#1 Matt Gabriel

The lack of DOF preview is critical. It's a feature even the most raw tyro will miss sorely once their skill level increses even moderately. It's the whole point of having a single lens reflex viewfinder in the first place. Not being able to check critical focus stopped down automatically rules this camera out for even the casually interested photographer, unless they're simply taking snapshots. Very disappointing for those who already own Nikon glass (which I don't) and a pretty good indication that anyone else should take a closer look at one of the other entery-level DSLR's from Canon, Pentax or Minolta.

9:09 am - Monday, August 15, 2005

#2 Phil Marshall

Sorry to sound picky, but a quick proof-read is required - you keep copmapring the D50 to the D50 instead of the D70!

11:59 am - Monday, August 15, 2005

#3 Phil Marshall

Ugh. Don't you just hate it when you pick someone up on bad spelling/grammar then make a stupid mistake yourself?
"Comparing", obviously...

12:01 pm - Monday, August 15, 2005

#4 Mark Goldstein

I think I've corrected all those typos now - thanks for letting me know :)

12:09 pm - Monday, August 15, 2005

#5 Mike Voice

Last sentence of the first paragraph of Features: "The camera supports Compact Flash (Type I and II) and Microdrive memory cards."

Since this appears to be left-over from a recent review of the D70S, I skipped the remainder of that section. I didn't feel like trying to determine what was actually D50 and what might be D70s "spillover"

I did enjoy the rest of the review, after Features.

6:29 pm - Monday, August 15, 2005

#6 Tom

I disagree about the lack of DOF preview. I never use the DOF preview on my Nikon N90s or Minolta SRT-101. And with digital, you can check right away.

I can see how some might want one for macro or portraits. But I almost always bracket aperture for critical shots anyway.

Just my $.02.

2:07 am - Tuesday, August 16, 2005

#7 Maxx

The D70/D70s doesn't have mirror lockup either (except for cleaning, as does the D50). Some other D70 features the D50 is missing is the on-demand viewfinder grid, status LCD backlight, inability to act as a wireless flash controller, slower burst mode and top shutter speed, fine ISO and WB adjustments.

3:11 am - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#8 JimBob

Maxx, you said:

"Some other D70 features the D50 is missing is the on-demand viewfinder grid, status LCD backlight, inability to act as a wireless flash controller, slower burst mode and top shutter speed, fine ISO and WB adjustments."

Uh yeah, but that's why it's only $750. It's an Entry-Level DSLR, for those just deciding to take a little step up. The camera is also offered with a lens for under a grand.

4:02 am - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#9 maxx

JimBob,

Yes, but I think readers would appreciate knowing what they are giving up in the bargain. I personally don't think it's worth losing those features and performance for the $150 in savings over the D70s. Others may gladly give them up for the size decrease or $150 difference.

I'm a bit surprised Nikon came out with something so close to the D70s (and yet, they have nothing to compete with the Canon 20D). I guess to compete with the 300D Rebel.

2:17 pm - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#10 maxx

Mark,

You mention a playback magnification of 10X (page 5). I wish. Like the D70s, I think it's only 4.7X, which makes checking critical focus difficult.

BTW, did you get this D50 demo from Nikon? I was surprised to see dust in the sample images.

Did you notice any differences in RAW image quality compared to the D70s?

Thanks!

2:33 pm - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#11 JimBob

"I?m a bit surprised Nikon came out with something so close to the D70s (and yet, they have nothing to compete with the Canon 20D). I guess to compete with the 300D Rebel."

Maxx -

I don't think Nikon is losing any sleep over this fact about the 20D.
"Entry Level" - most likely means, for the John Q Public - they will get some nicer photos out of the larger sensor than they would from a compact, AND, more than likely, they would never print anything bigger than 8x11.

So for the Beginner, the D50 is probably just right. It's small, it's got manual features if they want to start learning that.

You've got to look at it from the eyes of a person who has never shot with a camera with manual features before.

6:26 pm - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#12 maxx

JimBob,

I think Nikon is losing a lot of sleep over Canon. The D200 was supposed to be out last spring to compete with the 20D, but now it looks like fall or Christmas. Canon will also be releasing another, more affordable full-frame sensor body (the 13MP 5D) soon. No plans for one from Nikon, AFAIK.

