Nikon D80

On the surface, the D80’s specification is quite close to the D200, which Nikon markets as an advanced amateur to professional level camera. However, when you take a longer look, there is still a considerable divide between the two. In reality, the D80 proves to be a worthwhile upgrade from Nikon’s two-and-a-half-year-old D70 consumer SLR and its D70s successor.

Following the usual retail pattern, the D80 is available either as a body-only purchase for £699, or with two lens kit options. The standard 18-70mm lens will bump up the price to £899, while the more versatile 18-135mm lens will cost you £949. As the 18-135mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED kit lens was not yet available at time of going to press, we took the D80 for a test run with the well-rated DX 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 G ED kit lens.

Surprisingly, it’s upgraders from the entry-level D50 who will feel most at home with the new camera. The body is almost identical in size and shape, albeit with a few styling tweaks and additional controls. It also uses SD memory cards, and many of the controls are not only in the same place, but also do the same things. Extra controls over the D50 are, on the front of the camera: a second control wheel, DOF preview button, flash bracketing button and a user selected function button. On the top are two extra buttons: Shooting mode and AF mode. The rear sports a 2.5-inch screen and slider to lock the focus point.

Generally speaking, the handling of this camera falls between good and excellent, with the menu on the large rear screen being easy to view and navigate. Selection with the four-way rocker is simple and the clearly marked OK button is intuitive. Exposure modes offered include the regular PASM (Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter priority and Manual) along with an Auto mode and six programmed modes – more than enough for any buyer to play with. The overall setup of the D80 is much more user friendly than its predecessor. A half-press of the Shutter button over-rides all other modes to set the camera back to shooting mode. Battery life is also good; we used the camera for 12 hours before the lithium-ion cell got down to one bar.

For D70 owners, the major reasons for upgrading are the hike in pixel count and the improvement in the autofocus system from the CAM900 to the CAM1000 already seen in the D200. The 11-area system employed on the D80 proves to be fast and accurate and it can cope with some of Nikon’s more exotic lenses that the D70 had trouble with.

Nikon’s acclaimed 3D Colour Matrix Metering II automatic exposure control ensures ideal exposures in most lighting conditions. It evaluates brightness, colour, contrast, selected focus area and camera-to-subject distance. The system references the data against an expanded on-board database, created using data from more than 30,000 actual photographic scenes, to instantly and accurately calculate the final exposure value for the shot. It works exceptionally well.

Other new features include in-camera editing and effects, such as D-lighting, red-eye correction, trim, overlay and monochrome, as well as filters. There’s a brand new menu for these effects, which are made as copies so the original is preserved if you are not happy with the results.

With a leap in pixel count of some 67 per cent from its predecessor, the D80 produces some very fine images indeed, especially from the new ISO 100 setting. The camera produces usable images up to the ISO 1600 mark, although by that time some noise starts to creep in.

We found the Hi-1 setting, equivalent to approximately ISO 3200, to be a little over the top in the noise department. The high-noise reduction system in the camera does help some, but at the expense of detail. Meanwhile, the on-board flash can be set to act as a commander for the Nikon Creative lighting system. The coverage for an on-board flash is rather good, although tests prove the model we had was slightly lopsided in its overall treatment.

No camera is perfect, and the D80 isn’t without its niggling flaws. But in a year when several new brands have jumped on the digital SLR bandwagon, this is still the best we’ve seen so far in 2006. With a well-designed body, intuitive controls and top-notch image quality, the D80 has put the newcomers firmly in their place; but it had better not get too smug – the Canon EOS 400D has scored rather impressively this issue, too.