Nikon D50 - Easy Camera Review

The landscape of the DSLR market is changing with more and more entry-level models popping up. One of Nikon’s staple cameras is the 6.1-megapixel D50, which fits between the D70 and the newer D40. The Nikon D50 is meant to be easy and affordable for casual photographers but still provides the manual control and great features that more serious photographers would require. The body retails for $579 and when included with a 3x kit lens it costs $699.

This retail price does set it far above the top point-and-shoot prices that hover around $500. The biggest advantage of a DSLR is the flexibility to switch lenses. Shooting a basketball game? Grab a long zoom lens. Shooting bugs in the backyard? Twist on a macro lens.

If you have a Nikon film camera and you want to transition to digital with your current lens collection, be aware that the D50 is fully functional with Nikkor AF-S, DX, VR, D, and G-type lenses. Some other Nikkor lenses may fit on the D50’s F-mount but won’t be fully compatible.

The Nikon D50 is smaller than the D70 but not as small as the D40 with its 5.2 x 3 x 4-inch measurements. The D50 has a solid body with a wide hand grip and base that is comfortable to hold. Handling while shooting is fairly easy, but some photographers may prefer to have two control dials – and the D50 has only one.

Catering to point-and-shooters, Nikon chose to use SD memory for the D50 rather than the traditional CompactFlash memory that is used for other DSLRs. This way, consumers who are buying their first DSLR can use the same memory card that they used for their point-and-shoot cameras.

As for its performance, the Nikon D50 does just as expected being somewhere between compacts and DSLRs. It has effective resolution and great noise control. The pictures may be detailed and clean, but their colors aren’t very accurate which might be a result of the included 18-55mm kit lens that isn’t very high-quality. The Nikon D50 took great pictures in low light using its 200-1600 ISO range. It can snap 2.5 frames per second, and that is decent but not impressively quick especially when compared to other DSLRs.

The Nikon D50 has a 5-area auto focus system, which seems to perform well. It didn’t take many blurry pictures and the average shutter lag was barely there at only 0.02 seconds.

The camera’s components include an optical viewfinder that is 95 percent accurate and has a diopter adjustment for photographers who want to shed their glasses. The D50 also has a 2-inch LCD screen with 130,000 pixels. This resolution isn’t enough to check the focus, and the screen is too small to show pictures off to friends. There is also a control display panel on the top of the camera that shows up to 27 different settings which can be adjusted. This can look daunting to point-and-shooters but a brief session with the user manual should clear things up.

The Nikon D50 has manual, priority, and 6 basic scene modes to appeal to a wide range of expertise. The camera will also appeal to a large audience in other ways too such as image optimization settings that allow in-camera editing and makes direct printing easy. The D50 is a great camera and affordable as far as DSLRs go but more and more competition is moving in that may keep the D50 on its toes. 

Nikon D50 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 549.62

Likes

- Excellent noise control - Sharp, detailed images - Versatile +/- 5 EV range - Auto focus performs well in low light - 2500-shot battery - Small and solid housing

Dislikes

- No depth of field preview - Only 4 ISO settings - Colors were vibrant, but inaccurate - Only one jog dial - Pop-up flash too harsh

Nikon D70s Rating: N/A	Canon Rebel XT Rating: 575.67	Pentax *ist DL Rating: 497.85	Olympus EVOLT E-300 Rating: 315.94	Nikon D40 Rating: 586.24
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Two control dials - Fastest shutter speed is 1/8000 - More stops in ISO range - Depth of field preview - CompactFlash cards can be used in other Nikons - Grid lines available on viewfinder - Predictive auto focus tracking mode - More advanced metering system - 3 fps burst mode - Commands multiple slave flashes wirelessly	- 8 megapixels - Faster 3 fps burst mode - Comes in black and silver colors - Much more accurate colors - Better low light images - Cushioned viewfinder - More compact 5 x 3.7 x 2.6 inch measurements - 7-point auto focus system - Slightly wider 100-1600 ISO range - Uses CompactFlash media - Depth of field preview	- 2.5 inch, 210k pixel LCD display - ISO tops out at 3200 - Cheaper - Better colors - Customizable auto ISO range - Separate control display - More compact - Sensor cleaning mode	- 8 megapixels - Supersonic Wave Filter function keeps insides clean despite lens changes - Faster 0.01-second shutter lag - Better 134k resolution on LCD - 14 scene modes - 8 white balance settings and fine-tuning - Accepts CompactFlash cards - Accepts xD cards with optional adapter	- More compact - 2.5 inch LCD screen with 230k pixels - More in-camera editing features - Help menu - 8 scene modes - Cheaper $599 retail with kit lens included - More accurate colors - Better automatic ISO noise control - Better images in low light
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 6.1 megapixels - 200-1600 ISO range - 2 inch LCD screen - 6 scene modes - Manual modes - +/- 5 exposure compensation	- Similar price - Similar 0.2-second startup - Minimal 0.02-second shutter lag - Optical viewfinder is 95 percent accurate - Hot shoe for flash units - Comes with 18-55mm lens - Single control dial - 6 scene modes - 30-1/4000 shutter speeds	- Extra in-camera color saturation - Similar 18-55mm kit lens - 6.1 megapixels - Optical viewfinder - Hot shoe - 30-1/4000 shutter speed range - SD card compatible	- Similar online price - Similarly poor color reproduction - +/- 5 exposure compensation range - 30-1/4000 shutter speed range	- 6.1 megapixels: nearly identical in testing - 2.5 fps burst mode - Same kit lens - Image optimization settings - ISO 200-1600 in full steps - SD/SDHC memory card compliant - Same 30-1/4000 shutter speeds - One control dial - Similar manual ISO noise control - No depth of field preview
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- About $300 more expensive	- Plastic body isn’t as sturdy - Smaller 1.8-inch LCD screen with 115k pixels - 1/200th-second flash sync - 10-second self-timer only - +/- 2 exposure compensation range	- Auto focus system isn’t as effective (only 3 sensor sites) - Inaccurate colors - Not as comfy to hold - Pentax doesn’t offer as many lens options - Resolution isn’t as effective - Slow and stuttering burst mode - Runs on 4 AA batteries	- Lens selection isn’t as big - Noisy images - Substandard auto focus system - Smaller CCD - Chunkier and strangely designed body - Bad in low light - Longer 1.5-second startup - Slower than 2 fps burst mode - Smaller 1.8-inch LCD - Rickety built-in flash unit - Only 3 AF sites	- 3-area auto focus system - Longer startup time - Longer shutter lag - Not compatible with several Nikon AF lenses