30d over d80

[vmorriss]

A couple of days ago I was dead set on getting my first dslr, the nikon d80. My friend has one, and I love its feel and layout. Because I have pretty big hands I didn't like the feel of the canon alternative (the rebels), so the d80 seemed like the best way to go.

My plan was to go with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and then maybe get a telephoto somewhere down the road. When researching canon and nikon glass I found that canon seems to have a lot more mid range lenses (70-200 F/4L and 17-40mm f/4L ) I couldn't find this for nikon.

I'm not trying to start a X is better than Y discussion, I just feel like canon's lens options will suit me better in the future. On the other hand I really love the d80. The 40d looks nice, but I'm not about to spend that kind of money for a body, especially if I don't know how to make good use of it yet. Should I look at earlier models such as the 30d (priced the same as the d80) or even the 20d?

Thanks in advance.

 

[RKW3]

They're both really good systems, and you'll probably find lenses that suit you with both brands.

Just try to find a D80 and a 30d in a store and compare them side-to-side, see which one fits you best.

 

[JIP]

If you like Canon get a Canon what's there to discuss.

 

[Antithesis]

Both the 30D and the D80 are good cameras. Side by side, the D80 has a 2 megapixel advantage over the 30D and the ergonomics are better in many peoples opinions including my own. The 30D on the other hand is capable of faster FPS and will probably have better noise handling than the D80. I think Canon's AF system when these cameras were released was better than Nikon's. Not the case with newer bodies, but on the older consumer models.

I currently have a D80 and find that the noise handling is pretty bad, and is very noisy over about ISO 800, and is still noisy at ISO 400. That is something to consider as you start to use your camera very often, as a usable ISO 800 or even 1600 is pretty important.

I can print at 11X14 with the 10MP D80, and the prints look fine. I'm sure you could probably get similar sizes without that much of a drop in image quality. If your printing 8X10, then it doesn't matter at all. At that point, it's just whatever feels best to you.

Edit: I am probably going to be looking at a 20D, it is pretty close in features to the D80 for quite a bit less $. The only thing your missing is a larger LCD, an apparently 'improved' shutter and 1.5 more FPS compared to the 30D (with the 20D still at 5 fps, 2 faster than the D80).

 

[RKW3]

I currently have a D80 and find that the noise handling is pretty bad, and is very noisy over about ISO 800, and is still noisy at ISO 400.

I don't feel like the D80's noise performance is any worse than most other DSLR's in its range, I made fine 1000 ISO shots of my friend's band 2 Friday's ago. If you don't underexpose the shot the noise results are usually fine..

 

[NateS]

Both the 30D and the D80 are good cameras. Side by side, the D80 has a 2 megapixel advantage over the 30D and the ergonomics are better in many peoples opinions including my own. The 30D on the other hand is capable of faster FPS and will probably have better noise handling than the D80. I think Canon's AF system when these cameras were released was better than Nikon's. Not the case with newer bodies, but on the older consumer models.

I currently have a D80 and find that the noise handling is pretty bad, and is very noisy over about ISO 800, and is still noisy at ISO 400. That is something to consider as you start to use your camera very often, as a usable ISO 800 or even 1600 is pretty important.

I can print at 11X14 with the 10MP D80, and the prints look fine. I'm sure you could probably get similar sizes without that much of a drop in image quality. If your printing 8X10, then it doesn't matter at all. At that point, it's just whatever feels best to you.

Edit: I am probably going to be looking at a 20D, it is pretty close in features to the D80 for quite a bit less $. The only thing your missing is a larger LCD, an apparently 'improved' shutter and 1.5 more FPS compared to the 30D (with the 20D still at 5 fps, 2 faster than the D80).

At 11x14, it's not even a discussion because almost anything will look incredible at that size. I just printed 2 cropped photos from my D70s....6.1mp in 16-24 (ended up at only 100dpi) and it honestly looks better than on my screen and not a pixel in sight. I'm convinced that there is little difference in megapixels unless you are printing in the 20x30 range and even then, I think the difference would be small unless going larger than that.

I completely understand about the issue with lens. It's nice how Canon offers more than one constant aperture lens (i.e.70-200 f2.8L and 70-200 f/4L) so that people can still get a fast constant aperature lens without getting a second mortgage. Canon lens choice is much better than Nikon in my opinion and if I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone for a XT/XTI with plans to upgrade to a 40d or 5d in the future.

 

[Tiberius47]

If you're thinking about upgrading to the 40D in the future, then go with a 30D. You'll be able to use the same lenses, and you can keep the 30D as a second body.

BTW, the Tammy 17-50 is a lovely lens.