Nikon D50

[kc&dmom]

Seabright --- You can not delete pictures from the menu button on the Nikon D50. The delete has its own button; need to push twice to delete. I LOVE this camera. I had been dreaming for a year about this camera and just received it for Mother's Day. To bad my husband didn't check Costco because we paid $699 with one lens, no camera bag although we did upgrade to a 1 GB disk. Keep the camera for more than one night -- I think you'll be sold!

Also --- Can't wait for DD's next swim meet; the camera takes 2.5 pictures per second. I'm dying to catch their butterfly!

 

[spoon2003]

2. No LCD backlighting..which I will need for low light situations.

Oh well. I will just have to return this one to Costco. I hope they will sell the NIkon D200 there soon.

Hi,
Can someone explain LCD backlighting? This seems to be a major point with some users. I thought you cannot use LCD to take a picture with DSLR and you have to use the viewfinder, so it's the backlighting used to view after you take a picture?

I started with P&S, then graduated to a prosumer Fuji 7000 3 years ago and am ready to make the big leap into DSLR. I thought a D50 body with the 18-200 vr lense will be a nice little starter package until I came across the backlighting complaint, can some shed some light on this issue?

Thanks

Sue from Boston

 

[mhutchinson]

Sue,

The LCD that is typically the complaint with back lighting is the one that contains the settings and camera information (ISO, image size, white balance, etc)...sometimes called a status panel. One the D50 it is on the top of the camera to the right of the view finder (looking from the back). Some camera models have a little button you can push to activate the lighting of this display.

.... but a lot of the information is redundant as it is already displayed in the view finder as well.

Mike

 

[spoon2003]

Mike,
Thanks for explaining!

Since I don't have that display on my Fuji, I won't miss it

Sue from Boston

 

[MICKEY88]

I tried the Nikon d50 from Costco today and found that there was virtually no shutter lag. The lenses focused fast enough for my need and I was able to take a pictures at maybe 3 frames per second.
The 2 major flaws I noticed are:
1. While I was changing lenses the "menu" button was acidentally pressed ( 2 occurences) and at the very top of the menu selection is: "FORMAT". it was a very horrifying experience because I already took a couple of nice shots and I could have accidenatally deleted them all.
2. No LCD backlighting..which I will need for low light situations.

Oh well. I will just have to return this one to Costco. I hope they will sell the NIkon D200 there soon.

flaw #1 shouldn't be an issue, it's a good idea to turn the camera off before changing lenses..

 

[Cashcow]

kc&d

Which lens did you get? $699 is not necessarily a bad deal for one lens.

 

[handicap18]

I've have Nikon SLR's for over 15 years and none of them have had the backlight (including my D50). I've never missed it not having it. If I want to know what my shutter speed, ISO or aperture are in low light conditions I will either look though the view finder or will sometimes carry a small pocket light (seldom though).

If you almost deleted images by changing lenses, then maybe try holding the body a little different. I've never come close to deleting any images. The button to delete (which you have to press twice) is bottom right of the menu screen all by itself. I'm not saying it can happen, but I can't see holding the camera while changing lenses in such a way that I would come close to hitting that button. But that is me.

Keep the camera. I think you'll like it once you get more familar with it.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

$799.

Includes the camera body.
2 lenses (Nikkor 28-80 and 70-300 - I think)
battery + charger
256mb card
Nikon camera bag

Rebel XT still $799 + $100 rebate

Well, the Rebel XT comes with battery and charger and kit lens too right? At least that's the current pricing in Canada.

Nothing wrong with Nikon per se, but with a lens starting at 28mm, you will still have to buy something like 18-50mm lens to cover the wide angle shots. Seeing you can get a Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5 for around $400 in Canada, you can sell the 28-80 lens and use the proceed + the budget for buying a kit lens to get the Sigma 17-70.

Or get the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 XR Dii for $400

 

[tony64]

Nice pictures Jill
Bet you can't wait to be let loose with it in Disney

 

[tony64]

Can anyone tell me if the following lenses are of a high quality and if they are FULLY compatable with the Nikon D50?
I have read some threads were people have praised the Sigma lenses but are they as good or better than nikkor or Nikon??????
I do not know enough about diffeerent lens specs. So i am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
Sigma Lens specification
18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC
55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC
Would these lenses be Auto Focus
These questions may sound silly but i just don't know if all D-SLR lenses are AF or if it is not stated then you can assume that they are not Auto Focus.

 

[Anewman]

Can anyone tell me if the following lenses are of a high quality and if they are FULLY compatable with the Nikon D50?
No they are not exactly considered HIGH QUALITY, they are more consumer level(acceptable quality) vs PRO level(high quality).
Yes, I am sure Sigma makes these lenses in a Nikon mount, just make sure that is the version you buy. do not buy one with a Canon mount.

I have read some threads were people have praised the Sigma lenses but are they as good or better than nikkor or Nikon??????
Sigma make SOME very high quality lenses and they also make some "budget" lenses, I would consider these 2 examples nearer the budget catagory.
Nikon also makes high end and budget(consumer) lenses.

