View all 13 of them in this forum post.

Some might think they’re a little overly saturated, but I think they’re just perfect given the setting and the occasion.

Really shows what kind of photos you can take with the D80 given the right capture and post-editing skills.

Thom Hogan is another noted Nikon expert, and writes in a clear, succinct style which educates the interested photographer with a great deal of technical (and practical) notes and how-to’s.

His Complete Guide to the Nikon D80 is not free, but is worth every penny.

Important update, 5-November-2006: It looks like the price for the Nikon D80 body has fallen to just below the $900 mark - read this forum thread and check out the latest price range for the Nikon D80 camera body.

Focusing on the lowest price alone, however, is not a recommended approach to buying the D80. Other factors that need to be considered are discussed below.

The price seems too good to be true.
If it is, trust your instincts and don’t purchase from that merchant. Some are known to quote the price for the camera body only (read a real case of how these merchants quote ridiculously low prices of less than $400 for the D80), baiting you to place the order, only to contact you later and squeeze you into paying more for the power cable, user manual, battery charger, etc …. components that were already originally included in the package by Nikon. Don’t be duped by this tactic. Remember to check against the price range mentioned earlier, and also confirm that these accessories and components (as certified by Nikon USA) are included with the D80 body. If you’re at all uneasy with the order confirmation process, don’t hesitate to cancel your order with the merchant.

Examples of unscrupulous online merchants are Royal Camera, CCI Camera City, Express Cameras - avoid them at all costs! Want more examples of scams? Visit this site which has a huge list of scam operators in Brooklyn, and see a picture of the CCI Camera City storefront. The bad news is that new ones are sprouting up all the time. The good news is that you can instantly spot them - know the price offered by reputable merchants, and use that as a benchmark when comparing prices.

Find out and compare what you’re getting with the deal
Is the merchant bundling in additional accessories such as a camera bag, SD memory card (what capacity? what speed? what brand?) or mini-tripod? If you already have those, it makes sense to only go for the basic system without these additional goodies thrown in, saving a bit of money in the process.

A relatively quick and efficient method for comparing Nikon D80 prices conveniently is to use a service such as that provided by Shoplinc.com, which lists not only prices from multiple online stores, but also the price for multiple system configurations, for example, Nikon D80 body only, or Nikon D80 plus a Nikkor 18-135mm lens, or the D80 plus a Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens - these additional “plus lens” configurations are ideally suited to those who are just starting out in SLR photography or currently have only a minimal, or no lens collection. Since the database is updated frequently, you can always check back and see if a better deal awaits you later, or better yet, call the merchant or subscribe to their newsletter - the bigger ones will send you alerts when special deals or seasonal bonuses are available. This technique is suitable for those who are not in a hurry to get the camera. As with all large-ticket purchases, it’s best not to rush the transaction.

Other costs and service components
Check the type and amount of warranty provided by the merchant, their return policy and whether they’ll charge you a restocking fee. Ask also for the availability of deals such as rebates, free shipping and no sales tax.

Merchants and Camera Stores

Five words … Only Shop With Reputable Stores.
Many are well-known establishments that you’re probably already familiar with … Adorama, Amazon, BestBuy.com, BuyDig.com, CircuitCity.com, Costco, RitzCamera.com, Crutchfield, B&H Photo and Newegg.com, to name a few.

When deciding which one to do business with, it’s well-advised for you to check buyer feedback on these merchants, which you can read up at ResellerRatings.com.

My favorite method is to check with active camera forums such as DPReview.com, where you’ll be able to ask questions freely and get a ton of feedback or do a search. Very often you’ll discover additional feedback on the quality of customer service, how knowledgeable the sales staff are, their friendliness and willingness to help, that sort of thing … it all goes towards making the entire transaction process more enjoyable. I for one strongly dislike dealing with arrogant and aloof staff.

Hope this helps, and all the best with your Nikon D80 purchase!

P.S.
I used to have ads embedded within this article, but have removed them effective 6-Feb-2007 in order to try out another option, which is to facilitate your purchase of the D80 system at Amazon.com via a referral from my site. I have purchased stuff myself from Amazon.com, and am thoroughly comfortable with their level of service, and other interesting purchase options and offers available there. Not to mention I enjoy their clean and efficient website interface. In other words, I trust them to do good business free of frustration at my end.

If you found my article helpful in assisting with your purchase decision, and avoiding the all-too-attractive digital camera scams and bait-and-switch programs, do consider buying the Nikon D80 system of your choice by clicking my Nikon D80 Amazon.com affiliate link. The link takes you to an Amazon Listmania I created to display the various D80 configurations that are available, for instance, you might just want to purchase the D80 body only, or perhaps you want to get a combination of the D80 plus Nikkor 18-135mm lens. I threw in the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF lens in there because I strongly feel that there is no better lens out there for the $100 asking price. Making your purchase within 24 hours of clicking the link helps to ensure that the commissions are duly credited to me.

