Nikon D80?

lisa_13 · Apr 16, 2008

im majoring in photography in college next year.
went to ritz camera to get a camera reccomendation, the guy reccommended a nikon D80 and i have to say i am in LOVE with the thing.
buuuuuuuut it's $1100 (i want the 55-135 lens) and i cant really afford that. i know i can get it cheaper at other places.

anyone have a place theyve bought at before for cheap and reccommend? i dont want to spend so much money if its a crap place that won't ship me my stuff.

also, anyone have the D80 and like it or hate it?

thanks!

kundalini · Apr 16, 2008

What's your budget?

You can get the body only from B&H for $730 and a 50mm f/1.8 for $110.

The D80 is a great camera and the 50mm will make you work to get the shots you want rather than relying on a zoom. Great combo. The best thing about the D80 is that (when you're ready) you will have the capability to go wireless off-camera flash straight out of the box with nothing else to buy (besides the flash - SB-600 or SB-800)

Antithesis · Apr 16, 2008

Look into the used market, you can pick them up for much less than that. And I wouldn't recommend Ritz unless you have no other option.

bla · Apr 16, 2008

Personally... love my D80, its an amazing camera. But keep in mind that camera bodies go from top-of-the-line to "outdated" in a few years. Make your lens choice a higher priority. The D80 has some great features that make taking pictures a lot easier and more enjoyable. But it won't really make your pictures more gorgeous than a D40 would.

I don't know much about the 55-135mm (haven't heard of it actually)... but your shortest focal length will be 1.5 X 55 = 82.5mm. Depending on what type of photography you'll be doing, this may turn out fairly restrictive (eg. for landscape, architectural). Seeing as you're off to a major in photo, the lens may not fit well with some of your assignments.

And why the 55-135mm, if you don't mind me asking? How fast is it? It costs ~400$?! Why not the 55-200mm VR which costs ~200$? Why not the 18-55mm VR which costs ~150$? Both have great optics and seem to be some of the cheapest zooms Nikon offers. The 18-55mm in particular should cover most of your needs. The 50mm f/1.8 is a good suggestion: its great, sharp, fast, and cheap, but again, may be restrictive.

eminart · Apr 16, 2008

I got my D80 (which I love by the way) from Cameta Camera. I got it with the 18-55mm lens for around $820. The camera body and the lens both were "factory demos", but they look and function like brand new. Cameta has a storefront on ebay and their prices on D80's may be even cheaper now. They usually have a lot of different packages to choose from. I recommend them.

sabbath999 · Apr 17, 2008

I second the Cameta Camera recommendation. I have purchased 4 cameras from them.

Renair · Apr 17, 2008

Wow $1100, what a rip off. Go to www.bhphotovideo.com and get a better deal.
D80 18-55MM VR $879
D80 18-135MM $999

lisa_13 · Apr 17, 2008

whoops...i meant the 18-135, not 55-135

and cameta and b&h..ill have to try those out
are the cameras on cameta's ebay used?

edit: ah, factory demos. they still have a years warranty on the body, so this is a good buy, yes?

i'm thinking this one, $900 and comes with a crapload of stuff.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D80-Digit...Z022QQcategoryZ147174QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

i'm assuming it comes with the battery charger as well?

bla · Apr 17, 2008

Have a look at these reviews:

Nikon 18-135mm: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-135.htm
Nikon 18-55mm: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-55mm-vr.htm
Tamron 70-300mm (I know its the Nikon version, but they're apparently very similar lenses): http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70300af.htm

I'm not too inclined toward that eBay listing. A lot of the stuff included isn't very useful, and while you do get two lenses, I doubt that they're very good. What you pay for is what you get in photography, and those two lenses combined can be bought for ~200$ at Adorama or BH Photo Video. Lenses are arguably more important than the camera body, so you should make a well informed decision here. I've had a Tamron lens, though that might be because they make somewhat inferior glass than Nikon.

Jus7 A Phas3 · Apr 17, 2008

I got my D80 of amazon and a 50 1.8 of B&H. I love it, you should really get it

iflynething · Apr 21, 2008

I thought the price dropped recently for the D80 to $799 for the lens and like $999 for the body and 18-135 at Ritz/Wolf Camera?

~Michael~

DWS · Apr 22, 2008

stick with highly reputable dealers....B&H was already referenced.....I am also pleased with Adorama in terms of quality (ie., no sleazy upselling) and service...

lisa_13 · Apr 22, 2008

just ordered one! a friend reccommended some plac in florida where she gets all her photo stuff.

body, 3 nikon lenses (28-80, 70-300, and a wide angle), a filter kit, external flash, and a hard case. $969!

kundalini · Apr 22, 2008

Congrats. Hope all goes well on your purchase.

Remember to post your photos.

djacobox372 · May 5, 2008

A couple of comments:

1) The D80 is basically a lesser grade version of the D200, same picture quality but less features, slower, and not nearly the same build quality. However you can buy a gently used d200 for about the same as a gently used d80. This is because so many people are selling their d200's as they upgrade to the d300.

2) The D70 ($350 gently used) is the predecessor to the d80; it's nearly identical in quality and operation. The only respectable differences are the lcd screen size, and the 6mp sensor vs. the 10 on the d80, but megapixels don't matter as much as most think--just look at all the rave reviews about the 6mp d40.