Nikon D80

[AstroDad]

None that any of us know about....

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=158331

Is an u/w housing available for the D80?

 

[SFLDiver]

D80 now in hand ... only took 11 days from Ritz.

 

[HowardE]

I checked out a D80 today at a camera store (wolf) just for kicks... It's smaller than I thought. It seems like it has a lot of the functions the D200 has, but they're just buried in menus, etc.

 

[JackConnick]

Housings are on their way. Many will be introduced at DEMA, including Sea & Sea, Ike, and well, Fantasea. I know Fantasea's housings will be avilable for Christmas, as soon as I get a firm price I'll take pre-orders. The new generation of housings are very nice, including optical view finders, better ports and included DEEP insurance. I have the new D70s housing out now at MSRP of $999, my price $870, I expect the D80 will be close.

I've been promised a demo housing, if one is available before my Truk trip in November.

 

[jcclink]

Let us not forget a backup camera. Its not a true backup unless it works in the same housing. Looks like $2K should cover things (+ all new storage cards, which is kind of a bummer).

 

[SFLDiver]

I have no clue how a D80 compares to a D200, aside from price.
Personally it was a definite step-up from my old Sony D770.

Size, weight-wise, it works for me.
I have the MB-D80 battery pack on order.
Photog friend of mine (who does have the D100 for studio work)
likes it for the grip and spare power in the field.

It -is- lighter than my last SLR (ages ago)
with a plastic body, not metal.

I -did manage to find a RiData 4gb SD card for it.
Newegg had it on special for $59, but the price is back up now ...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820183017

I have it set at Large, Fine JPEGs and it reads some 530+ shots remaining.

I'm still playing with it, and have no plans for it to go underwater for now.

 

[AstroDad]

11? Wow, mine only took 1 day!

D80 now in hand ... only took 11 days from Ritz.

 

[mattroz]

just ordered from Ritz... but I'm in Canada don't think I'll get it in a day

 

[bluefrogfish]

I have been very tempted to upgrade my D70 bodies to D80. I even had a buyer for one D70 and housing.
But I decided not to change. I could live with the idea of having to buy new SD cards, I could live with the idea of having to buy new spare batteries (the D70's batteries are not good for the D80). BUT I couldn't live with the idea of a strobe sync. speed of only 1/200 (even less than my Nikon N90s !!).
IMHO This shutter speed (1/200) is a huge step back for underwater photography, mainly when shooting in shallow bright waters, or shooting up against the surface.
So, evaluating the pros and cons the only good thing for underwater use of the D80 vs D70 was the higher resolution, that we barely ever need.

I wonder if the D90 will syncronize at 1/90 like a Nikonos V !

 

[AUTiger]

I've heard mention that the 1/200 sync speed may only apply to the internal stobe and not strobes/flashes attached to the hot shoe. Can anybody confirm this?

More info added later:

From the Nikon SB-800 flash manual:

High-Speed flash synchronization at your camera’s highest shutter speed is
now possible. In this mode, the Auto FP High-Speed Sync mode is
automatically set when the shutter speed exceeds the camera’s sync shutter
speed. This is useful when you want to use a wider aperture to achieve shallow
depth of field to blur the background.
• Available with compatible cameras. You cannot set the Auto FP High-Speed sync mode
on the SB-800 directly, but must set it on the camera.
• High-speed flash synchronization is possible exceeding your camera’s sync shutter
speed up to your camera’s highest shutter speed.
• Auto FP High-Speed sync also operates in the Advanced Wireless Lighting mode.
• Available flash modes are i-TTL, Auto Aperture flash, Distance-priority manual flash, and
Manual flash when using a single flash unit. i-TTL, Auto Aperture flash, Non-TTL auto
flash, and Manual flash are available in multiple flash operation

I don't know if any particular underwater stobe system will be able to work with the Auto FP High-Speed sync system, but the Nikon flashes can sync with shorter shutter times.

David