I'm planning to buy digital camera. Couldn't decide btw Nikon D 200 and D80.?

Question

D 80 just came out with lense the price is the same as D200 without lense, just about. What do you recomend? Please give me some idea of their differences.

Answer 1

It depends on where you are in your photographic needs and skills. If you are looking for icons to help set the camera correctly, get the D80. If you are beyond that, you might prefer the D200.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d200%2Cnikon_d80&show=all

Nikon has actually put many of the great features from the D200 into the D80, so it is a relative bargain. The D200 is still a more rugged camera. It's bigger and heavier.

I have both a D70s and a D200, and I can tell you that the D70s is pretty much an "office only" camera now. It has the various modes, like "portrait" and "sport," that the D200 does not. I grew up in the era when having a through-the-lens light meter was considered evolutionary, so I know all about camera controls. I find that I prefer the more basic nature of the D200. I'd rather just do it myself than choose a mode to let the camera take over.

Go to Popular Photography to read their review of the D80.

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3231/camera-test-nikon-d80.html

Quoted from that article:

:The Bottom Line: Perhaps you're thinking this is One Complicated Camera. Absolutely not. Pick it up, put it on Program, choose a resolution, and shoot. When you need advanced controls or after-shooting tweaks, they're there, but they don't intrude on the shooting experience.

After testing this camera, we began to suspect that the people at Nikon have simply gone crazy. The D80 in many instances equals the performance of the $700-more-expensive D200. Sure, the D200 has a tougher body and tougher shutter, but that's still quite a gap.

Should you buy it? If you're into the Nikon system, and want to move up from a D70 or D70s, absolutely. If you're a D200 owner and want a backup that can do it all, absolutely. If you're a first-time DSLR buyer, it gets murkier. The D80 is $100-150 more expensive than 10MP DSLRs from Canon, Sony, and now Pentax -- and the Sony Alpha 100 and Pentax K10D have in-camera image stabilization. Nikon still makes you pay extra for its good RAW converter software.

But given the image quality of the D80, we say it's still a sensational buy."

Answer 2

Either camera will do fine. The D200 is heavier and rated for more use than the D80. The D80 is supposed to be a little better at higher ISO. If this is your first SLR, the D80 has a simpler learning curve...I believe the D200 has a very complicated menu because of all the features in the camera.
Don't forget to budget for a good flash and imaging software. If you have been using a digicam point & shoot, you will find the images from your slr to look soft and rather blah straight from the camera. You will need to plan on post-processing with Photoshop, Elements, Paintshop etc.
Good luck!

Answer 3

Buy D80 and additional lens with the money kept for D 200. Having good lenses is the key.

Answer 4

I haven't tried out either one, but shortly after the D80 came out, I asked the guys at my local camera store about it. They told me my D70 was better in many ways, and I probably wouldn't be happy with the D80. It's scaled-down or something. I haven't talked to them about the D200 at all. I probably should! I really trust those guys. I used to work for them. I know they're honest.

Answer 5

This link will take you to a comparison chart for Nikon's digital cameras. It is a PDF file. Looking at the chart, it looks like they are almost the same, except a few things that may matter depending on how specific your needs are. One difference is that the 200 uses compact flash for storage and the 80 uses SD.

http://www.nikonusa.com/fileuploads/pdfs/DLSR_comparison_chart_V2_060905.pdf