anyone have personal experience with either of these two cameras and what would make one better than the other. from what i can tell and i'm new to SLR's they're both SLR (obviously) and they both are 10 mp's. what else makes the difference. i am looking at shooting scenery and cars and sports mainly. thanks -phil
the guy at wolf camrea broke it down 4 me but cant really word it like he did http://www.nikondigital.com/main.html i think they do a compare on the nikon site
Some quick differences. I use a D200. D80 isnt 5 frames per second D80 is plastic while 200 is magnesium alloy D80 isnt as weather proof as the D200 D80 does not support fp mode for flash D80 uses SD cards and not CF like the D200 D80 does not have 4 customizable setting banks like the D200 D80 lacks MLU makes it pretty much useless for macro and long lens work. Lower end/ entry DSLRs are cameras you grow out of, and high end DSLR pro level cameras are cameras you grow into. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/vs-d200.htm This quote sums it up though "the D200 is solid, heavy and mostly metal. The D80 is plastic like the D70s. My D200 is a solid tool while the D80 is a very high quality toy. "
In the long run Id say so. However, it just depends on how serious you plan on getting into photography. If I was planning on staying out the business and doing it strictly as a hobby, a D70 would have been fine for me. Now you might want to consider purchasing a D70 and using the extra money for a nice lens rather than a kit lens.
The D70 kit lens is pretty good as opposed to the D50 kit lens which is not. http://www.bythom.com/1870lens.htm Also, don't discount the D50 body. http://www.bythom.com/D50REVIEW.htm
Both the 18-55 and 18-70 kit lens are excellent lenses. Both are very sharp. However most places such as wolf provide Quantaray in house type lenses which suck hardcore. The D50 is something you will definitly get tired of within a year of shooting.
From what Ive seen it isnt too bad, but depending on the body used it could get worse. The 18-55 on the D50 I used to own wasnt bad, but slapping it on the 200, it was very noticeable at 18mm.