As for the D50, it's still larger than my Nikon film SLRs. I think they should have made it even smaller, more like the Pentax *istDS (which incidentally still has good ergonomics and is more fully featured with a bigger, brighter viewfinder, 11-area AF, DOF preview, mirror lock-up, etc.). I was considering a D50 over the D70s mainly due to its smaller size, but after handling both I decided the difference in size (and price) wasn't worth it.

7:30 pm - Wednesday, August 17, 2005

#13 Zoltan

maxx,

AFAIK all speculation concerning that 13mp Canon beast relies upon a half-Spanish, half-English PDF downloaded from a Rumanian site. It is probably a hoax, especially if you consider all the inconsistencies in that parody of a spec sheet. Oh, and at 3,459 euros, it would not exactly fall in the affordable category anyway.

12:28 pm - Thursday, August 18, 2005

#14 maxx

Zoltan,

It's not a hoax. I first heard about it from a very reputable, authorized dealer (largest photography retailer in Canada). Why would it be a hoax anyway? The $8000 USD EOS-1DS is almost 3 years old, and due for a replacement. Compared to it, the 5D will be much more affordable.

2:42 pm - Thursday, August 18, 2005

#15 Zoltan

If that is true, then I don't really get it. It sure is cheaper than what the pro-grade 11mp 1Ds cost upon its launch, but then, permitting the spec sheet is real, the 5D is neither splash- nor dustproof, nor does it have a viewfinder with 100% coverage. In other words, it does not qualify as a pro camera (it even has a full auto mode). But in that case, what would justify the EUR3,459 price tag? (For the photographer, I mean. For the manufacturer, the 24x36mm sensor surely is a high cost factor.) And, more importanty, who is going to buy it? Pros probably won't unless they only work indoors. (When assigned to an outdoor job, you cannot come back to your client empty-handed, saying you couldn't use your camera because it was raining.) For amateurs, this price is probably too high. Of course, if the cam is to be sold for $2000 or $2500, it's a different story. Then it's quite attractive, although I don't really see that if the cam is not weatherproof anyway, then why does it not have a pop-up Speedlite? The only reason pro cameras have no built-in fill flashes is that they would compromise them on weather resistance.

And finally, why do they call it 5D if that name is already owned by Minolta? This is only going to confuse people.

(BTW sorry Mark this conversation seems to have nothing to do with the D50 anymore.)

9:14 pm - Thursday, August 18, 2005

#16 hot salsa interactive website development

I have to say I am a huge fan of this camera.

4:58 am - Sunday, August 21, 2005

#17 Kelvin

I like this camera and for some one who is moving from both a fuji S5000 Camera(digital) and Centon K100 (Manual Film) I think it is great. It is not the easiest of cameras to use but with a little practise it is easy to get going and not just relying on the Auto setting either.

12:29 pm - Monday, August 22, 2005

#18 Oleg Kikin

Cheapest??? You gotta be kidding me. 300d costs $619.00 (including tax and shipping at buydig.com)

9:54 pm - Friday, August 26, 2005

#19 bubba6666

I wish you had commented in depth on what the viewfinder is like to use. I recently sold what is supposed to be the hot setup: a Nikon N80 w/ a 28 200 G ED Zoom. The viewfinder was awful compared to my trusty 6006. It was tiny and dark. And that lens was all plasticky, and distorted at the short end like crazy. Newer is not necessarily better, and that is what has kept me from going to a digital slr (within my budget) to this day. Is the d50 another dark viewfinder camera? Is it like looking through a tunnel? Is the d70 better in this regard?

8:30 pm - Saturday, September 24, 2005

#20 steve marino

I wish you had commented in depth about the viewfinder. I recently sold what is supposed to be the hot ticket in a film slr-a N80 w/ a 28 200 G ED lens. The viewfinder was crummy. Tiny and dark,the lens distorted like no tomorrow at the short end, and it looked and felt like plastic (I guess it was). I went back to my trusty 6006 w/ it's big and bright viewfinder. It is this feature that has kept me from buying a digital slr. What is that d50 viewfinder like? It is it dim and gloomy? Is it like looking through a tunnel? Is it worse than a d70? I wish I knew.

