Linisus Blog

Nikon is letting the speculation run wild on the new cameras it will be releasing (see the teaser at Nikon.ca). Most imagined it would be an upgrade to the D70s, given the 10 MP camera resolution and the fact that the D70s’es upgrade was a small tweak to the D70.

Hiptech got some pictures and has a list of cosmetic differences - the most significant are the use of SD cards (versus CF), the addition of some buttons and labels, and features like the DOF preview, matrix weighting that are on the D70/D70s.

With this new information, I think that this Nikon D80 is pushing a new consumer SLR with some extra bonuses to replace the D50. I don’t think that this camera is the replacement for the D70s - The SD card is probably the biggest reason for that guess, because many prosumers (I know how some of you hate that word) use CF cards for their speed and reliability. The featureset is too similar to the current D70s, which makes it a piddly upgrade for current D70 & D70s users.

And what is with the dedicated AF button on the top of the camera? With more than three spots to change focus modes (on the lens, beside the lens connection and now on the LCD screen), I am truly confused.

The upgrade is sure to please D50 users - unless that magic button (below the AF assist light) makes all pictures perfect, includes VR and ultra-fast focusing and super-fast write times, this D80 will not replace the D70s.

Finally, remember that when the D70 came out years ago, it had kick-ass features that rivalled the D100 - many speculated that the D100 was going out, and it eventually did, getting replaced with something bigger and much shinier.

Nikon had dropped prices on both D50 and D70 by several dollars… Hopefully there is a replacement for both in the few days ahead.

[Via Giz]