Nikon D80
 

Hello all,

Time has come to upgrade the old Nikon Coolpix 995 that has treated me so good over the years which I bought just as they came out. So I'm looking at the D80 and can get a new one at what I think is a pretty good price, $500 shipped which includes a 2gb SD card, usb card reader, tripod, case and one Nikon 28-80mm lens (a few other things as well, basically a "starter package").

Should I jump on it or is there another camera I should consider? I have just been totally impressed with my Coolpix, the thing has truly been bullet proof and I've read a lot of good things about the D80. I won't be leaving for my Central/South America & Africa Expedition until the first of 09 so I will have plenty of time to get familiar with it as well as buy an assortment of lenses...

Thanks in advance for any and all comments, suggestions etc! :thumbup1:

Happy trails,

Josh
CASA-RICA 09/10
Central America/South America - Africa 2009-2010

$500 is a bargain for the complete set you describe.

I am the happy owner of a D70, one of my sons has a D50. I have it with me on my trips on the BMW F650GS and the GoldWing but my son takes it with him in the topcase of his Tomos moped for a few years and it still works fine ........... I am sure the D80 is a very good choice and for that price.......
Here in the Netherlands, a D80 body alone will cost you € 600 (that is about $900)

Go to the shop, and take the camera in your hands. VERY important if you want to enjoy using it. (For example, I was tempted to get a Canon 350D once but when I tried to use it I soon realized it was FAR too small for my hands and I didn't like the interface either).
Also important: Look through the viewfinder. I remember the D70 viewfinder being quite different to what I was used to from my old FE2 and F90x cameras.

One really cool thing about the D70: you can trick the camera's flash sync time, because it uses an electronic shutter. With an external flash gun it is possible to sync down to 1/2000 or shorter. (Maybe a bit 'advanced' but it can be important to some people. See this post: Strobist: Control Your World With Ultra-High Sync

I have the D80 as well & love it. I moved from a SLR to a DSLR. Best thing would be as someone previously stated, go into a photo show & play with the Nikon & I belive that Canon has a new 12meg model out now as well. It has to feel right & confortable in your hands.

You may want to check out the newer 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses. The 28-80 you mentioned was great for 35mm, but is biased towards telephoto for the camera you're considering - probably why it's being bundled. I'd also consider a D40 or D70 body (assuming VR lenses work on them) but check out screen sizes, I think they're smaller. They're practically disposable now but have faster sync speeds (1/500th).

Just my thoughts. Good luck.

Thanks!
 

Many thanks for everyone's replies! I did as suggested and went and tried it out, it fit/feels really good! So I went ahead and ordered it! :thumbup1:

Teflon: I took your advice on lenses, the package I ended up getting has both a 18-50mm & 55-200mm.

Still included everything else I previously mentioned, 2gb sd, usb card reader, case, tripod etc and was $569 shipped next day air! They even threw in a free Belkin cable so I can download pics to my iPhone in a pinch... I think it would be hard to beat that deal!! Not to mention, I had a tracking number within an hour of online purchase!

That's one item I can mark off the list! Now I just need to get the GPS sorted and I'll be golden!!

-Josh

It's like xmas in the summer:clap: