Nikon's D80 wins over one more shutterbug

A couple of years ago, I switched from using a fixed-lens compact camera to a more capable digital single-lens-reflex camera with changeable lenses.

Before taking that major step, I tried the latest Canon, Olympus and Nikon DSLR models and wrote about them in this column. I bought the Nikon D70s because I like its natural colors and subtle skin tones.

Since then, Nikon has come out with a newer DSLR model, the D80, which I want to try, as well as the Nikkor 70-300mm lens that can zoom in closer than my 80-200mm lens.

Because the newer lens is smaller, lighter and features vibration reduction (which reduces the effects of camera shake), I won't have to lug around a tripod while shooting with this lens.

The trade-off, however, is that this 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom lens is significantly "slower" than my older 80-200mm f/2.8 lens.

That means it may not be able to let in enough light to shoot at a shutter speed fast enough to catch action indoors without a flash, which is important to me. So, we'll see.

The Nikon D80 doesn't come with a memory card for storing images and requires one I don't already have. So, I decided to try the new lens with my Nikon D70s camera while waiting for a memory card to arrive.

This Nikkor 70-300mm lens is 5.6-inches long, weighs 26.3 ounces, and costs around $530.

I mount the lens on my camera and try shooting indoors without a flash. Right away, it's clear I'll have to position the subjects near electric lights or a window to provide enough light.

Even then, I have to shoot at ISO 800, and the results look pretty noisy. (Noise is the artifacts that show up when there's little light and the ISO setting is high.)

Already, I miss my f/2.8 lens, which opens the lens wider to let in more light.

But, then I switch to shooting in RAW rather than the standard JPG file format, and set the ISO at 200 with 1/125 shutter speed (my standard settings).

The images appear too dark on the camera's display screen, but when opened in Photoshop they miraculously pop up well-exposed.

Magic? Not quite. I shot them in RAW, and under the Photoshop>Camera Raw Preferences menu (available when any RAW image is displayed).

I've checked the default settings that apply tone adjustments and make the defaults specific to my camera's ISO setting.

When I shoot action at my daughter's karate dojo, the results are excellent. This establishes my devotion to the 70-300mm lens.

I still wish the lens could open up wider (like f2/.8) to let in more light, but that would require bigger and heavier lens glass, which would make it harder to handle without using a tripod.

As some of you know, I no longer have an inner ear to help me balance, and moving around while managing a tripod would be difficult.

Besides, even if I could manage a tripod, I still prefer the freedom of shooting without one.

When I take the long lense to our country cabin and shoot distant flora and fauna, the results look good.

I like this lens so much that I decide to buy one for myself.

When the Lexar 2GB SD (Secure Digital) memory card arrives, I'm ready to mount the 70-300mm lens on the Nikon D80 camera (which costs around $1,000) and see how well this newer model compares with my two-year old Nikon D70s.

What's different? The D80 has 10.2 megapixels, compared with the 6.1 megapixels on my D70s.

That's a significant difference, and it enables the newer camera to gather a lot more image information when capturing the shot. That's good. But. ...

All those extra megapixels take up significantly more space on a hard drive.

Good thing I've already switched to saving my RAW and TIFF image files on an external hard drive rather than on my Mac's internal hard drive, which is filling up.

According to Nikon, the D80 also features a high-resolution 12-bit image-processing engine, faster startup (.18 seconds) and faster shutter response (80ms).

It can take up to 2,700 images per battery charge (with the Nikon EN-EL3e Lithium Ion rechargeable battery). It has a more sophisticated metering system and a larger 2.5-inch LCD view screen with wide-angle viewing.

I load the Lexar memory card, turn on the camera, set the time and date and make personal favorite setting adjustments regarding metering, shutter speed and flash, for example. Then I'm ready to begin shooting.

After taking a number of photos at home and at the dojo, I remove the memory card, insert it in a little USB card holder, plug it into a USB port on my Mac and transfer images from the card to my computer.

Actually, I transfer them through my Mac to the external hard drive, then open Photoshop's browser to view them on my computer screen.

Many look good. Surprisingly good for shooting indoors, without a flash.

Again, I'm successful shooting in low light because I shoot in RAW, which enables me to increase the exposure later, in Photoshop, without adding noise.

Further fiddling in Photoshop renders excellent results.

The D80 works well. Since I've been using an earlier model that shares a similar menu structure and settings, it's easy to learn to use this updated camera.

If you're new to Nikon, there are books that can help you learn to use a Nikon DSLR camera, and the D80 in particular.

For example: "A Short Course in Nikon D80 Photography" ($40), by Dennis Curtin; "Nikon D80 Digital Field Guide" ($14), by David D. Busch; "Nikon D80 inBrief Camera Reference Card" ($10), by Blue Crane Digital; and others.

In addition, there are ebooks, books on CD, and DVD tutorials available. Browse in your local bookstore or on the Internet at Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com for these and other titles.

Write Linda Knapp at lknapp@seattletimes.com; to read other Getting Started columns, go to: www.seattletimes.com/gettingstarted