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  • Metering/Exposure/Focus

  • Performance/Image Quality

  • Components

  • Model Design/Physical Tour

  • Spec Comparison

  • Overall Impressions/Conclusion

  • Photo Gallery

  • Metering/Exposure/Focus
  • Performance/Image Quality
  • Components
  • Model Design/Physical Tour
  • Spec Comparison
  • Overall Impressions/Conclusion
  • Photo Gallery

Metering/Exposure/Focus

The Sony Alpha A100, the Nikon D80, and the Canon Rebel XTi all have evaluative and center-weighted modes, and both the D80 and the Alpha have spot modes, while the XTi has a "partial" metering mode, which is more or less a very large spot. Nikon sweetens the deal by allowing the user to choose a 6, 8 or 10 mm zone for the center-weighted area. The smallest zone behaves quite a bit like the Rebel XTi's partial mode. The D80's spot mode can be set to take its reading at the active autofocus site. The Sony Alpha's spot zone is at the center of the frame.

 

Sony A100

Nikon D80

Canon XTi

Evaluative metering systems measure a number of areas of the frame separately, and use a logic system to arrive at an exposure. The systems are supposed to detect tricky lighting situations, such as backlighting, or unusually dark backgrounds. The idea is that they'll identify the subject, and optimize exposure for it. All three cameras rely on their evaluative metering systems in their automated modes.

We shot a backlit scene at various zoom settings with each camera, and shot our GretagMacbeth chart on a black background, framing it at the center of the frame and off-center with each camera. It's typical that test shots such as these don't look ideal – the subject looks a little too dark in the backlit shot, and a little too light when shot with a black background. In this comparison, however, the Sony Alpha 100 performed notably better at both tests than the Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel XTi. The Alpha's shots retain bright colors in the subject of the backlit scene, and keep the black background truly dark in the other scene. By comparison, the Canon and Nikon look inadequate, although the Nikon’s more versatile interface provides users with more room for adjustment.

Sony A100

Nikon D80

Canon XTi

Focus*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The Sony Alpha A100 and the Canon Rebel XTi each have 9 autofocus sensor sites, and the Nikon D80 has 11. The comparison might strike fans of "This Is Spinal Tap" as a distinction without a substantial difference. The Nikon has a real advantage, though. The D80's sensors are spread further across the frame, and are arranged in a rectangle of nine sensors, with one more on either end. Shooting either horizontals or verticals, it's easy to get a critical part of the subject under one of the sensors. The XTi's sensors are set in a diamond pattern, concentrated toward the middle of the frame. That's a disadvantage for many common shots of people – the sensors end up on the subject's chest more often than on his/her face. The Sony Alpha's sensors don't span as much of the screen as the D80's, but the outer 4 are at the corners of a rectangle, which is convenient for horizontals of groups of people. The default sensor is at the center of the frame, and 4 more are around the center, above, below and to either side, but close to the center. All three cameras will automatically choose the autofocus sensor, or allow the user to set it. The Sony has an advantage for manual selection – the user can press the 4-way controller ring anywhere around its circumference to jump directly to the corresponding sensor site. The Nikon also uses the 4-way controller to navigate sensor sites, but the user has to move one site at a time, pressing the controller for horizontal and vertical moves separately. The Canon is more cumbersome:; the user must press a button while turning the control dial to move from the center and around the ring of sensors.

All three cameras focused accurately in bright light. We found the D80 more sensitive than the Alpha or the XTi in low light, and had an easier time following moving subjects with the Nikon as well.

All three cameras allow manual focus, and their manuals suggest using it with subjects that autofocus can't handle. We found the Sony Alpha A100 screen problematic for manual focus with the provided lenses – it's dark, and hard to see focus through the viewfinder. The Canon and Nikon were better, but they were also limited by their kit lenses, which have relatively small maximum apertures. We found the D80 easy to focus with a 35mm f/2.0 lens. Logically, both the Sony and the Canon should perform their best with bright lenses as well.

Exposure*(Advantage: Draw)
*There are two fundamental qualities most photographers want in-camera exposure systems. First, cameras should set the ideal average exposure in situations where they can be set to automatic. Second, they should behave predictably in situations where the photographer uses manual controls. Our exposures with the three cameras included some general shooting as well as our test shots. We found that the Canon Rebel XTi consistently recorded images a bit lighter than the Nikon D80 or the Sony Alpha A100, which were quite similar. Typically, all three cameras set the same exposure of a given scene, but the levels in the image from the XTi were brighter. The difference is less than 1/3 EV, but it's perceptible.

