Couldn't help it - sorry Canon

Well it happened...I'm a traitor.

I've been seriously pondering a move to a larger camera body from the
diminutive Canon XT the last few months, and today a friend pushed me
to the edge with an offer to buy my Canon gear.

So I jumped. I sold him my Canon Rebel XT body and all of my Canon
lenses including 17-40 and 70-200 f/4 models, along with my Canon
specific accessories, flash, remote, memory cards, spare bag, etc. He
now has everything he needs to go out and shoot digital, and he's a
happy camper.

So I went out after work and bought the Nikon D80 body, SB-600, memory
cards, and remote. I stopped by my friends place on the way home to
pick up his used Nikon 18-70 and 50mm f/1.8 lenses. I also borrowed
his 80-200 D to play with till the weekend. I broke about even on the
deal, give or take a night at the bar. I will have to buy a telephoto
lense, but I can live with that.

All I can say is, "wow"...the difference in handling and usability is
dramatic. Image quality is similar as I expected, but the big thing is
the viewfinder - it almost feels like going back to full frame. And
the responsiveness is surprising. I figured it wouldn't be much of an
improvement over the XT, but the D80 is a tad faster in everything it
does.

Obviously the loss of the wonderful Canon 70-200 f/4 L is the only
thing I miss so far, but hopefully I can make it up with the new
70-300 VR when it arrives, if it's good enough. I'll still have access
to my friends 70-200 f/2.8 VR and other sweet glass if needed, but the
small 70-300 VR and 18-70 will be great for travel.

I feel like a kid with a new toy...can't wait for the weekend.

:-)