How much dynamic range does the Nikon D80 offer?

According to measurements carried out by DXO Mark, the sensor in the Nikon D80 provides a maximum of 11.2 EV of dynamic range (DR). DR is defined as the ratio between the highest and lowest brightness a camera can capture. A value of 12 EV or above is considered excellent.

High dynamic range of a camera sensor is particularly desirable for scenes with a mix of very bright and very dark parts, such as in some landscape photography settings. It helps to avoid that highlights get washed out or that detail in shadows is lost.

Sensor specs and performance

The table below compares the sensor specs of the Nikon D80 to those of several similar cameras. The reported DXO values are indicators of the sensor's imaging quality (higher is better). In addition to dynamic range (DXO Landscape), the listing also covers color depth (DXO Portrait) and high-ISO noise (DXO Sports). Larger sensor cameras tend to outperform cameras of the same generation that are equipped with a smaller imager. On the other hand, larger sensors are more expensive and require bigger and heavier lenses than smaller light receptors.

Sensor Characteristics

#		Camera Model	Sensor Class	Resolution (MP)	Horiz. Pixels	Vert. Pixels	Video Format	DXO Portrait	DXO Landscape	DXO Sports	DXO Overall
1.		Nikon D80	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.1	11.2	524	61
2.		Canon 30D	APS-C	8.2	3504	2336	none	21.5	10.8	736	59
3.		Leica M8	APS-H	10.4	3936	2630	none	21.1	11.3	663	59
4.		Nikon D5000	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.7	12.5	868	72
5.		Nikon D90	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	720/24p	22.7	12.5	977	73
6.		Nikon D40X	APS-C	10.0	3872	2592	none	22.4	11.4	516	63
7.		Nikon D300	APS-C	12.2	4288	2848	none	22.1	12.0	679	67
8.		Nikon D50	APS-C	6.0	3008	2000	none	20.9	10.8	560	55
9.		Nikon D70s	APS-C	6.0	3008	2000	none	20.4	10.3	529	50
10.		Nikon D70	APS-C	6.0	3008	2000	none	20.4	10.3	529	50
11.		Panasonic L10	Four Thirds	10.0	3648	2736	none	21.3	10.8	429	55

In the United States, the D80 was initially launched in August 2006 at a price of $999.

Check D80 offers at
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Camera to camera comparisons

If you would like to see a side-by-side review with another camera, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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