D40, or D80

[highenuff]

This will be my first dslr stepping up from a tiny digital thing. Main reason is beacuse of lag, and zoom.

I have been looking at these two and wondering if its worth the extra cash to step up to the D80 (about $500).

What are the advantages of the D80?
Will it be to complicated?
6-to 8 megpix?

thanks for the input.

[speaklightly]

highenuff-

You might desire to ease your emergence into the DSLR world by sticking with the D-40, a much less complicated Nikon model. That would allow you to divert some dollars to the lenses that you will need.

The Nikon D-40 will certainly enjoy a vibrant market for the next several years. Buy the D-40 and a Mack 5 year guarantee. When you are used to the DSLR world and perhaps are really giving some consideration to "moving-up." There will still be a guarantee on your D-40 when you sell it.

Ease into this and really spend sometime learing the craft. You will feel a whole lot better about the experience. Swallowing an elephant in one gulp is pretty difficult.

Speaklightly

[Tom_N]

[QUOTE=highenuff;194679]
What are the advantages of the D80?
[QUOTE]

Better viewfinder (bigger; optional rule-of-thirds gridlines).

Wider range on kit lens (if you go with the kit lens).

Ability to buy D80 body by itself (if you have some other lens in mind).

Ability to auto-focus with Nikon lenses such as the 50mm/1.8.

Wireless flash control.

Higher resolution (10 MP vs. 6 MP); might be useful if you crop a lot.

In-camera picture editing (cute, but you probably want to do most of your post-processing on a Mac or PC)