Nikon D50 Camera

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

I've had the Nikon D70 for a few months now and am awed by its capabilities. It has so many features that I will probably never use them all, but I'm considering buying a second body so I'll have one in reserve if this one ever needs repair. I have four standard Nikons - a 5005 which needs work, two N60's and an N75 - so I already had the lenses although I did buy a telephoto - 70 to 300 - for the D70. However, I get frustrated because each of those standard SLRs has a slightly different way of operating, and when you're going for those grab shots of active kids you need to be on automatic mode in your own head to take full advantage of what's happening in front of you. That's hard if you're readjusting to another camera.

What are the differences between the D50 and D70? The photos you posted were just gorgeous, so I can see that the optics are superb. Looks like you have some perfect home-grown models, too.

One thing I found when I was trying to photograph candid shots of circus performers practicing in a dark big top was that putting the camera on Auto ISO allowed it to adjust so I didn't have to second-guess exposure. I'm wondering if that was the best way to go but it seemed to work under those circumstances.

I'm less than an hour from Philadelphia myself. Maybe we should all get together for a camera session...

[Molly Sherrick Phifer]

Hi Alex!

I'd be happy to talk more with you about the digital SLRs and let you try mine out! I am really looking forward to having the kids back in school. They start September 6th.

Hi Leslie,

There are lots of small differences between the D50 and D70. There's also the new D70S. The review here is pretty exhaustive and talks about the changes. There is also a comparison with the Cannon Rebel XT and a Pentax camera, I think, toward the end of the article.

I think the biggest obvious differences between the D70s and the D50 are the D50 has only one control "wheel" in the back, whereas the D70 has a couple. Also the D50 has different automatic scene modes, for instance it has a "child" setting. I love that one. The fastest shutter speed on the D50 is double the D70 at 1/4000th of a second, but since I am more likely to work in low light, I didn't care. The D50 has an improved highlights rendition over both the D70s. Probably the biggest functional difference is that they use different storage cards. The D50 uses an SD card, while the D70 uses a compact flash card.

The best way to find out the things that matter to you would be to check out the link I made for the review. Right up front they put in a really nice chart of the feature comparisons.

If I were you, I might be tempted to have one of each camera, but then you'd have to carry both storage types, etc. Oh, to have such terrible choices to make . . .

[Molly Sherrick Phifer]

Just thought I'd mention that I purchased my D50 through B and H photo and video online. I have bought from them multiple times and have never had an issue. If you click on the review link in my last post, the DP Review site is supported through the use of their vendors. B and H is one of them, but you have to click the link at the bottom to show all their vendors.

[Leslie Ficcaglia]

I looked at the dpreview site and could see what you meant by the differences in color modes. Hadn't played with that feature on my D70. Re the "child" setting, do you mean the new autofocus mode which switches between single and continous focus automatically? How does that work in practice?

I wonder whether the two bodies and controls are similar enough that I wouldn't have to make a mental adjustment when I switched back and forth. The SD card vs compact flash card alone wouldn't be a big problem, although I'm not sure what the difference is.

I'm not sure how important the enhanced highlights feature would be, since we're using these for reference photos rather than for standalone works of art. Definitely something to think about, though. I had heard of the D50 but wasn't sure what it was. Thanks!

[Molly Sherrick Phifer]

I like the idea of the child setting putting the camera in continuous focus mode, however, the setting I'm talking about is one of the numerous little icons on the dial on top of the camera that puts the camera either in full automatic, aperture priority, shutter priority, full manual, or one of several "special" modes. Each of those modes simply programs the camera with a series of settings to maximize the ability to shoot those types of pictures. Here's what Nikon says about the programmed settings:

7 Digital Vari-Programs: The next evolution of Nikon's scene-optimized Digital Vari-Program modes produces great results for the intended shot, while freeing you to concentrate on the moment. New Child mode makes it easier to take memorable pictures of the children with the right amount of vivid color and contrast straight from the camera. Choose from Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Child, Close Up, Sports, or Night Portrait.

I think the body styles of the two cameras are sufficiently similar that you would not have difficulty switching. The D50 is a bit simpler.

[Andrea Kantrowitz]

I just wanted to add that I also have the D50 and I love it! Its made my work so much easier. I had an old Coolpix before, and then a Canon. There is so much more color information as well as detail with this camera.

[Alexandra Tyng]

I just bought a Nikon D50 on Molly's recommendation and I'm having the time of my life! Thanks, Molly. Since this is my first digital camera it'll probably take me a while to find out all the things I can do with it, but so far I can say the spot metering is comparable to what I used to be able to do on my manual camera, in a fraction of the time--and that's saying a lot.

Alex

[Marcus Lim]

Gosh, i've heard so much about D50, and now i have Alex as a living satisfied customer of it!
Now i don't know how to decide between this baby, and Canon D350 model which boasts excellent quality pictures and higher megapixels than D50. Has anyone done a comparison between the both?

[Alexandra Tyng]

Molly and Leslie, I would love to get together after my show opens on Sept. 16th, and try out the camera. This information is so helpful to me, because the good digitals are not cheap, in fact I will have to sell a couple of paintings before I can afford to make this investment.

Alex

[Ilaria Rosselli Del Turco]

Molly,
thank you so much for taking the time to write so detailed comments about the camera. My Nikon coolpix just broke and now I have no more doubts about what I will buy!
Ilaria