Performance/Image Quality

SPEED/TIMING
**
Start-up to First Shot ***(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*We test how long it takes for cameras to take a shot after they're turned on. For compact cameras, the delay can be a few seconds, long enough to miss a shot, but with DSLRs, it's usually pretty short. The Nikon D80 turned in the quickest time, at 0.45 seconds. The Canon Rebel XTi was next, at 0.54 seconds. The Sony Alpha A100 took noticeably longer – 1.05 seconds in our trials.

Though we set up our tests to control for the differences in ergonomics, the power switches of the cameras may have an effect on how quickly users get them going. The D80's switch is a ring around the shutter release, and is very quick to use. The Rebel XTi's switch juts out from the mode dial, and we found it natural to switch the camera on with the right thumb, while the index finder stayed on the shutter release. The Sony Alpha A100 has its power switch on the far left of the back. We didn't find that an easy spot to get used to, because we usually cradle a DSLR's lens with the left hand, so turning on the camera required changing our grip.

Shot to Shot* (Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The three cameras offer very similar burst modes, ranging from the Nikon D80's 2.8 frames per second, to the Rebel XTi's 2.7 fps, to the Sony Alpha A100's 2.5 rate. We used a 2GB SanDisk Ultra II compact flash card to evaluate the speed of the Canon and the Sony, and a Kingston 2GB SD card in the ND80. The neighborhood of 3 frames per second is useful for candids and action. Sports and news photographers will likely require more speed – the 5 fps offered by more expensive cameras such as the Nikon D200 or the Canon EOS 30D, or the 8 or 8.5 fps offered by the same companies' pro-level cameras for photojournalists.

The Alpha, D80 and XTi outdo their predecessors when it comes to the number of shots they can take in single bursts. The D80 managed an even 100 of its best JPEGs before pausing. The XTi rattled off a remarkable 69 of its best JPEGs before pausing. The Alpha just didn't stop – it kept shooting at 2.5 fps until it filled the memory card with JPEGs. In their RAW modes, the cameras shot shorter bursts. The Nikon D80 managed 15, and then paused 5 seconds before shooting again. The Rebel XTi shot 10, and needed a 6.5-second rest. The Alpha shot 13 RAW frames at 2.5 fps, and then slowed to 1.3 fps, but, once again, didn't stop until the card was full.

It's unlikely that many users will tax these cameras' burst capacities in JPEG mode, but for RAW shooters, 5 seconds could be a very long time to wait for the buffer to clear while shooting action. The D80's faster speed, combined with a respectable 15-frame burst in RAW mode, adds up to a better burst mode.

**Shutter to Shot ***(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*We test the time lag from the depression of the shutter to the actual shot, shooting a subject a few feet from the camera, with the lens set to autofocus, at wide-angle. If they were pre-focused, all of these cameras would perform much faster. The Sony Alpha A100 had a typical lag of 0.27 seconds in our test, while both the Nikon D80 and the Canon Rebel XTi lagged 0.18 seconds. The difference is noticeable in shooting sports or other action.

IMAGE QUALITY
Resolution*(Advantage: Canon XTi)*

Resolution measures the level of detail a camera can record in an image. We test resolution by photographing a standard ISO chart, and analyzing the images with Imatest software, an industry-standard software package for photographic testing. Imatest reports resolution results in line-widths per picture height (LW/PH), a measure that's appropriate to digital camera testing, because it is independent of the physical size of the sensor, and because it reflects the useful results that a camera can deliver in a print. Imatest also analyzes in-camera sharpening. All cameras process image data as they create either JPEG or RAW files, and DSLRs such as these three allow the user to adjust the amount of sharpening done in-camera. The more sharpening done by the camera, there will be less to do in post-processing on a computer.

We evaluated the resolution of these three DSLRs in two tests.The first looked at the maximum performance of each lens, at its optimal settings, while the other test was administered at the maximum aperture setting of f/3.5. For the first test, we determined the "sweet spot" of each particular kit lens by shooting the three cameras at a range of apertures and focal lengths, reporting the best results we got from each.

The Sony Alpha A100 delivered the best resolution scores of the bunch, with 1967 LW/PH horizontal and 1796 vertical in a shot taken at f/9 and 60mm. However, the image was slightly oversharpened: 2.27 percent horizontally and 1.37 percent vertically. The Canon Rebel XTi, shot in its Neutral Picture Style setting, came in at 1531 LW/PH horizontally and 1662 vertically, but was heavily undersharpened by 18.6 percent horizontally and 17 percent vertically. The Nikon D80 in its default parameters, resolved 1660 LW/PH horizontally and 1301 vertically, with undersharpening of 12.1 and 24.7, respectively. The differences in sharpening will likely cancel out the differences in LW/PH, and careful users will tailor any of these cameras to their needs – snapshooters who don't plan to tweak their images individually would probably do well to bump up the sharpening on the Canon or Nikon, but a photographer who plans to retouch images will have to decrease sharpening on the Sony Alpha A100. The Canon can be easily adjusted to perform more like the Sony, though with slightly less sharpening imposed, by selecting its Standard Picture Style. Users can increase the Nikon’s sharpening with a slider in the camera’s menu.

