Upgrading from D80

Croosh wrote:
Hi Everyine,
I am thinking about upgrading my camera (D80).
I have some issues that make the camera not as anjoyable as I wish it
was:
1) The camera tends to overexpose in weird ways. My D70 did it to, but
it was predictable, so I just compensated by 1/3 stop. D80 is hit and
miss, and I don't always have the luxury of stopping and checking the
histogram.
(I am shooting RAW, but blown lights or noisy shadows are an issue...)
2) In "s" focusing mode the camera mamages to focus little too far.
With my portrait lense (85mm F1.8 I often have 2-3" on DOF, so two
inches oiff makes a nice picture of person's ears.) In "C' mode the
issue doesn't appear as often (if at all), but continuous focus
requires me to mess with AE/AF lock button...

Originally I've been thinking about D200, but nobody locally stocks it
anymore, plus D300 isn't that much more expensive. The question
is,have the people using both seen much improvement in D300 ove D200,
besides the obvious stuff? Is autofocus any better in practice? Is the
CMOS sensor much better than CCD? Menu system, buttons, ergonomics
etc.?

Moving to 40D is not an option, as I have a lot of money invested in
the lenses, and don't feel like going through that process again...

I'm not a professional photographer, but photography is my main hobby,
so I try to buy decent equipment is I can afford it without dipping
into my 401K D80 is my second DSLR. Before that I had F4, and FM
before that. I still think that F4 was the best thing mankind
invented.
When using my DSLRs I stay in "P" exposure mode with RAW files and use
Bibble for the postprocessing.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't care much for the bells
and whistless that don't affect the image quality...
Below are some of my observations:

D200 Pros (over D80):
1) access to manual lenses (35mm 1.4 isn't made with AF).
2) Uncompressed NEF
3) Sealed body (I find myself by the ocean a lot, and salty mist
doesn't improve camera mechanics...)

D300 Pros (inaddition to D200):
1)Sensor cleaner (I use prime lenses, mostly, so the sensor does get
dusty in a hurry)
2) CMOS sensor (supposed to be less noisy)


Things I don't care about:
1)Megapixels: D80 has 10 and that's plenty for what I print
2)LiveView (tm?).
3) LCD size (Histogram is visible in 1" LCD, and i personally can't
judge anything else on 3" LCD



Thank you in advance
Yuriy K.

The D80 is due for an upgrade - and the new model will probably have the
same sensor as the D300. That sensor gives about 1.5 stops advantage
over the D80/200. Highlight detail preservation in raw is also
significantly better (plus read up on ADL) Full feature set of the
"D90" - who knows?
Uncompresssed NEF, compressed lossy, compressed lossless makes very very
little difference - IMO don't worry too much if the "D90" doesn't have
that option. 14 bit raw is more significant, but still very minor
(shadow detail retention).
There's little point IMO buying a new D200 - if you can stretch to the
D300, it is significantly better in too many ways. (High iso / AF system
/ 100% VF etc)
I'd suggest wait for D80 replacement, get a D300, or switch systems to
Canon 40d if the D300 price is too much, and you don't want to wait.