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- My rating: 0 stars
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53 out of 79 people found this review helpful
3.0 stars
"Original D70 Better Than D50 or D70S"
Pros: Larger LCD, Simplier to use? Performance improvements?
Cons: Nikon should have engineered this camera for a lower price since ease of operation claim
Summary: Even though the D50 has larger LCD than original D70, the D70 is far superior simply becuase of the features of last year's camera. I've been using the D70 for a year now and find it let's me shoot like a pro or can point and shoot running on full Auto! The D70 is a complex camera and I can see why Nikon is trying to offer an easier to use camera with bigger LCD for consumers. Not sure if this marketing approach will draw that many new customers since the price is still high for the consumer looking for a better digital camera. Dslr's are still pricey but you do get a lot more camera.
I suggest anyone thinking about spending $1000 on a dslr review this link:
http://www.digitalreview.ca/cams/NikonD70_intro.shtml
It's a very through discussion and fairly compares to the Canon Rebel.
There's lots of comparisons to Canon Rebel. I like Nikon's Lenses, not plastic. Nikon's camera body feels solid and balanced so the D50 should follow the D70 in that respect. If it's engineered as well as the D70, the camera should sell but not as well as the D70 intro. because of price and feature tradeoff.
Nikon is supporting D70 owners with a firmware upgrade to perform similar to D70S.
It took me over 6 months to become familarized with the D70 features and I'm still learning how to use advanced features. The features of the D70 attract some people so maybe Nikon feels a simplier camera will attract those who don't want to take the time to learn how to use the D70. I looked at the preview for the D70s and still happy with my original D70. I would not buy the soon to be released D50 over last year's D70 but it sounds like Nikon is responding to consumers.
- 10 replies to this review
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Image Comparison Analysis:
Comparing the results from the Nikon D50 digital SLR with the Nikon D70s and the Canon Rebel XT, a number of conclusions can be made.
In our opinion, the Nikon D50 provides the most consistent and "best" straight out of camera results. The in-camera processing that occurs in the Nikon D50, in terms of sharpening and tone adjustments, produces images that are very pleasing to the eye when viewed straight out of the camera. Ideal for users who want to go directly to print without having to worry about software post processing in a computer.
The Canon Digital Rebel XT comes in a close second, however, the Rebel XT by default applies less in camera sharpening, which has a tendancy to make the images look a little softer. We did notice that even after post processing, the Canon Rebel XT images did not look as sharp as those from the Nikon D50, indicating that Nikon's new AF-S DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens is a bit sharper than the Canon EF-S lens that comes in the Rebel XT kit. Nevertheless, the Canon Rebel XT produces very good image quality in its own right.
In comparison, the images from the Nikon D70s have a tendancy to look a little flat and softer than those from the Nikon D50, when viewed straight out of the camera. Nikon has adopted a much more conservative approach to in-camera processing with the Nikon D70s, realizing that there are certain disadvantages as opposed to proper post processing with external software applications, such as Nikon Capture or Adobe Photoshop.
As can be seen in the sample images above, the Nikon D50 produces images that are very pleasing out of the box. When compared with the Nikon D70s image that has been post processed, however, you can see that there are blown highlight details in the Nikon D50 image that are still well maintained in the Nikon D70s shot. We suspect that the intended users of the Nikon D50 will find that the advantage of being able to have very good image quality out of camera by simply using Auto settings, will outweight the negatives as mentioned.
Applying a slight unsharp mask and levels adjustment in Photoshop to the Nikon D70s "Landscape Mode" image, produces results that outperforms both the Nikon D50 and the Canon Digital Rebel XT with their respective kit lenses. To be fair, the Nikon D70s comes bundled with a superior (and higher priced) lens, the AF-S DX 18-70mm f3/5-5.6G IF-ED Nikkor zoom, so the results should not be surprising.
With respect to the 1600 ISO noise comparison, it can be seen that the Nikon D50 image is cleaner compared to the Canon Rebel XT depending on the colour channel. The Nikon D70s images at 1600 ISO are noisier than both the other models.
