[Senn20]

Today I stopped by Circuit City to check out some digital cameras. As I've always been a film shooter with operating a full manual camera with spot metering up until now, this was an interesting experience. These are just a few initial impressions.

First came the Nikon D80 with 18-135mm kit lens. The batteries in the SB-600 speedlight were dead and it couldn't be removed due to a theft deterrent device. I had to shoot at ISO 1600 with a shutter speed of 1/80 because the on board flash doesn't work with the speedlight mounted. So really, I didn't get to see what this camera was capable of.

The viewfinder was big and bright despite the poor lighting and relatively small apertures of the lens. At first I was confused because I couldn't get the lens to focus, when I realized that the diopter was way off. That fixed it.

I didn't have a card for the camera so it was stuck in demo mode which cut off some of the settings and features.

Very comfortable to hold. MUCH MUCH quieter in operation than my old Pentax which made a "CHICKRRRRAAAANNNNNGGGG!!!!!!" sound every time I depressed the shutter button. Faster too. The Pentax had a continuous rate of about 1.2 frames per second, no kidding. Although not as fast as the D200 at 3fps instead of 5, it still seemed lightning quick in comparison.

I liked the 18-135 quite a bit. The zoom range was very nice and having the focus ring right next to the body is a godsend. On my Pentax lenses I always had to grab a tiny ring at the end of the lens to focus. Autofocus was pretty fast for a kit lens, though maybe a little slow for sports.

That's about all to report on without getting a good audition in.

Next was the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Couldn't power up. In fact, more than half of the cameras on display there couldn't. Good ergonomics, almost on par with the Nikon D80. Very slightly smaller viewfinder. Kit lens sucked. Nice rubber grip, but felt cheap and had a tiny focus ring at the front element of the lens. Zoom felt sloppy. The control layout looked pretty good. With a better lens this could be a very capable camera.

The original Digital Rebel XT feels plasticy. It has a tiny grip. Don't think this one powered up either but I didn't bother because the grip was too small. Save up your coins and buy the XTi instead if you're going Canon.

The Sony A100 has crap ergonomics. Feels boxy and has a really weird shutter button location. The front scroll wheel is where the shutter should be. Anti-dust and IS wouldn't be enough for me to choose it over the Nikon or Canon offerings. If I recall correctly this camera also lacks the full color histogram of the Nikon D80 in lieu of a simple luminance histogram, which is next to useless in many situations.

I wish I could have compared the Nikon D80 and the Canon XTi more thoroughly but of course one both were crippled in one way or another.

I also checked out the Canon PowerShot SD630. Much more comfortable to hold than it's teeny tiny sibling the SD600, although my thumb tends to rest on the far right of the lcd instead of the rear control area. Fairly quick zoom, but shutter lag was pretty bad, which you'd expect coming from an SLR user. I'd consider purchasing this one if I were in the market for a pocket camera.

 

[ghopper]

The D80 is worth every penny. But don't buy from Circuit City. They are rip offs there. Buy from BestBuy: more honest, less hassles when you have a problem, better service, etc.

The 18-135 is very sharp and fast. Though I feel it is a bit fragile and cheap, especially the extended part. The part that extends the farthest (where the lens hood attaches to) feels the weakest and can be wiggled. I think it'd last if handled properly.

I don't think the XTi can compare with the D80. More like the XTi and the D50. The D80's direct competitor should be the 30D.

 

[chych]

That's basically what I thought when I tried out the cameras at circuit city and best buy. I ended up going with the Sony (just ordered it), mostly due to the IS (don't want to spend $$$ for the Nikon/Canon IS); I figure I'll get used to the ergonomics over time. Though I hear the Sony has poor performance at high ISOs, something to keep mind of (I shoot below 400 mostly anyway).

For the Nikon, I keep hearing that the 18-70 lens is of very good quality and a better lens than the 18-135.

Also bhphotovideo.com is a good place to order from, probably the cheapest you'll find (other than ebay), and reputable.

 

[Xakepa]

Yea, get D80 from BB. I'm a big fan of CC, but not when it comes to digital cameras - BB CS is better in this respect.

There's one thing to recon with - build the habit to follow the object in the focusing senzor. Current firmware have a well know glitch to over-emphisize proper exposure of that point, more or less ignoring the rest (in a bad way). Otherwise, just like my chepo Powershot -2/3 exposure compensation is fine 90% of the time.

 

[stuartr]

Did you look at the Pentax cameras? Since you have been using one, you might want to check them out. I personally preferred the Pentax *ist cameras to the Canons and Nikons in the prosumer range. They are coming out with a K10D which looks like it is finally going to be some serious competition for the big boys...
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...entax_k10d.asp

 

[ellover009]

I would hold a bit for it to come on sale again, 2 weeks ago I was around $1175 for the kit lens 18-135 and the camera. They offer a pretty good warantee, my friend had a 30D go bad on him, his extended warantee took care of it. I would opt to also look at the canon 30D, I think it's the closest competitor to the D80, in they end they are verry similar. I tried the D80 and the 20D, the D80 feels right, the 30D is beefy, feels perfect in hands, you can hold it with one hand. I was a canon man, I looked at some of the lenses offering of nikon and noticed that canon caters a bit more into the higher end lenses, L lenses and such, their introductory lenses aka poor mans lenses are really crippled. Nikon offer's something similar but they offer much better selection at their lower end lenses they'r not as crippled, they are pretty good. Good luck man.

 

[Samgotit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Senn20 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Today I stopped by Circuit City to check out some digital cameras. As I've always been a film shooter with operating a full manual camera with spot metering up until now... camera.

Same here.

There's no spot meter on the XTi. I would not have bought it if I didn't already own a dedicated spot meter. Many don't have a problem with it, but I learned by the Zone Systems, which keeps me tied to spot metering in many situations.

My $0.02 on where to buy:
B&H with Mack warranty.

I'm in agreement that if you're looking at the D80 you should be comparing it to the 30D.

 

[Samgotit]

I just saw this Circut City deal. It's web only, but 20% off. I could only get it to work for the body only (only works on non-sale items). The D80 shipped w/tax came out to $869.99 for me. This is one day only! Beats B&H and Amazon:

http://shopping.aol.com/?_pid=791&nc...opFICCaolc0005

Edit: D80/18-135mm kit works as well.
D80/15-55mm kit seems to be sold out.

It's web only, but you can pick it up in-store.

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samgotit /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just saw this Circut City deal. It's web only, but 20% off. I could only get it to work for the body only (only works on non-sale items). The D80 shipped w/tax came out to $869.99 for me. This is one day only! Beats B&H and Amazon: http://shopping.aol.com/?_pid=791&nc...opFICCaolc0005 Edit: D80/18-135mm kit works as well. D80/15-55mm kit seems to be sold out. It's web only, but you can pick it up in-store.

i saw this deal on dealmac.com, too...it's a fantastic deal...i wish CC had the sd700 so i could buy that, but oh well. jump on this if you're on the fence!!