Nikon P80 Price Drops to Just $200 US
Of course it’s no secret that the p90 is Nikon’s newest model in the super-zoom field. But at twice the price of the p80 it’s hard to recommend the newest model when the p80 is still a great camera.
And right now the p80 price has dropped to a level almost anyone can afford: just $200 US — and free shipping is included.
This $200 Nikon p80 has been refurbished by Nikon and comes with a full Nikon refurb warranty. Supplies are limited though, so you probably shouldn’t wait too long to grab it. You can check on availability and accessory kits here.
Others are saying...
...
sant said 188 days ago …
Hi Bob,
I have a nikon p80 and I love it, but I want to know your inputs/suggestions on how to get a best picture out of it, i have tried different settings but not happy with the kind of quality i am getting out of it. I want the photo quality to be crisp the colours some time come out very dull. so any thoughts on that will be appreciated.
p800bob replies...
Thanks for your question, Sant. I'm really not sure how to help you without seeing an actual photo. If you have your pics posted somewhere online, post a link to one you'd like help with and perhaps we can go from there. Without actually seeing one of the photos you're talking about anything I tell you is just shooting in the dark.
Peace,
-- Bob
Abhishek said 120 days ago …
HI Bob,
Thanks for the information. Please let me know how can I order a Nikon P80? I want to order it online (possibly a best deal). I would appreciate if you could reply asap.
Kind regards,
abhishek
p80bob replies...
Thanks for your question, Abhishek. Although the $200 price may not be available any longer, the best place I know to get your Nikon p80 is here. Have fun and enjoy your camera!
Peace...
Bob
ABhishek said 119 days ago …
Hi Bob,
Thanks for your quick reply. I have checked the link you gave me but unfortunately there’s no P80 there. P90 is all over the place. Though Adorama offers one but that’s a Refurbished one. Please let me know if i can go for it. Looks like a good deal to me at 199$ but i am not sure whether i should go for it or not.
Thanks!
Abhishek
p80bob replies...
Ooopps... I accidentally gave you a link to the p90! Sorry for that. The Nikon P80 is here (new, not refurbished).
Peace...
Bob
Sebastián Paul said 24 days ago …
Hi, I just got a P80 2nd hand (usd 100) and am learning to use it. I´ve taken pictures for a good while in my life and am familiar to the point I use manual comfortably. I got the P80 to have a camera I can carry anywhere and did not expect DSLR quality (the chip is just too small for that). What did surprise me is the P80´s quirky focusing, its a bit of a job getting things focused well. Is this your experience too? The photo of the dragonfly on your site seems to suggest the P80 can do better. But maybe that was focused manually and then by moving the camera to get the best result. And there was a lot of light.
S.
p80bob replies...
Thanks for your question, Sebastián. I haven't had any trouble focusing my p80 when the light is good. The p80 performs nicely when there's plenty of light, but it struggles when there's not. Since I have a low aggravation threshold, I only use the p80 when I know there's going to be plenty of light. The p80's a good tool, but it's limited in many respects.
The two keys to reliable focus on the p80 are [1] plenty of light, and [2] good contrast at your subject. If either of these is missing, your camera may have a hard time locking on the subject for good focus.
Another thing that will confuse your p80 is a busy background or busy foreground. I find it difficult to shoot birds sitting in a tree, for example. My p80 most often wants to focus on a branch somewhere near the bird instead of on the bird. So I play around with the camera by pointing it away from my subject so it will focus on something else, then back to the real subject. If it doesn't lock-in on the first try, usually it will lock-in correctly on the second or third attempt. Here again, the lighting exacerbates the problem because most birds sitting on branches are in the shade, not in direct sunlight. So the light is subdued and contrast is often flat, too.
As for manual focus on the p80, I hate it, so I don't use it. If I think I'm going to need manual focus for something, I use my DSLR or this instead. This would be another good choice. Neither suffers from any of the p80's problems and, while neither is a super-zoom, they offer some huge advantages over the p80 or any other super-zoom I've seen yet.
Thanks again for your questions, Sebastián. Now go take lots of photos!
Peace,
-- Bob
Sebastián Paul said 24 days ago …
Hi Bob, thanks for the quick reply – I looked at some of the more expensive alternatives, but decided that these would be a too large bite out of my budget. The P80 at usd 100 was a good figure for something maybe less than perfect.
On manual focusing, the P80 does not work nicely in this mode as the zoom moves in ´steps´ rather than linearily.
As a workaround, I will try to preset aperture and shutterspeed and prefocus. When you know what depth of field (DOF) that gives for a particular camera/lens, you can move to where your subject is inside DOF and shoot. I´ve yet to find out if the P80 allows bracketing in that setup, as that would give some flexibiliy in the time for exposure. For shots up to, say, 100mm (35mm equiv.) this should work I hope.
Abrazo,
S.
p80bob replies...
That should work, Sebastián. The trick will be in figuring out the hyperfocal distance for various zoom points of the p80's lens, then developing a chart that's convenient to carry around (unless you have a fantastic memory).
As you've discovered the p80's manual focus really stinks because of the stepping action of the focus motor. I also find that hand and finger placement is totally uncomfortable. But the main reason I don't use MF on the p80 is the stepping action.
At $100 US though, you got a great deal! Enjoy your camera and take lots of pictures.
Peace,
-- Bob