Nikon D80 vs Sony Alpha

Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80 or Sony
Alpha

Thanks

José Costa

"jncevcosta" wrote in message
ups.com...
"Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80
or Sony Alpha

Opinions vary of course, but without hesitation I would say the Nikon D80 is
the one to get -- unless perhaps you have a lot of Minolta-mount lenses
which will fit the Sony Alpha.

Even then -- I do have a lot of Minolta lenses, and I already have a Konica
Minolta Maxxum 5D which is the camera the Sony Alpha is based on, and though
the Maxxum is an excellent camera I'd still rather have a Nikon D80 and will
eventually get one.

Neil

On Dec 21, 8:50 am, "jncevcosta" wrote:
Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80 or Sony
Alpha

Thanks

José Costa

Ok I'll take a try at this one:
They both use the same imaging chip, so the choice is in imaging
processing, lens choice etc
Sony Alpha:
Excellent low ISO performance / jpeg
Bad to worse high ISO performance
Good OEM RAW converter
Sony/Minolta lenses are OK, nothing really stands out performance wise.
Zeiss lenses will be available in 2007, will be very expensive,
probably autofocus, but not sure about that.

Nikon D80:
Excellent low ISO performance (Sony has been reviewed as a slightly
better)
Good high ISO performance
included RAW converter is not very good (nice processing but slow and
buggy) good Nikon software $150 extra
Nikon has several state of the art lenses 70-200 f2.8 VR, 17-55 DX,
17-35 f2.8 28-70 f2.8 and many excellent prime lenses. (Some of the
lower priced lenses, as with any manufacturer are not so hot) a decent
all in one 18-200 lens.
Zeiss lenses available, manual focus only, will not work with D80
meter.

That is about it, others will undoubtedly add more. Thom Hogan (Nikon
person) didn't like the build of the Alpha he tried. You would be happy
with either, get the best price you can at a reputable store, if you
have Minolta or Nikon lenses use that to make your descision.

Tom

"Neil Harrington" wrote in message
. ..

"jncevcosta" wrote in message
ups.com...
"Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80
or Sony Alpha

Opinions vary of course, but without hesitation I would say the Nikon D80
is the one to get -- unless perhaps you have a lot of Minolta-mount lenses
which will fit the Sony Alpha.

Even then -- I do have a lot of Minolta lenses, and I already have a
Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D which is the camera the Sony Alpha is based on,
and though the Maxxum is an excellent camera I'd still rather have a Nikon
D80 and will eventually get one.

Neil
I would not agree, the user interface on the A100 is dreamy, easy to master;
while the UI on Nikons is messy. Many of the controls need you to press
buttons while twisting an unlabelled commmand dial. The Coolpix 5700 and
Coolpix 8700 which I had before buying the Sony were so byzantine that I
took the instruction manual away on holiday! The D80 seems not quite so
convoluted but appears to have some of the same design.

The Super Steady Shot function seems to give you about 2 stops advantage and
since it is in the body works with all your lenses, while the Nikon VR is in
the lens making stabilzation fitted lenses more expensive.

I like the "Eye Start AF" although I know that it drives some people mad!

I like the way the LCD changes from Horizontal to Vertical Aspect Ratio.

Having said that they are both excellent cameras and while (I seem to
recall) the Sony scored more points in "Amateur Photographer", they both
score "Highly Recommended" in dpreview and I expect you will be happy with
which ever you select.

Hope this helps,

Roger

"Roger Matthews" wrote in message
...

"Neil Harrington" wrote in message
. ..

"jncevcosta" wrote in message
ups.com...
"Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80
or Sony Alpha

Opinions vary of course, but without hesitation I would say the Nikon D80
is the one to get -- unless perhaps you have a lot of Minolta-mount
lenses which will fit the Sony Alpha.

Even then -- I do have a lot of Minolta lenses, and I already have a
Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D which is the camera the Sony Alpha is based on,
and though the Maxxum is an excellent camera I'd still rather have a
Nikon D80 and will eventually get one.

Neil
I would not agree, the user interface on the A100 is dreamy, easy to
master; while the UI on Nikons is messy. Many of the controls need you to
press buttons while twisting an unlabelled commmand dial. The Coolpix 5700
and Coolpix 8700 which I had before buying the Sony were so byzantine that
I took the instruction manual away on holiday!

I have the 8700 myself and would agree with that.


The D80 seems not quite so convoluted but appears to have some of the same
design.

While I don't have a D80 yet, I do have a D70s and a D40. I don't find their
systems convoluted at all, though of course they do offer a great range of
controls over camera functions and that in itself presents some possible
complications. They are certainly nothing like the Coolpix 8700, which (with
the 5700) seems to be in a class by itself for difficulty of use. I also
have an 8800 and that's much more user-friendly than the 8700 -- simply by
virtue of having the more standard control dial on the top deck.

I'd agree that Nikon has its own way of doing things, which in some
instances does take a little getting used to -- but it's not a problem on
their dSLRs as far as I'm concerned.



The Super Steady Shot function seems to give you about 2 stops advantage
and since it is in the body works with all your lenses, while the Nikon VR
is in the lens making stabilzation fitted lenses more expensive.

That's true, and it's the one great plus of the Minolta (now Sony)
anti-shake scheme.



I like the "Eye Start AF" although I know that it drives some people mad!

I have that on the Maxxum 5D too of course, and I think in general it's all
right. It can be annoying at times, but is useful at other times.



I like the way the LCD changes from Horizontal to Vertical Aspect Ratio.

I do too, but see it as more of a clever novelty than anything else.



Having said that they are both excellent cameras and while (I seem to
recall) the Sony scored more points in "Amateur Photographer", they both
score "Highly Recommended" in dpreview and I expect you will be happy with
which ever you select.

The main drawback of the Minolta/Sony for me is the lack of really good
ultrawide lenses, which are important to me. My old ultrawides for Minolta
35mm Maxxums of course won't do anything for me on the APS-sized sensor.
Sony does catalog an 11-18mm lens in this mount, but it appears to be the
Tamron 11-18 relabeled, not a very appealing lens. There is the Sigma 10-20
which looks interesting, but user reports on that have been quite mixed.

Nikon on the other hand has the superb (albeit pricey) 12-24, Tokina also
makes an excellent 12-24 in the Nikon mount at about half the price -- and
from most accounts better than anything available in the Minolta mount. I
don't have either of those yet, but do have Nikon's great little 10.5
fisheye, which Nikon Capture 4 converts nicely to rectilinear -- making it
virtually a dual-function lens.

Neil

"jncevcosta" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi!
I like to know which the machine that I must choose: Nikon D80 or Sony
Alpha

Thanks

José Costa



Whichever you enjoy holding most,

Or whichever most suits your photographic needs,

Or the least popular one if you happen to enjoy being different from the
crowd.

Stupid Question!!!!

Roy G