Nikon D80

Nikon D80 - Vertical Resolution

 

Nikon D80 - Horizontal Resolution

Canon XTi

Canon XTi - Vertical Resolution

Canon XTi - Horizontal Resolution
Sony A100

Sony A100 - Vertical Resolution

Sony A100 - Horizontal Resolution

The story is similar with the apertures wide open. The Sony Alpha A100 delivered LW/PH scores of 2167 and 1940 horizontally and vertically, but had to work harder to maintain the same visible sharpness with more significant oversharpening of 9.73 and 7.31 percent. The Canon Rebel XTi delivered 1615 and 1507 LW/PH, undersharpening at 8.65 and 16.1 percent. The Nikon D80 scored 1423 and 840.8, undersharpening a whopping 24.1 and 32.3 percent. With apertures wide open on cheap kit lenses, these tests may say more about lens quality than the sensor, though it's clear that the Sony Alpha A100 is programmed more like a point-and-shoot camera and attempts to keep the images as snappy as possible. This forces users to dial down the sharpening levels to make them more adjustable in post-processing. The XTi and D80, by contrast, function more like typical DSLRs and leave room for users to sharpen files post-capture or adjust the levels in-camera to realize all the detail in the file. The Nikon and Camera design will be much more favorable to users familiar with SLRs, while the Sony design will be produce more visible detail out of the camera.

Nikon D80 - f/3.5

Canon XTi - f/3.5

Sony A100 - f/3.5

Moiré*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*Moiré is the common term used for digital artifacts caused by incompatibilities between the pattern of photosites on an image sensor, and a pattern in the subject. It can show up as incorrect colors, odd curving patterns, or both. Each of the cameras were tested using its kit lens. In the samples from the Nikon D80, Sony Alpha A100, and Canon Rebel XTi, we see both effects, slightly. The three images are 100 percent crops 180 pixels square – they are very small sections of the images. In both the D80 and the XTi images, there is a color shift toward the center of the pattern. The XTi image shows a bit of pink above, below and to either side of the center. The D80 image simply looks a bit yellower in the middle. The effect is most visible in the Alpha image, which shows both warm and cool colors, and curving lines. Sharpening increases the moiré effect, and, as our resolution testing showed, the Alpha performs much more sharpening than the D80 or the XTi.

Sony A100

Nikon D80

Canon XTi 

Noise*(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*Image noise in digital photos looks a bit like film grain or bad television reception. Its speckling appears random and sometimes with a pattern. It limits image quality by disrupting the rendering of texture, and if it's bad enough, by reducing resolution. We use Imatest software to measure noise in images with shots of a GretagMacbeth color chart. We test noise at each ISO setting.

Digital processing to remove noise is a balance, because it's hard to mathematically discern between image noise and fine detail. If the reduction is too aggressive, it reduces resolution and leaves surfaces looking unnaturally smooth. All commercial cameras perform some noise reduction. The Sony Alpha A100, Nikon D80, and Canon Rebel XTi all have user settings for noise reduction, so we tested the various settings.

The Canon XTi did best with noise reduction turned off, while the Alpha was far behind both the XTi and D80. Both the D80 and the XTi did much better with their reduction on, and both performed much better than the Alpha. The D80 has three noise reduction settings: "Off," "Norm" and "High." Over ISO 1000, there is a significant difference between Norm and High. The XTi's reduction setting performs somewhere between the D80's two settings.

Low Light – Night Scene* (Advantage: Nikon D80)
*We shoot a night scene with cameras to test their performance in low light, both at high ISOs and when using long exposures. The night scene shots were taken using a semi-automatic shooting mode and the camera’s automatic white balance setting. The D80 images looked more blue than the Alpha or the XTi images. The XTi images looked pink. The Alpha images seemed more neutral, but they were less saturated.

Click on any of the images below to view the full resolution file.

