Visit www.nikonusa.com and compare the 2. My opinion is that if your going to upgrade to the d80, you may want to consider the D200 (which may be discontinued soon with the release of the D700; just a guess I have no insider view or anything) or Jump to the D300.
But mostly this depends on what you are comfortable spending.
I started with the D40, then jumped to the D200 and now have a D300 with the D200 as a back up.
I'd wait a month - rumors are flying that the D80 will be replaced. But, could also be a perfect time to upgrade to the D80 because it is really well priced right now.
I guess the best question however is: how is the D40 limiting you? Does the D80 have things that you need or want? If so, how important are they?
The D40 doesn't have the built in auto focus in the body, is 6.1 mega pixels. I do this more for a hobby than anything. I have spent a bunch of money on lenses that don't auto focus with the D40 but will with the D80. For a hobby I don't know if I am ready to spend the moola for the D300.
Great you know what it is that your trying to obtain. Now with that said, you can find used D80's from 600 to 750 or you can acquire the D200 from 675 to 900.
This leaves the question of just how much does this "hobby" mean to you and do you see it leading elsewhere in your future. Either way I don't really think you could go wrong with either camera body, but I believe the d200 may serve you longer over all. Remember this is just my opinion, and I have been known to be wrong, if you don't believe me just ask my wife
The D40 doesn't have the built in auto focus in the body, is 6.1 mega pixels. I do this more for a hobby than anything. I have spent a bunch of money on lenses that don't auto focus with the D40 but will with the D80. For a hobby I don't know if I am ready to spend the moola for the D300.
I too recommend that you consider the D200. Compared to the D80 it offers the following advantages:
It has a higher shooting rate (5 fps vs 3 fps), a higher shutter speed (1/8000th vs 1/4000th), much more information in the viewfinder (especially the ISO), the D200 meters with older manual focus lenses, the D200 has mirror-lock-up, faster flash sync, shorter shutter lag, much deeper shot buffer and lastly the shutter is supposed to be twice as durable in the D200 vs the D80.
Then again, the D80 is lighter and shoots more images with the same battery. The D80 also has slightly better high-ISO JPGs. In RAW they are very similar however.
I'd wait a month - rumors are flying that the D80 will be replaced. But, could also be a perfect time to upgrade to the D80 because it is really well priced right now.
I guess the best question however is: how is the D40 limiting you? Does the D80 have things that you need or want? If so, how important are they?
I agree with swintonphoto, with Photokina comming up in a month and a half there should be some new cameras to consider from Nikon and once they are released the current ones will likely come down in price, so either way you go I think it would prove to be a month worth waiting.
Georgia based wedding photographer shooting all Fuji and loving every second of it!
The D40 doesn't have the built in auto focus in the body, is 6.1 mega pixels. I do this more for a hobby than anything. I have spent a bunch of money on lenses that don't auto focus with the D40 but will with the D80. For a hobby I don't know if I am ready to spend the moola for the D300.
I think your biggest question right now is about the sensor resolution. If you're not doing large prints, and so far have been happy with the images from the 40, you can go and find a used D70 or D50 for little money and have auto focus. If price is a major concern this also would be your best option. Both of those cameras can create great images even beyond 16 x 20
I think your biggest question right now is about the sensor resolution. If you're not doing large prints, and so far have been happy with the images from the 40, you can go and find a used D70 or D50 for little money and have auto focus. If price is a major concern this also would be your best option. Both of those cameras can create great images even beyond 16 x 20
My whole problem is I cannot shoot the type of photography I want to with this outfit. Wildlife is popular here and macro. The D40 does great with my manual macro lens. On wildlife it sucks. I have spent lots of money on the wrong type of lens to now find out it would take about 2 Grand for me to get one that shoots a descent close up wildlife shot. For a hobbiest I don't see the investment of a more expensive camera and continued investment of lenses. I'm not that photo savy and don't know a whole lot about all the features the D200 offers.
I have decided just to sell everything I have ...... this Nikon equipment is way to expensive and all I wanted was a camera that would shoot macro and wildlife in my backyard at an affordable price.
I can understand not wanting to spend so much money on a hobby and if your number one priority is big zoom and macro you could always look into a compact superzoom, like a Nikon P80 or Canon S5. You mentioned that you felt Nikon stuff was too expensive, so if you want to stick with the flexiblity of an DSLR you could always look into one of the "smaller" brands like Olympus where all your lenses are essentially doubled so the 70-300mm would be a 140-600mm equivalent and be able to do 1:1 macro from what I can tell on the Olympus site. I think you could realisticly get a E4xx or E5xx and this lens for 600 or so and have a nice set up for backyard macro and wildlife. Just and idea.
Georgia based wedding photographer shooting all Fuji and loving every second of it!
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But mostly this depends on what you are comfortable spending.
I started with the D40, then jumped to the D200 and now have a D300 with the D200 as a back up.
I guess the best question however is: how is the D40 limiting you? Does the D80 have things that you need or want? If so, how important are they?
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This leaves the question of just how much does this "hobby" mean to you and do you see it leading elsewhere in your future. Either way I don't really think you could go wrong with either camera body, but I believe the d200 may serve you longer over all. Remember this is just my opinion, and I have been known to be wrong, if you don't believe me just ask my wife
It has a higher shooting rate (5 fps vs 3 fps), a higher shutter speed (1/8000th vs 1/4000th), much more information in the viewfinder (especially the ISO), the D200 meters with older manual focus lenses, the D200 has mirror-lock-up, faster flash sync, shorter shutter lag, much deeper shot buffer and lastly the shutter is supposed to be twice as durable in the D200 vs the D80.
Then again, the D80 is lighter and shoots more images with the same battery. The D80 also has slightly better high-ISO JPGs. In RAW they are very similar however.
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I agree with swintonphoto, with Photokina comming up in a month and a half there should be some new cameras to consider from Nikon and once they are released the current ones will likely come down in price, so either way you go I think it would prove to be a month worth waiting.
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I think your biggest question right now is about the sensor resolution. If you're not doing large prints, and so far have been happy with the images from the 40, you can go and find a used D70 or D50 for little money and have auto focus. If price is a major concern this also would be your best option. Both of those cameras can create great images even beyond 16 x 20
My whole problem is I cannot shoot the type of photography I want to with this outfit. Wildlife is popular here and macro. The D40 does great with my manual macro lens. On wildlife it sucks. I have spent lots of money on the wrong type of lens to now find out it would take about 2 Grand for me to get one that shoots a descent close up wildlife shot. For a hobbiest I don't see the investment of a more expensive camera and continued investment of lenses. I'm not that photo savy and don't know a whole lot about all the features the D200 offers.
I have decided just to sell everything I have ...... this Nikon equipment is way to expensive and all I wanted was a camera that would shoot macro and wildlife in my backyard at an affordable price.
Thanks for your suggestions.
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PS.......I had the Canon S3 IS which I found very noisy. Upgraded to Nikon.