- 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 D800
- Canon EOS 5D Mark III
- Nikon D7000
- Canon EOS 6D
- Nikon D5100
Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2011)Although in terms of size and weight the D80 is closer to the D50, in terms of specification, performance and overall feel it is closer to the D200, something that will be welcomed by enthusiasts.
Rated 87% by by DPReview (Nov, 2012)But if you want excellent image quality and solid day-to-day performance from a full-frame body the D600 is a very compelling option, and seems likely to remain so for some time.
Conclusion Which is better for you?
Features Key features of the Nikon D80 compared to the Nikon D600
MP10
APS-C
Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (Feb, 2011)However the weight is well balanced and the camera feels reassuringly solid and steady.
24.2 MP
Full frame
Rated 87% by by DPReview (Nov, 2012)Frame rates are consistent regardless of image quality or crop mode.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 24.2 MP   | 30 MP |
D80 by DPReview (Sep, 2006)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.
D600 by Antique-American (Nov, 2012)I am very pleased with the quality of the pictures and the fact that I can crop them up to 50% and still have a respectable pixel count.
sensor size
D80 by Hiram-Grant--just-call-me-Sam (Sep, 2006)Nikon only offers one size digital sensor, where as Canon must offer two series (for 3 different chip sizes).
D600 by Jeff-L (Nov, 2012)Recommend to anyone looking to move from APS-C to Full Frame - you won't regret it.
viewfinder size
D80 by DPReview (Sep, 2006)Pentamirror solution they selected a quality Pentaprism setup which is, we are told, similar to that in the D200.
D600 by rsub8a (Sep, 2012)Rather than rehash the technical features, I'll summarize in saying that the gorgeous big viewfinder (compared to a DX format SLR) makes all the difference in the world.
body size
132 x 103 x 77 mm
141 x 113 x 82 mm
D80 by Kate-Stokes (Jun, 2007)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).
Performance Real world tests of Nikon D80 vs Nikon D600
DxOMark image quality
D80 by David-Grimm (Nov, 2006)The focus, metering, exposure, flash, color balance... Everything is perfect so far.
D600 by Armin-H.This is a great camera in terms of handling and image quality, even though I had hoped to just remain happy with the image quality of my "old" Panasonic GF-1, which, size-wise, is so much more attractive.
DxOMark low light performance
D600 by DPReview (Nov, 2012)This video clip demonstrates the low light performance of the D600 along with the image stabilization of the Nikkor 24-85mm F3.5-4.5G ED VR lens.
continuous shooting
D80 by P.-LaClaire--Soccer-Mom (Mar, 2007)The rapid burst mode is perfect for my high action soccer and softball shots.
D600 by DPReview (Nov, 2012)The smaller DX format image files do allow for substantially higher burst capacity and increased frame rates once the camera buffer is full.
Differences What are the advantages of each
Advantages compared to the D600
| Lighter | 668 g | vs | 850 g |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 20% lighter | |||
| Smaller | 132 x 103 x 77 mm | vs | 141 x 113 x 82 mm |
| Around 20% smaller | |||
| Thinner | 77 mm | vs | 82 mm |
| Around 10% thinner | |||
Advantages compared to the D80
| Much larger sensor | Full frame | vs | APS-C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around 2.5x larger sensor; higher quality photos | |||
| Much better overall image quality | 94.0 | vs | 61.0 |
| More than 50% better image quality | |||
| Much larger screen | 3.2" | vs | 2.5" |
| Around 30% larger screen | |||
| Much higher resolution screen | 921 k dots | vs | 230 k dots |
| More than 4x higher resolution screen | |||
| Marginally more recently announced | Sep, 2012 | vs | Aug, 2006 |
| Announced date over 6 years later | |||
| Shoots video | HD video | vs | None |
| Most cameras shoot video | |||
| Much less noise at high ISO | 2,980 ISO | vs | 524 ISO |
| More than 5.5x higher low light performance | |||
| Much more color depth | 25.1 bits | vs | 22.1 bits |
| More than 10% more color depth | |||
| Much higher resolution | 24.2 MP | vs | 10 MP |
| Around 2.5x higher resolution; Capture more detail, good for large prints | |||
| Much better dynamic range | 14.2 ev | vs | 11.2 ev |
| Around 30% better dynamic range | |||
| Much larger viewfinder coverage | 100% | vs | 95% |
| Around 10% larger coverage | |||
| Is weather sealed | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Keep shooting in rain or snow | |||
| Many more phase-detection focus points | 39 | vs | 0 |
| 39 more phase detection focus points; Faster autofocus in reasonably lit settings | |||
| Supports HDR | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas | |||
| Faster rapid fire | 5.5 fps | vs | 3 fps |
| More than 80% faster continuous shooting; Take photos in rapid succession to capture motion | |||
| Supports live view | Yes | vs | No |
| Somewhat common; Preview photos before you take them | |||
| Bigger viewfinder | 0.7x | vs | 0.62x |
| More than 10% bigger viewfinder size | |||
| Higher light sensitivity | 25,600 ISO | vs | 3,200 ISO |
| 8x higher light sensitivity; Avoid blur in low light situations | |||
Reviews Word on the street
Nikon D80 | Nikon D600 | ||
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 | Rated by 364 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by L.-Busch (Oct, 2007) Rated 100% by by Lowell-E.-Hepner (Jan, 2008) | Rated by 129 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by Testflyer70 (Sep, 2012) Rated 100% by by kendalltristan (Oct, 2012) Rated 100% by by Chandler | |
sensor
Nikon D80 | Rated 90% by by TrustedReviews (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.
