Nikon D50

[2kidsnutsfordisney]

WOW - so obviously everyone here favors the d50 here is my next question. The d50 that I am looking at comes with a 28-90 lens. I will need an additional lens to take some close-ups of my kids playing sports (they are young 8 & 5) so will a 70-300 be sufficient? My goal is to try and capture my kids expressions playing sports and to avoid having to pay $$$ for all their sports photos Also, without getting too detailed what does ISO stand for and what does it mean? Thank you so much for all your help so far!!

 

[123SA]

I have decided to take the plunge and enter the world of dSLR. I am willing to spend the extra money on the Nikon D50 (vs Pentax *ist DL)-- but is it worth it?

 

[Charade]

I think they are comparable with the kit lens (both have 18-55 zooms) but the Pentax is a steal for $366 (from www.buydig.com) with the kit lens.

Personally, I would want a better, longer zoom. So you could get the Pentax body and a different lens (like 18-125 or 18-200)

 

[123SA]

Thanks for the reply. I am a complete novice --should I get the executive kit? It includes 1GB, charger&batteries, case, screen protectors for LCD, lens cleaning kit, and a different USB for an additional $100. Also, can you recommend any instructional literature? And what about the 5 yr warranty plan, any thoughts on that?

 

[Charade]

Thanks for the reply. I am a complete novice --should I get the executive kit? It includes 1GB, charger&batteries, case, screen protectors for LCD, lens cleaning kit, and a different USB for an additional $100. Also, can you recommend any instructional literature? And what about the 5 yr warranty plan, any thoughts on that?

I avoid the "kits" these places offer because you really don't know what you're getting. The only extra things I would recommend right now would be extra memory and an extra battery. Their prices on Dane Electric memory are average street prices (like Best Buy, Walmart etc) but you can do a lot better shopping around.

For batteries and memory I check places like www.Amazon.com www.buy.com www.outpost.com (they have a 2 gig card for $40 after rebate but it's currently out of stock). Also check www.fatwallet.com (hot deals forum). You can also use www.pricegrabber.com or www.froogle.com to find prices on stuff. Beware though that if you find a great price (too good to be true), check www.resellerratings.com for customer feedback.

I don't usually get extended warranties. But if you pay with a credit card (which I would highly recommend), check to see if they offer warranty extensions. If they do, they usually double the manufacturers warranty. So if the Pentax has a one year, you'll get two.

I don't know if there are any aftermarket books specifically on the Pentax so you'll have to do a search.

 

[handicap18]

I would not get the 28-90 lens. I don't think with the digital sensors that 28mm is wide enough. Keep in mind that because of the sensor size difference a 28mm lens on a Nikon digital SLR is the equilivent of 42mm on a film slr. Either get the 18-70mm lens (its the kit lens for the D70s and can be found referbished on ebay for about $230, thats where I got mine) or get the official D50 kit lens, the 18-55mm. The D50 also has a second official kit lens, the 55-200mm. You can find this combo for less than $900 at a lot of places. Keep in mind once again, the digital sensor size difference will make that 200mm end of the zoom the equilivent of 300mm on a film slr.

If you think the 200mm wont be long enough you can still get the 70-300mm instead. Nikon has on that is relatively inexpensive.

I got the 28-80mm lens with my D50 and regret getting it. I used it for a week and then got the 18-70mm instead. I should have originally got the official kit lens or got the body only and put the savings towards the 18-70mm. Now the 28-80mm lens is sitting in one of my drawers. The resale cost of the 28-80 is to low for me to try and sell it on ebay. So now I have an extra lens that never gets used.

 

[handicap18]

The Pentax is a very good entry level dSLR. From my understanding its image processor's detail rendition in JPEG could be better, its also small than the D50. For me personally, its to small for an SLR camera IMO. Its a better camera than the Olympus E-500. The Nikon D50 is more like its more expensive camera but with out some of the bells and whistles (2nd command dial, backlit LCD screen (no the 2" monitor, that is different), and a few other small things). The D50 pretty much has the same sensor as the D70s (and actually a better sensor than the D70).

Long term I like the lenses available for the Nikon. You really can't beat the price for the *ist DS though.

