Nikon D80

[MonoManBlue]

MonoManBlue,

I would not mind if you took it to another board completely. The bickering thing is not typical of what we do around here. I do not remember you being around here all that long, but I have seen too many posts by you recently that just seem to stir the pot. Please do not tarnish our board. I am not saying that you are not welcome here, but just check your arguing at the door.

okay, because I disagree with an opinion on whether or not photopass people should take photos with other cameras, and because I said that using P mode is a much more affective "auto" mode on the D80, I am tarnishing the board.....makes perfect sense.

 

[MonoManBlue]

because im censored and thrown to the wolves because my opinion doesn't matter here, you win, I won't return to the photography board.

 

[Steve's Girl]

It isn't that your opinion, or anyone else's, doesn't matter. It is the relentless repeating and tone of the opinion that gets tiresome. Please feel free to express your opinion, but there is no need to continue to repeat it over and over. Be willing to respectfully disagree and appreciate the variety of opinions offered.

 

[fhirleighinn]

This seems to have gotten harsh, we should be able to post different opinions, but I think if someone disagrees, let it be, It is the defense of our ideas that seem to take this too far.

 

[Gdad]

I just got back from WDWi had a lot of blurry pictures my photos of Eeyore with my daughter were awful .Next day we went to Animal kingdom photo with Turk and Daisy same i am so sad i have to check myPhotopass i hope the photographer got one of Daisy.The one with Turk no photographer .One of the photographers said how can you take a bad photo with D80 .Iam not that experienced with it .Iset it to Auto any ideas what went wrong i do have a lot of good photos also next time will take computer to see so can reshoot.

Sorry you were disapointed with your pictures- without a few examples and/or more information it is difficult to say what exactly went wrong. Using a DSLR does have a little more to learn than a Point & Shoot.

Do not be mislead to think "Auto" mode does everything for you despite how it sounds. When using the D80 in Auto mode you still have to set the ISO and flash settings- this is not done automatically. If you are starting from zero- to get going you may want to consider using the Vari-Program modes at first (the modes with the little picture icons.) My 7yo daughter uses them on her D40 and gets surprisingly good results fairly consistently. There is a very good summary of all the D80 modes and how/what they control on the camera HERE you may want to take a look at. When you get the results you like- check the EXIF settings and see what the camera did to achieve this. Then you can start thinking about achieving or improving upon those settings in some of the more advanced modes.

Good luck and don't give up!

 

[ukcatfan]

because im censored and thrown to the wolves because my opinion doesn't matter here, you win, I won't return to the photography board.

 

[handicap18]

Well....I'm going to get blasted for this, but i'm beyond the point of no return so its not a big deal for me. I find is VERY hard to believe that someone who purchases a mid-level DSLR has ZERO experience with cameras. That is unfathomable to me. Even if you have used a simple P&S then you know about what you should need a flash, if you've EVER used a basic film camera, then you should easily be able to tell about ISO. Nobody purchases this camera and have NO idea as to what they are doing, thats a recipe for crappy pictures and never liking DSLRs. With P mode on the D80 it selects the best combination of settings (aperture and shutter) for the given situation. If you don't like that, say you want soft water for instance, you can turn the dial on the back of the body and this symbol will appear (P*) and it shows you've changed the settings, but it still keeps the correct exposure. You can even leave "auto iso" on in P mode.

With auto mode, what you see is what you get. If the lighting conditions aren't the best, then you'll get subpar shots but the camera will try its hardest to give you all its got. But it still won't look quite right. Most shots with a dslr require some amount of effort. Whether it be changing your shutter, your aperture or your iso, we have these cameras because we enjoy having the control of doing what we want.

The point is, you are very limited to what you are going to get with the auto mode, whereas the P mode will give you a lot more options and often times, allow you to make a picture that looks better. The D80 is no slouch of a camera, nobody can deny that, so any subpar pictures it takes, is (and i'm sorry but I mean no offense) the picture takers fault for not knowing the correct settings. On Auto, you can't choose those settings, on P mode, you can at least edit the cameras 'guess' to get something more of what you are looking for.

