Nikon D80

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Design Features (1) Features (2)		Performance And Image Quality Conclusion

Performance
We like the features the D80 offers and it's a good thing the performance of the camera matches our expectations as well. We could snap pictures as fast as our finger allowed us the moment we flicked on the camera. Like the Canon EOS 30D, the D80 never really turns off but goes into a dormant mode so startup was instantaneous.

Nikon claims the D80 is capable of shooting continuously at three frames-per-second in JPEG Fine M-size (or smaller) up to 100 frames and six RAW (NEF) shots. Our test results came up slightly short, but it was very close to what was claimed. Funny thing was the camera stopped shooting after 100 frames, but after we released and pressed the shutter again, it went on to record another 100 images at the same frame rate. We ran our tests on the Imation 1GB SD card.

Image Quality
There's really nothing much to complain with the pictures taken on the D80 using the 18-135mm F3.5-to-F5.6 kit lens. We felt the images were somewhat "conservative" and on the safe side. You can use the pictures right off the D80 but we'd have preferred it to be a little "punchier" or more saturated. That said, you can either opt for the in-camera sharpening function or rely on post-processing software if you're shooting in JPEG.

Our pictures were clean up to ISO 800 with noise becoming noticeable at ISO 1,600 and beyond. At the maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 3,200, which Nikon calls Hi1.0, noise was obvious but you should still be able to push the limit of printing in A4 size.

The kit lens that's bundled with the D80 is a great carry-around, general-purpose lens. The 7.5x optical zoom range proved to be very useful in real-world scenarios. Other than the slight barrel distortion at the wide end, we found no other major issues with the glass. White balance was accurate under most lighting conditions though it did falter under tungsten light, like many other cameras as well. Switching to the Tungsten mode on the camera solved the problem.

Nikon ships the D80 kit with the Picture Project 1.7 which gives you very basic image editing--adjusting brightness, sharpness, D-Lighting, color booster, black-and-white/sepia photo effect and straightening--and conversion of RAW (NEF) files to JPEG. For more advanced controls, you'll have to purchase the Capture NX program retailing for S$220 (US$147.23).

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