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Nikon D80

Digital Camera Review

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Testing / Performance

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Components
December 13, 2006 By Patrick Singleton
4 Comments
(add your own)


Front (8.5)
The Nikon D80’s hand grip is covered in rubber, and features Nikon’s signature shallow red cravat toward the top, just under the front control dial. A focus assist light is high between the grip and the lens mount. The FUNC button is slightly lower, and depth of field preview is farther down, toward the bottom of the mount. The focus mode switch is a lever on the right side of the lens mount, about opposite the DOF preview button. The lens bayonet release is about midway up the side of the mount. The flash exposure compensation button is above that, and the flash mode button is above that. Facing forward on the right side is an infrared detector. A demure little "D80" badge sits below the IR detector. Nikon’s standard logo is on the front of the viewfinder hump.

Back (8.5)
A 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD graces the back of the Nikon D80. A column of buttons runs down the left side of the display. Their functions are delete, playback, menu, help, thumbnail and playback zoom. The help button doubles as the white balance control, the thumbnail button allows ISO adjustment and the zoom button allows the user to control file size and quality. The delete button, in combination with the metering pattern button, formats the memory card. The viewfinder is surrounded by a soft rubber eyecup. The diopter control pokes out from behind the eyecup. It’s easy to adjust, but doesn’t bump out of place. The auto focus/auto exposure lock is to the right of the eyecup. The four-way controller is below that, and a large locking switch for the controller is lower still. Beneath that is an OK button. Toward the right side is a small LED indicator that blinks as data are written to the memory card. The back control dial is at the top right of the back.

Left Side (8.0)
The Nikon D80 has a sturdy, stamped metal strap lug that juts from the upper left side. Below it is a large rubber cover for a USB port, a video out port, a DC power supply and a reset button. There is a separate cover for a wired remote control. The rubber covers seal out dirt and moisture, and they’re more durable than hard plastic doors that many cameras have.

Right Side (6.5)
The D80 uses SD media cards, so its media card door is relatively small, taking up about the middle third of the back edge of the right side. It sits flush with the side, and doesn’t interfere with the grip. Unlike the media doors on higher-end Nikons – the D200, D2X and D2Hs – this door does not have a latch. We’ve always assumed that latches make doors a bit more durable because they don’t rely on friction to hold the door closed. The strap lug is similar to the one on the left side of the camera. It pokes out, but doesn’t get in the way when we use the controls.

Top (8.5)
The Nikon D80 has one mode dial, to the left of the viewfinder hump. It sets the exposure mode, and does not feature any buttons on top or levers protruding from underneath, as other Nikons have. A flash pops up from the hump just in front of the hot shoe. There’s a large monochrome status display to the right of the hump. The shutter release is at the front of the grip, and the power switch surrounds it. The meter pattern button and the exposure compensation button are between the shutter release and the display. The burst and auto focus mode buttons are to the right of the display.

Bottom (7.5)
The bottom of the D80 is plain and rugged. The plastic base plate has ridges on it around the tripod socket. The ridges may help the D80 grip a tripod plate, but they mainly form a nondescript surface that won’t look too bad if it gets some minor scratches from being carelessly attached to a tripod. The battery compartment is under the grip, and its door is secured by a small latch, which ought to be bigger and sturdier.

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Nikon D80
Digital Camera Review
4 Comments
(add your own)

Previous: Page 1

Testing / Performance

Previous: Page 3

Components