Hopefully that makes sense.

There are 300,000,000 people in the United States. Surely 1 or 2 of them may have bought something without having any previous experience with that item.

My point was that someone came here for help and IMO your response wasn't appropriate for offering help. If someone is having trouble with something you don't bring out the faults and then don't offer any other way to help.

Your points are valid and I do agree with you about AUTO mode, but you MUST be able to separate your personal views with how YOU do something vs what other people are doing.

The best thing about this board is the help that is given out no matter what kind of camera, mode of shooting or experience a person has. If someone isn't comfortable moving out of AUTO yet, then who am I to tell them they are wrong. We help them improve so they become more comfortable over time and when they are ready then they can move along at their pace.

There are a lot of great regulars here and we always welcome new members here as well.

We have seen people with very strong opinions who took things to far and got themselves banned from posting anywhere on DISboards. We all have opinions and we all share them regularly, but it must be kept within in the family friendly atmosphere of what this forum site was built.

Like I posted before, the camera makers put those options on the camera's for a reason. There is also a reason they don't put them on the higher end models (ie: D200, D300, EOS 5D, EOS 1D Series, K20D, etc...).

 

[Troop o' Goofs]

how often do you think that happens?

Often enough...I went from a point and shoot to a mid-level DSLR and while I am resigned to deal with learning the camera and expecting lots of poor shots I went with it. AND I did use a basic camera and had no idea was iso was before coming here. <raspberry> so there! LOL

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My two cents FWIW.

It's not always what you say, but how you say it that can be a problem (can still hear these words from my Dad echoing in my ear ). I know not everyone has time (or cares) enough to choose their words carefully, but remember, there's someone on the receiving end of them. It's possible to get your point across without sounding abrasive.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'll add that using Program mode for someone who's never used it before still leaves a lot of variables to choose from, possibly more than they know what to do with. (I know that until I began hanging out here a couple of years ago, I'd never ventured out of Auto myself either. Using Program mode was a huge deal for me at first!)

I think that as dSLRs gain in popularity, more and more people are buying them but may not have the skill set to support the purchase - yet (or maybe they never will, who knows.) Several months ago we had a discussion about people using Auto on their dSLRs and we saw that there are many who do, using it basically as a large point and shoot. Is it the best use of the camera? We could probably all agree it's not. (Nor is it how the pictures will come out the best.) But if that's all you have to work with then that maybe that's the best we can offer for that particular poster (which I think is what GrillMouster was trying to say).

Tanzanite, there is likely nothing wrong with your camera. It's more likely your exposure wasn't ideal so that your pictures came out blurry. There are ways you can improve them but it requires study into the basics of photography. Only you can decide if you want to put the effort into learning in order to improve your pictures. If you do, we're happy to help you get started.

 

[My2Girls66]

Something I noticed on my D50(I don't know if the D80 is the same- just throwing this out there). On my D50- in auto mode the default focus is closest subject. If its the same on the D80 maybe that could cause some blurry shots. Something could be closer than your intended subject and the camera is focusing on it? I switched to mainly using P mode for that reason(in P,A and S you can set the focus mode and it stays there- in auto it defaults back to closest subject everytime the camera is turned off and back on). I tend to focus on my subject then recompose the picture so I much prefer my focus to be in the center. A thought anyway.

 

[DisneyCruiser2008]

I am thinking of purchasing my first SLR camera and am leaning toward the Nikon D80. Comments?

The thing is, I have been looking around, and it seems that there are some good bundled packages on Ebay. There must be some catch, right? These sellers have lots of positive feedback. The ones I am looking at are USA models with a 1 year Nikon Warranty (don't know if that's standard?) Does anyone have experience with these eBay sellers? Are the lenses really junky, thus maybe these are not good deals?

