Reply #4: It's a very good camera... [View All]

[regnaD kciN]

...but it does have a few limitations:

-- No depth-of-field preview button. (Not important for family snapshots, but vital for good scenic photography.)

-- The kit lens doesn't allow for manual adjustment when using autofocus. (On occasion, you want to have the camera autofocus by pushing the shutter release halfway, then, if the wrong area is being selected for focus, manually focus the lens to the right point. On the D50 with the kit lens, OTOH, you would first have to turn off autofocus on both the body and lens and then do the whole thing manually. Nikon's 18-70mm lens doesn't have this limitation, BTW, but it doesn't come in a kit with the D50.)

-- You can't control wireless flash units with the on-board flash, like you can with most other DSLRs (instead, you have to add a second on-camera flash or a $200 wireless commander).

-- No backlight on the top LCD (which can be a problem in limited light).

-- Some professsionals believe that the colors in JPEG mode are too bright and geared more at the point'n'shoot crowd.

If you really like Nikon (and I can see why), you might want to consider the D70s instead. It costs a bit more, but fixes all these problems. In fact, if you ever want to use wireless flash, a D50 plus the external controller may wind up costing as much as or more than the D70s. And, with the D80 (10.2 MP) coming out soon, you might see the D70s steeply discounted very soon.

DISCLOSURE: I use the Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D, which has the same 6.1 MP sensor as the D50 and D70s, but includes depth-of-field, auto/manual focusing, and wireless flash...along with in-body vibration reduction. I got mine, with lens, for $599, and have seen them priced for $549. Konica Minolta was recently bought out by Sony, so the camera is technically an "orphan," but Sony is handling warranty and other repair, and is bringing out their own line of DSLRs that are compatible in terms of lenses and accessories.