DSLR Nikon - advice please

Hi there everyone,

If anyone could give me a little pointer or two on this I'd much appreciate.

Am currently diving with an olympus mju 800 in Ikelite housing and DS-51 strobe.

I intend to upgrade in the future to underwater DSLR but before I do I want to buy the camera first.

Am thinking Nikon D80.

If anyone out there uses this camera underwater, could you please give me an opinion on this camera regarding its ease of use, and user satisfaction??

Any comments greatfully appreciated.

Best

Damo

Hi Damo,

My dive buddy uses the Nikon D80 and he loves it.

I see the results and they are great images.

Have a browse through his web-site and read his comments on the rig...

http://users.ncable.net.au/~anewton/

HTH,

Bruce...

I've been using a D80 since December after my D70 gave up.

I'm pleased with the results so far. Autofocus seems fast and accurate and picture quality is good.

I use an Ikelite housing and if I have one complaint it's that too many of the controls are catered for. I had one dive where I struggled to change the mode dial until I realised that it was jammed by the flash compensation control.

A couple of point to consider. It's expected that Nikon will replace the D80 with an updated version later this year. Quite possibly the later version will have some of the improvements included in the D200 to D300 update. It may be worth waiting for the update although when it arrives it will probably be more expensive than the D80's current price which has dropped since introduction. Also you will get good pictures from the D80 and there's always a new camera on the horizon so you can wait for ever before making the jump.

Secondly if you stick with Ikelite you'll probably be OK but other housing manufacturers have already discontinued the D80 housing. I always find this surprising when housings are discontinued as soon as a camera is discontinued as there are probably people who would choose to buy a camera and house it later. I find it even more surprising when the housing is discontinued for a current camera model but that's the way it is. Ikelite are one of the few, if not only, manufacturer to make housings for older cameras and the D100 is still shown as current in their catalogue.

the d80 is a great choice, easy to use. I wouldn't wait, there are always new cameras coming out, just get one. you won't regret it.

get yourself a couple good quality lenses, there's lots of advice on the forums here for lenses.

scott

That Bruce chap knows what he's talking about! ;-}

I have had no regrets at all buying the D80. Works beautifully.

You might want to look for someone who is upgrading. With the current raft of releases from both Cannon and Nikon there are many unloading barely used gear.

I have just bought a D300 body and should I be dumb enough to spring for a housing in the future would be unloading my D200 gear.

Paul C

Damo,

I you can see from my tag line below, I have a Nikon D80 in a Nexus housing. The camera has fast a/f and lock with the new lenses (slow with old Nikkor 105 f2.8 macro – this lens is slow focus on any body). With the Nexus housing, I have no control conflicts like Ken has the Ikelite. The D80 is smaller and much lighter that the more expensive Nikon digital cameras, but the view finder is smaller than the D200 or D2x. I think Ken is probably correct by assuming Nikon will upgrade/replace the D80 this fall. You can get used D80 now.

Regards,

Bob

Just want to say a very big thank you to all of you who have posted thus far- the more opinions the merrier !tho' I am very happy with the really great advice!

Again- thank you so much!

Damo

Damo,

I have a D80, which I bought a bit over a year ago. I find the Camera great.

My suggestion:

* Hunt a while for a used combo: camera + Housing. I am pretty sure that you will get one.

* If you do not find a used good priced combo. Then wait until the update comes.

Reason: If you buy a new Camera then you will keep it for some years. it would therefore be worth waiting 6 months for it.

Well, that is what I would have done.

/Erik

For those of you who shoot the D80, do you find the shutter release too sensitive and a bit difficult to 1/2 press for focus ? I do (in an Ikelite housing), I found it very difficult to 1/2 press. I started to shoot the 105VR recently (and if in AF-C) for example, it's too fast for it to focus before it drops the shutter. AF-A seem a little better but still 1/2 press seems to be a huge challenge. Or is that just me ?

For those of you who shoot the D80, do you find the shutter release too sensitive and a bit difficult to 1/2 press for focus ? I do (in an Ikelite housing), I found it very difficult to 1/2 press. I started to shoot the 105VR recently (and if in AF-C) for example, it's too fast for it to focus before it drops the shutter. AF-A seem a little better but still 1/2 press seems to be a huge challenge. Or is that just me ?

I use a Nexus housing. The "trigger" is sweet, but not too sweet. No probls with the 1/2 press.

For those of you who shoot the D80, do you find the shutter release too sensitive and a bit difficult to 1/2 press for focus ? I do (in an Ikelite housing), I found it very difficult to 1/2 press. I started to shoot the 105VR recently (and if in AF-C) for example, it's too fast for it to focus before it drops the shutter. AF-A seem a little better but still 1/2 press seems to be a huge challenge. Or is that just me ?

no problem at all here.. do you have any problem on land? if not, then you should have your housing adjusted.

scott

CADiver:

.. or your Housing!

No problem here either. I am on the other hand very seldom using the AF-C. Out of curiosity what is the reason that you are using AF-C together with the 105mm?

I am mostly ending up using the 60mm UW. I am mostly using AF-S or sometimes AF-A with the Macros.

/Erik

I use the D80 as my "surface" camera. (I haven't made the plunge to using a DSLR underwater yet, sticking with my G9 for now:) ).

It really is a nice camera. It is my first DSLR and honestly I'm glad I let the wife convince me to get it over some of the other cameras I was looking at.

I have to say, looking at price, specification and performance, that I would incline towards buying a D200 as the D300 becomes widely available, and trying to pick up a second-hand housing from one of the upgrade-o-holics that infest the world of underwater photography. The camera build is superb, and except for high-ISO performance the camera's images are superb, too.

I thought long and hard about upgrading, but I've decided that the D200 will keep me happy for some time yet.

Bear in mind that the D100 is still the most published underwater Nikon, but the D200 is much, much better!

Tim

B)

CAdiver, I found the D80 more sensitive in the Ikelite housing than my D70 but now I've got used to it it seems fine. I tend to use AF-A as I take too many out of focus shots using AF-C and that was the case with the D70 as well.

What's AF-A?

The settings are M, S and C on my Nikons!

You can use AF in single shot or continuous modes. On the D200 the AF-C mode can be fine-tuned to bias it towards being in focus and not just shooting immediately the shutter is depressed. This makes a good compromise when shooting fish.

Tim

B)

tdpriest:

The Autofocus Modes on D80:

AF_S: releases only if sharp

AF_C: releases all the time, results in a lot of unsharp pics

AF_A: This is a sort of in between thing between AF_S & AF_C.

I tend to use either AF_S or AF_A. I personally do not like the AF_C.

/Erik

Thanks, sorry for my ignorance:

I guess the message is not to jump to conclusions about a camera model that you haven't used, but only looked at briefly!

Even so, if you are diving in remote areas, or taking a camera onto a boat, I would look carefully at the build quality, at the camera's ability to take a few knocks. My D70 had to be repaired when a control wheel was damaged.

I take your point about AF-A: it sounds as if it stands for "AF-auto", and I would predict that it doesn't work too well underwater.

Can you modify the way in which AF-C works through the D80 menu? I have found this very useful, as I say.

Tim

B)

CADiver:

.. or your Housing!

 

No problem here either. I am on the other hand very seldom using the AF-C. Out of curiosity what is the reason that you are using AF-C together with the 105mm?

I am mostly ending up using the 60mm UW. I am mostly using AF-S or sometimes AF-A with the Macros.

 

/Erik

I really didn't know why I choose AF-C that day, I might had thought I was going to pan a lot or something which really doesn't make sense w/ 105. I use AF-A or AF-S with my 60mm. It was a mistake.