8:37 pm - Saturday, September 24, 2005

#21 maxx

The D70 has the same low magnification viewfinder specs as the D50. Actually, according to Popular Photography measurements, the D70's is slightly worse (92% coverage, 0.76x magnification versus 96%/0.77x for the D50). If you want to see a nice DSLR viewfinder in a compact, consumer level body, check out the Pentax *istDS. It has a 0.95x viewfinder with 95% coverage, using a real pentaprism (in a smaller body - go figure).

Don't forget that the sensor is 1.5x smaller than film; so is the mirror, shutter and viewfinder screen so it's not surprising entry level DSLRs are not as big as entry level film SLRs, but I agree that the D70/D50 viewfinder is disappointing. If Pentax can do it in a smaller body, why can't (won't) Nikon?

I didn't notice much difference between my F801 (8008) viewfinder size versus my F80 (N80) viewfinder, but it was a lot brighter. I think this is because of focus area info overlay on the F80's viewfinder.

11:56 pm - Saturday, September 24, 2005

#22 Deb

As a 'prosumer', I am waffling between a d50, d70, and a Canon dig rebel XT (altho I'm a definite Nikon fan, I do sports photography).

The manual controls of the 28-200 lens seemed pretty cheesy on both Nikons - it's on the edge of the lens. I was much more impressed with the Canon lens.

Which camera would you suggest?
Deb

5:48 pm - Thursday, October 27, 2005

#23 JimBob

Deb -

Sports? Then Canon. I know you're a Nikon fan, but Canon has better speed shutter features, and better lenses for them, I think.

I'm a Nikon idiot too, but I think nowadays Canons are better.

1:17 am - Friday, October 28, 2005

#24 Deb

Thanks for your comments. I actually do 75% portraits/25% sports, thus I am waffling between Canon and Nikon.

Any thoughts on the future of Compact Flash cards (d50, Canon XT) vs. SD (d70, d70s?)

Any thoughts on manually focusing the nikon d50/d70 lens?
Thanks
Deb

6:19 pm - Wednesday, November 2, 2005

#25 Mark

I was wondering where u can find the nikon d50 demo mode setup

how do you use it and where is it?

thanks
mark

2:44 am - Sunday, November 13, 2005

#26 size genetics

Three phrases should be among the most common in our daily usage. They are: Thank you, I am grateful and I appreciate.

10:47 am - Saturday, November 19, 2005

#27 Philip Robson

A very useful review - many thanks for providing such detail. Just one query (I'm a bit of a novice with 'digital') - what is a '100% crop' in terms of its size relative to the original?

11:02 am - Saturday, March 25, 2006

#28 GARY POGODA

A "100% crop" can be any size piece of the original. The "100%" is an
indication that the piece has not been further magnified or reduced. A
100% crop is useful for showing detail that would only be visible when
viewed at full-size, and it allows you to do so with much fewer bytes of
memory than would be required if you used the entire original.

12:01 pm - Saturday, March 25, 2006

#29 ian mcnicholas

Nice thorough review, might just have been the one that makes me go for the D50 - it's that or the D70s - was interested in the S3 but much too expensive - and I actually like SD cards !

1:31 am - Thursday, April 6, 2006

#30 Don Huffman

:coolsmile: Just wanted to say thanks for the thorough D50 review -I waffled between the Canon Rebel and the Nikon D50 but decided on the Nikon D50 after trying my son's one and reading your review..
God Bless you all..
don

2:08 am - Wednesday, April 26, 2006

#31 Will Jonson

First of all, I must admit that this is only my third digital camera, and first digital SLR. But it isn’t my first SLR … I have used a Canon Elan IIE for a number of years, and trust me, that camera is no slouch.

But enough about me … the Nikon D50 is the real star of the show! I have had the camera (along with the standard lens included with the kit) and so far I am extremely happy. I purchased it just in time to capture some photos of my new neice, and my family swears that the pictures that I was just casually snapping at the hospital look like they are professional portaits. Granted, some of my family members … well, their necks are pretty tan, if you know what I mean, but you get the point. The camera has a slew of modes that are ideally suited to your subject (portraits, action, etc etc), and they do a great job of making all of the fine adjustments that improve the overall quality of the photo for the non-experts. But this camera has varying levels of automation to where you would practically require a photography degree to get your picture. My skills are somewhere in between, but trust me, if you are an absolutely beginner, in 5 minutes you can be taking photos that are 99% of the quality that a pro with a $5000 setup would take. Now you might need to snap a few dozen shots to get just one that is amazing, but that is what is just wonderful about digital cameras. And with a huge, super sharp LCD preview window, you can see in an instant if you have a decent shot, and if not, delete it and try again!

