Nikon D80 vs Sony A500 Comparison

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Nikon D80

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

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Sony A500

12 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Nikon D80 vs Sony A500 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two DSLR cameras from Nikon and Sony. Nikon D80 was introduced to market in September 2006 and Sony A500 was launched in August 2009. As you can see, D80 is 3 years older than A500. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Both cameras have APS-C sensors but Nikon D80 has a 10.0 MP and Sony A500 has a 12.0 MP resolution.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon D80 and Sony A500 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

Sony A500 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-08-27

12MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 200 - 12800

Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

3" Tilting Screen

Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder

5 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

630g. 137 x 104 x 84 mm

Nikon D80 was replaced by Nikon D90. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D90 vs Nikon D80
Nikon D90 vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A500

Sony A500 was replaced by Sony Alpha DSLR-A560. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha DSLR-A560 vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
Sony Alpha DSLR-A560 vs Nikon D80

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon D80 and Sony A500 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon D80 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A500

Viewfinder Magnification	0.64x vs 0.53x	Larger Viewfinder
Flash Coverage	13.0m vs 12.0m	1m longer range
Color Depth	22.1 vs 21.8	higher color depth
Sensor Pixel Area	37.14µm² vs 30.12µm²	23% larger pixel area
Top LCD	Yes vs No	Help viewing and changing settings easily
Optical Viewfinder Type	Pentaprism vs Pentamirror	Pentaprism Viewfinders are brighter than Pentamirror type

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 over Nikon D80

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen	Tilting vs Fixed Type	Flexible shooting positions
Face Detection Focus	Yes vs No	very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution	12 MP vs 10 MP	19% more pixels
Max ISO	12.800 vs 1.600	700% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size	3" vs 2.5"	0.5 inches larger display
Continuous Shooting	5.0fps vs 3.0fps	2 fps faster
Weight	630 g vs 668 g	38 g lighter
Dynamic Range	11.6 vs 11.2	higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO	772 vs 524	better High ISO performance

Common Strengths of Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500

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
AE Bracketing	Yes vs Yes	Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Weaknesses of Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A500

LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 230k dots	Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions
AF Micro Adjustment (Fine Tune)	No vs No	no option to fine tune Auto focus

Nikon D80 vs Sony A500: 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 Sony A500 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). Sony A500 has external dimensions of 137 x 104 x 84 mm (5.39 x 4.09 x 3.31″) and weighs 630 g (1.39 lb / 22.22 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D80 and Sony A500. Nikon D80 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 5mm narrower, 1mm shorter and 7mm thinner than Sony A500.

Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony A500 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon D80 and Sony A500.

Top View Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony A500 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony A500 is 38g lighter than the Nikon D80 but we don't think this will make a significant difference.

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 both Nikon D80 and Sony A500 have the same APS-C sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D80

A500

Min

Average

Max

Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

D80

A500

Min

Average

Max

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon D80 nor Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A500's 3" LCD screen is slightly larger than Nikon D80's 2.5" screen.

In addition to the size advantage, Sony A500 LCD screen also has a Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Nikon D80 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A500.

Nikon D80 vs Sony A500: Sensor Comparison

Nikon D80 has a 10.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Sony A500 has a 12.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.

Below you can see the D80 and A500 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon D80 and Sony A500 Cameras

Nikon D80 and Sony A500 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It 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. Nikon D80 and Sony A500 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A500 has a better overall score of 64, 3 points higher compared to D80's score of 61.

Model	Overall	Color Depth	Dynamic Range	Low-light ISO
Nikon D80	61	22.1 bits	11.2 Evs	524 ISO
Sony A500	64	21.8 bits	11.6 Evs	772 ISO

Nikon D80 vs Sony A500 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 Sony A500. There are 309 lenses for Nikon D80's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 143 lenses for Sony A500's Sony/Minolta Alpha lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Sony A500 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 Sony A500 Lenses
Standard Zoom	33	20
Standard Prime	21	9
Wideangle Zoom	33	11
Wideangle Prime	48	18
Telephoto Zoom	53	26
Telephoto Prime	45	12
SuperZoom	30	19
Wideangle Fisheye Prime	8	4
Macro Prime	26	12
Perspective Control Prime	11	10
Telephoto Mirror Prime	1	2
TOTAL	309	143

Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Nikon D80 and Sony A500 to see how these lenses compares:

Fast Standard Zoom Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 17-55mm f2.8G ED-IF	25.5 - 82.5mm	755gr	1423gr	111mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony DT 16-50mm F2.8 SSM	24 - 75mm	577gr	1207gr	88mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM	75 - 225mm	1350gr	2018gr	198mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony DT 55-200mm F4-5.6 SAM	82.5 - 300mm	305gr	935gr	85mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 35mm f1.8G	52.5mm	210gr	878gr	53mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony 35mm F1.4 G	35mm	510gr	1140gr	76mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 10-24mm f3-5-4.5G ED	15 - 36mm	460gr	1128gr	87mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Tamron 10-24mm f3.5-4.5 II LD	15 - 36mm	406gr	1036gr	84mm	Amazon B&H Photo

24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon DX 16-80mm F2.8-4E ED VR	24 - 120mm	480gr	1148gr	86mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony DT 16-80mm F3.5-4.5 ZA	24 - 120mm	445gr	1075gr	83mm	Amazon B&H Photo

Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses

Model		FF Equiv.	Weight	Weight w/ Cam	Length	Street Price
	Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR	80 - 400mm	1570gr	2238gr	203mm	Amazon B&H Photo
	Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II	70 - 400mm	1500gr	2130gr	196mm	Amazon B&H Photo

What types of Photography are Nikon D80 and Sony A500 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D80 and Sony A500 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

Sony A500 for Portrait Photography

GOOD

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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A500 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony A500 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
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
Good Battery Life: 520 shots
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A500 for Daily Photography

GOOD

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

Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
630g
Body Thickness 84mm
Read the details

Nikon D80 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A500 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 APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon D80 vs Sony A500: 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 Sony A500, 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 Sony A500 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

Sony A500

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #45 out of 79 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #341 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Sony A500 has a higher Overall Score than the Nikon D80 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.

Sony A500 vs Nikon D80 Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Nikon D80	Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
Brand	Nikon	Sony
Announced	2006-09-23	2009-08-27
Body Type	Mid-size SLR	Compact SLR
Sensor
Type	CCD	CMOS
Size	APS-C	APS-C
Dimensions	23.6 x 15.8 mm	23.5 x 15.6 mm
Area	372.88mm²	366.60mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	12 megapixels
Max Resolution	3872 x 2592	4272 x 2848
Max Native Light sensitivity	1,600 ISO	12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity	3200 ISO	-
Min Native Light sensitivity	100 ISO	200 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	9
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Nikon F	Sony/Minolta Alpha
Number of Available Lenses	309	143
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Tilting
Size	2.5"	3"
Resolution	230k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentaprism)	Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder Coverage	95%	95%
Viewfinder Magnification	0.64x	0.53x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	13.00 m	12.00 m
Max Flash Sync	1/200s	1/160s
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	630g
Dimensions	132 x 103 x 77mm	137 x 104 x 84mm
Battery Life	n/a	520 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	61	64
DxO Color Depth	22.1	21.8
DxO Dynamic Range	11.2	11.6
DxO Low Light ISO	524	772
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