Upgrade from D80 to D90?

[ChrisGardner]

Hello All,

Do any of you Nikon shooters have an opinion about whether it's worth it to upgrade from a D80 to D90? I've had my D80 for 2 years and for the most part it works for me, but there are some things that irritate me too - mostly inconsistent metering and frequent over-exposing, though I'm now good friends with -2/3 compensation. It also has trouble with a couple of the focus points (on the sides) in lower light - I've tried it with my 2 f1.8 prime lenses (50mm and 35mm) as well as a Tokina 12-24 f4 and it only focuses about 30% of the time, while the middle focus point always works. Is this focus area issue something that may improve with the D90? A full 1 additional stop of usable ISO would be nice too, but I'm more concerned about fixing the things I feel "don't work right" with the D80.

I think it may a good time to upgrade, because it looks like D80s are going for $400 on eBay, so a D90 might only cost me $450. It seems that if I wait too long I won't be able to get much for the D80.

Anyway, thanks for any advice!

[insanefred]

biggest benefits over the D80, AFAIK, is the metering and better sensor.

By better sensor, I mean..
Less high ISO noise
I believe it has significantly less IR pollution
overall better colors.


Sorry, I am not much help.

[Bsimon]

FWIW, with a little searching at one of the BIG ny houses you can get a bnib d90 for 809 or a refurb for 679. Refurbs come on almost daily, just have to keep looking. :nod

[alexf]

It is definitely an improvement. I still like my D80 which I use occasionally as my second body. When I was considering an upgrade, over a year ago, I went for the D300. I did consider the D90 briefly but turned it down.

The D300 has a better build (metal vs plastic) and can meter with AIS lenses (a big one for me). The D90 is excellent and has better high ISO performance but still does not feel as sturdy as the D300 to me.

I think you could not go wrong on either one.

[Mav]

biggest benefits over the D80, AFAIK, is the metering and better sensor.

By better sensor, I mean..
Less high ISO noise
I believe it has significantly less IR pollution
overall better colors.


Sorry, I am not much help.

Another key difference is the screen - the resolution is much higher making it much easier for you to evaluate if you got the shot rather than getting home and finding it wasn't quite as sharp as you hoped.

Having used a D80 for a few months and then moving to a D90, the migration is very easy.

HTH

[insanefred]

Sorry, Mav, I totally forgot about the screen. It's it a lot better!

[ARKreations]

It is definitely an improvement. I still like my D80 which I use occasionally as my second body. When I was considering an upgrade, over a year ago, I went for the D300. I did consider the D90 briefly but turned it down.

The D300 has a better build (metal vs plastic) and can meter with AIS lenses (a big one for me). The D90 is excellent and has better high ISO performance but still does not feel as sturdy as the D300 to me.

I think you could not go wrong on either one.
:agree
I made the same move from the D80 to the D300 about 3 months ago.
The D300 just flat out rocks!:ivar

[ChrisGardner]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I tried out the D90 yesterday, and it definitely seems like a step up from the D80. That screen is soooo much better and you can really tell if the focus is spot on or not. I could also tell on that screen how much better the high ISO noise is.

One question for you D300 users (I assume this part is the same as the D90)...I noticed that the low ISO is now 200 (instead of 100) but it has the "Lo 1" option. I know that this is just ISO 100, but why is the nomenclature different? Does that really mean anything, and what is it's significance? Does this mean that the "optimum" ISO is 200? Thanks again!

[insanefred]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I tried out the D90 yesterday, and it definitely seems like a step up from the D80. That screen is soooo much better and you can really tell if the focus is spot on or not. I could also tell on that screen how much better the high ISO noise is.

One question for you D300 users (I assume this part is the same as the D90)...I noticed that the low ISO is now 200 (instead of 100) but it has the "Lo 1" option. I know that this is just ISO 100, but why is the nomenclature different? Does that really mean anything, and what is it's significance? Does this mean that the "optimum" ISO is 200? Thanks again!

Iso 200 is native (best DR, color, and etc..)
lo. 1 is simulated for longer shutter. About the same as overexposing 1 stop and turning the exposure slide in post.

[ziggy53]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I tried out the D90 yesterday, and it definitely seems like a step up from the D80. That screen is soooo much better and you can really tell if the focus is spot on or not. I could also tell on that screen how much better the high ISO noise is.

One question for you D300 users (I assume this part is the same as the D90)...I noticed that the low ISO is now 200 (instead of 100) but it has the "Lo 1" option. I know that this is just ISO 100, but why is the nomenclature different? Does that really mean anything, and what is it's significance? Does this mean that the "optimum" ISO is 200? Thanks again!

Manufacturers often have both "calibrated" ISOs and "extended" ISOs (generally in their better/prosumer and professional lines.). Typically the extended low ISO range does sacrifice some dynamic range, but it's not usually enough to worry about. At the high ISO extensions is where you generally see more degradation from random noise and rather serious drop in dynamic range and color accuracy.

In the case of the Nikon D90, DXOMark actually measures the ISO 100 and ISO 200 as the same sensitivity, meaning that in the D90, ISO 100 is more of just an EV shift. This actually results in the D90 having "more" calculated dynamic range, with a loss in exposure range. Absolutely nothing to worry about, in other words.

[Joves]

Thanks for the opinions everyone. I tried out the D90 yesterday, and it definitely seems like a step up from the D80. That screen is soooo much better and you can really tell if the focus is spot on or not. I could also tell on that screen how much better the high ISO noise is.

One question for you D300 users (I assume this part is the same as the D90)...I noticed that the low ISO is now 200 (instead of 100) but it has the "Lo 1" option. I know that this is just ISO 100, but why is the nomenclature different? Does that really mean anything, and what is it's significance? Does this mean that the "optimum" ISO is 200? Thanks again!
The LO settings suck in my opinion. You just have to work around the 200 being the lowest. The one thing I now miss about my D80 is the ISO 100. You optimums are always the base ISOs with out the push in either direction. If you can possibly swing it a D300 would be a better choice. It has more features like 51 point focus points, faster AF and many other options. The D90 like the D80 is the neutered version of it big brother.