Nikon Got It Right!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Photo quality, flexibility and simplicity; ease of use with simple buttons and dials; solid construction.

Cons: "Kit" lenses offered are less than great solutions, consider upgrading.

The Bottom Line: 
Everything about the Nikon D50 makes sense for the serious photo hobbyist who wants a versatile camera that will produce great results under a wide variety of conditions.

Author's Review
You can think of the Nikon D50 in two ways -- as a very intelligently "dumbed-down" (and less expensive) D70, or as a quantum (and more expensive) leap in terms of versatility and picture quality from even the most expensive P&S digital cameras on the market. Either way, Nikon has done right by photo hobbyists who want to take top-quality pictures under a wide variety of conditions.

The D50 shares two common characteristics with all digital SLRs. It's not cheap, although it's about the least expensive of the breed, and it definitely doesn't fit in your pocket or purse. It is a solidly-built, precision camera that typifies Nikon's decades-long commitment to quality. Very detailed, in-depth reviews and discussions of the D50's various features can be found elsewhere. I think of myself as a fairly typical hobbyist who enjoys photographing a wide variety of types of subjects, so I'll confine this review to aspects of the D50 that I have found particularly attractive or vexing.

Picture Quality

Very wisely, Nikon decided not to compromise any of the truly outstanding picture quality of its D70 when they designed the D50. The quality you get with the D50 is virtually identical to that of the D70 -- perhaps even a little bit better according to some reviewers because Nikon tweaked the software a bit. Of course, as with any interchangeable lens camera, the final quality of your pictures will ultimately depend upon the lens you use as well. But the D50 takes marvelously sharp 6.1 MP images and offers numerous internal controls governing such things as color balance, focus and exposure. And photos can be saved in either JPEG (with several sizes and compression choices) or RAW format, as well in a mode that saves two copies of each picture -- one in JPEG and one in RAW.

Notably, the D50 is extremely good at shooting photos in available light. The CCD sensor in the D50 is huge compared to those in more compact P&S cameras, and Nikon does a fine job of taking advantage of the sensor's size. The ISO range of the D50 (like the D70) is 200-1600. Image quality is identical and perfect at ISO 200 and 400. At ISO 800 the degradation of quality is barely perceptible, with mottling evident only on drastically cropped photos or huge enlargements. ISO 1600 produces an astoundingly clear picture with very little "noise artifact" compared to other DSLRs. Excellent photos can be taken at ISO 1600 with the D50 that will produce fabulous 8x10 prints without any need for post-processing.

Ease Of Use

In their wisdom, when they designed the D50, Nikon decided to get rid of a bunch of "features" on the D70 that 95% or more of photographers never use, and I doubt that anyone reading this review will miss them. What they did, to their credit, was "dumb down" the D50 and make it a whole lot easier to use. They even got rid of an entire command dial on the D70, leaving just one on the D50. Great move.

Honestly, I would never have bought the D70 -- it just has to many dials and buttons for me. I've been using SLRs for years, and I know the threshhold where buttons and dials get in the way of taking good pictures instead of helping me. That's why, over the past several years, I've been using P&S cameras despite their deficiencies. The D50 really is very easy to use.

All the controls are in the right place and all the buttons make sense. The optical viewfinder is large and clear (with a diopter adjustment for old guys like me who are somewhat "visually challenged" and use trifocals), and all the pertinent information about the picture you're about to take is displayed on the bottom line of the viewfinder.

Operation

The D50 takes pictures very fast. Anyone who has used a P&S digital camera is familiar with "shutter lag" -- the critical 1-2 seconds between the time you press the shutter release and when the camera actually takes the picture. Shutter lag has ruined more P&S digital camera action shots than anything else combined. I take lots of pictures of my cats, and using my P&S cameras I took countless pictures of where the cats used to be.

When you half-press the shutter release on the D50, AF and AE kick in virtually instantaneously, and when you click the shutter button the D50 takes the picture now, not a second or two later. No more missed action shots. And if you're shooting action the D50's Continuous Mode does a fine job of capturing the action at 2.5 fps. And, of course, Program Mode, and Shutter and Aperture Mode, as well as Manual, let you customize just about any aspect of the picture you have framed in your viewfinder.

Reviewing the pictures you've taken on the D50's 2" LCD is a delight too. The generously-sized LCD screen and good navigation tools make it easy to check out the photos you've just taken, even in bright light.

Recommendations

The Nikon D50 earns a 5-star rating from me as an inexpensive DSLR that photo enthusiasts who have been disappointed with the results from the P&S cameras, or those who desire more flexibility, should seriously consider.

However, if you're going to invest in a D50, I would personally recommend buying the D50 body only without either of the "kit" lenses that are offered as a package. The 18-55 mm "kit" lens offered with the basic package is a very good, featherweight lens. But it's zoom ratio -- and especially its telephoto reach -- is grossly inadequate for most needs. And If you opt for the additional "kit" telephoto zoom lens, you're probably getting more telephoto zoom range than you really need and loading yourself down with two lenses to carry around.

My very strong suggestion for general purpose photography would be to buy the D50 body only, and then separately order the Nikon 24-120 mm AF-S VR zoom lens for less than $500. This is Nikon's fabulous new 5x VR zoom lens with a focal length range that makes it nearly an all-purpose lens for just about everyone. And yes, the VR (Vibration Reduction) image stabilization technology really does work.