As for the kits lenses. The 2 official kit lenses for the D50 (18-55mm and 55-200mm)are very good, especially for the price and were designed for dSLR's. Any kits lenses that start at 28mm are not really kit lenses. Its just a way for the seller to make the price lower to sell more camera's. 28mm is not wide enough on a dSLR.

 

[Phog]

I'm about to buy my first DSLR and I have decided on the D50. I'm currently visiting Orlando from Ireland and hope to purchase here.
AFAIK the d50 Kit includes the 18-55 and the 55-200 Lenses - what do you think of this kit and what would a good price for this be?
If I buy in the US should I buy an Irish (220 volt) charger?

In Ireland the D50 and the 18-55 lens costs about 650 Euro - about $800.
What type of memory card should I get for the camera - is there much difference in quality in the various manufacturers?

 

[Furgus]

I bought the single lens, 18-55 D50 kit, and I love it. It is a great camera. I also have a 70-300mm Tamron lens, which I love also. Not sure about the charger, I know the battery that come with it last for about 1500 shots or more before going dead. I use PNY SD cards, they go on sale a lot here, and I have had no troubles with them at all.
Good luck.

 

[123SA]

I really appreciate your responses. I know that it does take some time to try to educate the novices and I am grateful. I feel like I am slowly starting to learn.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

I'm about to buy my first DSLR and I have decided on the D50. I'm currently visiting Orlando from Ireland and hope to purchase here.
AFAIK the d50 Kit includes the 18-55 and the 55-200 Lenses - what do you think of this kit and what would a good price for this be?
If I buy in the US should I buy an Irish (220 volt) charger?

In Ireland the D50 and the 18-55 lens costs about 650 Euro - about $800.
What type of memory card should I get for the camera - is there much difference in quality in the various manufacturers?

1. price: I don't know. But I would get a D50 with 18-200 VR lens if the budget permits.

2. AFAIK, the charger is multivoltage, you just need an adapter so the two-pronged US plug can be plugged into your homeland's power outlet. Something that you can get cheaply from Dick Smith Electronics (is there DSE in Ireland?) or Tandy's or Radio Shack.

3. Cards: the differences are mainly in speed and durability with durability differences getting narrower by each day. Speed: the max your camera can utilize is around 60x-ish anyway, so no need to buy anything faster than that. You'll only see the difference when you're downloading your images from your card reader to your PC if you use cards faster than that.

 

[handicap18]

I know that amazon.com has the D50 with both kit lenses for $900 which is a very good price. If you have an address in the US you can ship it to it will also be free shipping. Both the 18-55 and the 55-200 are good lenses. They're not Nikons best, but they do take great pictures. Kelly mentioned getting the Nikon 18-200mm lens, however, it is VERY difficult to find and is expensive ($799 retail and goes for over $1000 on ebay), but it is an excellent piece of glass, especially that it has VR (vibration reduction).

There are other options for lenses. The Nikon 18-70mm lens has longer reach and is a bit better optically, but it retails for $400 (can be had referbished on ebay for about $230). Combine this lens with a 70-300mm (sigma or nikon) and you have a longer total reach, but will pay more for it.

You can go the single lens route with the Sigma 18-125mm. Then later down the road (and this is the beauty of SLR's) you can get other lenses based on your photography habits, like a 10-20mm Sigma or an 80-400mm Nikon or the granddaddy in the Nikon line the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. There are way to many good lenses to choose from.

You really can't go wrong with the 2 official Kit lenses for Nikon. It gets you started at a very good price and like I mentined before you can always get more lenses in the future. Thats really where you want to spend your money.

As for media cards. Buy.com has some great prices on SD cards, especially the Kingston 1GIG card. I have one of them and it works with no problems. Goes for about $30 and there might even be rebates involved to get it lower.

The kit will come with a battery and charger. You will need an adaptor to use it in Europe. I have a 2nd battery that I used while in Disney. Got it at a local Best Buy store for $40. Its only 1300mAh compared to the 1500mAh that comes with the camera, but it still will give you lots and lots of shots. I haven't had the need for the 2nd battery for use other than while at Disney thus far.

Good luck.