P.P.S.
After you have received your shiny new D80 … actually, you can do it right now … do browse this site to enjoy viewing the amazing photographs D80 owners are shooting (sample links). I’ve linked to these and other tips and tricks (sample links). I have another site that tracks D80 information too, in a simpler format, that you might be interested in visiting - here’s the link.

Thank you for the visit!

Amazon: This is a predefined link for Nikon D80 configurations on Amazon.

B&H: Here’s their D80 page.

J&R: Shop for the Nikon D80 10.2 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera - Body Only at J&R.

Search multiple stores: Here are links to Nikon D80 search results on Shoplinc and Shopzilla

Another interesting point brought up is that an empty 4GB SD card has enough capacity to hold up to 220 RAW + JPEG images.

Another tip is to ensure that you purchase only 1 - 2GB SD cards or 4GB - 32GB (at the time of writing, the largest capacity is 8GB) SDHC cards (quickly scan available deals and prices of SDHC cards across multiple merchants) - avoid non-SDHC memory cards for capacities larger or equal to 4GB.

ISO

This is the correct way to setup the Auto ISO functionality on your D80 - two steps are required, setting of the upper ISO limit (eg: ISO1600), and the lower ISO limit (eg ISO100).

Shooting in bright, contrasty situations

Set up your Nikon D80 sharpening and contrast (under Custom Settings) this way to get better pictures under these conditions.

Well, it’s good that in the D80, this disadvantage no longer exists … not only can the popup flash contribute to the illumination of the scene, you even get to adjust the precise amount of exposure compensation to your liking.

Miancu contributed the following test images that highlight this feature on the D80. Note that the remote SB-800 flash is illuminating the soft toy from the side, whereas the light from the popup flash illuminates the soft toy from the front (in the right thumbnail).

Links:

1. View a larger version of these images (warning: long download time).
2. You can read up more on this feature on Page 108 of the Nikon D80 User Guide (English version) … click here to find out how to download this guide.
   Essentially, you select the appropriate value for the built-in flash … either — (popup flash does NOT contribute any illumination to the scene) or TTL (popup flash DOES contribute illumination to the scene, in addition to acting as a commander for the remote flash), in the Custom Settings (CSM) menu, option 22 (Commander Mode). I include the relevant screenshot of that page below (click the image to view a larger version):
   

Links:

1. View a larger version of the images (be prepared for the long download time!).
2. Read Miancu’s comments on the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens and SB-800 flash. About the only thing I’d like to add is that the 50mm f/1.8 might be “softer” at f1/.8 or f/2 than at f/4 or even f/8, but that is still more than sharp enough for portraiture … see this gallery for example, where most were shot at f/2.
3. Enjoy more of Miancu’s excellent photography with the D80 at his Flickr.com gallery.
4. You might like to read my brief review of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Check current prices and latest deals across multiple merchants for:

1. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D AF lens
2. Nikon SB-800 flash

For those in the know, and who’re already set on the D200, the price difference is no big deal, simply because the D200 offers many features not found on the D80, and these buyers have already determined that the “missing” features are critical for their photography.

I’ve gathered some links pointing to discussions on the differences between the D200 and D80 - you can browse them here.

Recent reports from new owners of the D80, however, makes it seem even more compelling to purchase the D200 if proper automatic exposure from the camera’s algorithms is of paramount importance to you.

A number of D80 users have shared that their D80 tends to overexpose when shooting in Matrix mode in certain circumstances (shooting outdoors with the sky in the frame is one such situation). Dialing in -0.3 or -0.7 exposure compensation seems to help little as it is observed that the metering on the D80 is also a little erratic to begin with, and the negative compensation would then produce underexposure in other situations.

More information and links follow:

1. TTTexan finds that the D200 handles and exposes better than the D80
2. Petruska reports that the D80 does exhibit inconsistent metering, while the D200 is almost perfect with its exposure
3. RSchoemaker posts links to discussions on Nikonians.org about this issue. At the Nikonians site, it is said that Nikon is aware of the issue and invites owners to send in image samples in support of the reported problem. Hopefully, this will be fixed in the next firmware update.

I still remember the banding and other problems the early adopters of the D200 faced with their new camera. Hopefully, all the initial issues with the D80 can be rectified in (short) time. It’ll be a shame if they’re not, as the D80 + Nikkor 18-200mm VR is currently seen as the walkaround 10MP digital SLR system to beat.

Links:

• View a larger version of the pictures and read the related forum thread
• The images were shot in RAW an postpprocessed in Nikon Capture NX and Photoshop CS 2
• Visit Andi’s gallery on Pbase.com for more Nikon D80 image samples

I think the colours and choice of photographic subjects are simply splendid.