- 10.2 megapixel CCD delivering a maximum image resolution of 3,872 x 2,592 pixels.
- SLR design with true, TTL optical viewfinder.
- Large, bright viewfinder, thanks to pentaprism design and 0.94x magnification factor
- 2.5 inch TFT color LCD monitor.
- Interchangeable lens design, accommodates a wide range of F mount Nikkor lenses.
- Manual and automatic focus modes, with adjustable 11 point AF area selection.
- Program, Flexible Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Manual exposure modes.
- Shutter speeds from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds, with a Bulb setting for longer exposures.
- X-Sync speed of 1/200 second
- Depth of Field Preview mode.
- TL exposure metering with three modes.
- Adjustable sensitivity from 100 to 1,600 ISO equivalents, plus three boost settings to a maximum of 3200.
- User selectable white balance with nine modes and manual fine tuning.
- hree Color modes (actually, two in sRGB, three in Adobe RGB color space).
- Hue, Contrast, and Sharpness adjustments.
- Built in, pop up flash with five sync modes and exposure compensation adjustment.
- External flash hot shoe.
- Onboard flash works as a Commander, to control itself and up to two groups of remote slaves, using the Nikon Creative Lighting System.
- Continuous Shooting, Auto Exposure Bracketing, and Self Timer modes.
- JPEG and RAW (NEF) file formats, as well as NEF+JPEG options.
- Image storage on SD and SDHC memory cards.
- USB cable for connection to a computer or PictBridge compatible printer.
- Included CD-ROM loaded with Nikon Picture Project software and 30-day trial of Capture NX.
- NTSC video cable for playback on a television set (PAL for European models).
- Power from lithium ion battery pack, optional AC adapter, or optional Nikon Multi function battery pack/vertical grip.
- Optional remote control accessory.



Nikon D80 Included Software

The D80 ships with the Nikon Picture Project software, which provides basic manipulation and cataloging capabilities for images captured by the camera, and which can interpret the raw CCD format "NEF" files. More advanced packages called Nikon Capture and Nikon Capture NX are available separately. A thirty-day trial version of Capture NX is included in the box. (Read our review of Nikon Capture NX for more details on an excellent image-editing application.) Users will also want to check out the third-party applications Bibble and Qimage Pro, both of which offer enhanced interpolation of NEF files, for even higher image resolution. Bibble also offers very sophisticated noise-reduction processing and highlight recovery algorithms, making it a particularly capable RAW-file processor.

Included in the box with the D80 are the following items:
- Nikon D80 body with body cap, eyepiece cap, eyecup, and LCD monitor cover.
- AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IF ED lens (in "kit" versions)
- Neck strap.
- USB cable.
- Video cable.
- Battery and quick charger.
- Nikon Picture Project CD-ROM.
- User guide.
- Registration kit.


Recommended Accessories:
- Large capacity SD memory card. These days, a 1GB or 2GB card is inexpensive enough.
- Camera case for protection
- Accessory lenses
- Accessory flash: SB-600, SB-800