Nikon D80 Digital SLR Camera (18-70mm Lens Kit)

this is a fantastic camera. many ppl i think will be trying to decide whether they should purchase this or the canon eos 400d. i think i should start of by saying that an on paper comparison is not going to help anyone decide which they should get, and i would suspect that those looking for an on-paper comparison are those that are only going to unlock the full potentials of either of these fantastic cameras only very slowly, rather than those that will be looking for a specific set of features.

to cut a long story short, out of the box, either will give u fantastic sharp pictures that will leave you wondering why you didnt upgrade from point and shoot cameras ages ago. however, the canon's white balance left a little something to be desired compared to the d80. in the automatic modes, i prefer the nikon's picture, but theres not much in it terms of sharpness, but maybe some elements of personal taste in terms of the overall look of the captured images would send some buyers in one direction or the other, compare reviews online to get a better idea.

i would say tho that in favour of the nikon is the metering system, the viewfinder (bigger and brighter), the status display (which is combined on the lcd in the canon), the 2 control wheels (vs one on the canon so u have to go into a menu if after setting aperture u want to set shutter speed) and a better kit lens, better build quality, and better ergonomics. in favour of the canon are the sensor cleaning and price and bundled software (RAW converter).

both cameras will give u tack sharp results, but i would suggest looking beyond that to make ur decisions; the nikon's feature set is geared to users who want to do more than point and shoot and are already familiar with using aperture priority and shutter priority etc. from that point of view, i believe the nikon will give more satisfactory results, and give u the oppurtunity to do more with ur picture taking; its almost on a par with the d200 (though of course its not weather sealed).

in summary, the d80 is great, and i thoroughly recommend it!

And extremely good value. Almost as good as a D200 and much more economical. If you're looking at the camera you're probably a "keen amateur or hobyist", so you're already looking at the right product. (Or possibly the new Canon 450D.)

For more and more indepth reviews I suggest looking at the items for the body only or 18-135mm kit. If you're a purist/hardcore user, you'll go body only and buy all your bits seperately. If, like me, you're somewhere in between you'll go for the 18-135 kit. With a lens (and it's a better lens) AND cheaper than this configuration at time of writing.

Summary: Great camera, but not a great kit. Go for the 18-135mm version, much better overall value.

Hi,

First of all, I do not want to confuse any of you. But I want to add a small note.

The day after my D80 arrived (from amazon)... I took my first pictures. Just for a test. While I was browsing through them, I have noticed that black spot in all of the pictures.

This case is known as "dust in the low-pass filter". I am quite familiar with the problem. Was that a manifacturing error... or was I unlucky enough to get that single piece of dust inside my camera while I was mounting my lens (very carefully). I do not really know. The thing I know is that just after one day... I was in trouble...

There are two Nikon shops in the town. Both of them refused to apply the simple "Removing the dust from the low-pass filter" procedure listed in the manuel.

One of the shops said that they can send my camera to Nikon. This takes 4-5 weeks.

The shop said that they can send the camera to Nikon, it will take 4-5 weeks... and they charge me 100£ for this procedure (It sounded like the guy was trying to punish me for buying the Nikon D80 through Amazon, but not from his shop).

However I was lucky enough and the shop that rejected to help me the first time, noticed how desperate I was... and decided to help me... They applied the simple dust removal procedure as described in the manuel... and they saved me money and weeks...

But this has nothing to do with Nikon... It was my personal victory.

The result: Nikon has a terrible customer care policy. Once you buy their product... You are on your own. It takes weeks and money... Next time I will think twice before buying a Nikon.

Amazon simply asks you to first try going through the procedures of the manifacturer (I have already mentioned those procedures) and then... they probably will replace the product.

I have to say again: This is just my personal experience... But I was not happy with this entire mess. Especially with the customer care procedures of Nikon. I almost ended up paying extra 100£ and loosing my camera for 5 weeks.

Thats all.