Nikon D80

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Hi everybody,
I would be grateful for some advice about my Nikon D80 which I would like to upgrade.Am I correct in thinking that the DX lens limit my options to a D300, I say D300 as I believe the new D300s is pretty much the same. The reason for looking to upgrade now was because if the D300 is my best path the availability of getting a good second hand one might be harder as the D300s has replaced it also would the D300 be much better than the D80.
I find I am doing more Landscape photos trying out HDR can you recommend a wide angle lens that will not brake the bank,I currently use a 18-135mm lens.

Regards John.
 
If you only have AF-S DX lenses then you can use any body other than the D700 and D3 family of bodies (DX lenses will work on these but it's not the best pairing). Getting a body with an inbuilt focus motor would allow you to use the older AF lenses -- most notably the AF-D ones.

The question of whether you should upgrade is a difficult one as you're looking at s/h. There are certainly better cameras than the D80 available. Often it makes sense to skip a generation when upgrading, though this is perhaps a little complicated as some people took a real dislike to the D80, while other found it ok -- maybe the decision rests on which side of this fence you're sitting on.

The 100 series bodies are more pro-spec. but are quite a bit heavier, which could be an issue if you're wandering around with one all day.

Models: http://bythom.com/currentdslr.htm

Look at the Tokina 11-16. There are also the variable and fixed aperture Sigma 10-20s, which have that nice bit of overlap, a tad extra width, and are cheaper -- but you'd lose the /2.8 of the Tokina.
 
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Hi John, and welcome to TP :wave:

Is there something about your D80 that prevents you taking the pictures you want to take? If not then why the desire to upgrade? If there is something then telling us what that is might help in recommending an upgrade path.

For example, I found the poor high iSO performance of the D80 limited my ability to get indoor sports shots of sufficient quality - if I used a high enough iSO to give me a fast shutter speed then the noise was too great. I jumped up to the D90 to overcome that and have been really happy with the results :)

You can make a comparison of bodies on the Nikon web site.
 
Thank you for your replies, and the link to the Nikon camera specs, the reason for looking to upgrade was time based, I was thinking that my lenes AF-S DX would only fit the D300,D300s (forgot about the D90) and with the D300 being discontinued I was thinking that it would be better to jump ship early to get a good second hand D300, then wait until much later on when choice might be limited to well used models.As I was not certain as to the future development of bodies to fit my lens.
I have only had my D80 a couple of years and I not found a technical reason to upgrade,I take your point, that if there is no reason to upgrade wait until there is and just enjoy your camera.
Regards John.
 
Nikon will always make DX bodies, so I wouldnt worry about that. They have too much of an investment in DX lenses to suddenly drop the production of DX cameras. Plus the fact that FX is still an expensive technology, they could never make D3000 type cameras with an FX sensor and a budget price for beginners.
 
Thank you for your advice, that was my concern that the DX bodies would stop and Nikon would bring out another flavour.
 
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