ISO 100

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-NightCrop-ISO100.jpg)Canon XTi - ISO 100

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-NightCrop-ISO100.jpg)Sony A100 - ISO 100

[

Nikon D80 - ISO 100](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-NightCrop-ISO100.jpg)

ISO 200

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-NightCrop-ISO200.jpg)Canon XTI - ISO 200

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-NightCrop-ISO200.jpg)Sony A100 - ISO 200

[

Nikon D80 - ISO 200](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-NightCrop-ISO200.jpg)

ISO 400

 

[

Canon XTi - ISO 400](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-NightCrop-ISO400.jpg)

[

Sony A100 - ISO 400](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-NightCrop-ISO400.jpg)

[

Nikon D80 - ISO 400](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-NightCrop-ISO400.jpg)

ISO 800

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-NightCrop-ISO800.jpg)Canon XTi - ISO 800

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-NightCrop-ISO800.jpg)Sony A100 - ISO 800

[

Nikon D80 - ISO 800](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-NightCrop-ISO800.jpg)

ISO 1600

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-NightCrop-ISO1600.jpg)Canon XTi - ISO 1600

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-NightCrop-ISO1600.jpg)Sony A100 - ISO 1600

[

Nikon D80 - ISO 1600](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-NightCrop-ISO1600.jpg)

At 1600, the Alpha images had less contrast and were much noisier than the D80 or XTi images. At 1600, the D80 and the XTi maintained saturation better than the Alpha as well. The D80 looksed best to us because it maintained saturation of both blues and oranges. Though all the images shot at 1600 awere noisy, we noticed particular problems with the Alpha and XTi images – the Alpha's noise gets blotchy at 1600, looked less film-like, and therefore, it will look more distracting to many viewers. In the XTi image, the noise gets brighter – some of the pixels that are off-color are way off, rather than just slightly askew.

Long Exposures* (Advantage: Sony Alpha A100)
*At 30 seconds and ISO 400, the Sony Alpha A100 produced a neutral, but still saturated image, picking up the weird greens of the mercury vapor light and the nicotine orange of sodium lights, while managing a natural rendering of the facade of the facing building. On the other hand, the Nikon D80's 30-second, ISO 400 looks very green and too dark. The XTi managed a fuller exposure, but doesn't deliver the color contrast that the Alpha does. Noise is less of a problem at the long exposure than it was at the highest ISO.

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=XTi-ISO400-30sec.JPG)Canon XTi - 30sec exposure, ISO400

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-ISO400-30sec.JPG)Sony A100 - 30sec exposure, ISO400

[

Nikon D80 - 30sec exposure, ISO400](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-ISO400-30sec.JPG)

Dynamic Range* (Advantage: Canon XTi)
*The dynamic range of a printed photo runs from the pure white of the paper to the darkest black of ink or pigment. The dynamic range of a scene is usually much wider than that – it might run from the brightness of the sun to the darkness of a deep shadow. The challenge for camera designers is to develop cameras that can translate the very wide range of light and dark in the world into the more limited range of a print or computer monitor. We use Imatest software to measure how wide a range of brightness a camera can capture, and still show detail throughout the range. Imatest reports both high and low quality ranges. The high quality range shows the kind of smoothness that users expect in the most important parts of their subjects, while low quality has much more noise. Low quality range is important, though, because it adds texture to shadows and highlights.

The Sony Alpha A100 high quality range is about 8 EV all the way up to ISO 200, which is an excellent score among cameras we've tested. This result reflects the use of the Alpha's ISO 80 and 200 settings that are designed specifically to preserve highlight and shadow detail. (The Alpha's other dynamic range improvement system functions only in auto modes, which are not compatible with our dynamic range test.) The Alpha drops precipitously at 400, 800 and 1600, however. The Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80 are closely-matched at ISO 100 and 200, though the XTi shows an advantage at 400 to 1600. So, though the Sony Alpha has an advantage at 200, the Canon Rebel XTi is the best performer overall, with superior high-ISO performance.

Color*(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*We test cameras' color performance by photographing an industry standard color chart manufactured by GretagMacbeth. We analyze the images with Imatest software, the leading package for this kind of measurement. Imatest measures saturation – whether the colors are too bright or too dull – as well as color error – whether the blues are greenish, or the yellow is too orange.

The Canon Rebel XTi is the standout in this test – its color error was significantly lower than either the Sony Alpha A100 or the Nikon D80, which scored very similarly, though the Alpha is slightly better at ISO 100 and 1600, and slightly worse in the middle of the ISO range.

Click on the images below to view the full resolution files.

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=A100-Standard.JPG)Sony A100 - Standard

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=D80-Normal.JPG)Nikon D80 - Normal

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=Xti-Standard.JPG)Canon XTi - Standard

Color Information - by channel

Blue Channel

Sony A100 - Blue Channel

Nikon D80 - Blue Channel

Canon XTi - Blue Channel

Green Channel

**

**

Sony A100 - Green Channel

Nikon D80 - Green Channel

Canon XTi - Green Channel

Red Channel

Sony A100 - Red Channel

Nikon D80 - Red Channel

Canon XTi - Red Channel

White Balance *(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*White balance allows cameras to accommodate various types of lighting, each of which imparts a characteristic color on subjects. We test white balance by photographing a GretagMacbeth color chart in various lighting conditions, and analyzing the images with Imatest software. Imatest exaggerates color error to make it easier to see. We test the accuracy of each cameras' automatic white balance setting as well as their presets for various types of light.

