Why I bought a Nikon D80

[ausalpal]

I hope I don't start any sort of religious war here :D

Background:
I had no lenses
I had a 2 MP Fuji P&S
I like photography
I have some trips coming up
I wanted a DSLR

I read reviews.. and then read some more... and then read some more.. then saved... then agonised... then wasn't sure... then questioned my choice... then I actually went into a shop and shot off a number of photos on all the cameras I'd considered... and it was the D80, no question.

Cons:
Feature "poor" - no on board IS, no anti-dust mechanism
Expensive - pretty pricey when compared to the 400D or Sony
Bigger - not quite as nice for travel

Pros:
That lovely feel / build - I don't know if it is ACTUALLY built better, but it really does feel like it is... :P
That lovely, big viewfinder (I wear glasses so it's a big deal for me) - it really is a lovely camera to use
Picture quality - the reviews find it fairly hard to fault, although people seem to like to say the colours are 'dull'. I actually find them quite natural now (I was a little skeptical at the start).

Anyways, that's my 2c. I really think it's a great time to be buying a digital camera, you really can't seem to go too wrong. It looks as though I've fallen (almost by accident) into the Nikon camp, but after my first weekend with the D80, I'm more than happy :) A big shout out to all the people on this forum who provide helpful advice, I've been lurking and reading for a long time now, and it really does help :D

Happy snappin'

[Tom_N]

Cons:
Feature "poor" - no on board IS, no anti-dust mechanism


I wouldn't call a D80 "feature-poor". Most DSLRs don't have in-body IS or a lot of anti-dust mechanisms.

The D80 has wireless flash control, which isn't in most low-end DSLR bodies, and isn't even in some of the ones (D40, D50) from Nikon. It also has some in-camera editing features, although I don't know if they're as significant.

Then there's the ability to spot-meter on any auto-focusing point.

[T06]

I had a Fuji top end p&s until they refused to honour the warranty. Told them to jam it where the sun don't shine in some very choice outbursts when I finally got someone in management to listen to me in Sydney. They wouldn't even let me get the card out of it to rescue the pics that were in it. Took a long time to finally decide on the D20 & then the D200 came out. I've had a Canon T50 & had decided on Canon until the D200 just happened to end up in my possession. Now it's "The Glass":D chasing thats got my wife looking at me sideways when I start to talk about lenses.:) I think she;s jealous:D

[jamison55]

I'd actually call the D80 "Feature Rich" - compared to my 20D and 5D, my D80 has a ton of features that the Canon competitors don't (and that I use all the time):

- Body integrated AF assist
- Body integrated wireless flash control with full FEC controll of the off-camera flashes (I use this ALL the time)
- Ability to tweak AWB settings to give a universally warmer or cooler tone
- Flashing highlight warning on full screen review
- Ability to spot meter on any active focus point
- Ability to customize the menu options to only show the ones I change regularly
- Ability to run a slideshow set to music by hooking the camera up to a TV (OK - so I've only used this once, and the music is cheezy, but still...)

If the Nikon bodies had Canon sensors and Digic processors, I'd switch completely!