Nikon D80. Good for a beginner? (Again!) EDIT: Or A New d50??

[Sheepking]

Previously had a 300d Canon and sold it as i didn't feel i was getting the most from it.

A year or so later i've been looking again as i miss a DSLR. The D80 feels right to me as i have large hands. The 400d just seems too small.

So is the D80 a good buy for a relative beginner?? I've been looking at the 18-70 kit and the 18-135 kit.

The reviews seem to suggest the 18-70 is the better lens but i'm drawn to the longer range of the 18-135.

Any opinions would be great!

Edit: found this which is local to me. is this a good deal and is the D50 as good a body to learn with as the D80??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120073273394&fromMakeTrack=true

[RobDickinson]

Its fine.

[John C]

If you move out of the program mode, you'll find the two command wheels very useful (speaking from my experience of the D70).

18-70 is a pretty nice walkabout range, I found. If you find you want telephoto range a lot, I'd consider an additional telephoto zoom (maybe the Sigma or Tamron 70-300). The Nikkor 18-70 is very good for the money, whereas the 18-135 gets fairly indifferent/poor reviews.

Are you planning to buy a kit, or body only + lenses?

[Boink!]

You'll get great results with the D80, though I'd also get the 18-70mm kit lens and a third party tele zoom (like mentioned above).

[rick67]

The D80's an excellent camera for the money. However if you're not sure how much you're going to use it a mint D70 can be had on ebay for £300 or a 20D for
£400. Both handle very well.

The 18-70 has the better build but the 18-135 is a v decent lens according to this review:

SLR Gear (http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/993/cat/13)

[emeyedeejay]

My brother in law went for a the D80 and 18-135 kit a short while back and is thrileld with the combination.

[puddleduck]

The D80 is an excellent camera - I owned one for a bit, and my Bro in Law has one (a previous Canon owner) and has one and really rates it. Neither of us are beginners, but I didn't see any gotchas for newbies.

As to the lens choices, reviews for the 18-135 are mixed. Early reviews of the 18-135 + D80 combo mentioned softness issues, that were attributed to the lens. Some more positive reviews have surfaced lately. The 18-70 is generally very positively reviewed.

I'd be inclined to get an 18-70 DX (get one s/h circa £100 if you shop around) and maybe get an 70-300 AF-G for longer duties, its very cheap (circa £80 s/h), and although not much good past 200mm, is very decent between 70-200. It is also faster at its short end than the 18-70 DX at its long end (18-70 is f/4.5 @ 70mm vs 70-300 AF-G @ f/4 @ 70mm).

Just something to consider anyhow :)

[Tastydirt]

I wasn't quite a beginner when I bought my D80 but it was my first DSLR and I have to say it's very easy to learn. The menu system is very intuitive and has a helpful help system for when you just start off, means you don't have to bring the manual along with you, and the buttons are well labelled and most things do what you expect them to.

I got the 18-70 instead of the 18-135 as I read some bad reviews about it, and it's not as well built. There's probably not a huge difference in optical quality though.

I have the 70-300G too and have to agree it's down excellent value for money (under half what I paid for it years ago :cry:) and very good from 70-200. Around 300 it gets soft and loses contrast, but you can still get decent shots from it stopped down.

[Dno]

I wasn't quite a beginner when I bought my D80 but it was my first DSLR and I have to say it's very easy to learn.

I was the same, and it didn't take long to get to grips with the camera. The buttons/dials really are well thought out.

I went for the 18-70 because of the dubious reviews of the 18-135. I'm certinly happy with my choice, although there are times when that 70mm extent isn't long enough. I guess it depends on what you want from it.

Dean.

[John C]

I'd be inclined to get an 18-70 DX (get one s/h circa £100 if you shop around)

Sheepking, if you're thinking of getting your 18-70 s/h, give me a shout - I do have one that I was thinking about eBaying sometime soon. Mine's a bit of a beater, so I wouldn't be asking as much as £100 for it.

[NickG]

I bought a D80 just before xmas, it was my first SLR of any kind. I have found it functionality wise very easy to get to grips with. The build quality seems excellent. There is a feature to present fewer option in the menus to make the easier to use if you prefer.

