First time dslr buyer, can you help?

[ed540]

Im posting on behalf of my father who is looking to buy my mam a Nikkon D80 for xmas, Im sure he'll get to use it too! He's a keen photographer but has so far managed to avoid the digital age.

He'd like to know whether the above camera has a anti-shake or image stabilisation mode. If not does it really affect the performance a great deal?

He looking to purchase from Currys, has anyone purchased this kit from them and does it come with a Nikkor lens and therefore qualify for the £50 cashback offer? Or do you know where a better offer could be had?

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/stor...ory_oid=-33716

Any other opinions or comments on the camera itself would be very gratefully received.

Thanks for any help

[senu]

The Nikon D80 does not have antishake or Image stabilisation
The (costly) Nikon "VR "lenses have that built-in and would not sell if the cameras had that!
This similarly applies to Canon who also need to sell their IS lenses

Doesn't stop Nikon and Canon selling by the shed load

The DSLRs that do are the Sony A 100, A700 and Pentax DSLRs K10D K100D and the earlier Minolta Dynax ( which the Sony replaced). It is a feature that is great to have
but
Does it affect its performance? No..in absolute terms
However to quantify that answer objectively you have to understand in which way IS matters.. or not.

Camera performance not measured by solely by the ability to to provide anti shake even if that allows you to use very low shutter speeds or get images in poor light without needing flash ect
However that is not a subject for this thread

The D80 justifiably very well regarded and a cut above the "budget" DSLRs being ( in a way ) almost in a class by itself

If you do a search on here ( it has been discussed on very many threads in the past and still gets the thumbs up) or go to DPreview it will be clear from their reviews how well they think of it
Go on to flickr and search for images by camera... you will see what users of the Nikon D80 have been up to
As for buying it in Currys, That TBH is not where I would buy a camera unless there is a justifiable economic reason ( ie vouchers) for doing so

[ed540]

Thanks for the thorough answer Senu
My Dad has now definately settled on the D80 thanks to your opinions of the camera and the links you provided.
You mention that we may be better off spending our money elsewhere than Currys, if you could provide a few recommendations then that would be great. If you're unable to because of your moderator status then we understand and would like to say thanks for your help once again

[onefunkypenguin]

try:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/

and

http://camerapricebuster.co.uk/

hope they help?!

[dazza74]

Originally Posted by ed540

Thanks for the thorough answer Senu
My Dad has now definately settled on the D80 thanks to your opinions of the camera and the links you provided.
You mention that we may be better off spending our money elsewhere than Currys, if you could provide a few recommendations then that would be great. If you're unable to because of your moderator status then we understand and would like to say thanks for your help once again

D80 is a great camera, although if you look at my signature you can see I'm slightly biased

Do you need to buy any lenses to go with the camera?

[ed540]

Thanks Dazza
I take it you've got some for sale! Or know a good website?
Thanks for the offer but by the time my Dad has bought the camera and kit we'll be eating pidgeon for xmas dinner. So it will be awhile before another lens purchase.
Thanks again though for the comments on the camera.

[senu]

Originally Posted by ed540

Thanks for the thorough answer Senu

You are welcome
It is a well sorted camera.. We just "mine" nicked at work ( I use Canon at home) and we have a loan D200 till the insurance sort something out
Im sure there are folk more capable than I in pointing you towards online bargains

[ed540]

Thanks for the links Penguin, he's not too sure about buying from somewhere he's never heard of. Especially at this price range. I think he prefers peace of mind over the difference in cost. Thanks again.

[dazza74]

Originally Posted by ed540

Thanks Dazza
I take it you've got some for sale! Or know a good website?
Thanks for the offer but by the time my Dad has bought the camera and kit we'll be eating pidgeon for xmas dinner. So it will be awhile before another lens purchase.
Thanks again though for the comments on the camera.

No not at all, I just wanted to know if you needed any advice

Not looking to sell anything (at least not yet)

I bought mine with the 18-70mm DX lens which has served me well, I believe it's supposed to be a little bit sharper than the 18-135mm DX lens you were planning to get. If I was starting out again I'd probably buy just the D80 body plus the nikkor 18-200mm VR (Vibration reduction lens) although you would be talking about £950 all in for those two.

[senu]

Some of the online shops have "real " stores .
And there are Shops which mainly sell Photography kit.. worth perusing.
With all due respect , many a Currys salesman's mission is to push the TV/ camcorder/ Fridge (and Camera at the costliest possible price with an exoensive Sd card and "extended warrantee" and still leave you thinking theyve done you a massive favour!

[ed540]

Thanks again for the advice Dazza, its good to hear different owners comments on the camera.
I'll let him know what you said about the different lens and the sharper image. You can get the camera as a bundle with a lens so the decision really now is what lens to go for!
After the initial outlay on the camera bundle it will mean that any future lens purchase will have to be put on hold for awhile. So its important to get a lens that both of them will be happy with straight away. I'll post back on what he thinks about the lenses and he'll probably have a few more questions too!

[ed540]

Originally Posted by senu

Some of the online shops have "real " stores .
And there are Shops which mainly sell Photography kit.. worth perusing.
With all due respect , many a Currys salesman's mission is to push the TV/ camcorder/ Fridge (and Camera at the costliest possible price with an exoensive Sd card and "extended warrantee" and still leave you thinking theyve done you a massive favour!

Couldnt agree more! Things like memory cards and accessories he'd never buy from the high street anyway. Or extended warranties to a degree either. Although he'll probably ask about it.
Does nikkon offer there own extended warranty in the box anyway and if so does anybody have it and what sort of service it offers? As that is the route he'd probably prefer to take.
You mentioned that you had your camera stolen and that youre waiting for your replacement, what sort of cover did you get for that and with who? If we have an extended warranty on something we usually go for the manufacturers rather than the stores. But I'm not sure as to whether they usually offer theft cover aswell. So any advice on this subject would be really handy. Sorry for all the questions

[dazza74]

I used this website quite a bit for research before I bought my camera, also includes some reviews of lenses as well :

http://www.cameralabs.com/

[vu5ter]

Hi Ed

Been a long time lurker but thought I'd chuck in my 2cents worth with suggested stores. Been tracking the price of a D80 for the last month pressie to myself for Xmas. Cheapest I found before the cashback was from Dixons (online only) but needed the discount code Gimme5 at checkout. D80 with 18-135mm approx £627 before Nikon cashback. Ebuyer.com was cheaper still at £599 but not sure whether they are grey imports and would not qualify for Nikon cashback. Perhaps someone can answer that question before I push the Dixon purchase button

HTH

Vu5ter

[ed540]

Thanks Vu5ter for the info. At the moment that looks the more likely option for us from dixons. Cheers for the discount code. He's off tomorrow to ask around some nearby places to see if he can get it for a certain price and if not he'll go for that deal from Dixons.