are using Nikon Capture to process, or else you definitely will get noise ridden images of terror (ACR isn't great dealing with high ISO).

To prove my point, just take a look at this D200 flickr discussion on high ISO: http://flickr.com/groups/d200/discuss/72057594086639228/?search=high+iso

IMO, the images don't look bad at all. Just take a look at the image pushed to 6400 - doesn't look bad at all considering how ridiculously high that is. Sure, there are colorsplotches and the like, but the noise doesn't get in the way of the photo.

My $0.02.]]>Jul 28th 2006 10:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
When the D80 is available in the shops, I will definitely go and check it out.]]>Jul 28th 2006 11:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 28th 2006 3:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/Jul 29th 2006 1:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
what i do is just HDR my 9 frames.

]]>Jul 29th 2006 4:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/nikon-d80-pics-revealed/
I could care less about the Nikon/Canon wars myself as both make great gear, but after trying out some Canon gear (30D, 5D, & 1DMkII) and comparing the shots taken with my D200 at the same time, I was happy with my choice (the D200 shots looked better to me.) This was in bright sun light, so Canon's high ISO supremacy was negated, but that's where much of my work is done in the first place, including when I shoot film. While I certainly see no reason to knock their gear, I also didn't see anything that blew me away.]]>Jul 30th 2006 10:37PM