"Derek Fountain" wrote in message
reenews.net...
So I jumped. I sold him my Canon Rebel XT body So I went out after
work and bought the Nikon D80 body,
All I can say is, "wow"...

To be fair, you've gone from an early 2005 camera to a current model
which costs significantly more than the Canon did when it came out.

Actually the D80 costs exactly $100 CDN more than the XT did when it
arrived in Feb 2005, which I don't consider a significant amount when
you're paying a grand for a camera.

:-)

In contrast, the Canon 30D costs another $350 CDN more than the Nikon
but doesn't offer anything extra to justify that price, except the
magnesium body which isn't important to me.

I would have saved some money staying with the Canon lenses, but I
couldn't justify the handling contraints for what it would save me in
costs. I also didn't plan on upgrading for at least another year or
more, but after using my friends D200 a few times and trying the D80,
I was hooked on the viewfinder. I should also mention the menu and
display is much better on the Nikon too.

Hardly surprising such an upgrade feels like a jump in quality -
that's exactly what it is.

It's not the technology that attracted me, but the design and
handling, and the much improved viewfinder. Even if Canon had made the
same viewfinder, the way the Nikon feels in my hands is better than
the Canon, which is a very subjective thing.

About 10 years ago when I bought my first SLR film camera, I didn't
like the feel of the grips on the Nikon consumer bodies (liked the pro
models though), which is why I went with Canon. In fact, Minolta had
the best grips of all three, but I didn't like what they had to offer
at that time and price point. Now the handling has improved and I
prefer the Nikon grip.