T2i vs d80 looking for opinions

[B550]

Hello I'm new to photography and I'm looking to purchase a Nikon d80 which has been highly recommended for beginners and there is the canon t2i which is a difference of price. My question is which is a better purchase considering that the t2i is a few hundred dollars more. Will the Nikon d80 still last me a little while or should I invest in the canon t2i which is newer.In your opinion how much more life is in the d80 and t2i years wise for these cameras.I'm looking to do some fashion phootshoots very beginner level and learn but I want the quality to still be good for print.Thanks guys any info would help.

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Truth be told, they are both good cameras and very capable of giving you good files for printing. Cameras are just tools and it's more about how you use them, that what make/model they are. To that end, the lens you use will probably matter more than the camera you choose. So you might want to budget for a lens upgrade.

That being said, technology moves fast. The D80 is a fairly old camera by today's standards. One of the things to improve greatly over the years, is the amount of digital noise (grain) at higher ISO levels. So if you do shooting that might require high ISO settings, then you may want to get the newer camera for better ISO performance. But most fashion shooting is done with artificial lighting, so if that's your goal, you may end up shooting with your own lighting, in which case, you can probably stick to lower ISO settings, in which case, you would probably be fine with an older body like the D80.

 

[MLeeK]

I'd have to say purchase the best, most up to date body you can possibly purchase. If you don't you will find yourself wanting and needing to update the body rather quickly. If you purchase a good camera body then your money can be invested in building a good kit of lenses instead of constantly upgrading bodies.

 

[jaomul]

Having used a 550d and a d90 I thought they were very similar in image quality but the d90 is a better built camera. As the d90 is regarded as a step up from the d80 by most I would venture to say the Canon would also be better. The high ISO performance is good and the higher resolution may benefit as I am sure fashion photographers quite often crop their photos. But as already mentioned none of these cameras would be a bad choice

 

[Raian-san]

I would say the t2i as well. More up to date, as well as 1080p video option. I know might not need it now, but always a good feature to have for the future.

 

[BlairWright]

I'm a Nikon guy but if I had to choose between those bodies I would end up with the Canon T2i