I do not know enough about diffeerent lens specs. So i am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.
Sigma Lens specification
18-50mm F3.5-5.6 DC
55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC
Would these lenses be Auto Focus
Yes those lenses are Auto Focus, MOST new lenses today are. If they are not auto focus, I am confident the words "MANUAL FOCUS" will be prominent on the box or description.

.....

 

[tony64]

Thanks
The lenses come with the camera bundle so i know they will fit.
Just needed to check AF and quality or not

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Why two lenses (if you have the option). Since they are consumer-grade anyway, can you trade them with Sigma 18-200? This way you don't have to change lens.

 

[Geoff_M]

Just make sure the Sigma(s) you are considering comes with metal lens mounts. My next door neighbor has snapped the lens mounts off of two "consumer" 3rd party lens (I'm 80% sure they were Sigma lenses) on her Nikon film SLR. In one case one of her kids sat on the camera while it was in a "holster" case, and we don't know how the 2nd one got snapped. We were at a awards ceremony for one of her kids and she couldn't get the camera to work. I looked at it and immediately saw that the lens was cocked at about a 5 degree angle from where it should be. It took some work to get the lens off of the body, but when I did it was clear that one of the mounting flanges was sheared off and several other plastic lens parts fell out of the mirror box and into my hand when I tilted the camera forward.

She could have bought a nice Nikon lens and had plenty of money left over instead of buying for three 3rd party lenses.

 

[tony64]

Thanks for the heads up I will check before i Buy

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Just make sure the Sigma(s) you are considering comes with metal lens mounts.

She could have bought a nice Nikon lens and had plenty of money left over instead of buying for three 3rd party lenses.

Maybe it's just the type of lenses I've bought from Sigma, but NONE of my Sigma lenses I've used in the past 10 years ever had plastic mount.

Sigma 18-125
Sigma 18-200
Sigma 30 f/1.4
Sigma 17-70 f/2.9-4.5
Sigma 24-80 (?) -- can't remember the exact model, one of my first Sigmas.
Sigma 70-200 f/5.6 (?) -- can't remember the exact model, one of my first Sigmas.
Sigma 100-300 f/5.6 (?) -- can't remember the exact model, one of my first Sigmas.
Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 DG

They all have metal mounts.

 

[Anewman]

Just make sure the Sigma(s) you are considering comes with metal lens mounts. My next door neighbor has snapped the lens mounts off of two "consumer" 3rd party lens (I'm 80% sure they were Sigma lenses) on her Nikon film SLR. In one case one of her kids sat on the camera while it was in a "holster" case, and we don't know how the 2nd one got snapped. We were at a awards ceremony for one of her kids and she couldn't get the camera to work. I looked at it and immediately saw that the lens was cocked at about a 5 degree angle from where it should be. It took some work to get the lens off of the body, but when I did it was clear that one of the mounting flanges was sheared off and several other plastic lens parts fell out of the mirror box and into my hand when I tilted the camera forward.

Maybe it is just me, but if the lenses in the above scenerios had metal mounts...

Would the camera have been damaged instead of losing a cheap plastic mount lens?

 

[handicap18]

Since Nikon makes the same focal length lenses that are relitavely inexpensive why would you go with the Sigma version. How much money are you saving vs getting the Nikon kit lenses of the same focal length?

It would be one thing if you were going to get the Sigma 18-200 vs the Nikon 18-200. That would be about a $400 savings (though the quality is about $400 different). But the Sigma 18-50 vs the Nikon 18-55. I can't see you saving enough money to make the change.

At amazon.com (who isn't always the least expensive) you can get the D50 with both the Nikon 18-55 and 55-200 for less than $830 plus shipping. Spend the extra $80 or so and get the Nikon glass.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

It would be one thing if you were going to get the Sigma 18-200 vs the Nikon 18-200. That would be about a $400 savings (though the quality is about $400 different).

I beg to differ about the 100% increase in IQ (Image Quality) between Sigma vs Nikon lens, but the VR + IQ difference is worth MORE than $400 IMO.

and I agree with handicap18, if you're buying 18-50 and 55-200 separately, don't bother buying Sigma, get Nikon lens. The saving is not worth it.

To me, personally, either I get the Sigma 18-125 for US$230 (IQ is equivalent to Nikon 18-200 VR) or get the Nikon 18-200 VR for US$700.

OR

If IQ is the most important thing, get Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5 Macro. This lens is absolutely great. Sharp as tack PLUS a Macro lens for about US$400

 

[tiggerwannabe]

My boss just bought the Nikon D50 for our store and I have a really stupid question....

I'm used to being able to use the monitor or eyepiece to take a picure and I (for the life of me) cannot figure out how to turn it on

Am I not supposed to use this to view pics before I take them or what?

It's a really nice camera, I've been playing with all its functions since I got in this am.

We have a photo shoot to do this evening and any & all help would be appreciated.

TIA, colleen.