Auto White Balance

Daylight

Nikon D80*

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

**

Tungsten

***

**Nikon D80*

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

Fluorescent

***

**Nikon D80*

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

Flash

**

**

***Nikon D80*

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

All three cameras undercorrected tungsten light in their auto settings. That's probably strategic, because the warm tint they give is flattering for portraits. The Canon Rebel XTi also undercorrects tungsten light in its preset mode, leaving subjects a bit orange. The Nikon D80's tungsten preset corrects well, giving a neutral tone. Oddly, the Sony Alpha A100 overcorrects tungsten with its preset, giving a blue tint, which wouldn't be appealing in any situation we can think of, since it is neither accurate nor flattering.

The Sony Alpha A100 did a better job autocorrecting our fluorescent lights, while the Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80 left a much more sickly green tint in their shots. All three cameras' presets rendered the light too blue.

Flash light looks purple under the Sony Alpha A100's auto white balance, and blue on the preset. The Nikon D80 gave a slightly green tint in auto mode, with a very neutral preset. The Canon Rebel XTi's auto mode and flash preset gave more or less identical results – they're a little pink, subtly flattering for human subjects.

White Balance Presets

Daylight

Nikon D80

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

**

Tungsten

Nikon D80*

Sony A100*

*Canon XTi
*

Fluorescent

Nikon D80

Sony A100*

Canon XTi

Flash

Nikon D80

Sony A100*

Canon XTi*

All told, the Auto settings were problematic – the Sony Alpha A100 auto mode missed on flash and tungsten, with better performance on fluorescent. The D80's auto was off on flash, tungsten and fluorescent. The XTi's auto performance was off on the same three, though it erred in a better direction with flash.

Portrait*(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*Our portrait samples prompted thoughts of exfoliants and an eyebrow trim, but beyond mere vanity, they reinforce some of what we've noted in other testing. The Sony Alpha A100 image is oversharpened -- though not sharper than the Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel XTi images. Resolution isn't a bad thing in portraits, but the detail in the Alpha image looks harsh. Shot under tungsten light, they show the Canon bias to keep tungsten images warm, and Nikon's neutral tone. The highlights in the Nikon image aren't as smooth as the Alpha or the XTi RAW Files. All in all, the Canon Rebel XTi produced the better portrait.

Sony A100

Nikon D80

Canon XTi

RAW Files – Underexposure* (Advantage: Draw)
*We shot RAW files of a still life with the three cameras set to various levels of underexposure, to see how well RAW files respond to adjustment. We used Adobe RAW converter to open the files, rather than the manufacturers' software. We don't claim this is an exhaustive test of the potential for RAW files, but we hope it's helpful to consumers who are considering shooting RAW with these cameras.

Simply put, RAW files are not a substitute for getting the exposure right, or for bracketing. The software impressively converted shots up to 3 EV underexposed, and recovered the acid colors of our convenience-store bouquet. There are drawbacks to the gambit, however: The underexposed shots are very noisy, and the noise increases significantly with 1 EV of underexposure. An underexposed image squeezes all the image data into the left side of the histogram, and data expansion appears to happen evenly across the range of tones available. In a well-exposed shot of our flowers, the background is just about dead black – it prints that way, at least. As the underexposed images were expanded, however, the converter found detail in the blackout cloth background as well as the flowers. It's impressive, but not helpful. We used the automatic settings on the converter, rather than tweaking manually, which could clearly have given us a black background.

Straight Conversion (no adjustment)

Sony A100

Canon XTi

Nikon D80

Auto Conversion (Adobe Camera RAW)

Sony A100 - automatic conversion

Canon XTi - automatic conversion

Nikon D80 - automatic conversion

It's not clear from these data whether one camera has a better RAW file that the others. To say that, we would have to do much more testing, beyond the scope of this review.

Parameters* (Advantage: Canon Rebel XTi)
*The Sony Alpha A100, the Canon Rebel XTi, and the Nikon D80 all bundle a range of image parameters including saturation, contrast and sharpening into sets. Canon calls them Picture Styles, Nikon calls them Image optimization and Sony calls them Color/DEC mode. With each camera, the sets can be fine tuned for saturation, contrast and sharpness, but the text descriptions suggest that some of the built-in options go beyond those three parameters.

Normal setting, and the XTi's and Alpha's Standard settings all boost saturation, contrast and sharpness. The XTi and the Alpha have Landscape settings, which boost saturation and sharpening. The D80 has a Vivid and a Vivid plus setting, which do the same things. The Alpha's Sunset setting is supposed to accentuate warm tones more than cool ones, and our trial images suggest that it does. The Alpha's Night mode adds tone to highlights without changing shadow values.

