Need a Camera..

giganten said:

I was thinking about something like the Nikon D50. Is it a good camera, easy to find lenses?

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Yes and yes.

The D50 has been a bit more of a step for me than I was expecting. Going from a P&S Canon to a DSLR, price was, usage wise... two very different cameras. Make sure you go out and play with it, have the saleman show you around the camera... get a lot of hands on time.

And enjoy.

giganten said:

I was thinking about something like the Nikon D50. Is it a good camera, easy to find lenses?

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re: camera
Very nice camera in it's price range and excellent camera "system" to begin building upon (Nikon). If you're used to using Point & Shoot cameras, using a DSLR will be sweet! ...Quality optics, no more waiting for the camera to come back on or to process a picture, it has a good battery life, etc.. I often keep my D70s camera on between use.

re: lenses
There is a good choice of Nikon compatible lenses to go with your D50. I would recommend getting the "kit" lens that comes with the camera. A good all purpose zoom that dips into the wide angle range.

Have fun!

giganten said:

Okay that sounds nice..

But i have to ask is it very big difference between the D50 and D70 in picture quality, worth the extra money?

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I am honestly not the best person to answer that question. I am, maybe, 2 months ahead of you on the DSLR path.

However, http://www.dpreview.com has reviews of a bunch of high cameras.. their reviews are in depth with side by side comparisons and images. After looking at the photos from that site, reading the reviews and having a limited understanding of the whole process... I decided, the D50 was the right camera.

I bought mine for $680 from Cord camera with the 18-55mm lens, I got $150 in rebates back and used it to purchase a Epson r340 printer (fantastic by the way).

If I had to do over again, I might not have gotten the 18-55mm... maybe the 18-70mm DX Nikon lens. I dunno why, the 18-55 just seems too short for me.

For my money, the D50 is plenty of camera... especially being new to the art form.

Check out this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/178403/

All of those photos were taken with a D50... and they all look pretty darn good to me. I don't think it pays for a beginner to spring for the D70s.... but that was my decision. It is a better camera, no doubt, but I don't think the extra cost is worth the improvement.

giganten said:

I dont know how i should do. I am new in the photography and dont know if i need wireless flash, and it is much money.
What do you say? I need help..

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You don't need the features in the D70s. In your case, get the D50.

Canon Digital Rebel XT, you will love this camera, if you want to save some cash get the Digital Rebel 300D, for about 500.

I personally think Canon blows Nikon out of the water in quality, but I have always been a Canon guy.

giganten said:

I dont know what camera i should buy yet d50 or d70s. But i cant find any store here that is selling them with "kit" lenses. If i buy the body (d50 or d70s) what lens should i buy, the 18-70mm lens that you get in the d70s kit??

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Yes, the lens that comes with the D70 and D70s as its "kit" lens is very good and worth the money. As mentioned by someone else, it has a bit more reach and does very well for general all-around shooting, from slightly wide to slightly tele. Given the choice, I definitely would choose that lens over the one which is the "kit" lens for the D50. Another possibility, but a bit more money, would be to buy the new 18-200 VR lens, which is a terrific lens and gives a lot of flexibility in terms of shooting.

If you can buy the D70s as a kit, you'll be all set. I am pretty sure that it will cost more to buy the body and the lens separately.

With the choice between the D50 and the D70s....well.... as others have said, you probably wouldn't need a lot of the features that are available on the D70s such as the wireless flash setup and all that, as this requires a further expenditure of money in order to get the SB 800 and an additional flash for this kind of work. Aside from the flash features, though, there are a few things such as (I think) depth-of-field preview which are available on the D70s but not on the D50.

Regardless of which one you finally choose, it will be a fun and challenging learning tool and with either camera you'll get excellent quality in the images.

--Connie

Positives:

If you need Spot metering, or 1/500th Flash X-Sync instead of 1/200th, or +-5 Exposure Compensation instead of +-2, or somewhat better battery life, or slightly better Buffer-Full JPG shooting performance, or Front/Rear Curtain flash modes, go Nikon.

If you want slightly faster shutter release response, go D50. If you want 1/8000th sec max shutter speed, or a pentaprism instead of pentamirror, or 1/3 stops between ISO sensitivities, go D70s. Also, if you want slightly sharper images than the D50 (in exchange for more moire), go D70s.

If you need more ISO versatility, or higher sensitivity for better low-light shooting (Canon Rebel XT's ISO100 is almost as sensitive as Nikon D50's ISO200), or better absolute image quality (though very slightly softer at ISO1600), or 8 megapixel resolution instead of 6, or a bigger buffer allowing more shots to be taken in burst mode, or RAW burst capability, or light weight, or faster card write speeds, go Canon Digital Rebel XT.


Negatives:

If you want images with extreme moire (chromatic rainbow-like blending effect on very small patterns, such as fabric textures or other tiny details near the extinction point), go D70s, or, to a lesser degree (because it's softer en general), the D50. Canon's Rebel XT has NO moire whatsoever.

If you want a cheaper, less well-constructed build, go Digital Rebel XT. Nikon's low-end dSLRs are sturdier and better built.

Other Info

Nikon D50 is cheaper than Canon Rebel XT, while the D70s is more expensive than both. Keep in mind that lenses and memory cards will add to the price of any dSLR quite a lot. However, both Canon and Nikon make their own very inexpensive but very good 50mm f/1.8 lenses.

Supposedly (no personal experience) Nikon's 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor lens is a godsend, for only about $800 or so.

There is a Sigma lens, the AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC available for Canon AF mount, and it is much cheaper at ~$320, but the optical quality is probably not as good and it has quite strong barrel/pincushion distortion (among other issues).

There probably isn't any equivalent zoom lens available for Canon with the price point or claimed quality of the Nikon 18-200mm. Canon's 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM lens is over $2000.

Oh, and btw, there's only one Nikon camera I'd even consider getting at this point: The D200. The rest of their line is just bleh by comparison, IMO.

form said:

Oh, and btw, there's only one Nikon camera I'd even consider getting at this point: The D200. The rest of their line is just bleh by comparison, IMO.

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While I agree that the D200 is fabulous, I think that for someone just starting out in photography, it's a bit...much. Better to start with a less expensive and less sophisticated body, put the money into good glass instead and work with that for a while before moving onward and upward.

It was a sidelong comment about my own personal preference; at $1600 for the body, I don't consider an entry-level alternative, although after someone buys a few lenses it won't really seem like a big jump anymore.