Nikon is due to announce a New 10 MP D-SLR on August 9th. Speculation is that it is either a replacement for the D70/D70s or will slot between the D50/D70s and the D200.

 

Mmmm...more MP, more speed. hehe

 

http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php...roductNr=25235

Is the one you're refering to?

 

No, this is not the D200. This is a new camera.

My guess is we'll see something like a "D90" that will be 3 fps and 10 MP.

 

My thinking is that it's a D70 body stuffed with a D200 sensor. I'm guessing it's the D70 replacement.

Here's what Ken Rockwell thinks.

http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80.htm

 

It is the D80, with less feature sets than the D200, but a step up from D70s. Intro price looks around $1000, and most likely with a Poly body. I think I will stick with my D200 and D50 as backup, but when it comes out, I may change my mind.

 

You got me curious now.

-Juan

 

So what does that mean to me Dave .... what recommendations do you have for my camera purchase? How does this sucker compare?

TIA,
- Charlie

 

Wait until the 9th, then we'll have something to really talk about.

For now though it does look like Nikon is upping the ante a bit here and will now have two solid (non-pro) 10 MP options.

 

D80 press release and dpreview preview

• 10 MP
• 3 FPS
• pop-up flash can control two flash groups with Nikon's Creative Light System (like the D200)
• D70ish body
• available vertical grip (that the D70 didn't have)
• SD card based (like D50)
• $1000 MSRP (expected)

AND Nikon finally announces a 70-300 F/4.5-5.6 VR (bottom of the page)

 

oooh, I'm glad that I waited!

 

yeah, the D80 sounds like a great deal (if you don't feel you "need" the 5 FPS that the D200 has).

 

Slimmer than?

I wonder how it'd actually feel while holding it.
Will a 50mm prime weigh more than the camera?

 

Slimmer than a D2X.


Dimensions
D80 - 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in)
D70s - 140 x 111 x 78 mm (5.5 x 4.4 x 3.1 in)

Weight
D80 - No battery: 585 g (1.3 lb) with battery: 668 g (1.5 lb)
D70s - No battery: 595 g (1.3 lb) with battery: 679 g (1.5 lb)

 

Poly body, not weather sealed, smaller than the D200 body, but we will have to wait until it is in stores to feel it!

 

I'm on a waiting list now for the body only. I've convinced my fiance to sell her Canon and join me on the Dark Side. :D

 

Welcome to the light of learning. You are about to leave the dark side.

 

Am I the only Canon digital SLR lover? My manuel is a Nikon. I was thinking of bumping up my Canon since it's a bit old. Dave, what makes you love the Nikon Digital SLR?

 

well, I did a little reading on the Nikon. I like that it's SD and you can do monochrome from the menu and 10mp at such a reasonable price. but last christmas, I finally got my macro lens. This yr I am searching for a fisheye.. (yeah, like that will happen, soo expensive) Nikon's can't use canon lenses. So I guess I will stay on the canon road..

 

Just to be clear: I consider Nikon and Canon generally to be pretty equivalent systems. Depending on the price range, and the time of year, if I were a new buyer starting out without money already invested into good glass from one of them, I could see going one way or the other depending on what the current market conditions.

That said, here's where I see a strong advantage for Nikon

Subjectively: I like the ergonomics better

Objectively: the one major and under reported plus that Nikon has that Canon hasn't touched since the the Nikon SB-800 was announced in July 2003 is the Nikon Creative Light System. For those that aren't familiar with it, Nikon's CLS is a system of remotely triggering wireless flashes. When it was first released you needed a Nikon Pro camera and an SB-800 to trigger the system. However in January 2004, with the introduction of the D70, Nikon enabled the onboard pop-up flash on the D70 to do the triggering.

• With the SB-800 in the hotshoe of a D70, D70s, D200, D2x, D2H, D2Hs, and now the D80 three groups of flashes can be wirelessly adjusted and fired from the hotshoe mounted flash.
• With the D70 and D70s, one flash group can be wirelessly adjusted from the camera and triggered by the pop-up flash
• With the D200 and now D80, two flash groups can be wirelessly adjusted from the camera and trigged by the pop-up flash

I will grant that this feature may seem a bit essoteric if you have not experimented with it in person, but once you do, it opens up a whole host of possibilities.

Examples of my use of the Nikon wireless flash system with the D70 and D200.


Last I checked, if you wanted to do this type of flash triggering with a Canon, you needed to purchase a Pocket Wizard Transmitter and a Reciever for each flash.

While I didn't think about the creative light system at all prior to the purchase of my D70, I now consider it to be one of the most helpful fuctions the camera has available.

 

AGREED. I use the CLS on a regular basis, and it helps when you just cant lug your lighting equipment and power supply 6000ft into the mountains to get shots of a model on rocks, in the creek, in a bikini in the Sierra's....

 

Dave, I have to admit, I love your photo's. I just play with my equipment. I had no idea about the CLS. Maybe canon will get a clue. Since my photo's are just a hobby, I can't justify the change right now. Maybe I should cancel the tennis and spanish class this fall and opt for another photography class. Make the most of my equipment. Hmmm.. . Somedays I see the world as a photo other days I just experience it. I do need to upgrade my EOS. My back up point and shoot has 8mp where my old EOS has 6. I love that macro!

 

Lee: apparently, you've been holding out on sharing those pictures with me.

 

Same here. Point and shoot is 8mp but small sensor while D70 is 6mp with larger sensor.

True about the lighting.
As far as power supply . . . uh . . . a can of Monster energy might do the trick.

Yes Lee, you've definitely been holding out.
(Truthfully, that was an image I fantasized when I saw your running water pics.)

-Juan

 

Its not all about pixel counts. There is much more to it.

While that 8mp point & shoot may have 2mp more those pixels are on a much smaller sensor. What that gives you is a nosier picture, especially at a higher ISO. I had a Nikon D2H 4 mp & to my eyes it took better pictures than my Fuji S1 or D70, but not my D200. As far as point & shoots go large pixel counts is pure marketing.

Another point is the lens on the camera. Even the cheapest glass on a DSLR is going to be much better that any on a Point & shoot.

climbergirl.... if you already own canon glass it makes not much sense to switch to a different camera system now. The reason I went Nikon digital was the amount of money I had already invested in Nikon glass.