Nikon D50 from NikonLinks

Since Dru is considering a D50, here is what I wrote a long time ago about the D50.

I read that the D50 is supposed to be more colorful than the the D70. At the time I thought this could be because the default color space is sRGB-IIIa in the D50 and sRGB-III in the D70. This can be set in the custom menu. I set mine to AdobeRGB with the caveat that I have to use sRGB when uploading to the web. In any case, I was wrong. It turned out that Nikon has improved the anti-aliasing filter in front of the CCD. This makes the camera less noisy: according to Popular Photography, the D50 is less noisy than the D70s and the Digital Rebel! One penalty of the new filter is that you can’t do infrared photography with the D50, but since I don’t do IR photography, that’s a non-issue.

Nikon removes the “sub command dial” from the D50? Is that a deal killer? They still have a command dial and an alt key to turn it into a sub command dial—very Canon-like, in my opinion. Maybe if you do bracketing exposures, eyeball depth-of-field, or use gradient ND filters, the D50 seems like too big a compromise. But it takes the same shots as a D70 or a D100 (actually, it performs a little better) and costs less. I can’t say which is best for you.

What would I miss if I had purchased a D50 today instead of a D70 then

In decreasing order of importance:

• Uncompressed RAW only. I shoot RAW only nowadays because I have a great RAW workflow. This means twice as many shots per card—I don’t often fill up my cards except on events and long hikes, but I appreciate it. It also writes twice as fast to the card since the file is half the size.
• The BKT button is gone. I use bracketing often. You can do this through the menus in the D70, but I avoid menus. I think every photographer should demand more buttons and dials and less menus in their camera.
• Front command dial is gone. I like how the D70 dials work the same way as the D2 series. The near identical setup is one reason I got the D70. On the other hand, the main difference in setup is the overloaded ISO, WB, and QUAL buttons which is the main cause of frustration of the D70. In any case, I have explained earlier how this works on the D50.
• No guide lines in viewfinder. I have a serious trouble knowing what is up. Sort of like many wedding photographers 😉
• The Depth of Field button is gone. This is a button on the front that you push on and stops down the aperture so you can eyeball what is in focus. This is not a big deal since I rarely use it—it dims an already dim viewfinder. It’s really useful for gradient ND filters, but I can’t afford them. Instead I bracket a shot (or shoot RAW and push-process two images) and then do digital blending.
• The shutter speed is a little slower (2.5fps vs 3.0fps). If you shoot JPEG this might be an issue, but isn’t a deal killer by any stretch.
• There is no AF area selector lock switch in the back. I use this because I’m left eye dominant and my nose sometimes hits the AF selector. I don’t know of anyone else who uses it, most don’t know what it is.

That’s not that much at all. I would have bought a D50 instead of a D70 if I had the choice then.

Other differences:

• Secure Digital media instead of Compact Flash. It’s a little more expensive but compact consumer digicams use this format: Canon SD, Pentax OptioS, Casio Exilim… and since you should have a compact digicam for when you can’t carry around your D50, this is a plus IMO. Another thing is that since pros have a huge investment in Compact Flash, I think Nikon is encoraging them to spend a little extra on a D70s body instead of a D50. I know nothing about the performance of SD, but one should be careful when reading specs/reviews that they are done with SD cards, and not MMC which is very slow but fits into the same slot.
• “No Memory Card” warning in the viewfinder of the D50. Okay, I’ll admit that’s pretty cool.
• The D50 has a better viewfinder eyecup than the D70. I made my own because my cat gnawed off the rubber gasket that counts as a “viewcup” in the D70. I wouldn’t have bothered if I had a D50, but now that I did, I sort of like mine. 🙂
• Better white balance tuning in the D70. I shoot RAW now—in RAW the white balance is just a “suggestion”. Besides, I can’t eyeball a white balance and don’t have the discipline to carry around gray cards.
• The metering sensor is 420-segment instead of 1005-segment. (And we all know that a bigger number is better right?) Even the 420 is much more than any other vendor I know. To be honest while I love Nikon’s “matrix metering”, I’m not sure the point of so many points. Only Nikon’s engineers know for sure. OTOH, the metering system is “next-gen” on the D50.
• ISO adjusts in full stops on the D50 instead of 1/3 stops in the D70. The D70 way might be useful for those using ISO the way you would use shutter or aperture (or auto ISO?), but nobody thinks in 1/3 stops for this stuff so it is more cumbersome.
• Smaller and lighter. It’s in the same ballpark and built to the same quality from the same factory in Singapore. I think that the fact that the front says “D50” with white print on a black badge instead of “D70” with black print on a silver badge is probably more significant than this.
• It cannot take the MS-D70 lithium battery holder nor comes with one (my D70 does). While it doesn’t have nearly as much charge as the EN-EL3(a) batteries that come with the D50/D70(D70s), lithium batteries can last 10 years in storage. The idea is you buy 3 of these at $5 a piece and you have an insurance policy if you forgot to charge your battery. This was the worst $15 dollars I ever spent on my D70 followed closely by the $40 I spent on a spare EN-EL3a—neither of which I ever use.
• LCD cover is not included in the D50. I use a Hoodman, you can cut up your PDA screen protector (if you don’t have a PDA, find someone who does, they always have a bunch). I did that with my girlfriend’s Casio EX-Z750.
• Other small differences Rockwell noticed: No ability in the D50 to set the lowest shutter speed used with flash in P(rogram) and A(perture) modes (never used, not sure what the point is); no 1/8000 shutter speed in the D50 (never happened unless my camera was set totally wrong); no custom function for setting the exposure without the compensation button being pressed (never tried it, never will); no custom function to change the diameter of center weighting area (I only use matrix or spot metering. I don’t know anyone who really cares what the diameter of their spot meter is); no custom function for changing bracketing order (I tried this once but I set it back. Too many shots were coming out underexposed because I changed my mind or forgot to press enough times), no custom function to cause your AF selector to wrap AF points (who uses this?); no custom function to turn off the “use flash” in the viewfinder (why would someone need this? Maybe the lightning bolt is too pagan?).

Differences because I own a D70, not a D70s:

• D50 has a better autofocus system (how?). It also has a AF-A (automatic) focusing mode which means it automatically chooses between AF-S (single) and AF-C (continuos) focusing—this sounds pretty useful but I don’t have it so I can’t comment. (In continuous focusing: the focus tracks when subject moves closer or moves to another AF point and also motion is extrapolated so focusing “predicts” the future distance of the object.)
• The spot metering circle is larger. What is the importance of this? Probably none it’s just because the metering is different.
• It has a larger LCD screen. The .2 inch difference is not noticeable, but maybe I’m just rationalizing. The resolution is the same, the only difference is size.
• It comes with an EN-EL3 battery like the D70 instead of the EN-EL3a battery like the D70s. Is 7% extra battery life worth mentioning?

Insert Obligatory: “You’ll spend more on your lenses” caveat here.

For those of you considering the D50 and need another opinion: everything you need to know about the D50.