I went body only with the love it or hate it Nikkor 18-200 VR lens, I have nothing to compare with, but I am very happy with the results. At the moment I am most definitely in the 'all the gear no idea' school but I now 'understand' exposure thanks to the book of the same name, and I'm really enjoying the learning process.

[Shoei]

Got my D80 before xmas as well.
Been using a FinePix S5000 but was finding it too limited, too much shutter lag.
Love the D80, fits my hands just right.
Getting more used to using after reading the "Understanding Exposure" book.
Capture NX is well worth it aswell.

[pauls2]

As others have said - the D80 just feels good to use in my hands wheras the canon 400D felt terrible.

[Sheepking]

up for the edit!

[Tastydirt]

You can get the D50 kit cheaper than that from John Lewis (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://departmentstore.at/thedvdforums) at £377, no SD card but they're so cheap it's not worth factoring in their price. Instore only I think, but look around online and it's cheaper than that so theres no rush to buy.

I would say the D50 probably isn't as good to learn for the main reason that it has a much worse LCD. But whether you think a LCD is worth the price difference is upto you!

[emeyedeejay]

Here are the differences ... or lack thereof as the case may be ...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d50%2Cnikon_d70s%2Cnikon_d80&show=all

- The viewfinder and LCD screen on the D80 are much nicer
- The D50 lacks a depth of fiedl (DoF) preview button (which may or may not phase you - it does me)
- The D80 has more flash photography opportunity in that the onboard speedlight can add to the overall light of the shot when using off camera remote flash (whereas on the D50 and the D70 the onboard flash can only fire a remote flash - it cannot add to the light for exposure (I'm almost certain this is the case for the D50 - it certainly is for the D70/D70s)
- Obviously higher resolution on the D80

[John C]

The D50 has great image quality and high ISO performance (AndySymbian has owned both, so could probably comment on the differences in the D80).

However, it does lack the second command wheel and on-demand gridlines in the viewfinder - whether that matters is something your shooting style will decide, I think - I wanted them so I went with a D70 instead.

I think you'll grow out of the D50 a lot quicker than the D80.

[puddleduck]

Edit: found this which is local to me. is this a good deal and is the D50 as good a body to learn with as the D80??

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....mMakeTrack=true

They were selling this for £360 the other day as I posted a link in howard's D40 thread - so the "free" card is adding £28.

Sizewise the D50 and D80 are similar - make sure you will not miss the extra command dial or the DoF on the D50. Its an excellent camera - if you want to shoot at ISO1600 a lot, thats a big advantage it has over the D80.

If you want a decent body but wish to spend less than the D80 consider the Pentax K100D as an alternative to both the Nikons you have mentioned.

If I was starting afresh, I'd be looking at Pentax before Nikon or Canon.

[John C]

If I was starting afresh, I'd be looking at Pentax before Nikon or Canon.
I agree, but I think I'd be looking at the K10D before anything else in their range, tbh.

[puddleduck]

I agree, but I think I'd be looking at the K10D before anything else in their range, tbh.

So would I, but I got the impression the OP was looking to spend a bit less (hence idea of the D50 rather than the D80).

K100D kit is about £350-£400 if you shop around, K10D is around £599 body only, so may not be an ideal starter camera?

But yes, the K10D really does look like the camera for folks moving to SLRs for the first time.

[kerzo]

The D50 is a great starter camera, I was a beginner too when I got mine about a year ago. I never thought I would need any of the functions the D70/D70s offered on top of the D50 but after a year of experience it would be nice to have 2nd command dial, commander mode (for off camera flash) and the option of a battery grip. For these reasons I would personally recommend a D80 as it is more likely to offer you more as you add to your kit which is inevitable if you keep looking in this forum ;)

[Sheepking]

it really was to try an cheapen it a bit as i am worried about not using it. The pentax K100d look really good. time for more research.

[eagle]

There is a shop in Watford called SRS cameras in Watfrod who do the K100 and two lenses for £499.I am stalling on this though as it could just be an impulse buy as I dont think I would use it that much.