Nikon D80 | by DPReview (Sep, 2006)Having removed the camera's image processing from the equation is very revealing, there really is no difference in the underlying images, both ten megapixel sensors (CCD in the D80 and CMOS in the EOS 400D) capturing the same levels of detail.
Nikon D80 | by DPReview (Sep, 2006)As you can see the D80's chroma-biased noise reduction keeps the visibility of the more digital-looking chroma noise to a minimum, as low at ISO 1600 as the EOS 400D at ISO 800.
iso
Nikon D80 | Rated 100% by by Jane-C.-Mounteer (Aug, 2008)While the d60 does have a higher ISO index, up to 3200, I find the Nikon D80's ISO 1600 to be pretty good unless the light around me requires it.
Nikon D80 | by DPReview (Sep, 2006)At ISO 1600 the D80's gray patch looks the cleanest, followed by the EOS 400D and DSLR-A100.
Nikon D80 | Rated 100% by by Ryan-G.-Jesena--Lush.i.ous (May, 2007)I like the low noise on higher ISO of the 20D and the 30D, but the difference isn't that much more significant between them and the D80.
photography
Nikon D80 | Rated 100% by by Chad (Sep, 2006)I've shot nature and architectural-type photos with the D80 and the Tamron 70-300mm and was very pleasantly surprised at the results.
Nikon D80 | Rated 80% by by R.-P.-Poletti--Just-a-guy (Jun, 2007)The D80 has a high enough resolution to make good sized prints.
Nikon D80 | Rated 100% by by Roger-J.-BuffingtonShooters of wildlife, for example, will appreciate the additional resolution of the D80, as it is often necessary to photograph wildlife at a distance and then crop the image to cause the subject to dominate the frame.
raw
Nikon D80 | Rated 80% by by Ricardo (Aug, 2007)Nothing is worse than having the flash pop up and fire because the dial slipped.4- While not exclusive to the D80, Nikon is the only manufacturer that does not include a fully-featured RAW converter in its software package.
Nikon D80 | Rated 100% by by Chad (Sep, 2006)The D80 can also shoot NEF (RAW) files simultaneously with JPGs in one of three compression modes.
Nikon D80 | Rated 80% by by hot4hypatia (Jul, 2009)The only feature on the D80 that I probably need to check on is the compressed NEF raw file format.
wildlife
Nikon D600 | Rated 100% by by Testflyer70 (Sep, 2012)About 90% of the pictures i take are of wildlife, and in that environment the D80 never took a bad picture.
Nikon D600 | Rated 80% by by J.-Pivkova (Oct, 2012)Wildlife photographers may appreciate the faster FPS, slightly better ISO performance and lighter body of the D600.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Nikon D800 Best image quality as rated by DXOMark |
 | 2 | Canon EOS 5D Mark III Many many cross-type focus points |
 | 3 | Nikon D7000 Most shots per battery charge |
 | 4 | Canon EOS 6D OK benchmarked shot to shot times |
 | 5 | Nikon D5100 2-way tie: Has a flip out screen |
 | 6 | Nikon D3200 Smallest |
 | 7 | Nikon D90 8-way tie: Doesn't have a built-in flash |
 | 8 | Nikon D5200 Newest |