Will Jonson

http://www.redopinion.com/digital-camera/category/nikon/d50/

_

5:52 pm - Saturday, July 22, 2006

#32 Tom Blackburn

As this is my first venture into digital photography (previously 35mm compact camera with absolutely no extras) I must admit that after a couple of days I have found the D50 a great little machine for the beginner, still have a lot to learn though.
I picked up my D50 complete with 18 - 55 mm lens and 55 - 200 mm lens including carry case and 1 gig card for £550 from a leading high street retailer and it has been put to a lot of use during my holidays in the north of Scotland although I must admit I was slightly dissapointed when photographing wild dolphins that I could not seem to get a really good close up shot due to what I have been told is the 55 - 200mm lens is the equivelent of 3x zoom neverless a great little bundle

Tom

8:21 pm - Friday, August 18, 2006

#33 steve marino

I bought this camera a few months ago and was impressed by how easy it is to get great shots w/ it! Nonexistent shutter lag, nice handling, and beautiful images right out of the box. Of course, everything depends on the lens, so I was pretty safe w/ a 35-70 2.8, 70-210 (old style metal one) and an 85 1.8. If you are used to shooting w a Nikon SLR you can pick one of these up and go right to shooting. I sold it because I really don't do much color photography, and it is really hard to beat my 8008s w/ Ilford HP5 or Tri-X film. Then, a few weeks ago I bought a D70 on ebay just to see how the pics compared, thinking I could turn around and resell it quickly later. The D70 certainly has more features. I liked the DOF preview and many other things, and it is certainly made better than the D50. But the images from the D50 are quite a bit better than the D70! They require a lot less processing in Photoshop, and have noticibly less noise. It makes no sense to buy a camera that has more features, but delivers less image quality. I sold the D70 and will probably buy another D50. Put a good lens on one of these and prepare to be very impressed (in color, not B&W). The menu is difficult to figure out, build quality consumerish, and the viewfinder pretty small, but the images are what it's about. I found Rawshooter for free on the web, so I could work w/ the RAW files. Trust me, if you can find a DSLR that delivers better images and is easier to use I would like to know about it.

9:14 pm - Monday, January 15, 2007

#34 Lee Wisener

I bought the D50 after readin this review, I was looking for something entry level to get to grips with before moving on, still got it and still loving it, very simply to understand and easy to use, bought extra lenses, remote, tripod and so on, goes with me everywhere these days....

12:04 am - Sunday, January 6, 2008

#35 IanW

I am on the verge of moving from film to digital. This review has helped me to select the D50 as my first digital SLR. Once I have taken delivery and had a play for a while, I'll pop back and give my opinion.

Thanks for the time and effort in writing the piece.

2:25 am - Sunday, March 1, 2009

#36 Rory Witham -national photographer

Wel this camera is a little old now, but I guess that people are still looking at it and these reviews.

One thing I will start by saying.. the D50 is not a pre/post camera of the D40/x or D60/x or D5000 without video function. just so people dont make that mistake.

The D50 is a pretty good out of the box camera, I only use two modes which are AP or manual and I some times get my hair off with the way you have to contourt your fingers to get to the settings or sift through the menu.

I have a few other cameras as well, but the D50 isnt far away with its prime lens on and it is pretty much a point and shoot with very good results.
when I got my D70 many years ago, I get the D50 not that long after when I retired one of my other cameras and like one of the posts made not so far up, the images from the D50 required a l lot less post processing than those from the D70.
I think this has to do with teh metering system and some tweeks that the D70 didnt have and in terms of images it does put the D70 to shame.

there isnt a great deal of difference between the D70 and D50 other than a DOF preview ( which wont make a difference to most) and the control dials, which the D 50 is missing.
there is also no remote flash trigger built into the camera, so you may need a shoe trigger.
The ttl metering is good as is the on camera flash.

Once I got the D50 I used it a lot more than my D70 which hasnt taken that many pictures at all since getting the D50 and S3

BTW, I find that nikon cameras are a lot easier to move to from flim as with cannon you need a degree to sort the menu functions and even in manual they still arent full manual.

7:27 am - Thursday, August 6, 2009