Click on the thumbnails below to view the full resolution files.

Black and White Mode

[

Nikon D80](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=Nikon_B-W.JPG)

[

](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=Canon_B-W.JPG)Canon XTi

[

Sony A100](https://reviewed.usatoday.com/cameras/viewer.php?picture=Sony_B-W.JPG)

The Landscape, Vivid, Vivid plus, and Sunset settings all tend to block up the reds in the rose in our sample shot. When one looks at the separate color channels of the image, large patches of the shots taken in those modes have only red – no trace at all of blue or green. On the other hand, Canon's Neutral and Faithful modes tend to maintain at least a very low level in each channel. That's a big advantage for editing and printing the image – without those small variations, the red will posterize – turn into flat patches of color -- in printing.

Canon recommends shooting in Neutral or Faithful settings to preserve detail for post-processing, and Nikon says the same about its Softer setting. The other settings generally make it more difficult to post process images, by pushing colors to extremes, over-sharpening and losing detail.

Click here for a full image gallery of each camera's available presets

Image stabilization* (Advantage: Sony Alpha A100)
*We use the term image stabilization to indicate any camera mechanism that prevents motion blur by physically moving something in the optical system, either an element of the lens, or the sensor. The Sony Alpha A100 has Super Steady Shot, which moves the sensor. The great advantage of this system is that the stabilization system works with every lens that fits the Alpha. Canon and

Nikon have opted instead to make individual lenses with stabilization, but the kit lenses offered with the D80 and XTi are not stabilized. Both Canon and Nikon charge significantly more for stabilized lenses than regular ones, and they don't offer every focal length or aperture range with stabilization.

One argument against moving the sensor to manage vibration is that a moving system may let the sensor get out of alignment with the lens mount. Most compact cameras with fixed lenses and stabilization move a lens element, because the lenses are smaller, lighter and therefore easier to move.

We compared the Sony Alpha A100 stabilization system with a Nikon 24-120mm VR lens mounted on the D80 (VR is Nikon's trade name for optical stabilization) and the Canon Rebel XTi, with its unstabilized kit lens. The idea of this test is to illustrate the effectiveness of the Alpha’s in-camera stabilization system compared to a moving lens system.

We shot part of our ISO target hand-held with each camera at 1/15 of a second, with stabilization on and with it off. Both the Sony and Nikon stabilization systems were effective in our test, but given the variables in our test, our results shouldn't be used to try to identify a superior system. The point is more to indicate whether the Sony system is effective and what advantage is offered by a camera that comes with a system built into the camera design.

Sony A100 - Super SteadyShot ON

Nikon D80 - VR ON

Canon XTi - No image stabilization

Components

COMPONENTS
**
**Viewfinder
* (Advantage: Canon XTi)
*All three cameras display shooting data in their viewfinders, including selected aperture and shutter speed, autofocus confirmation, exposure compensation for flash and ambient light, flash ready light, frames remaining in memory, the active autofocus area, white balance data, bracketing data and an exposure scale. Because the Sony Alpha A100's stabilization system is built into the camera body, its viewfinder shows if the system is on, and a scale to show how active it will be when the shot is taken – a system that appears to take into account the shutter speed and how unsteadily the camera is being held. The Nikon D80's display adds a battery status light, an indicator that the camera is shooting black and white, and a warning if there is no memory card in the camera. The Rebel XTi also shows a warning if there is no memory card, or if the card has an error.

We test the viewfinder accuracy of DSLRs by photographing a test chart we made for the purpose, using string and pushpins. The four pushpins closest to the corners of each image were placed just outside the frame when these shots were taken. The area beyond the pins is extra image that is included in the files, but not visible in the viewfinder. The Sony Alpha A100 sample we received added extra image on top and on both sides, but not on the bottom. The Nikon D80 added more on the bottom than the top, and the Canon Rebel XTi viewfinder image is nearly centered on the actual image.

Sony A100

Nikon D80

Canon XTi

As we noted in the focus section, the Sony Alpha A100 viewfinder is a bit darker and more grainy than the XTi or D80 display. The Nikon D80 displays its image at 0.94x with a 50mm lens, which is a higher magnification than the Sony Alpha A100's 0.83x or the Canon EOS Rebel XTi's 0.8x. The D80's viewfinder image is larger and easier to use, although the Canon’s is somewhat more accurate, taking a balanced crop of the file.

