Nikon D80 review

Using the same Sony made sensor as the Alpha 100, Nikon's new D80 is the replacement for the ageing D70.

Although the 6-megapixel D70 received a welcome update with the D70s, there was no increase in resolution. The D80 addresses this and adds a raft of features derived from the excellent D200 semi-pro model.

Although the D80 is a new body design, it clearly resembles both the 6-megapixel D70's and the entry-level D50's. In some respects the design is closer to the D50, right down to the inclusion of an SD memory card slot, but the build-quality is more akin to that of the well-built D70. Previously, most cameras at this level had a tunnel-like viewfinder, but the D80 is several leagues ahead. With a higher viewfinder magnification than either the D70 or the Canon Eos 350D, the D80's image is big and bright.

Further, the 11-point auto-focusing array has the edge over Canon's system used in the 30D and 5D models, and the latest Eos 400D. We particularly like the option to alter the size of the central AF point, but in any case the system is more useful and responsive, especially in low lighting. And with the 18-70mm (27-105mm equivalent) kit lens focusing is faster than Canon's 18-55mm, and near silent in operation.

As far as the menu interface goes, it's one of the best with large, legible fonts made easier to see by the quality and generous viewing angles of the new 2.5in monitor. Unfortunately, the thumb pad used for selecting features from the menu feels unresponsive. This is particularly frustrating because the same thumb-pad is fine on the D70s.

If you shoot Jpegs and prefer to set them up in-camera, ready for print, you'll find the D80 unnecessarily convoluted. Nikon's equivalent of Canon's easy-to-use Picture Style is not as slick as its rival and can't be fine-tuned in the same way. Instead, a single custom option provides access to various image parameters, but most users would probably only stumble across it.

Placed in price between the entry-level D50 and D200, the D80 falls between the two in Raw file handling. In continuous shooting mode the D80 manages just six frames relying on the buffer, at just under 4-frames-per-second in our tests. Shooting Jpegs is more inspiring though - the D80 cleared 22 best-quality Jpegs at the same rate then slowed to a still reasonable 2.5fps using a 120x speed rated 2GB SanDisk Extreme III card.

Compared to the Sony Alpha 100 the D80 lacks the built-in anti-shake system and there's no built-in sensor cleaning option, something that is present in both the Sony Alpha and the Canon Eos 400D.

As you'd expect the D80's 10.2-megapixel sensor is capable of resolving plenty of detail, and picture quality is indistinguishable from the more expensive D200. Noise levels are low to ISO 800 but above that, the D80 can't compete with the likes of the Canon 30D. Exposure accuracy and colour rendition are excellent, though, but it's no surprise to see the auto-white balance struggle under indoor lighting. Even so, a new colour temperature option makes correction of colour casts a simple option, but custom measurement of white-balance is still more complicated than most rivals.

Our only real concern is the drop from a 1/500sec flash sync to a 1/200sec, making balanced fill-flash in bright daylight harder. And we're surprised by the choice of the SD memory card format. While prices are similar, the current certified maximum is just 2GB compared to the 12GB of Compact Flash. Although the D80 is compatible with the new SD-HC standard, with a theoretical maximum of 32GB, prices may prove to be higher than Compact Flash.