rc3.org

Strong opinions, weakly held

Nikon D50

After much, much agonizing over digital cameras, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a Nikon D50 with the 18-55mm kit lens the other day. I went to a store a few weeks ago just to see how some of the cameras I was looking at handled, and in the end decided that I prefer an SLR to any of the super-zooms.

As far as the super-zooms go, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 handled a lot better than the Panazonic DMC-FZ5, which turned out to be a lot smaller than I expected. The Panasonic DMC-FZ30 was nice and chunky, but it was almost as big as a Nikon D50 and didn’t cost a whole lot less, either. When I looked at the ISO issues that the super-zooms tend to have, the D50 just made more sense.

Once I had decided to buy the SLR, I needed to pick a lens as well. I already have Nikon 24mm and 50mm prime lenses for my old film SLR, and a cheap 75-300mm zoom lens as well. My dream lens is the Nikon 18-200mm zoom, but it’s very expensive. In fact, they’re still so uncommon that they sell for above list price. That left either the D50 kit lens, an 18-55mm model, or the 18-70mm D70 kit lens, which costs twice as much. I chose the cheaper 18-15mm based on Ken Rockwell’s review.

The new camera arrives tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to taking some photos.

3 Comments

  1. Welcome to the club!

    FWIW, I too read Ken’s review, but in the end I decided to plunk down a bit more coin for the 18-70mm since I figured I was already saving some money on the body itself.

  2. Try the Sigma 18-200, it’s compact and in plentiful supply. It doesn’t have the VR feature but it’s also under $400. Given the tradeoffs inherent in such a superzoom, the image quality is pretty good. It’s my outdoor walkaround lens (my “basic” indoor lens is a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, which is about the same price as the Sigma 18-200).

  3. Where did you purchase your D50 and how was the experience?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*

© 2024 rc3.org

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