LCD screen*(Advantage: Sony Alpha A100)
*All three cameras have 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD screens. The Nikon D80 adds a monochrome display on the top right of the camera to show shooting data. The Canon Rebel XTi and the Sony Alpha A100 rely on the color LCDs to display all their shooting data outside the viewfinder. Both the A100 and the XTi have light sensors near the eyepiece to shut off the LCD while the user looks through the eyepiece. The A100's sensor also activates the autofocus system. The XTi data show as black text on a white background, and the Alpha's are white text on black. Sony cleverly has the Alpha's shooting data rotate with the camera, to that they appear upright whether the user is shooting a horizontal, or a vertical. The display turns either way, so users who shoot verticals with the shutter release on top or on bottom are equally served. We were too curious not to check – the display doesn't accommodate users who shoot with the camera upside down. The Alpha display is easier to see in bright light. None of the cameras offers a particularly wide-angle of view for the display. The D80's LCD color seemed marginally more accurate than the Alpha or the XTi.

Flash*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The built-in flashes reached about 20 feet at ISO 100 at f/3.5, but not at f/5.6, the maximum aperture at the telephoto end of their kit lenses' zoom range. All three flashes fall off at the corners with the zoom set to wide-angle, but not more than should be expected. We noticed that the Rebel XTi's output was slightly uneven – a subtle dark band stretches across the lower part of the frame.

Canon XTi

Sony A100

Nikon D80

All three cameras offer red-eye reduction, slow sync, auto flash, and second-curtain sync. Each is compatible with external flashes from its own manufacturer. Sony uses a non-standard flash attachment, so generic flashes can't be mounted on its top. The Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80 both accept standard hot shoes. The XTi is compatible with Canon's line of EX dedicated flashes, including the old ones, and can be used in wireless mode with flashes that support it. The D80 is compatible for dedicated use only with current Nikon flashes, including wireless mode. Unlike the XTi, the D80 acts as a "commander" module, controlling up to three groups of flashes by itself. To use the Canon wireless system with the XTi, a wireless-compatible flash must be connected to the XTi's hot shoe. The Sony Alpha A100 also acts to control Sony's wireless flashes. The user puts the flash on the camera, uses the camera to set the flash to wireless control, then removes it, and the flash works wirelessly. The Nikon and Canon system support control of multiple flashes simultaneously, but the Alpha apparently does not.

Battery*(Advantage: Nikon D80 and Sony Alpha A100)
*All three cameras use lithium-ion cells. Both the Canon Rebel XTi and the Sony Alpha A100 use their color LCDs extensively for shooting data, which uses more energy than the monochrome display on top of the D80, which shows its shooting data. The Sony Alpha A100's battery capacity is 1600 mAh, the Nikon D80's is 1500 mAh, and the Canon EOS Rebel XTi's is 720 mAh. We don't have a standardized test for battery life, but it's fair to speculate that the D80 and the Alpha should last longer on a charge than the XTi, and because it uses its LCD less, the D80 should last longest.

 

Model Design/Physical Tour

PHYSICAL TOUR

Front* (Advantage: Nikon D80)
*All three cameras feature a rubberized grip on the left with contours to improve handling. The D80 is taller than the others, and so has a longer grip, which many users will find more comfortable. The cameras have lens release buttons on the right sides of their mounts. The Alpha and D80 have depth of field previews on the left, and the XTi has one on the right. The Alpha and the XTi have infrared sensor on their grips, and the D80 has one on its right side. The D80's flash mode and flash compensation buttons are on the left side of the lens mount. The XTi's flash button is also on the left. The Alpha's flash is activated by pulling it up into position. The D80 has a customizable function button between the grip and the lens mount, a convenient feature it shares with Nikon's more expensive DSLRs.

Back*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*All of the cameras have buttons on the back to activate menus, change the LCD display, and provide camera controls. The Sony Alpha A100 is unusual for having its power switch on the back, at the upper left. It also has a jack for a remote control on the back, at lower right, near the switch for the Super Steady Shot system, which provides image stabilization by moving the image sensor.

Each camera has a 4-way controller, but they differ significantly. The Canon XTi's is a set of five distinct buttons, one in the center and four that curve around it. Each of the buttons brings up a major shooting function – ISO, autofocus mode, white balance, metering mode and picture style. The Sony Alpha A100's would more properly be called an 8-way controller. It's a solid ring with a button at the center, but the ring has detents not only at up, down, right and left, but between those positions, which allows the user to jump directly to any of the nine autofocus points. Pressing the top of the ring in playback mode brings up the histogram display, and pressing the bottom rotates the image. The Nikon 4-way controller is a small dish, which switches autofocus points in shooting mode, navigates through menus, and controls image display and information in playback mode. The Nikon controller does not provide direct access to any other parameters.

The Nikon D80 is unique in having two control dials, one on the front of the grip and one in back, cutting down on the number of operations needed to adjust the aperture and set or fine-tune white balance.

