Nikon D80 Digital SLR
nikon-d80-slr
Executive summary about Nikon D80 by Shawn Bernett
Nikon’s original camera for this prosumer category, the D70, was my personal benchmark for superb balance in an SLR. Speaking of buttons. Controls on the Nikon D80 will be familiar to most Nikon users, but some functions have been moved around. In place of the Status LCD illumination button are the Drive mode and AF mode buttons. Pressing either button cycles through the available modes, changing the icons and words on the Status LCD.
Sensor. Kit lens. The D70′s 18-70mm kit lens was unusually excellent for a kit lens when it debuted. Flash. In short, the D80 has more complete access to Nikon’s Creative Lighting system than any of Nikon’s consumer-level cameras to date. Shooting. The camera was nimble. Zooming in on captured images is now as easy as pressing the big QUAL/Zoom button on the lower left of the screen repeatedly. I really like that Nikon moved the AF and Capture mode buttons to the top deck just right of the LCD. Particularly welcome is the AF mode button.
I just pressed the flash button on the left side of the lens housing and turned the front mode dial. I also liked the Nikon D80′s Auto ISO mode, which is available in most modes, not just Full Auto. Modes. Shooting with the Nikon D80 was a blast. Nikon has hit on the right combination of camera capabilities and zoom range, to the extent that I’d call the Nikon D80 a near-ideal camera. Nikon D80 High Points
More advanced packages called Nikon Capture and Nikon Capture NX are available separately. (Read our review of Nikon Capture NX for more details on an excellent image-editing application.) Nikon D80 Components: In the Box
There is also an auto-exposure and auto-focus lock button. There are 3 different focusing modes available – Single Area AF, Dynamic Area AF, Auto-area AF – and 3 metering modes – 3D Color Matrix II, Centre-weighted metering and Spot metering. There are 4 types of focusing – Instant single-servo (AF-S), Continuous-servo (AF-C), auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A) and Manual (M). An Auto-focus assist lamp is also available. In-camera editing features include Nikon D-lighting, Red-eye Correction, Image Trimming, Image Overlay, Monochrome Black and White, Sepia and Cyanotype along with Skylight, Warm Tone and Custom Color filter effects. The Nikon D80 has a hotshoe that accepts Nikon dedicated flashguns, either auto or manual.