Here are a couple I was looking at... Thoughts? Thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D80-Digit...ryZ31388QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D80-Digit...31388QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

http://cgi.ebay.com/D80-Digital-SLR...31388QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262

 

[ukcatfan]

I would say that 99.9% of of the Ebay package deals are full of junk fillers. I especially hate when I see them include the screw on wide and tele adapters that were never intended to be used on a DSLR. They are mostly made for camcorders and p&s cameras, so the optical quality is not up to par for a DSLR. I suggest looking at Buydig, Beach Camera, B&H, and Adorama. Price it out without the junk and you will probably save money. If you are set on Nikon, you could also opt for the higher quality upgraded kit lenses like the new IS model 18-55mm or the 18-135mm.

 

[fhirleighinn]

I hate to say that I agree with ukcatfan, not really impressed with any of those auctions. You would be much better off in buying from BHphoto or any other REPUTABLE buyer. If you are looking to save some money, considering KEH.com, they have some used d80s in EX condition for around $600, that would save you some more for lenses. I have not bought from them myself, but I have heard some very good reviews, and would not hesitate to.

 

[seashoreCM]

Yes. Very.

It is not a good idea to buy cameras sight unseen from a private seller.

Digital camera hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/digicam.htm

 

[YEKCIM]

A good D80 "starter" lens would be the 18-135mm. You can get the camera, lens, and a 4GB Sandisk card from Buydig for $958, shipped, at present. The rumor mill says that the long-awaited D90 may be announced this week, which could have an effect on D80 pricing. Time will tell.

~Y

 

[wenrob]

I agree with all of the above. When you're investing that much you want to be able to have someone to go to if something goes wrong. Also the standard warranty on a Nikon lens is 5yrs. (at least that has been my experience)

*waves* Hi Christy! Be careful this board is as addicting as the scrapping board!

 

[DisneyCruiser2008]

Hi Wen. This board is full of great info. I was up until the wee hours looking around.... Thanks, everyone for the great advice and links!

 

[GrillMouster]

...But if that's all you have to work with then that maybe that's the best we can offer for that particular poster (which I think is what GrillMouster was trying to say)...

Tanzanite, ... There are ways you can improve them but it requires study into the basics of photography. Only you can decide if you want to put the effort into learning in order to improve your pictures. If you do, we're happy to help you get started.

Pea-n-Me, that's what I mean to say. Thank you for putting it into kinder words. I felt horrified at how mean and impatient my original message sounded when I read it back to myself.

Most people I know don't want their picture taking to be any more complicated than using Auto. When they ask me why a particular picture didn't come out right, and I tell them that the shutter speed was too slow, they say, "I just want to know what button I push to get good pictures." Not everyone is really interested in learning the ins and outs of photography, and that's fine. I just don't want to inundate those people with information that they'll find useless. When I try, they usually wind up just saying, "forget about it...most of my pictures come out okay using Auto, so I'll just keep doing that and deal with the occassional bad picture."

 

[handicap18]

Something I noticed on my D50(I don't know if the D80 is the same- just throwing this out there). On my D50- in auto mode the default focus is closest subject. If its the same on the D80 maybe that could cause some blurry shots. Something could be closer than your intended subject and the camera is focusing on it? I switched to mainly using P mode for that reason(in P,A and S you can set the focus mode and it stays there- in auto it defaults back to closest subject everytime the camera is turned off and back on). I tend to focus on my subject then recompose the picture so I much prefer my focus to be in the center. A thought anyway.

Susan, that is my thought as well, but I was hoping to see the image first. My first few months with my D50 was with Closest Subject focusing and I had A LOT of mis-focused shots. Drove me nuts. Now, 99% of the time I use Single Area focus. The other 1% of the time I use Dynamic Area, but thats only when I was shooting my DS T-ball team as the kids were running and stuff.