- Home
- Camera Reviews
- Nikon
- Review: The Nikon D80
Review of the Nikon D80 dSLR - Performance (p4)
The overall performance of the D80 is just as good or better than any other camera in its price class. Performance was among the fastest we've seen so far. The D80 took only 0.15 seconds to switch on and take the first photo. Using high quality format, additional shots took just under 1.1 seconds with flash and 0.3 seconds without. Times were just about the same in RAW mode. Shutter speed was adjustable and ranged from 30 to 1/4,000 seconds. Shutter lag was minimal and ranged from anywhere between 0.4 to 0.85 seconds (largely depending on contrast).
The continuous shooting feature worked about as well as expected. The D80 shot just under 3 frames per second on average, giving us a total of 100 continuous JPEG (and 6 RAW) images in total. This is certainly an advancement over the D70 thanks to improved processing speed, faster memory, and higher data transfer rates.
The overal image quality produced by the Nikon D80 was quite good. Supported by a broad ISO range, an advanced auto white balance (AWB), and a sensitive and well adjusted light meter, the colors came out true and accurate. The camera only had problems in situations with very little light or a lot of shadow. In such cases the +/- 5EV exposure should be used for compensation.
With an ISO range from 100 to 1600, one would expect to see quite a bit of noise with a camera in this price range. However, from ISO 100 all the way to 800, there was hardly any noise at all. Only at ISO 1600 did the speckles become apparent, and even then they were not as noticeable as we expected.
The bottom line is that the Nikon D80 is a very well rounded camera that anyone looking in the sub-$1000 SLR market should seriously consider. The camera will be a strong competitor for Canon's Rebel XTi and Sony's new Alpha DSLR-A100.
The continuous shooting feature worked about as well as expected. The D80 shot just under 3 frames per second on average, giving us a total of 100 continuous JPEG (and 6 RAW) images in total. This is certainly an advancement over the D70 thanks to improved processing speed, faster memory, and higher data transfer rates.
The overal image quality produced by the Nikon D80 was quite good. Supported by a broad ISO range, an advanced auto white balance (AWB), and a sensitive and well adjusted light meter, the colors came out true and accurate. The camera only had problems in situations with very little light or a lot of shadow. In such cases the +/- 5EV exposure should be used for compensation.
With an ISO range from 100 to 1600, one would expect to see quite a bit of noise with a camera in this price range. However, from ISO 100 all the way to 800, there was hardly any noise at all. Only at ISO 1600 did the speckles become apparent, and even then they were not as noticeable as we expected.
The bottom line is that the Nikon D80 is a very well rounded camera that anyone looking in the sub-$1000 SLR market should seriously consider. The camera will be a strong competitor for Canon's Rebel XTi and Sony's new Alpha DSLR-A100.
