Nikon D80

Reviewed October 2006

Test Photos

STILL LIFE PHOTO

This subject is photographed in a room that has a mix of fluorescent and incandescent light, but which is not brightly lit. The camera's flash is used to add fill light. The backdrop is 1.95 m (6.5 ft) from the camera.

To capture images of the highest quality possible the D80’s RAW mode was used for most of the images presented in this section. The RAW images were then processed using the 30-day trial version of Nikon Capture NX and saved as 8-bit TIFF, an option missing from the full version of PictureProject, the other program Nikon includes with the D80.

Using the built-in flash of the D80 and the 18-135 mm kit lens, a bit of vignetting — a loss of light in the corners of the image — can be detected. Colours, however, are very natural and the automatic white balance has no difficulty with the mix of lighting.

ZOOM PHOTO

Now we zoom in on a specific area. The intent is to test the sharpness of the image at the zoom's maximum setting. The camera remains at the same distance as with the preceding photo.

Zoomed in, and with the camera and flash set to their default settings, the built-in flash yields an image that is a touch brighter than the wide angle shot, and with slightly cooler colours.

The level of detail the D80 captures is remarkable, and the RAW format makes it possible to retain all the subtleties the camera captured.

CLOSE-UP PHOTO

As always with SLR cameras, macro photographic capabilities are tied to the lens used. The photo shown here was captured using a 60 mm Micro Nikkor, a specially designed lens with a 1:1 ratio.

With a camera such as the D80, either the aperture priority mode or the manual mode should be used to maximize the depth of field; and plenty of light should be provided to light the subject evenly.

BUILDING PHOTO

This image is our outdoor test. The architecture of the building, in particular the angled girders, immediately show the presence of jaggies. The shadowed entrance can also often reveal the quality of the exposure.

The Nikkor 18-135 mm f3.5/5.6 G ED has a wide angle equivalent to a 27 mm , allowing the camera to capture a large section of the building. At this focal length, the zoom shows no serious barrel distortion and the image is evenly sharp across the frame. Still, a very faint chromatic aberration can be observed occasionally when there are very strong contrasts closer to the edges of the frame.

ZOOM PHOTO

Zooming in on the entrance of the building, the shadowed entrance takes on a greater importance for the metering and can cause an overexposure of sections that are directly lit.

At its maximum telephoto setting, the 18-135 mm f3.5/5.6 G ED is equivalent to a 202 mm. The lens yields a sharp image but a little bit of pincushion distortion can be observed, appearing as a light curvature of vertical image elements near the edges of the frame.

There is, however, no chromatic aberration at this focal length and the image sharpness is once again excellent from corner to corner.

NIGHT PHOTO

Since this camera is capable of long exposures, a photo taken at night is included here.

Equipped with an unlimited B (Bulb) mode when set to the Manual shooting mode, the D80 provides total flexibility when it comes to night photography.

The manual mode gives control over all camera settings, ideal for night time photos, as to get interesting photos it is generally necessary to push the exposure past the camera’s metering. And, worth noting, setting the D80’s white balance to incandescent yields excellent colours with subjects such as the one shown here.

For this shot, sensitivity was set to 100 ISO, so as to minimize noise, and in turn, the amount of noise reduction applied by the camera. It is worth noting, however, that it is really only as of 400 ISO that the impact of noise reduction can be detected, lowering the level of detail in the images. This is unlike the 100 ISO level, where the image is effectively free of noise and remains quite sharp.