 

[handicap18]

Keep asking questions. You'll learn a lot on this board. I certainly have.

 

[Golf4food]

My DW and I just got an ist*DL about a month ago – before the $100 rebate. We got just the body, a 2GB Sandisk UltaII card, a remote shutter release (all from beachcamera.com), a sigma 18-125 lens and UV filter (both from sigma4less.com). We love it so far. The great thing about the ist*DL is that it runs on AA batteries, so you can always pickup new batteries if you need them. But with rechargeable NiMH batteries, that should never be a problem. We have three sets (4 batteries needed to run the ist*DL) of rechargables and a recharger. It will keep us going forever because the camera will run for many, many hours on one set of those batteries. Two sets in the parks, one on the charger, and swap them at night to keep the rotation going. The 2GB Sandisk UltraII card will also hold close to 665 images at max JPEG resolution, so there is little danger in running out of image space, though we plan to pickup an extra 1GB card before our next Disney trip. I guess total for everything (including all the batteries and charger) is a little under $1,000.

With the new $100 rebate, the ist*DL is just plain tough to beat for an entry level dSLR. But don’t get the kit lens. Get just the body and spend the extra $$ on a decent lens that you will be much happier with. The Sigma 18-125 was recommended to us on this forum and I have been very pleased with it as an all around walking around lens. I plan to get a good telephoto someday for better zoom shots on far away subjects (for places like the zoo) but for everyday shots, the Sigma 18-125 has been great.

 

[123SA]

You answered my next question -- whether I need the 18-55mm and the 18-125mm. I think I'll search for the best prices on the equipment you mentioned.

 

[123SA]

Yet another question -- why do you need a UV filter? Should I get one? do I need other filters? Or how about this -- is there a list of the equipment that I need? and then a list of equipment that I'll probably want?

 

[kldmom2000]

Hello! I am not a novice photographer by any means-I did buy my first SLR in January (Nikon D50) and I've been using the auto-focus exclusively as I've not studied the manual fully. I've been getting fabulous photos with both lenses (18-55 lens and the 55-200mm lens) The past week though, I can't seem to get the camera to focus It used to be that all I'd have to do is press the button down 1/2 way before shooting and it would focus in on my subject-now it won't and I can't seem to fix it. We went away for the weekend and needless to say, I got no photos of my girls To top it off, my back up Kodak D7440 bit the dust last week (I would bring it on excursions that I didn't want to lug the D50 on) Please, please help me!! Oh, and if you know what the problem is, could you explain it as though you're talking to a person who is clueless about all the ISO/APR settings??? Thanks so much in advance!!!

 

[handicap18]

What type of situations is it not focusing? How much light was on the subject? Or was it in any situation in any type of light? How charged was the battery? as the battery gets closer to being empty auto focus will be harder.

I've noticed that in low light situations I can't get a good focus right away. Sometimes I'll switch to manual. With telephoto lenses you sometimes have to zoom out, refocus then zoom back in.

You could also take it to a camera store and have them look at it. Ritz Camera depending on the time of day (some sales people are better than others), in the Boston area, Hunt's Photo and Video is best and there's a place in Newton that is good too if your in that general area or the Camera Company on Route 1 in Norwood. I mentioned these places because I noticed your from Mass.

Good luck.

 

[kldmom2000]

Actually, it's any photo at all-nothing will focus. Here is an example of one-I took it Sunday night-my 3.5 yr old DD learning to ride her bike w/o training wheels and I missed the moment because all the pics came out blurry... this is actually the BEST one of the 20 I took

This one I used the child-action setting. I then tried just the AUTO on the dial. No luck with either setting

Thanks for the tip on Ritz Camera-I was going to check w/ Circuit City but I don't know if they can help since I didn't buy the extended warranty.....

Thanks for reading my post.... and offering your help/advice

 

[caniswolfie]

At the risk of being silly, I figured I would cover the bases. Is there a switch for manual focusing on your lens that might have gotten switched. I don't know if your lens is this one. But there is the switch for manual or auto focusing you can see in the pic labeled A and M on the bottom left of the photo.

Other than that, I'm not sure since I'm not too familiar with the Nikon cameras, myself owning Canons.