Wilhelm Taylor wrote:
> I have been waiting tor this new D90 to replace my 8800. I went for
> long without getting the D80 thinking the D90 would be so much better.
I fail to see how you came to that conclusion unless there's a specific feature you thought that the D90 would have that it doesn't. And if you thought that, then you haven't been following Nikon upgrade logic. The D90 is almost to an item what one would expect. The only real deviation is the addition of video.
As for not being better, I'd beg to differ. Unfortunately, it's not something that is absolutely obvious without doing side-by-side comparisons. Many of the things are subtle, but I can't think of an area that hasn't been touched, including autofocus.
And, as I note elsewhere in this thread, don't get that checkbook out for a D80 just yet, even if you decide that's where you're headed. You'll overpay.
> Nikon did the marketing thing like a pro. The D90 is expensive
> enough to not reduce the value of the D80
Say that to me again in mid-September. Nikon has set a new MAP for the D80 that is lower than you see the camera now.
> - I could have got it
> months ago and had the benefit of a DSLR - speed, interchangeable
> lenses, quick focus, low light, etc....
Well, that's the age old question. Same thing happens with cars, TVs, computers, and more. You have to know whether you're a leading-edge buyer (always the new just after it comes out) or a trailing edge buying (always the old just before it goes out of production). Both strategies can work (though the strategies in between aren't so hot ;~). My only comment is that you're blaming Nikon for not knowing which type of buyer you are. You are a trailing edge buyer from all indications. Nothing about a D90 would have really made you flip from that position is my guess.
> This is a revelation - with the intro of the D90, the D80 looks
> better as a pure photographic tool.
Well, I'm afraid I can't even begin to agree with you there. If you're looking for the best tool for producing the best possible photograph, there's little question in my mind that the winner there is the D90. Indeed, I'm not sure how you can say otherwise. The D80 is actually my LEAST favorite of any camera Nikon has produced since the D70. It hot pixels worse than any other Nikon, Nikon never fully fixed the amp noise issue, it has the least capable high ISO JPEG from the same sensor as other Nikons (the D60, for example), and the matrix metering is horribly off-kilter. THAT'S a "pure photographic tool"? Sorry, but it looks as if the D90 fixes all of those things, so it wins on that alone in my book.
--
Thom Hogan
author, Complete Guides to Nikon bodies (18 and counting)
www.bythom.com
