Hello D80!

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YES I finally own a DSLR!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Sitting here remembering all the time I spent on comparing cameras, features, learning about the latest technology in photography, and adapting my wishlist to my budget, I truly feel what happened has been both an achievement and a slap to the face. Achievement in terms of finance and quality vs. money. And yet it was a slap to teach me that extensive planning is a waste of time in most cases, leave it sharp and short.

I finally got hit by a chance from up above. Two shares on my FB timeline announced a person is selling his D80 gear. After doing my personal research on both the camera AND on the person selling it, not believing the price he was asking for, I decided to contact him. One hour later, the cam is mine.


Screenshot of the original Facebook post
It turned out later that the seller is Georges, he was selling everything in order to leave permanently to live in Africa, which explained the low price he was asking.

The Nikon D80 is a 2006 release, 10MP CCD camera, with the minimum requirements that would fulfill my needs at the time being. A CCD for god's sake! An incomparable quality delivered by the discontinued sensor technology for its high power consumption, compared to the newest, but of less quality, CMOS sensor, which apparently saved battery power. That alone was a relief and a cause for satisfaction

D80 Expert Design... Use With PassionFor passionate photographers a D-SLR with a 10.2-MP DX-Format CCD, Nikon's high-resolution Image Processing Engine and 3 fps continuous firing.

Here's what the dpreview website had to say when the camera was announced:
"Nikon has today put the end to the speculation and announced the new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR. This new camera is the natural successor to the D70/D70s with a refreshed design, user interface and a wide range of new features. Headline improvements are; 10.2 mp CCD, new image processing engine, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system, configurable Auto ISO, configurable high ISO NR, a larger and brighter viewfinder, in-camera retouching (including D-Lighting), built-in wireless flash commander, SD card storage (with SD-HC support) and the D200's higher capacity battery."
As you may have noticed, I had tried all major brands for photography cameras, starting from the Canon, Kodak, Sony, and I kept thinking I wanted a Nikon. Here it was, the D80 topped my gear like a queen.

Battery life for the D80 is astonishing, one charge could last for days, especially with the lack of the high-end sophisticated processes inside the camera, including Videography. The camera surprisingly had no drawback, all in all it was the deal of a lifetime so far. In addition to the camera, I received the standard 18-55, a prime 50mm f/1.4 (yes, I now have a prime, that I'm still unfamiliar with), and an external Metz flash unit which needed a bit of cleaning.

Here are some of the best photos I've taken so far using my new D80. Enjoy








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