Nikon D80

[Bambi]

I want to get a dslr to use for picture taking and was wondering if the D80s were still good to use seeing as I could get one on Craiglist for about 250-300 bucks body only. I wanteed a d90 but i want to make sure I would actually use it and enjoy rather than throw a lot of money down. What would you guys recommend? Would you buy the d80?

Thanks in advanced

 

[northrop]

As a D80 owner, I'm a little biased towards the camera, so of course I will recommend it

I haven't been tracking a used market in years, so I dunno what else is there in this price range, but considering you could pick up a used D300 for about $650, I'd say $250 seems fair for the D80. Anything above $300 better include a lens, IMO.

As far as the camera itself, it's a great little thing. It's my first DSLR that I have owned for about 4 years now, and up until a month ago, has been my only DSLR. The only bad thing I can say about it is the piss poor high ISO performance. I do landscapes primarily, so that didn't really bother me all that much, but a fast lens/strobe is an absolute must for any indoor photography with this camera. Personally, I don't like how it handles anything above ISO640, but this is very subjective opinion.

I'm gonna pimp my own site here if you want to see what D80 can do. Every image on the site, with an exception of the few shots in the Chicago gallery, has been taken with the D80.

If you can stretch your budget however, I would strongly suggest getting the D90 instead.

If the budget is of concern, and you are willing to sacrifice some features, a D5000 can produce a slightly better images (but again, it doesn't have the built in focus motor, so your lens choice will be limited if you want every lens to auto focus; D80 has also a brighter viewfinder, and can work in commander mode with strobes).

 

[RyanGSams]

Are you looking strictly Nikon or would you consider Canon? I have owned 2 canon dslrs. What is your primary use going to be?

 

[aldrinjacobs]

stick with D80 and enjoy it.

 

[slh28]

I'm gonna pimp my own site here if you want to see what D80 can do. Every image on the site, with an exception of the few shots in the Chicago gallery, has been taken with the D80.

Shameless promotion but some nice pics there

Being a biased D90 owner I would recommend getting that over the D80: advantages are video shooting, better ISO performance, much better screen and liveview. I don't know how much they go for used so obviously that's something you have to factor in. The D90 really is an excellent prosumer level DSLR and I'm sure you'll enjoy using it.

I find the build quality of the prosumer level Nikons superior to the Canons, just feels more rugged in the hand.