Nikon D80 Digital Camera Review

Nikon has a consistent style for its DSLRs. They are angular, black, and have subtle curves. The D80 has the signature red triangle on the grip, just under the shutter. Red accents go back to Nikon’s film cameras when the F3 came out with a narrow red stripe up the front. Nikon’s continuity of style lends its lower-priced models, such as the D80, with a bit of the panache of the high-end stuff. Put the extra battery pack on the D80, and it looks kind of professional. Canon, the only other DSLR brand that currently makes pro-level DSLRs, makes stylistic distinctions between its expensive stuff and its cheap stuff – the Rebel XTi really doesn’t look much like the 5D or the 1D series.

 

Size / Portability (7.5)

The Nikon D80 is 5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 inches and weighs 21 ounces without a battery or lens. That’s the same size as the D70, but smaller than the D200. The D200 is 8 ounces heavier than the D70 or D80. The weight won’t make any difference in portability – the cameras will fit in the same camera bags, and so on. The D80 is lighter, but is also less durable. It isn’t as well sealed against the environment, and its mechanical elements are less robust.

Handling Ability (9.0)

The Nikon D80’s light weight will be an advantage for users who shoot for long stretches at a time or get tired of holding large cameras. Its grip is comfortable, with an indent for the user’s fingertips, and a rubbery surface to prevent slips. The D80 is small enough that it will feel like a bit of an afterthought mounted to the back of Nikon’s large-aperture zooms, such as the 70-200mm f/2.8 or even the 18-55mm f/2.8. Most of the weight will be in the lens, or at least the inertia will be there, and users will have to support such combinations by holding the lens with their left hands. Small-handed users will probably prefer holding the D80 over the D200, D2X or D2Hs.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (8.5)

The controls on a camera are very often the limiting factor for getting a shot – if they’re confusing or slow to use, photographers may end up trying to set the exposure or ISO when they should be pressing the shutter. Or just as bad, they may press the shutter with the camera settings so out of whack that the camera records an unprintable image of a great moment.

 

The Nikon D80’s controls are less convenient and quick than the Nikon D200’s, but it has some basic, and very important similarities - ones that give it an advantage in the sub-$1000 market. First, it has two control dials. For manual exposure, that means the user can directly set both shutter speed and aperture, without having to hold down another button, or do any other gymnastics. Setting white balance, one dial scrolls through presets while the other fine-tunes the color. Second, it has a precise, dish-shaped 4-way controller, with a large locking switch. Third, its power switch is around the shutter release, and is easy to operate with one’s hands in shooting position. Fourth, its delete function is quick and simple – press it once, and the camera asks if you really mean to delete a file, press it again, and the file is gone. It’s just as sure as systems where the user presses the trash button to delete, and then the OK button to confirm, but it’s faster. Fifth, both cameras have a customizable Function button that’s easy to use and quick to access.

 

The D80 is solidly inferior to the D200 in some aspects of the interface. The D200’s access to ISO, Quality and White Balance is a cluster of buttons on top of the burst mode dial on the top left of the camera. They’re large and easy to reach, and they don’t double as anything else. The D80’s buttons for the same functions are on the back, and they have other secondary functions in playback mode, so the user must be sure the camera is in shooting mode to adjust those parameters. The D200’s meter pattern and auto focus pattern controls are levers that point to icons for each setting. On the D80, the user has to press a button and watch the status display to set the same features. The D200 has a big latch for its media door. The D80’s bracket button is oddly isolated on the lens mount. The only thing it’s close to is the flash popup button – and it sure would be inconvenient to activate one when the other was needed.

 

The D80’s menus are clear and attractive. The text is easy to read, and the icon-based, tabbed interface is easy to navigate. The order of some of the entries seems odd: frequently adjusted features such as ISO and white balance appear below rarely changed settings like Optimize Image. One explanation for that is that ISO and white balance are accessible without using the menus at all. The user can press buttons, and adjust them on the control display atop the camera.

 

 

 

 

A separate menu comes up in Playback mode.

 

 

Ease of Use (7.75)

The Nikon D80 is straightforward – its controls and menu items are clearly labeled. There’s a useful help function in its menu system, which brings up text explanations that provide insight to experienced photographers and basic concepts to beginners. It includes complete manual controls and automatic options. In comparison to the D200, it includes many more features for the casual user, and is less convenient for the manual shooter. The program modes will appeal to the former, while the latter will be slowed down a bit by the physical controls for auto focus, white balance and ISO.

 

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