Nikon D80

[Neil Rigby]

The Nikon D80 is a digital single-lens reflex camera model announced by Nikon in August 2006. Considered by many to be an amalgam of design elements of the entry-level D50 and high-end D200 cameras, it occupies the same price bracket the Nikon D70 did at the time of its release.

How does the Nikon D80 perform for bird photography?

Any thoughts or comments?

[Chrissy]

I treated myself to a D80 two months ago after using a Minolta Dimage for quite some time. I spent some time researching and I did go to a shop and check out various contenders before I made my purchase.
I chose the D80 because I got a good deal just about the time that the D90 was released. I didn't feel that I wanted the video capability that comes with the D90, which would be very useful to some but would count as unnecessary weight for me.

The extra money saved was put towards a 70-300mm VR lens which despite hearing some fairly poor reviews, I am very pleased with.

I could always do with more zoom....but I rather suspect that this is a factor for many who love to take bird photographs

So far, I am really pleased with my choice.

[Churcho]

I use a D70 which I have had for a few years now, for the general photography I do it is more than adequate and when I combine it with my 170-500 lens it makes an excellent job of photographing birds in the garden. On birding trips I do find that carrying all the gear, binoculars, scope and tripod, camera bag, tripod, and lenses too much and inevitably the camera gets left behind, I think seeing the birds is the prime aim, not photographing them but there have been ocassions when I wish I had the camera with me. I am hoping that the acquisition of a Nikon FSA-L1 will go some way to solving that problem, it will allow me to connect the camera to the scope, and it should give me an 800mm lens!

[Dave H]

My present DSLR is a D80, I moved up from the D70s not because anything was poor about the D70 but because their price fell sharply with the introduction of the D90. It was a bargain for the body only (£300).
It is almost identical to the D70(s), most of the controls are in the same places and the menu system is similar.
At 10M pixels, it gives (perhaps surprisingly) only slightly larger images in terms of linear dimensions.
It has better noise levels than the D70 for any given ISO speed, although not (reportedly) as good as the D90.

Is it any good for birding? Well, probably not with the standard lens unless you can get within a few feet of your target

[Neil Rigby]

Really useful information Dave. Thanks.

Since I will be new to slr digital photography (not conventional) perhaps a smart move may be to buy a Nikon D80 with a really good quality lens.

Once I've got used to it and feel the need for a more advanced camera, I could upgrade to a Nikon D90.

I'm thinking that perhaps by the time this happens there may be a D100!

The lens I think I need for bird photography is a 70-300mm lens with a low f stop.

Any thoughts on my thoughts?

[paul.p911]

Hi there Neil
just a quick question neil do you often dress up like Indianna Jones....lol the fedora is very fetching i shall wear my hat from now on though i suspect i won't look as convincing.
Have a nice day!
Paul

[Dave H]

If I were to aim for say a D90 (or higher) then a D70s or D80 at the right price would be attractive, however, the D80 is so close to the D90 that moving up may not give much advantage (The D80 is very good itself). Moving from a D70(s) would give a worthwhile advance.
Remember that within a year the value of these will drop considerably and part exchanging is largely a thing of the past. In a year or two, when the D90 has been superseded its value will drop and plenty will become available on the market.
A great deal depends upon what you want to do with the images. For my club level photography, 6M pixel uncropped can be just pushed to make almost decent prints at 15 x10 (courtesy of Boots). This equates to an image print density of 200dpi (did I mention that high quality magazine images are done at 300dpi).

For web based images and projected images on a digital projector, 1024 x 768 is a big image and is way less that one sixth of the pixels within a 6M image.

I expect that birders will not often fill their image with the subject, so heavy cropping of the full image will be the norm. This may mean that birders, more than any other photographic group actually do need bigger images.


Sorry to ramble......

Oh, and there is already a D100, it's now old and was/is the pro version of the D70.

Dave..

[Dave H]

Just a further thought,

Some older DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon around 6Mpixel can be bought for less than the price of a new compact camera! (That's how I justified it to my wife! I didn't mention the glass that followed)

Dave

[Neil Rigby]

Thanks Dave, From your advice and information, I think a secondhand Nikon D80 and a really good 70mm x 300mm lens might suit me best.

Just to confirm, are all the lens completely compatible across the Nikon range ie D80 to D90? I was told that they have the Vibration Reduction in the lens, so the lens would need that.

Thanks for your help so far.

[Dave H]

Hi Neil,
In general, Nikon has good backwards compatibility. Digitals will work with almost any AF (Autofocus) lens with varying levels of features supported (matrix metering, 3D active metering ......). The link below is just one of many hits for "Nikon lens compatibility" on Google.

Nikon SLR Camera & Lens Compatibility Chart

Interestingly, there are some lens functionality differences between the D80 and D90, but these relate to film SLR lenses used on DSLR bodies.

Vibration reduction seems to have been incorporated as a feature/function of the lens by Nikon, rather than the apparently more economical body feature as adopted by some others. This will make your lenses a little more expensive, I guess.

Now that I think of it, the D80 doesn't self clean the sensor. This could be a nuisance if you change lenses a lot.

Regards, Dave