Nikon d80 - Leopard coincidence?
Seeing as our esteemed webmaster is both an Apple and a Nikon fan, the release of both the new 10.2MP Nikon d80, and the Apple Leopard, I have a feeling that were it not for the his upcoming nuptials, he’d have a new toy in his hands… 
. Biggest news IMO is that Nikon is now playing the megapixel game and are taking it to Canon’s 350D (which is an awesome camera as well). I won’t lie and say that I don’t want this, but seeing the price, and the results I can get with a d50 (the poorman’s dSLR), it would purely be an extravagant purchase to someone like me.
Nikon d80 link
August 9th, 2006 at 9:17 am
yuhu! it finally happeared! now let’s wait for an in-depth review (which, helaas, will not be me doing it…)
August 9th, 2006 at 11:04 am
I’m guessing the indepth review is going to be similar to the d200’s, except with the emphasis on what the increased resolution does for you. A big discussion point will be the noise at higher ISO’s, esp. compared to the d50’s, which is widely considered to have low noise at high iso’s. Not that it matters to me, but I get the feeling that is what is going to be the biggest talking point.
Don’t forget, Sony has just released their first dSLR, the Alpha A100, which is a 10MP beast (a-la KonicaMinolta), so expect a head to head on these two.
Besides, the next stash of cash I put into photography would be a new lens. Nikons 18 - 200 anyone?
August 9th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
nope, the new 70-300 VR
regarding the D80: thumbs up for iso 100 and low noise, but down for the lack of compact-flash compatibility… what am I gonna do with my 3 CF cards for 4Gb total space? (in case I would switch from the D70…)
August 10th, 2006 at 8:15 am
But I thought the 70-300 VR is not a DX lens, so it then becomes a 460mm at full zoom. Also, the speed is a little slow is it not? And thus, with a slow lens and I’m guessing thats what the VR is for, but then isn’t the whole point of large zooms to get action shots (wildlife, sports etc) where high shutter speeds are an issue? Then you would be better off getting a current 70-300 which would be much cheaper? I was shocked at how much zoom there is now using my old zoom on the d50.
I agree with you though on nikon not keeping storage capacity formats consistent. Luckily for me, the d50 had an SD card, and my laptop has a SD reader, so that worked out great.
August 16th, 2006 at 9:35 am
I’m just very glad to read about the new D-80!
It looks it’s going to be full of new surprises…! (there’s a first review available on dpreview, i guess you’ve seen it already).
Yep, the CF compatibility is a down, agreed.
As to the lenses, I still think primes deserve some attention..
Alb, would you keep the 18-70 if you sell the D-70 for the 80, or?
August 16th, 2006 at 9:45 am
I would, I find the 18-70 a great multi-purpose lens, the one you need always on your body when travelling… it’s like a good old 28-105 lens for 35mm, with good sharpness and fast focusing!
Anyway, the only thing that leaves me down on the D70 is the viewfinder…