Nikon D80 leaked......

[BarryM]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3529

[tonymidd]

Looks like a D70s with the 10.6 sensor out of the D200. It's still got the multi mode shooting dial so is aimed at the general market rather than the enthusiast/light pro market which makes sense as the D200 has wrapped that one up. Yet another headache for the boys at Canon :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:
It'll be interesting to see if they've stuck with the CF card or have gone down the SD route as they did with the D50. There'll be some D70s bargains around on e-bay as the 'must have the latest' brigade rush to buy this. Be a good backup body to the D200

[BarryM]

lot of talk on noise issues even with d200 canon boys fear not lol.

[bartonflyer]

The sensor is made by Sony & is the same as the one in the Sony Alpha - seems the camera industry is going to parallel the pc industry with a few chip/processor manufacturers making common componens so the choice for the consumer is how they are packaged and what feature set you get

[tonymidd]

lot of talk on noise issues even with d200 canon boys fear not lol.
talk? where? no facts Barry. :laugh1::laugh1:
I only know I'll happilly use 1600 which is more than most Canon users will. Noticable how quiet the Canon lobby is when confronted with D200 images taken at 1600 as a lot of my bug shots are.

[Gino]

Tony, you are SO big in the bug world! We bow before you, oh great expert. :bum1:

[tonymidd]

Looks like a D70s with the 10.6 sensor out of the D200. It's still got the multi mode shooting dial so is aimed at the general market rather than the enthusiast/light pro market which makes sense as the D200 has wrapped that one up. Yet another headache for the boys at Canon :clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping:
It'll be interesting to see if they've stuck with the CF card or have gone down the SD route as they did with the D50. There'll be some D70s bargains around on e-bay as the 'must have the latest' brigade rush to buy this. Be a good backup body to the D200

It would seem Nikon have gone for SD cards for this, why???

[tonymidd]

It appears that the D80 will have the AIs indexing collar as fitted to the D200 and D2x which enables a whole host of manual AIs Nikkors to be used with AP.

[lostmysnorkel]

So the big question for D70s users is:

Is it worth upgrading to the 'D80' or should we keep saving for the D200?

[tonymidd]

So the big question for D70s users is:

Is it worth upgrading to the 'D80' or should we keep saving for the D200?
The D200 definitly.
The D80 looks as if it's got the 'plastic' body from the D70/70s whereas the D200 has a magalloy sealed body like the D2x. I don't think any of the comparable Canons have this feature. OK you really need weather sealed lenses like the latest Nikkors but this sealing must help keep dust out of the camera. From what I've seen the processor will be basically as the D70s, not as quick as the D200 and giving different results aimed at a different market. The AI/AIs aperture collar is a great boon enabling you to use older Nikkors in AP mode, this opens up a vast range of great lenses that no one wants so they go for a song on e-bay. OK manual focus only but that's no bad thing. I think Nikon have made a mistake if the reports are true that the D80 uses SD cards rather than CF. £ for £ there is nothing to touch the D200. I know one tog who changed his D2x for a D200 as he just did not use the additional features.

PS probably the most comprehensive test report on the D200 http://www.bythom.com/d200review.htm
Must point out the banding seems to have only affected early bodies shipped to the US. I don't find the noise at ISO 1600 objectionable but then I come from using fast 35mm film.