**Sides ***(Advantage: Canon XTi)
*The right sides of each camera have memory card doors in them. The Nikon D80 door is small, because the camera uses SD cards, while the Sony Alpha A100 and Canon Rebel XTi have doors that take up most of their sides, to accommodate the larger Compact Flash cards those cameras accept. The Sony Alpha A100's video out jack is also under its memory card door – an odd choice, because it means that the large and delicate door will have to stay open when it's in use. The Canon Rebel XTi and Nikon D80 have video out and remote control jacks on the left side. The Alpha and the D80 have DC power input on the left, and the XTi has it on the right. The XTi's strap lugs are set flush, the D80's poke out. The Alpha's left lug pokes out and its right one is flush. None of the lugs get in the way of a comfortable grip.

Top*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The tops of the cameras are more distinctive than the other views. The Nikon D80 has a large monochrome LCD on the right side, which acts as the control panel, a job both done by the color LCD on both other cameras. It shows exposure settings, exposure modes, focus modes, meter modes, white balance, burst mode, battery and memory status, and some miscellaneous stuff.

The Sony Alpha A100 has two large dials on the top deck. The one on the right is the standard mode dial, similar to the one on the XTi and the D80, which sets manual or automatic shooting modes. The one on the left accesses metering pattern, flash mode, focus mode, ISO, white balance, dynamic range and Color/DEC, which is Sony's name for picture styles. The Alpha's extra dial is cumbersome – to access these controls, the user must turn the dial, then press a button in its center to see the control menu displayed on the LCD.

Both the Canon Rebel XTi and the Sony Alpha A100 have their single control dials mounted vertically, near their shutter releases. The Nikon D80's is horizontal, on the front of the grip.

Bottom*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*All three cameras feature a metal tripod socket centered under their optical axes. The D80's socket is surrounded by a textured area that might grip the top of a tripod better than a smooth surface, but really, it's there because it's less upsetting when that gets scratched by a tripod stud than some other surface. Both the Rebel XTi and the Sony Alpha A100 have some other surface around their sockets, with manufacturing data printed on something smooth. The battery doors on all three are under their grips. They are large, with fairly sturdy latches.

DESIGN

Model Design* (Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The Nikon D80 is larger and more solid than the Sony Alpha A100 or the Canon Rebel XTi. The size difference isn't large, but we think it will be significant to users with large hands. Conversely, the D80 isn't too big for any adult to handle. We are disappointed with the construction of both the XTi and the Alpha. Their body plastic seems thin – the cameras creak a bit when they're squeezed, they rattle when shaken, and their parts don't fit together with the precision we see in the D80, or in more advanced Canons. It's annoying to see a product that costs hundreds of dollars with flaws like these. More importantly, the gaps we see in the cameras will let dust and dirt into the cameras, which in turn will shorten their functional life.

Handling*(Advantage: Nikon D80)
*The Nikon D80 has a few big advantages in handling. It has two control dials, which speeds up manual operation of not only exposure controls, but also white balance and other parameters. It offers direct access to the most important controls – so does the XTi, but the Alpha has that clumsy and unfortunate parameter control dial at top left. The D80 has the easiest autofocus to use – the sites are well-placed and easy to navigate to. This won't be true for everyone, but we found the D80’s slightly larger frame offered an advantage in handling over the other two, smaller bodies.

Spec Comparison

Spec Comparison

 

Overall Impressions/Conclusion

 **Advantages
**

**Conclusion
**When Sony announced the 10-megapixel Sony Alpha A100, with dust control and image stabilization in a sub-$1000 kit, it seemed as though other camera makers were going to have to adjust their prices or their products radically. In some ways, they have. Neither Canon nor Nikon had a 10-megapixel DSLR near the $1000 mark when the Alpha was announced. Now they do, and Canon's has dust control.

But still, why spend $50 more for a Canon or $250 more for a Nikon with seemingly fewer features than the Alpha? Both cameras have as important advantages over the Alpha as they have disadvantages. Both are laid out better – the left hand control dial on the Alpha is odd and slower at everything than the XTi and D80 alternatives. The XTi has much better color accuracy and high ISO dynamic range, and the D80 has much better autofocus and build quality, which are apparently the most expensive qualities to engineer into a digital camera.

There will be plenty of buyers for each camera, and many happy owners all around. The cameras are not equivalent, though, and their differences are reflected in price, appropriate owners and features. The Sony Alpha A100 is intended for buyers who don't plan to buy more advanced equipment soon. The Canon certainly could be, and the Nikon is not just an entry camera, it's an appropriate backup body for prosumers and pros on a budget. 

Meet the tester

Patrick Singleton

Patrick Singleton

Editor

Patrick Singleton is a valued contributor to the Reviewed.com family of sites.

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