Conclusion Get the lowdown
Features How they compare
Performance Real world benchmarks
Differences Technical showdown
Reviews Word on the street
Competition Others to consider
Discussion Answers and opinions

Compare with...

Nikon D5100
Nikon D90
Nikon D3200
Nikon D5200
Canon EOS 60D

Nikon D80

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Canon EOS 600D

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from $975

10 MP
APS-C CCD
2.5" LCD

older Released August, 2006

Color balance was very good if clearly 'consumer biased' (more saturated, richer colors), the D80 coping well with highly saturated color in bright light (such as sun lit red flowers).

by DPReview (Sep, 2006)

17.9 MP
APS-C CMOS
3" LCD

older Released February, 2011

The 18-135mm kit lens also does an admirable job of keeping things sharp with good detail.

Rated 80% by by TrustedReviews (Nov, 2011)

Conclusion Which is better for you?

Nikon D80

Canon EOS 600D

52%

55%

FeaturesView Details

Community RankingView Details

35%

PerformanceView Details

87%

83%

ReviewsView Details

Winner

NikonD80

Overall Score

Features Key features of the Nikon D80 compared to the Canon EOS 600D

MP10

APS-C

It is very clear and bright with a nice big focusing screen and dioptre adjustment.

Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2011)

17.9 MP

APS-C

Ironically, this design is more suited to pros who plan to use the camera as a cheap video dSLR and never take it off the video setting than to the consumers at whom it's ostensibly targeted.

Rated 78% by by c|net (Mar, 2011)

megapixels

0 MP

EOS 600D17.9 MP

D8010 MP

20 MP

We have also included a comparison to the Nikon D70s (6 megapixel) and Canon EOS 350D (8 megapixel) as a comparison of the increase of resolution with these new ten megapixel cameras.

D80 by DPReview (Sep, 2006)

The EOS Rebel T3i has an 18.0 Megapixel CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor that captures images with exceptional clarity and tonal range and offers more than enough resolution for big enlargements or crops.

EOS 600D by Franck (Nov, 2011)

sensor size

Nikon D80

APS-C sensor

D80 APS-C sensor

Canon EOS 600D

APS-C sensor

EOS 600D APS-C sensor

Nikon only offers one size digital sensor, where as Canon must offer two series (for 3 different chip sizes).

D80 by Hiram-Grant--just-call-me-Sam (Sep, 2006)

Like all of Canon's APS-C digital SLR cameras, the EOS 600D / T3i is compatible with the manufacturer's entire line-up of lenses, including both EF and EF-S glass.

EOS 600D by Photography Blog (Mar, 2011)

viewfinder size

Nikon D80

0.62x

D80 0.62x

Canon EOS 600D

0.53x

EOS 600D 0.53x

Pentamirror solution they selected a quality Pentaprism setup which is, we are told, similar to that in the D200.

D80 by DPReview (Sep, 2006)

Viewfinder: The T3i has a pentamirror viewfinder with 95% coverage of the actual resulting image.

EOS 600D by dojoklo (Feb, 2011)

body size

D80132 x 103 x 77 mm

EOS 600D133 x 100 x 80 mm

Cons: price (still near impossible to find one of these for a steal), weight (it feels solid and well constructed, but you pay for that with the weight).

D80 by Kate-Stokes (Jun, 2007)

My previous camera was a Panasonic DMC TZ5, a great little camera that even after 3 years is still pretty impressive for it's size.

EOS 600D by David-C.-Spooner--dspoon (Jul, 2011)

Performance Real world tests of Nikon D80 vs Canon EOS 600D

DxOMark image quality

Nikon D80

61.0

D80 61.0

Canon EOS 600D

65.0

EOS 600D 65.0

The focus, metering, exposure, flash, color balance... Everything is perfect so far.

D80 by David-Grimm (Nov, 2006)

Great for the beginner like my wife who sets it on full auto and takes great pictures of our gymnast and great for the intermediate like me who prefers many of the great manual functions for added effects and picture quality.

EOS 600D by this-game-is-awsome (Feb, 2012)

DxOMark low light performance

Nikon D80

524 ISO

D80 524 ISO

Canon EOS 600D

793 ISO

EOS 600D 793 ISO

All my night shots using the automatic night mode look brilliant and vivid.

D80 by Ning-Zhao

It does take very nice quality low light pictures as long as the subject is sitting still.

