Audio & Video
Business Center
Cameras
Cell Phones & PDAs
Desktop PCs
Gadgets
Gaming
HDTV
Laptops
Macs & iPods
Monitors
Printers
Software
Spyware & Security
Storage
Upgrading
Windows Vista & XP
Resource Centers
Asus Notebook Center
Intel Technology Center
CDW Solution Center
Lenovo Laptop Showcase
Try It Free
White Paper Library
Webcast Library
Most Popular Products
Most Popular Downloads
Monday, June 20, 2005 2:33 PM PT Posted by Tracey Capen
Digital SLR Challenge: Nikon's D50 Vs. D70
There definitely is stiff competition between Nikon and Canon for which company has the lowest-priced digital SLR.Canon?s strategy has been to drop the price of the original Digital Rebel and bring in a slightly improved model--the Digital Rebel XT--still under $1000, with a lens.
Nikon has taken another tact, recently coming out with the D50 (below), a slightly de-featured version of the Nikon D70, and priced $100 less ($899 with an 18mm to 55mm lens).
At a time when digital camera vendors are madly packing on more features, buying a camera with less is not very appealing. But Nikon was extremely judicious in what it removed, and added in a few small changes that actually make the D50 a better camera for someone thinking about a relatively simple and inexpensive digital SLR.
In a side-by-side comparison, the differences between the two models are fairly subtle--the D50 is slightly smaller, has a slightly larger 2-inch playback LCD, and there are a few fewer buttons and dials. For example, the D50 does not have bracketing or metering control buttons (they are in the menus), or the second selector dial mounted in from the shutter release.
This last change is actually good, in my opinion--I can select an aperture with my thumb a lot faster than with my shutter-release finger. On the other hand, as a wildflower photographer, I really wish Nikon had not removed the stop-down preview button.
The biggest surprise in my comparison of the two SLRs was image quality. When I first reviewed the D70, I criticized the camera's tendency for under-exposure and low saturation (a common trait in digital SLRs, and one that professional photographers prefer, it must be noted). In a side-by-side shootout, the D50?s images, as they came out of the camera, were brighter and more colorful than the D70?s. I was quite pleased with them. This should help move the D50 into the larger market of general-interest photographers who should find that the D50 still has more than they truly need.
One aspect of these low-end digital SLRs I still wonder about will be their durability--especially if you use the continuous shooting mode frequently. Only time will tell on that question.
Another open question is whether dust becomes the Achilles? heel for both models. One of PC World editors has had her D70 in for CCD cleaning three times, and it looks like the D50 has the same basic construction as its sibling.
Do you own or want to buy a digital SLR camera? What's your take?
Archives
View posts from:
PC World's Marketplace
PC World's Free Whitepapers
QUICK LINKS:
cheap laptops
cell phones
laser printers
HDTV reviews
LCD TV Plasmas
digital cameras
laptop reviews
security antivirus
windows vista reviews
digital camera reviews
inexpensive desktop
LCD wide screen monitors
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
tech news tech blogs community & forums laptop prices software reviews downloads
I could not recommend anyone who is not technically inclined, to buy a digital SLR. Unless you are prepared to clean the sensor of dust (and regularly!), DSLR's are a waste of money. Until this problem is sorted (like Olympus has), don't touch one of these cameras. Why would you pay so much money to have blotchey skies in your photos??
I could not recommend anyone who is not technically inclined, to buy a digital SLR. Unless you are prepared to clean the sensor of dust (and regularly!), DSLR's are a waste of money. Until this problem is sorted (like Olympus has), don't touch one of these cameras. Why would you pay so much money to have blotchey skies in your photos??
I've been an SLR photographer for over 30 years, starting with an Olympus OM1. I've been using a Nikon for 7 years. I'm finally about to buy a digital SLR. What disappoints me about all DSLRs I've tried is the tiny, dark viewfinders. Look through an OM1, 3 decades old, and marvel at the bright, wide viewfinder.
That's the real problem with DSLRs for me - there's less visual 'connection' with your subject. No reviewers seem to mention this, but for me it's the biggest problem
I've been an SLR photographer for over 30 years, starting with an Olympus OM1. I've been using a Nikon for 7 years. I'm finally about to buy a digital SLR. What disappoints me about all DSLRs I've tried is the tiny, dark viewfinders. Look through an OM1, 3 decades old, and marvel at the bright, wide viewfinder.
That's the real problem with DSLRs for me - there's less visual 'connection' with your subject. No reviewers seem to mention this, but for me it's the biggest problem
I'm not sure of the strategy behind the D50. It is very little different in price from the D70. It comes with much less lens. If you order it with the Kit lens from the D70, there is no price advantage.
I would think the real need is for a replacement for the now archaic D 100, or an 8-10 megapixal D70, to compete with the other major makers. The D70 is a fine camera, but it is getting most of its sales from existing Nikon system owners who would find it too costly to replace their lenses. That is not an inexhaustable pool of buyers. To win sales from new D-SLR buyers, they need to offer a competative sensor a their price leval. The D 50 is compelling only at a reduced price, with a 8-10 meg D80 or D 90 above it.
I have been a low-end SLR user for years and am about to go digital this coming weekend. Maybe I am just a victim of the sales pitch ... but my local camera store (a real one, not a chain) has images taken at the 6 MP level and blown up to poster size. I swear it is incredible quality and almost so much quality to think it would be a waste to create a 10 MP Digital SLR ... I think the market will stay at this smaller 6-8 MP range for the lower end cameras.