Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3 Comparison

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Nikon D80

10 MP | APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CCD Sensor

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Olympus E-3

10 MP | Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3 Comparison Overview

In this review, we will be comparing D80 and E-3, two Advanced DSLR cameras from Nikon and Olympus. Both cameras have 10.0MP sensors but Nikon D80's sensor is APS-C sized whereas Olympus E-3 has a Four Thirds sensor. Nikon D80 was introduced to market in September 2006 and Olympus E-3 was launched in February 2008. There is 17 months difference between D80 and E-3 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger E-3, especially in sensor tech.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon D80 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2006-09-23

10MP - APS-C CCD Sensor

ISO 100 - 1600 ( expands to 3200)

Nikon F Mount

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

668g. 132 x 103 x 77 mm

Replaced Nikon D70 Compare

Olympus E-3 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2008-02-20

10MP - Four Thirds CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 3200

Four Thirds Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

2.5" Fully Articulated Screen

Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder

5 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

890g. 142 x 116 x 75 mm

Weather Sealed Body

Replaced Olympus E-1 Compare

Nikon D80 was replaced by Nikon D90. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D90 vs Nikon D80
Nikon D90 vs Olympus E-3

Olympus E-3 was replaced by Olympus E-5. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Olympus E-5 vs Olympus E-3
Olympus E-5 vs Nikon D80

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon D80 over Olympus E-3

Viewfinder Magnification	0.64x vs 0.58x	Larger Viewfinder
Weight	668 g vs 890 g	222 g lighter
Color Depth	22.1 vs 21.6	higher color depth
Dynamic Range	11.2 vs 10.5	higher dynamic range
Sensor Pixel Area	37.14µm² vs 22.54µm²	64% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing	Yes vs No	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Reasons to choose Olympus E-3 over Nikon D80

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen	Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Max ISO	3.200 vs 1.600	100% higher Max ISO
Viewfinder Coverage	100% vs 95%	More accurate viewfinder
Max Mech. Shutter	1/8000s vs 1/4000s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	5.0fps vs 3.0fps	2 fps faster
Environmental Sealing	Yes vs No	shoot at tough conditions
Low Light ISO	571 vs 524	better High ISO performance
Flash Sync Port	Yes vs No	Connect off-camera flash
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD	Yes vs No	Rotate LCD for taking Selfies
AF Micro Adjustment (Fine Tune)	Yes vs No	Adjust each lens for more accurate focusing

Common Strengths of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light
External Flash Shoe	Yes vs Yes	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Yes (Optical) vs Yes (Optical)	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs Yes	Better image quality
Top LCD Display	Yes vs Yes	Help viewing and changing settings easily

Common Weaknesses of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3

Max Resolution	10 MP vs 10 MP	Less details and smaller prints
LCD Screen Size	2.5" vs 2.5"	Small display
LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 230k dots	Low resolution screens

Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon D80 has external dimensions of 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.06 x 3.03″) and weighs 668 g (1.47 lb / 23.56 oz) (including batteries). Olympus E-3 has external dimensions of 142 x 116 x 75 mm (5.59 x 4.57 x 2.95″) and weighs 890 g (1.96 lb / 31.39 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3. Nikon D80 is 10mm narrower and 13mm shorter than Olympus E-3 but it is also 2mm thicker.

Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon D80 is significantly lighter (222g ) than the Olympus E-3 which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Nikon D80 has an APS-C sized sensor and Olympus E-3 has a smaller Four Thirds sensor, Olympus E-3's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Nikon D80 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D80

E-3

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D80

E-3

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of E-3, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to D80.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 2.5".

On the other hand, Olympus E-3 sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Nikon D80's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to E-3.

Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3: Sensor Comparison

Both Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon D80's sensor is APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) and Olympus E-3's sensor is Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ).

Since Nikon D80's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Olympus E-3.

Below you can see the D80 and E-3 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 Cameras

As seen above, Nikon D80 has a 1.7x Larger sensor area than Olympus E-3. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

Both Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, D80 has scored 61, 5 points higher than E-3.

Model	Overall	Color Depth	Dynamic Range	Low-light ISO
Nikon D80	61	22.1 bits	11.2 Evs	524 ISO
Olympus E-3	56	21.6 bits	10.5 Evs	571 ISO

Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3 Comparison of Available Lenses

Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Nikon D80 has an advantage over Olympus E-3. There are 309 lenses for Nikon D80's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 45 lenses for Olympus E-3's Four Thirds lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Olympus E-3 has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Nikon D80 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 106 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type	# of Nikon D80 Lenses	# of Olympus E-3 Lenses
Standard Zoom	33	8
Standard Prime	21	4
Wideangle Zoom	33	4
Wideangle Prime	48	9
Telephoto Zoom	53	6
Telephoto Prime	45	4
SuperZoom	30	2
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	8	3
Macro Prime	26	4
Perspective Control Prime	11	n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	1
TOTAL	309	45

What types of Photography are Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Nikon D80 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-3 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-3 for Street Photography

GOOD

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Olympus E-3 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
Read the details

Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
11 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Olympus E-3 for Daily Photography

GOOD

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
668g
Body Thickness 77mm
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
890g
Body Thickness 75mm
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Olympus E-3 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

Large Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
Read the details

Nikon D80 vs Olympus E-3: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Nikon D80 and Olympus E-3 scores compare:

Nikon D80

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #71 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #612 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Olympus E-3

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #59 out of 95 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #434 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Olympus E-3 has a higher Overall Score than the Nikon D80 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Olympus E-3 vs Nikon D80 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Nikon D80	Olympus E-3
Brand	Nikon	Olympus
Announced	2006-09-23	2008-02-20
Body Type	Mid-size SLR	Mid-size SLR
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	APS-C	Four Thirds
Dimensions	23.6 x 15.8 mm	17.3 x 13 mm
Area	372.88mm²	224.90mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Max Resolution	3872 x 2592	3648 x 2736
Max Native Light sensitivity	1,600 ISO	3,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	3200 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	100 ISO	100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	n/a	11
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Nikon F	Four Thirds
Number of Available Lenses	309	45
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fully Articulated
Size	2.5"	2.5"
Resolution	230k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentaprism)	Optical (pentaprism)
Viewfinder Coverage	95%	100%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.64x	0.58x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	13.00 m	13.00 m
Max Flash Sync	1/200s	1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	3.0 fps	5.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	None	None
Video Formats	n/a	n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	668g	890g
Dimensions	132 x 103 x 77mm	142 x 116 x 75mm
Battery Life	n/a	n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	61	56
DxO Color Depth	22.1	21.6
DxO Dynamic Range	11.2	10.5
DxO Low Light ISO	524	571
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