Nikon D50 Nikon D50 Review, July 2005, Phil Askey

Review based on a production Nikon D50, firmware 1.00Digital SLRs are quickly becoming the fastest moving segment of the digital camera market, this means more new digital SLRs, more competition and lower prices. The Nikon D50 is introduced as a more affordable and easier to use version of the D70 which was released just under fifteen months ago. Anyone who has seen or handled the D70 will immediately see a strong resemblance in the D50, its only when you start to examine the camera in a little more detail that you notice the differences (weve detailed them below). Clearly the D50 is designed to compete with other affordable digital SLRs such as the Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), Pentax *ist DS and Olympus E-300. Differences between D50 and D70/D70s

 Nikon D50Nikon D70/D70sBody colorsMedium image sizeRAW formatAF modesAF algorithmImage processingScene modesDefault color spaceMeteringMetering sensorSpot meteringAE BracketingSensitivity stepsAuto ISOMax shutter speedContinuous shootingWB fine tuningHide picture (Play)Small picture (Play)New Pictbridge menuCustom functionsFlash coverageViewfinder eyecupLCD monitorPowerChargerStorageUSBMenu languagesDimensionsWeight (no batt/card)Command dialsAE Lock buttonContinuous / Self-TimerBracket buttonWireless flashViewfinder gridControl Panel lampMonitor coverLock switchDOF preview button4-way controller in play modeBrowse with command dial in play

Black and Silver	Black
2256 x 1496 pixels	2240 x 1488 pixels
Uncompressed NEF	Compressed NEF
AF-S, AF-C, AF-A (Auto)	AF-S, AF-C
Improved speed and accuracy, especially motion tracking	n/a
Improved highlights rendition	n/a
Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports, Close-up, Night Portrait	Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Landscape, Night Portrait
IIIa (sRGB nature & landscape)	Ia (sRGB portrait & natural look)
3D Matrix Metering II	3D Matrix Metering
420 segment RGB (2nd gen.)	1,005 segment RGB
3.5 mm circle (2.5%)	2.3 mm circle (1%)
3 frames	2 or 3 frames
1 EV steps (ISO 200 - 1600)	1/3 EV steps (ISO 200 - 1600)
Yes, with min shutter speed selection	Yes
1/4000 sec	1/8000 sec
2.5 fps	3.0 fps
No	Yes
No	Yes
Yes	No
Yes	No
20	25
18 mm	20 mm
DK-20 (larger)	DK-16
2.0", 130,000 pixels	D70: 1.8", 130,000 pixelsD70s: 2.0" 130,000 pixels
EN-EL3 Lithium-Ion	D70: EN-EL3 Lithium-IonD70s: EN-EL3a Lithium-Ion
MH-18a (smaller)	MH-18
Secure Digital (SD) card	Compact Flash card
2.0 (Hi-Speed)	1.1
13	10
133 x 102 x 76 mm(5.2 x 4.0 x 3.0 in)	140 x 111 x 78 mm(5.5 x 4.4 x 3.1 in)
540 g (1.2 lb)	595 g (1.3 lb)
One rear	One front, One rear
AE/AF Lock, AE Lock, AF Lock, AE Lock Hold, AF-ON, FV Lock	AE/AF Lock, AE Lock, AF Lock, AE Lock Hold, AF-ON
Separate buttons	One button
No	Yes
No	Yes (commander mode)
No	Yes, optional
No	Yes
No	Yes
No	Yes
No	Yes
Up / Down = Display modeLeft / Right = Browse	Up / Down = BrowseLeft / Right = Display mode
Yes	No

Two new AF-S DX lenses In addition to the D50 Nikon has also announced two new AF-S DX lenses, the 18-55 mm will become the Kit lens (adding just $100 to the price of the camera) and the 55-200 mm offers a lightweight and affordable big zoom addition which when combined with the Kit lens will provide a 27-300 mm equiv. FOV coverage. In comparison to the Canon equivalent lenses these two both feature Silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology which means faster focusing and near silent operation. Click here for an image of the D50 with the 18-55 mm lens mounted. (Canon do a version of the EF-S 18-55 mm with a USM motor but only standard in Asia).AF-S DX 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6G ED(27 - 82.5 mm equiv. FOV, 3x zoom)Also available in silverAF-S DX 55 - 200 mm F4.0 - F5.6G ED(82.5 - 300 mm equiv. FOV, 3.6x zoom)Also available in silver

Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions.Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window.To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top.DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C.

This article is Copyright 2005Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced inany electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images)please contact: Phil Askey

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