I stopped in one of my local camera stores today to check the used materials, get a spare battery for my D100, and, much to my surprise, play with a D50, newly in stock for approx. $900. My local store doesn't discount a lick, so I'd expect the street price on this to be in the $800 range, perhaps less.
I have to say, it's a sweet little camera, light, responsive, and reasonably logical. Holding my D100 several minutes later, I was struck by just how heavy that camera is, especially with the vertical grip. The D50 is not terribly larger than many P&S cameras, and in the same weight class.
Granted, Nikon's taken some steps to cut the price, but all in all, I could see this as an extremely viable entry DSLR for most people. The price falls well below that magic $1K figure that scares off most folks. It's a Nikon, so all that great Nikon glass can be hung off the body, and...
... it actually seems to do most of the normal stuff that we expect very well. I didn't have an SD card of my own with me, so I couldn't bring away what I shot at the store, but it tracked moving cars and some small birds well, focused quickly, and seemed to be a spritely little camera. My limited chimping of the images indicated that the shots had worked well. The menus are fairly similar to the rest of the Nikon DSLR line, as are the controls. Anyone who has used another Nikon DSLR would have very little difficulty shooting with the D50. It feels good in the hand.
Now, I'm not likely to switch over from my D100, given that I'm just beginning to get passable photos after all this learning period since I bought it, but I will endorse the D50 for people who are chomping to get into a DSLR, but are not willing to make the jump to the bigger items. Even the D70 series is just a bit too high in price to pull in some people. I could also see this for the person who simply wants basic DSLR performance, but not the size/weight of the D100/D2H/D2X cameras. It would be a lot easier to bring on a mountain hike, for example.
And it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks this is a good camera. The New York Times and Cnet gave it a hearty recommendation at :
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1040_3-5750144.html?pagewanted=all
Note that the NYT is a registration required site, but that they seem to be able to manage this without hitting me with spam or selling my name (so far).
Interesting times, what with the D70s and the D50 hitting the street...
John P.
I have to say, it's a sweet little camera, light, responsive, and reasonably logical. Holding my D100 several minutes later, I was struck by just how heavy that camera is, especially with the vertical grip. The D50 is not terribly larger than many P&S cameras, and in the same weight class.
Granted, Nikon's taken some steps to cut the price, but all in all, I could see this as an extremely viable entry DSLR for most people. The price falls well below that magic $1K figure that scares off most folks. It's a Nikon, so all that great Nikon glass can be hung off the body, and...
... it actually seems to do most of the normal stuff that we expect very well. I didn't have an SD card of my own with me, so I couldn't bring away what I shot at the store, but it tracked moving cars and some small birds well, focused quickly, and seemed to be a spritely little camera. My limited chimping of the images indicated that the shots had worked well. The menus are fairly similar to the rest of the Nikon DSLR line, as are the controls. Anyone who has used another Nikon DSLR would have very little difficulty shooting with the D50. It feels good in the hand.
Now, I'm not likely to switch over from my D100, given that I'm just beginning to get passable photos after all this learning period since I bought it, but I will endorse the D50 for people who are chomping to get into a DSLR, but are not willing to make the jump to the bigger items. Even the D70 series is just a bit too high in price to pull in some people. I could also see this for the person who simply wants basic DSLR performance, but not the size/weight of the D100/D2H/D2X cameras. It would be a lot easier to bring on a mountain hike, for example.
And it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks this is a good camera. The New York Times and Cnet gave it a hearty recommendation at :
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1040_3-5750144.html?pagewanted=all
Note that the NYT is a registration required site, but that they seem to be able to manage this without hitting me with spam or selling my name (so far).
Interesting times, what with the D70s and the D50 hitting the street...
John P.
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