We feel that this is as a result of less in camera high ISO noise reduction being applied in the Nikon D70s, as well as the fact that both the Nikon D50 and the Canon Rebel XT feature a different sensor design compared to the Nikon D70s. If you are going to cover indoor events and rock concerts, at higher ISO settings the Nikon D50 might just be the answer.
With respect to the Auto White Balance (AWB) setting, the Nikon D50 produces slightly warmer tones compared to the Digital Rebel XT and the Nikon D70s. All three cameras did a pretty good job when set to AWB in our tests, however, nothing beats setting white balance based on manual presets if possible.
Bottom line, if you are looking for very good image quality overall and a user friendly camera system, you can not go wrong with either the Nikon D50 or the Canon Rebel XT DSLR kit package.
If you have a preference for Canon, for those that are planning to use the camera for more advanced applications you might want to take a closer look at some of Canon's step up zoom lenses with the Rebel XT, and as a better option due to improved performance and overall durability, the popular Canon EOS 20D DSLR.
Likewise, for advanced amateurs and those with professional applications who are looking to buy a Nikon, and want the creative control that post processing offers and desire the absolute best output in comparison, in our view there is simply no doubt, seriously consider the Nikon D70s kit with Nikon's AF-S DX 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED lens. Otherwise, in our opinion, the Nikon D50 kit package looks like a great choice. -
How do you review a camera if you do not own it? Pretty stupid if you ask me.
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Are you serious man? You reviewed a camera which you DON'T OWN, WASN'T RELEASED AT THE TIME YOU WROTE THE REVIEW and had the GALL to give it a 6 out of 10 on pure opinion/speculation just because you are a D70 fanboy. People like you undermine the whole reviewing and researching process.
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I have been using the Nikon D50 for about 6 weeks now. I find it very easy to use. I do Boxer rescue work and a couple weeks ago Iwe had an advent down in Columbia SC and I put the D50 through it's paces. I couldn't have asked for a better camera. I love it and wopuld recomend it very highly for anyone that is a beginner like me. I can't say enough about this camera
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Hey tk,
I appreciate your input on the D70, but the D50 is for "entry level" SLR users.
The D70 better be better than than D50, it certainly costs more.
Companies that like to stay in business usually cater to consumer wishes.
I'm looking at the D50 because I'm poor, and until the D50, SLRs were way out of my reach.
I'm glad somebody made an affordable, good quality SLR. I think it is pretty darn cool that the D50 is rated and grouped among cameras 3X its price.
I'd just hate to see the camera knocked down by someone who doesn't use or own it...wouldn't you? -
Reviewer,
Bought my D50 with basic 18-55mm lens for $649. New , full warranty. Incl 1Gb SD card and all i needed to get started in 2 Hours.
D70's were $300 more and up!
Please stay to the D70 site for reviews, I'd love to buy one later perhaps.But for now, I want to enjoy the D50 as I'm just a beginner in DSLR! -
This reveiew is a D50 reveiew, not a D70 (buyer's remorse) reveiw. The D50 is an excellent camera - it is not an apples-to-apples attempt with the D70 or D70s.
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One can understand that the writer feels good about the D70, but there is not much explanation on how the D50 is faring, or how it is inferior to the D70.
Sounds more like a set of assumptions. -
Just want to add that other than being a simple camera it still allows enough control for most people, but onto the differences between this and the D70 most critics agree that the D50 out performs the D70 in low light, auto focus speed, and image quality although it should be added that these differences aren't major. I own the D50 and chose it over the D70s for those reasons. The D50 does wonders in low light. I also owned the Canon Digital Rebel and I prefer the D50 hands down.
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You are comparing a 2/3 sensor camera to a 1/3 thats not even fair, thats like saying you like the Canon EOS 1DS Mark II over the Rebel. Two completely different cameras. Not to mention the D70 is still very expensive unless bought on a refurbished sight. Also the lenses for a D70 and every other equipment piece is going to be way more expensive than for the D50
Where to buy
Nikon D50 w/18-55mm lens:
$1,195.95
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$1,195.95 | Yes |
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