DIWA Press Release

DIWA experts honour Nikon D50 with a Gold Medal for high performance and excellent value for money

Nikon D50 has become one of the leading models in the rapid growing D-SLR market by offering a vast selection of features and excellent performance at a very modest price. The D50 is unmistakably built on the established and reputed Nikon design, but it is smaller and lighter, yet compatible with the same range of high quality lenses that first and foremost is responsible for Nikon’s success among professional photographers.

Amsterdam, 23. September, 2005: DIWA (Digital Imaging Websites Association), a world-wide organisation of collaborating websites, today announce a DIWA Gold Award to the budget-friendly Nikon D50 digital system camera.

Nikon is a major contributor to the enormous increase in popularity and sales presently boosting the D-SLR camera market. Most popular of all their models, is the D50, thanks to its perfect balance between performance and price. Virtually all vital features found in the more expensive models, are also installed into the Nikon D50, making it capable of shooting the same high quality images with 6.1 Megapixel resolution. DIWA experts found the D50 to be pleasantly robust built, and delivering professional quality images, despite its amateur status.

The DIWA camera experts conclude unanimously: “The recent development of low-priced D-SLRs is a gift to all ambitious photographers who take their imaging seriously. Nikon D50 is among the most successful creations in this respect. The Nikon D50 package is within reach for any budget-conscious photo amateur, yet providing performances that recently were reserved for professionals or wealthy enthusiasts”.

Despite its targeted audience, the Nikon D50 offers state-of-the-art features like RAW format and RAW+JPEG quality, three choices of RGB colour space, virtually unlimited continuous shooting with 2.5 fps, well reputed 3D Color Matrix precision metering, bracketing of exposure, flash and white balance, i-TTL flash control and a flexible 5-points AF system with an AF assistance lamp.

Extensive and merciless testing of individual samples of the D50 proved that its good specifications and actual performance made a perfect match. The overall image quality were hardly distinguishable from much more expensive cameras, whilst the D50 scored even higher in terms of user friendliness and camera handling. The summary of all DIWA tests proved the Nikon D50 to be indisputably worthy of a DIWA Gold Award.

About DIWA
A fast growing independent, authoritative, industry organization
The Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA) is a fast growing group of independent Web-based specialist publications dedicated to digital imaging. DIWA harnesses the collective talent and expertise of its members, resulting in industry awards that command unparalleled confidence and value, both for consumers and the industry, alike. DIWA awards come in the form of bronze, silver and gold medals for various product categories.

Unique bullet-proof test scoring procedure
DIWA product test awards are exclusively decided through the analysis of multiple test scores from different DIWA testers, testing different samples of the same product. A very detailed and comprehensive standardized scoring procedure is employed, tailored carefully for each category of product. Multiple testing eliminates the chance of an isolated, unrepresentative product sample or test error, or even hidden bias, from affecting the trustworthiness of the overall result.

Awards throughout the year
DIWA is also unique in its policy in issuing awards for deserving products throughout the year, culminating in an annual best of the year Platinum medal awards in all product categories.

DIWA Awards members:
- Czech Republic:  www.fotoaparat.cz
- Denmark:  www.digitalmagasinet.dk
- Germany:  www.digitalkamera.de
- Netherlands:  www.letsgodigital.org
- Norway:  www.digit.no
- Poland:  www.fotopolis.pl
- Slovenia:  www.e-fotografija.com
- Spain:  www.nuevafotografia.com
- Turkey:  www.diginorm.com.tr
- United Kingdom:  www.photographyblog.com
- United States:  www.steves-digicams.com

The DIWA multi-lingual Web site
At the heart of the DIWA organisation is its multi-lingual Web site, www.diwa-awards.com, where you can find links to the latest reviews published by DIWA member publications. The site also archives DIWA awards and is designed to aid consumers in their choice of imaging products.

For further information about DIWA please visit our Web site - http://www.diwa-awards.com - or email us at [email protected].