digital slr guys, check this out.

[dieselfuel]

Package deals are cheap for a reason. Yeah it may have 4 lenses but the chances of them being any good are not very high.
I was originally looking at a rebel as well but after stopping into a local store to test drive a couple I could not stand the way it felt in my hand and in the end wound up with a camera I had not even thought about before because it felt so good.
Test drive as many as you can then read up on the ones you like.

yeah ive been reading about cameras for a while now but today thats all ive done.

 

[dieselfuel]

does anyone have experience with the nikon D80? im reading reviews and owner opinions on dpreview.com and it seems to be a great camera for the price range. i remember thinking my friends nikon D50 was just amazing and im reading reviews that this thing is an improvement over the D50.

 

[darkstar]

I have a D80 and a D200.

The D80 is a great camera, I like all the features it has, from the backlight on the top of the camera, the 10 megapixels and the ablilty to accept an aftermarket battery grip (which allows you to shot horizontal without tweaking your hand), which does wonders.

You will defentally get your moneys worth if you picked up a D80. I can show you some pics I took with a D80 if you like.

 

[procraft98]

does anyone have experience with the nikon D80? im reading reviews and owner opinions on dpreview.com and it seems to be a great camera for the price range. i remember thinking my friends nikon D50 was just amazing and im reading reviews that this thing is an improvement over the D50.

I have a Nikon D80 and couldn't be happier with my decision. It has the same guts (sensor and matirix unit) as the more expensive D200. It has a great size and feel to it and the build quality is top notch compared the Rebel series. I bought mine from BH Photo with a Nikon 18-55mm ED II lens, a Nikon 70-300mm VR Telephoto, and the battery grip. For a budget though, the Nikon 55-200mm VR is an excellent lens for around $230.00. The D80 has been worth every penny and more.....!!!!!!! Let us know what you decide "thumbsup"

Here are some sample shots from my D80...........

 

[rdtshaw]

does anyone have experience with the nikon D80? im reading reviews and owner opinions on dpreview.com and it seems to be a great camera for the price range. i remember thinking my friends nikon D50 was just amazing and im reading reviews that this thing is an improvement over the D50.

The D80 is a great camera. I personally shoot with the D200, but I have a couple of friends I shoot with that have D80's and I had the D70. The image quality was fantastic. The D80 is a little light and plastic feeling to hold, but it takes great pics.

Stay away from the D40 unless you're on a tight budget. It requires DX series AF-S lenses and uses SD cards vs Compact flash. CF is the staple of the pro photographer. The D80 and up will let you use pretty much ANY nikon mount lens with the exception of the old AI lens and only manual with the indexed lenses, but we're talking REALLY old there. This is nice since you can get some great deals on older wide, fisheye, Perspective Correction, and macro (micro as nikon calls it) lenses.

All that being said, the Rebel vs the D80: either way you won't go wrong. Nikon and canon both make great cameras and it is really a matter of which one feels good to you. I like the interface on the Nikon, it was the same on my F2, F5, F100, D100, D70, and D200. Nice and consistant. Canon is probably the same going back to the old AE's. I also like the wide to nomal zoom lens offering from Nikon. The canon has superior low light capabilities though. The Nikon is grainier at high ISO's.

The best thing you can add though, either way you go is an external flash. The onboard flash on all the DSLR's is horrible. Fine for a quick shot in a jam, but once you shoot with an external flash, you'll see the results. The Nikon SB800DX or SB600 and the Canon 430EX or 580EXII all work great. Usually a safe ebay purchase on that one, not as critical or expensive as the camera.

Cheers,

Rob

 

[dieselfuel]

holy shit! thats awesome man! ritz camera has the d80 with a Nikkor 18-55mm VR lens for $900... i can pick up another lens later on like a 55-200mm or something.

darkstar, lets see it!

 

[procraft98]

Here are a few more pics from this past weekend's Memorial Day Air Show and a few pics from a comp in April. The Pics of the crawlers was shot using the 55-200mm VR lens.

 

[dieselfuel]

ive read some reviews about the D80 having blown highlights and white balance problems but that can be adjusted out manually in the camera. have you guys had any problems with this? thats the ONLY negative thing ive heard about theD80 though.

 

[procraft98]

ive read some reviews about the D80 having blown highlights and white balance problems but that can be adjusted out manually in the camera. have you guys had any problems with this? thats the ONLY negative thing ive heard about theD80 though.

That was the only negative I read also before buying mine. I adjusted my Exposure to -2/3 as recommended by several top sites. I have not had a problem with blown out highlights and even when set to Zero, it was hardly noticeable. Sometimes the people doing the reviews tend to go overboard and exagerate. Plus, the D80 has Nikon's D-lighting for in camera edititing. As far as white balance issues, the D80 has the same Martix program as the D200 and both on Auto produce excellent white balance within the photos. All the reviews on the D200 boast about good WB. Hope that helped some.

 

[dieselfuel]

That was the only negative I read also before buying mine. I adjusted my Exposure to -2/3 as recommended by several top sites. I have not had a problem with blown out highlights and even when set to Zero, it was hardly noticeable. Sometimes the people doing the reviews tend to go overboard and exagerate. Plus, the D80 has Nikon's D-lighting for in camera edititing. As far as white balance issues, the D80 has the same Martix program as the D200 and both on Auto produce excellent white balance within the photos. All the reviews on the D200 boast about good WB. Hope that helped some.

Yeah it did, thanks I appreciate your help! Now I just need to convince the wife that I need to go to the camera shop today! Hehehe...

 

[darkstar]

Just do it! I had the same problem with my wife, but I went and bought it anyways (D200) and she was pissed about it for a while, but now? You cant get her to put it down! - I'll gather a few pics to show you, I have a few Night Shots of the Golden Gate Bridge.

 

[Cloak]

I just bought a 40d last week to replace my 300d and I love the hell out of it. Amazingly fast even compared to the XSI and it feels great.

 

[dieselfuel]

Ok guys I've got another stupid newbie question. What does the "D" stand for? Nikon and canon both use it in their camera names, d30, d50, 20d, 2d etc... Is it just "digital"??

 

[darkstar]

That is a good question! I can see it for the lineup for Nikon, but then you wonder what the 'N' stands for with the Nikon Film Camera's as well...

 

[Echodawg]

Awesome shot!!!

 

[JasonInAugusta]

A few from the 20D...resizing and all doesn't really show image quality, but hey. :lol:

Virtually any of the DSLRs will take great pictures, but it's kind of like crawlers.

The best equipment on the planet is useless if you don't know how to use it.

 

[Cloak]

Virtually any of the DSLRs will take great pictures, but it's kind of like crawlers.

The best equipment on the planet is useless if you don't know how to use it.

That's for damn sure. Speaking of which, what lenses are you running these days? I'm considering a couple of wide open ones, but haven't decided yet. I really like the 17-55 f2.8 IS USM, but it'll cost me more than my 40D body.

 

[darkstar]

Here are a few from my D50 about 2 years ago... - http://flickr.com/photos/jagruber/ I can't go on my photobucket account while at work, but I'll get ya some later.

 

[dieselfuel]

damn guys, if i didnt want a nice DSLR before i sure as hell do now. awesome pics!

 

[Echodawg]

Wow, those are some nice photos Jason. "thumbsup"

I just bought a 40D so haven't had a lot of time to really mess with it but here are a few shots from a recent trip to Death Valley.