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I plan on buying a new camera around first of the year. I currently own, and love my little Canon S2. I shoot a lot of surf, and wild life stuff, and was leaning towards the Nikon D80, several people have told me for action pics I need something more like the D2H which is way out of my price range. I only have around $2K to invest at this time for the camera, and the glass.

I've handled the Canon Rebel, but just didn't care for the feel of it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Kevin.

D80 is proving to be an accomplished and popular cam.

The basics are that it employs many of the features (and 10mp sensor) of it's bigger brother, the D200, which is an award winner in it's own right.

It's actually slightly smaller than the D70 it replaces, and is plastic bodied (tho not weather sealed), but that is still a better feel and grip than the Canon XT models...I found the same thing...that they didn't feel right for me, either. Ergonomically, the D80 is excellent also.

I doubt you'll need anywhere near a D2H - that's aimed at journalists and sports photogs that want to get images on the front page quickly (hence why it still only has 8fps and a 4.1mp sensor = smaller file sizes).

The D80 has enough metering and AF points to suit all situations, and it's performance would be similar to the D200. It shoots at around 3.5 fps and has a top speed of 1/4000 sec, not quite the D200, but you'll have ample for most sports. Image quality - pretty much the most important thing - is pretty much on par with the D200. Nikon's entry level lenses are also much better than Canon's equivalents, so I think for the outlay you'll end up with a brilliant cam, and good lens(es)...Maybe you could even go good quality second hand glass.

Good luck!

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Thank You very much.

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For wildlife and surf you will need a long telephoto lens. The only way to not go bankrupt is using a prime. I am not familiar with Nikon, but for Canon there is the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM for around 1000 US. If you can rent it where you live, I would recommend to try it before spending the money.

You will also need a Monopod/ Tripod as this lens is pretty heavy. Plus tripod ring for the lens.


Regards,
Thorsten
tr-photo-blog.blogspot.com/

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If you do some shopping around you could probably find a D200 for just under $2K. While it is an older then the D80 it has a much stronger build and is more of a prosumer DSLR, rather then D80 which is aimed at more of the consumer market.

To be honest I'm a Canon person, but I believe that the D200 is the best they have before you step into the Pro market with the D2x's.

Or maybe look at the Canon 30D. At the end of the day purchase whatever feels good in your hands to use.

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Canon EOS D60, EF 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.6 IV, Nikon Coolpix E5700, MB-E5700, WC-E80

Last edited by metroside on Jan 23rd, 2007 at 01:52 PM

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I have the Canon 30d, Great Camera. The prior model, the 20d is the same camera but with smaller back LCD and can be found deeply discounted. These cameras will do everything you are wanting to do. I also recently investigared the Nikon D80 for a friend and must admit it is a lot of camera. For me, Canon has more lens options - but that is only the opinion of a committed Canon fan. Last note - the Canon has a 1.6 crop factor and the Nikon is (i think) 1.5. So consider impact of this as you pick lenses.

BTW, while I don't recommend this for a walk around lens, if you want to shoot wildlife and surf, the Sigma (Bigma) 50-500 will cover all desired ranges! I suggest use with monopod or tripod. This lens is sub $1000.

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I gaze at the sunset with the woman I love and think F8 at 1/250

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