Thinking about upgrading from D80 to D300

External Since: Dec 08, 2007 Posts: 56

If you're the type to get hot under the collar about selling equipment
via newsgrouos, stop reading now.

Since there has been interest expressed in several of these groups
lately about acquiring lightly-used DSLRs, I thought I'd post this
message. I am just as tired of the out-and-out spam on usenet as you
are, so I'm sure someone will object to this. I will not re-post it
after this one time.

I have been using two D80 bodies for less than a year, and neither one
has a very high number of shutter activations. They have been
transported in a fitted Haliburton and definitely treated with care.

I have decided that (A) I really want a D300, and (B) the only way I can
justify the expense is by first selling these two D80 bodies. I will
make a good deal to one or two buyers via eBay and PayPal, but I'm not
giving them away. If nobody on the newsgroups or local prospects who are
considering comes through with viable offer(s) I will auction them at
USD$750 each/OBO.

These are bodies only, with everything that came in the factory boxes,
plus a 4GB SD card in each. I can supply not only pictures of the
cameras, but sample captures. I was thinking of RAW images of clear blue
sky showing the absence of dust & bad pixels, but I'm open to other
suggestions as well. Contact via email please.
--
"It is the individual alone who is timeless. The individual's
hungers, anxieties, dreams, and preoccupations have remained
unchanged throughout the millennia." Eric Hoffer (1902-1983)

External Since: Jan 14, 2008 Posts: 3

Apart from lust for a new toy, and that is your choice and a perfectly
legitimate one, what you propose at this time is not necessarily a rational
choice.
If the D80 serves your needs, as opposed to the D200, then sit on your
wallet a wee bit longer and wait for the D80 version of the D300.
Both Nikon and Sony have to recoup the cost of sensor development and this
sensor will soon be in lower priced camera bods from Nikon, Pentax, Samsung
et alia.
Unless you are a very well heeled amateur it is getting harder to justify
the dSLR upgrade cycle. Comparing my now ancient D70 to my rapidly aging D80
I cannot say there is a significant difference in image quality, the pixel
count is a non issue, but the larger viewfinder of the D80 makes it much
more user friendly to my rapidly aging viewing eye.
My main complaint about dSLRs is the nearly non-existent tolerance for
overexposure. My impression from what I have read is that this does not
really change with the D300. Shooting in raw allows one ideally to
underexpose to preserve highlight details and amplify midtones and shadows
to yield a wider effective exposure range. However noise will creep in the
more midtones and shadows are amplified. From what I have read it is not
clear to me that the sensor/electronics in the D300 will allow more of this
kind of amplification with less noise in what are really underexposed areas.
If it/they do I might break down and consider the upgrade to the D80
successor.