Decided On The D80

Well, today I went out to several camera stores and gave all the various camera bodies I was thinking about a test drive. Based on price and feel, there really was no choice at all. Everything pointed to the Nikon D80.

I tried the Nikon D40, but it felt really small in my hand and, frankly, not all that rugged. Then the Canon XSi got quick test, and that just felt like a toy. Actually, that’s an unfair to toys—many of which are much more rugged than the Canon seemed to be. I did not like the heft of it at all.

Now before you get the wrong idea, I’m not saying that they are necessarily bad cameras. It’s just that for me, someone who was trained with Nikon FE2s with an attached motor-drive, these cameras didn’t even come close to matching the memory that I have in my brain of what a good SLR feels like in your hands.

To be fair, I’m from a different age. When I read reviews saying how if you use AI lenses with the D80 that you’re going to have to do everything manually, well…that just made me laugh insides. After all, that’s just how I’ve always had to do it. That’s how I learned how to take photographs. None of this auto-focus stuff, or auto-exposure. You had to rely on your studies about photography, your experience, as well as a little bit of luck.

None of the stores I went to had just the D80 body available. They had D80s with the 18-135mm lens kit. That lens is a good lens, but not the lens that I’d like. And actually, when I threw that lens into manual mode, the focusing ring wasn’t the firmest thing I’ve ever held in my hands. I can see why people today rely on the auto-focus and auto-everything else on these cameras. They certainly aren’t made for someone who wants to do things manually. But at least there is that option, regardless of how minimal.

Now all I have to do is buy the bloody thing. Soon.