Heads Up---Nikon D 80

[tomlaronge]

Just sharing my new experience. I had a Nikon D 70. I literally detested the camera overall and I took better pictures overall with my Canon S 70 point-and-shoot.

I just traded my Nikon D 70 on the new Nikon D 80. WOW, the D 80 is a wonderful machine at an upper, but reasonable price tag considering what it offers. I do not sell cameras and I do not feel that if i own it, it has to be good, but the new D 80 is superb.

Specifically, i find the noise level to be relatively low, the optical viewfinder is actually excellent, the focusing speed and accuracy is excellent, the LCD is functional as is the menu, even in bright light. If you do not believe this, you may want to read about this on DPreview.

The 10 mb file size is also a marked improvement, particularly for us croppers. Maybe Nikon will start making cameras like they used to in the good ole film days! Time will tell, but the D 80 is a winner in today's market.

Tom

[chas3stix]

Tom,
Good luck with the D80. The large image files it produces gives you more latitude to work with them. I'm using a D70 myself. I'll move up sometime in the future.
Chas

[Cmcburnett]

Chas, I looked at your gallery, it is outstanding. If you took your pictures with your D70, there is no need for your to trade up. I'd love to be able to take pictures like that with such detail. I'm looking at new cameras so this may help me make a decision. I was going to buy the new Sony SLR, but I may have to do a bit more research into the Nikon D80. Thanks Tom with sharing your experience with your new camera.

[tomlaronge]

Chas,
Thanls for your well wishes.
The biggest problem I had with my D 70 was the slowness and questionable accuracy of focusing. My favorite subject is my dog in motion. I found the autofocus on the D 70 just did not cut it plus I found this extremely luminance and contrast sensitive. As you know with pets, the eyes have it and the D 70 just did not cut it. I got my D 80 body two weeks ago and I have now shot close to 300 images of my dog. My percentage of good images with the dog in motion is up 30 to 50 times using the same lens.

[tomlaronge]

CmcBurnett,
I have read good things about the Sony camera. However, if you are a still photographer, I truly think the wisest selection is between Canon and Nikon where the accessories are interchangeable among camera models. If you are into video than Panasonic and Sony are your best bet. Sony is truly, in my opinion going for market share and not end user convenience. For example, Sony has changed their accessory shoe on several of their movie cameras to a proprietary shoe. This means you cannot use any third party accessories readily.
Good luck with your selection. I will be interested in your decision.

Tom

[chas3stix]

Cmcburnett,
Glad you like my gallery. In another thread, others debate Nikon vs. Canon. IMHO seither of these are a good choice. I'm with Nikon because of the lenses I already have from my film days. Sony so far has little or no track record with digital SLR's(con). But,they're using the Minolta/Konica lens platform(pro). If M/K lenses will always be available is an unknown at this time.
The newer Nikons have better and faster autofocus with bigger imaging sensors(10Mpx).It's like having the baddest "muscle car" on the road....:)
Chas
P.S. A few of the photos on my gallery were taken with my Nikon Coolpix 5700.

[tomlaronge]

Chas,
I believe you are exactly correct on Canon versue Nikon, at least in SLRs and/or professional cameras. I am with Nikon for the same reason as are you. With technology changing the way it is and producers tending to aim for market share rather than total quality, I think that the latest production, i.e. the camera changes every year to two years will make some difference in which is best. However, this promises to be switching between Canon and Nikon.
Another key issue is lens qality. I truly believe that todays lens quality has overall decreased from that which existed during the hayday of film photography. Furthermore, I suspect there are major differences in image stabilized lenses among lenses and their manufacturers. i truly do not understand the benefits to making an image stabilized macro lens in a moderate focal length. I think this function is best addressed with a tripod. Oh well, gimmicks are gimmicks! Just my $ 0.02.

Tom

[Cmcburnett]

Thanks guys. I have always bought either Nikon or Sony. It looks like Nikon may be the better camera for still shots. I am far from a professional but I have always enjoyed taking pictures, my kids use to sigh when they saw me bring out the camera. I will take your advice and let you know which one I end up. However, I do like the steady shot on the Sony and the Panasonic cameras because I go hiking a lot and I never carry a tripod because I like to travel light, and it seems that I don't have steady hands no matter how hard I try. But again, on the steady shots feature sometimes slow up the speed of the shutter. So, Nikon all in all does sound like a better camera.

[tomlaronge]

CmcBurnett,
FYI, both Canon and Nikon offer reasonably priced lenses with image stabilization. The Canon lenses with image stabilization are designated with an "IS" and the Nikon lenses with image stabilization are designated with "VR".
If you are truly looking for a portable camera that is light weight, has a reasonable file size and a reasonable quality lens, you might take a look at the Canon S3IS. The camera can be purchased for between about $350 and $400. It has a 12:1 zoom and about a 6 mp file size. It is possible to add a 58mm filter via the appropriate adapter so that you could use a UV filter in the field to protect the lens. This is not a new design. It is about a third generation camera. I have seen excellent results with this camera, done by others, of course.

Enjoy,
Tom

[Cmcburnett]

My sister just bought a new Canon but I'm not sure which one, she paid about $350 for it. I will have to borrow her camera and see if I like it. Thanks guys, you have been so helpful. I will borrow her camera and take pictures of a waterfall not far from Atlanta that has beautiful scenery and post them, then you can let me know how I did. I won't be as good as you guys, but maybe better than I have in the past.

[Dee H.]

Dang..... I want one!
I envy your choice of camera... I am a D80 wannabe!

[Ward Grant]

Dang..... I want one!
I envy your choice of camera... I am a D80 wannabe!

I, too, am hoping Santa will be bringing me a D80 for Christmas. Otherwise, I may have to dip into the savings and be poorer but happier.