nikon d50
 

has anyone used a nikon d50? what are your thoughts?

Spend $300.00 more and get the D70.

If you read camera reviews, the D50 gets better reviews thand the D70.

If you can swing the $, the best Nikon is the new D200.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Camera reviews...

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

If he could swing the money why would he be asking about a D50?

yeah.. id love a d200.. but its out of my budget at the moment.. i think a d50 could get me by for some time w/ good lighting?? what do you think??

Almost any camera can do well if you have the eye and talent. There is a site out there right now that relies on a $300.00 camera, I have seen it first hand (both the photoshoots and the stats to prove it), it made over $1,000,000.00 in the first 10 months.

Just a question, for szango420, what is your preference to Nikon anyways?

Also, look at the D2X.

Take a look at the pentax *istDs ... seems to be pretty underrated (I think it's using the D70 Chip but better handling+cheaper)

you gotta be kidding w/ the d2x.. im talking about a d50 over here!:1orglaugh

:1orglaugh Yeah, I know

ive seen side by side images and the D50 was better than the D70 in every one, it uses a new generation of optics and there is a vast reduction in the amount of noise. If you shoot indoors with a d70 without good lighting then you can expect to get quite a lot of graininess in the pics you shoot.

yeah, ive decided on the d50.. its in my budget, and ill have some money left over for lights!

If you're using the stock D50 18/55 lens (3.5/5.6) and handshooting in an indoor studio you're definately going to need some lights.

Ive used the Canon equivalent and those 3.5/5.6 lenses are SLOW. Even with the lights the results can be dark, meaning much tweaking in PS along with the added problem of having to put up with using a slower shutter speeds and lower apertures to get some damn light onto your sensor.

Have a look to see what fast primes you can lay your hands on, once id switched to a few 1.8/2'8's (even with a basic constant lighting kit) the results dramatically improved.

If budget allows at some point switch to strobes (just got some AB800's) indoor shooting will become a breeze with even with the slow lenses - good powerful lighting really opens the opportunities.

Bullshit. :2 cents:

Exactly. That's what I was referencing also. I guess guys like Newbreed seem to think because the D70 has a higher number it automatically means its a better camera. What you really want to look at is the release date. The new cams even if they are slightly lower priced have new technology.

Hell yeah, it worth it !!! This D70 is tha shit !

what would a good all around lens be to get me started on a budget w/ the D50??

D50 Samples Shot By A Pro

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/nikond50_samples/

D50 Samples Shot By Prosumers

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/d50

KRL, all due respect, stick to selling domians and doing things you are good at, and I wil keep shooting content and doing things I am good at. After putting over 17,000 frames through my newest D70, I think I have some idea of what I am talking about here. Before I got this latest camera I tried the D50 extensively, used one for a week, under professional use circumstances. I have also tried a couple of Cannon D20's. The D50 is NOWHERE near the camera the D70 is under average use by someone who shoots content weekly or daily. The Cannon and I just didn't get along, although from what I see other people do with them it's an amazing camera.

Your reply would be compareable to me saying a porsce 911c is fater than a Porsche 911a (no idea if those even exhist, just using the letter designation as an example) becaue a magazine said so.

so... whats a lens that will start me off cheaply? i have been reading, and it sounds like a 2.8f 70-200mm would work great.. but they are too expensive.. is there a cheaper substitute that can help me out until i can afford to upgrade?

Any Nikkor ED lens you can afford would be a good start. I tried a couple of different lenses (non-Nikon) when I got the first camera and didn't like the results at all. Start with a basic all-around-use lens from Nikon. For that matter, if you are buying the kit, the lens that comes with it is just fine for general use. Put a few thousand shots through it and decide what you need from there. Most people buy a wide-angle lens soon after they grow out of the kit lenses, but expect to pay at least $400.00 for a decent WA lens. Good lenses are closer to the $1,000 range, and great lenses are close to $1,200 and up.

The D50 is fine but for a little extra I'd take the D70, many more professional features for not that much more money. The D50 on it's own is a great camera though.

good advice, ill start with the lens that comes with it.. and spend my money on the lights rather than better lenses... i just need a comfortable starting point. not looking to go pro overnight.. thanks for the info! im going shopping!!!

You've probably handed the cash over already but,

Whats your main shoot area like (natural light, pitch black, small/large dimensions) this is important to which equipment is going to be better for you initially (lights vs lens).

Also, "straight out of the box" and in amateur hands there is little to seperate a D50 and 70, in fact comparisons rate the 50 as the better "out of box camera"- buy the 50 and put the cash towards lights and lenses.

The 70 is definately the better camera though but, by the time you will appreciate the differences, other better cameras will be more affordable.

remember once you buy that brand of camera your married to that lens system. I love my canon 20d , I tired the nikons and prefered it. Also once again the camera is just the tool , good pictures is the photographer.

i bought the d50.. i almost bought the d70, but i wanted some extra money for a starter light set up..

For indoor, i will mainly shoot in smaller rooms. i dont have a professional studio. Just a standard size room in a 3 bedroom house.. nothing too big at all.. i was thinking of setting up a studio in my unfinished basement.. i have plenty of room down there..

I was going to start with a really cheap strobe setup.. its about $350 for 3 lights, 4 umbrellas (2 white, 1 silver) and stands... i would LOVE to get nicer gear, but I really have no idea what im doing, and i think this will be great to learn with..

I had my own photography studio in LA for 3 years. :321GFY

the guy that i bought the camera from did tell me that the d50 & d70 have the same chips and technology, and they take the same pictures, he did say the d70 has way more manual options.. which if you know what your doing, would result in better pictures.. but i dont really want to get into it anymore then that.. im not taking sides, just what i was told today.. :winkwink:

And I am sure things have changed since that time, both technology and the field. When was the last time you put 10,000 frames through a camera? Magazine reviews are just that, reviews, less than 100 pictures are shot usually.

Yeah, that's what I thought, so :321GFY back-atcha pal.

I was going to wait to drop that part of the bomb. Besides, KRL the photo pro has you all taken care of with his insightful and vast knowledge of these two cameras, specifically.

Whats the link to that strobe system, if its that cheap its probably way too low powered to achieve much or is built from hair, gum and matchsticks.

You might be better off with a decently constructed, higher powered single strobe and adding to it later than have a kit which wont do the job and falls to pieces when you hit the shutter.

The other thing with a strobe system is that you will have to set it off with your camera flash unless, you buy a transmitter system or the system accepts a wire to camera link (PC in or hotshoe).

Check to make sure it does otherwise if you use the camera flash youll have the onboard flash in addition to however many strobes your using - too much light is going to make your photos and subjects ghostly white.

Its the shadows in photos (among other things) that creates interest and subject seperation, I know we're shooting porn here lol, but if a jobs worth doing and all that.

Along that same line, make sure your pre-flash (if you use red-eye reduction) settings are correct or the rapid pre-flashes will fire your stobes too early. :2 cents:

we have shot 10,000 pics with a D70 with less than perfect light levels and there is a grain to the pics. Outside in natural light the pics are fantastic. I stand by my original opinion :thumbsup

well.. i was told they are only for headshots.. only 160watt/sec rating?? so... im going to stay away from that.. man.. i dont think there is any BUDGET gear out there for beginners on a budget.. maybe ill shop used..

the guy that sold me the camera showed me a little trick.. cut one end off a film canister and a slit down the side.. put that over the flash on the camera, and it wont flash on the person, but will still set off the strobes..