What was wrong with the D 50?

Joined: 22 Sep 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Hermiston Oregon USA

I think Nikon has officially phased out this camera, in favor of the D 40. Was the 50 that bad? It didn't have that long of life.

I have not looked at a 40, so I don't know what new features it has. I have heard it is smaller in size, which would be a disadvantage to me.

I was just curious about this matter, and wondered if anyone could offer up some fact/opinion on the subject.

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 4:29 pm

The D50 was/is a great camera. The lack of an ISO below 200 was one of it's few minus points. The standard kit lens (18-55mm zoom) let it down a bit but used with a decent lens, such as the 18-70mm Nikkor zoom, it's capable of excellent results.

Joined: 18 Nov 2006 Posts: 288

The D50 had a focusing motor in it and it is less expensive to make one without it.

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 9:59 am

I'd heard that Nikon had oversaturated itself with it's camera models. They had the D50 and then the D70 and D200. Oh, then the introduced the D80 and seemingly realized they had a bunch of models with nearly the same specs. So, dump the D70 and D50, introduce the D40 at a very reasonable entry price and the D40x that's a little simpler to use, but more powerful and also with a camera number that's far enough away from the D80 to make it seem like a widely different camera and VOILA! No more saturation.

Anyway, I like my D50. I know I'll need to upgrade in the next year or so, but it's just a matter of with what. I'd like to go with the D200 or D2x if I can afford it, but I don't think the D80 offers enough difference from the D50 (ISO range and MP) to warrant that upgrade. Sigh.

Joined: 23 Oct 2005 Posts: 12

DrkRanger wrote:

They had the D50 and then the D70 and D200.

A bit late, but the D50 came out AFTER the D70s.

D100 Feb 02
D70 Jan 04
D70s Apr 05
D50 Apr 05
D200 Aug 05
D80 Aug 06
D40 Nov 06
D40x Mar 07