EOS 600D by Carole-M.-Rickman (Jan, 2012)

continuous shooting

D803 fps

EOS 600D3.7 fps

The rapid burst mode is perfect for my high action soccer and softball shots.

D80 by P.-LaClaire--Soccer-Mom (Mar, 2007)

And one way they found to do just that is by making the camera make far more noise than it needs to when doing continuous shooting.

EOS 600D by peederj (Mar, 2011)

Differences What are the advantages of each

Full specs comparison

Nikon D80

Read review

Advantages compared to the Canon EOS 600D

Larger sensor	APS-C	vs	APS-C
More than 10% larger sensor; higher quality photos

Significantly less startup delay	500 ms	vs	1,500 ms
3x less startup delay; Be ready for anything

Bigger viewfinder	0.62x	vs	0.53x
Around 20% bigger viewfinder size

More highly reviewed by consumers	86.76%	vs	83.3%
Almost the same

Slightly thinner	77 mm	vs	80 mm
Almost the same

Canon EOS 600D

Read review

Advantages compared to the Nikon D80

Much larger screen	3"	vs	2.5"
20% larger screen

Much higher resolution screen	1,040 k dots	vs	230 k dots
More than 4.5x higher resolution screen

Marginally more recently announced	Feb, 2011	vs	Aug, 2006
Announced date over 4 years later

Shoots video	HD video	vs	None
Most cameras shoot video

Much higher resolution	17.9 MP	vs	10 MP
Around 80% higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints

Has a flip out screen	Yes	vs	No
Somewhat common; Great for recording movies

Higher light sensitivity	12,800 ISO	vs	3,200 ISO
4x higher light sensitivity; Avoid blur in low light situations

Better overall image quality	65.0	vs	61.0
Around 10% better image quality

Less noise at high ISO	793 ISO	vs	524 ISO
More than 50% higher low light performance

Supports live view	Yes	vs	No
Somewhat common; Preview photos before you take them

More phase-detection focus points	9	vs	0
9 more phase detection focus points; Faster autofocus in reasonably lit settings

Faster rapid fire	3.7 fps	vs	3 fps
More than 20% faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion

Slightly better dynamic range	11.5 ev	vs	11.2 ev
Almost the same

Lighter	570 g	vs	668 g
More than 10% lighter

Reviews Word on the street

	Nikon D80		Canon EOS 600D
	Rated 80% Read the review (Aug, 2006) Colors were accurate and neutral and the camera's meter did an excellent job of reading the scene and providing an accurate exposure.		Rated 78% Read the review (Mar, 2011) JPEGs look very clean up through ISO 400, and even at ISO 800 you really have to scrutinize to see the beginnings of detail degradation; at ISO 1,600 the noise becomes more obvious but still isn't too bad.

	Rated 90% Read the review (Feb, 2011) Naturally the D80 can shoot in RAW mode, as well as three different JPEG quality settings, and RAW+JPEG with all three JPEG modes.		Rated 80% Read the review (Nov, 2011) Looking more closely at those aforementioned specs, the 600D is built around an 18-megapixel, APS-C sized CMOS sensor and the same Canon DIGIC 4 processor as the 550D.

	Rated 90% by 364 users at amazon.com I love the LCD status screen on the top of the camera - it's much easier than using the color LCD on the back for basic functions. Rated 100% by by L.-Busch (Oct, 2007) Wide-angle lenses become less wide; telephoto lenses become longer (your 70-200 mm is suddenly 105mm to 300mm). Rated 100% by by tachi1--tachi1 (Mar, 2010) For sports events or nature, the 300 is the minimum, I'd say. Rated 80% by by kylejpatrick (Sep, 2012)		Rated 91% by 1166 users at amazon.com GOOD: high definition CMOS; high ISO (100-6400);good picture quality; crystal sharp lcd screen for picture review and the lcd screen also is turn-able for framing whenever you need it; support full HD video; very easy to operate. Rated 100% by by Hyman--HD (Sep, 2011) It's nice that you can zoom in using the LCD screen so that you can ensure your focus is good, but unfortunately, this doesn't work while in video mode. Rated 100% by by L.-R.-Jackson (Dec, 2011) I love the dynamic range of light, takes great video in 1080p and 720p. Rated 100% by by L.-R.-Jackson (Dec, 2011)