Nikon D80

Opinion: Upgraded from Rebel XT and am happy to have made the switcyh to Nikon. The camera is excellent with great features and is fairly simple to learn from the beginning. It feels comforable to shoot and image playback on that supersized lcd is great.

Opinion: Baby D200 with identical image quality and viewfinder, even better high ISO performance and battery life. Don't be a sucker for that macho macho D200 body. Get this and good glass.

Construction is excellent - non mountain goats do not need metal.

Features - needs mirror lock up.

Opinion: Coming from the D70s, I think this is a great upgrade. To the reviewer who didn't
buy it because it was made in Thailand: this is a superbly built camera and is of a
much higher quality build-wise than the Canon Japan-built sub-$1000 cameras.
Nikon's factory in Thailand is top-notch and state of the art.

Better than D70s:
excellent exposure - doesn't underexpose like D70
Better white balance
better dynamic range
Much better viewfinder
LCD is much larger and has almost 180degree viewing angle without distortion
in-camera editing possible
Image review process is more intuitive
Fast USB2 transfer
Faster autofocus

Worse:
Ergonomics not quite as good as D70s
Flash sync speed less than D70s

All in all, this is an amazing camera. Highly recommended!

Opinion: Ok, first time DSLR Buyer when the D50 came out, but professional artist and illustrator opinion. The artists viewpoint into the world of Nikon/Canon.

Having taken the dslr plunge I jumped at the D50 and having my D80 now for a week with the 18-135 kit I feel qualified to recommend this camera, at any price.

The only thing the D70s has over this camera is the grip which feels more substantial over the D50 and D80, every single other thing makes this camera amazing.

Likely due to the fact the D70s uses CF memory and not SD and is a larger body.

However, this is no little Rebel, which to me, is far too small for a day of shooting handheld. It's a grown up D50 with some fine upgrades, like the memory door. The plastic and hinge is upgraded. My D50 felt flimsy, same for the battery cover. Feel confident in the D80, it won't fall off.

The image quality using the White Point balance adjust by color temperature, a feature I don't see being talked about anywhere...makes the Nikon picture now equal to or better than a 30D.

I was strongly considering buying a 20/30d but the D80 kept me in the Nikon Camp, and here's why..

10.1 MP ( yes, it matters if you print over 8x10" don't let people talk you into thinking it doesn't. I print at 16x20 and 30" you want more than 8mP)

The 11 AF points exceed the Canon 9 which was previously amazing, this is even better. It's fast with a good nikkor lens better than average with a sigma/tamron

The previously mentioned White balance adjust using color temp ( 5000K is the default, you can set it to anything from ...

2500,2550,2650,2700,2800,2850,2950,3000,3100,3200,3300,3400,3600,
3700,3800,4000,4200,4300,4500,4800,5000,5300,5600,5900,6300,6700
7100,7700,8300,9100 and 9900. Yes, just like in Photoshop. This feature is highly underrated.

Viewfinder and it's Grid. I find it unfathomable that a camera costing over $1000 doesn't have a simple composition grid option. Canon offers it on their point and shoot ( i had an A540 and still love canon image qual in my p&s, and fuji but that's another discussion ) but the option to turn on a composition grid for a designer like myself is mandatory. I was told by the sales staff at Kits, canon offers grid/viewfinder upgrades on the 1Ds Mark II line, so if I spend $3000+ on a camera I can get a feature that is built into most $200 point and shoots? wow,

The 18-135 lens intrigued me. I had the 18-55 with the D50 and returned it, being not so thrilled, so I did need an 18mm lens and I haven't been dissappointed with the wide angle, but there is serious vignetting going on with the lens at 135, so I would pass on this lens, get the body only unless you need a lens.

This camera at 999 for the body only or 1099 for the 18-55 is probably the best way to go.

I re-iterate I could have bought the D200, the 30D or the D80. I ended up with the D80 and a D70s

Lot's of "hot pixel" talk around here, while I don't see that as an issue, even for someone who prints in medium and large formats, (no one but you will notice) I have none.