Nikon D50 vs. D70s

John Wetter

SN President
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Dec 11, 2005
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Maple Grove, MN
I'm looking at getting one of the two but am wondering what everyone thinks of them. The D50 body felt a tad lighter when I held it. I'm leaningtoward the 50 right now to save the couple hundred dollars. I've seen a lot of Nikon DSLR's here in Denver today...

-John

P.S. I know there are Canon fans too, but I already have enough Nikon lenses that I want to stay with Nikon.
 
John,

I have been looking at both of those cameras also. Since I’m not a very accomplished photographer, and saving a few hundred bucks sounds good, I’m leaning towards the D50. Two other things I like about it are the USB 2.0 and it uses SD instead of compact flash. I already have an SD reader on my laptop.
 
My uncle has a D50 (I think but I am pretty sure), let's just say it's very heavy and bulky. I couldn't handle that thing with my small hands LOL.

He likes it... the one thing I find annoying about it is that if you use flash with red eye reduction it flashes like a lightning storm and scares his dog :lol:

Here's a good review summary comparing the D50 and D70 http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm
 
Originally posted by Aaron Kennedy
I modded the title so it said Nikon :D You had Canon originally ;)

Aaron

Doh! Thanks Aaron. I mus thave been staring at someones Canon when I wrote it. Thanks for the comments so far!

-John
 
I recommend the D70. The main reason is that you're able to control aperture and shutter speed from one mode. With the d50 if you don't have it in some auto mode, you have to switch between modes to control aperture and shutter speed. That simply takes time when you really don't have that much usually. There are some other features but I gotta get to class.
 
Back in December my parents bought me a D70S for my 16th birthday. We got it in a package deal on Ebay from Cameta Cameras. The package had the body, the 28-80 mm lens, the 70-300 mm lens, carrying case, lens cleaning kit, camera strap and LCD covers. That was $1050, and with a few lens filters for $30 and a Mack 5 year warranty for only $90, the grand total came in at $1170 plus $15 shipping. My camera arrived right before Christmas and in less than two months I've already taken over 500 photos with it. I have the highest praise for this camera. :D The Auto setting works surprisingly well in many different situations. The Sport setting has netted (quite literally, since it's basketball season) me some great sports shots. Both Night Landscape and Night Portrait work extremely well, the capabilities of these settings are stunning. The D70S is extremely capable at pretty much any photographic task you put it to, which is one reason I got it, because I started up a photography buisness in January. Having the ability to control shutter and aperture from one mode was a big reason I chose this camera over the D50.
Another thing to consider is how big your hands are. If your hands are big, like mine are, the D70S is a better choice because the D50 is to small to really get a good grip on and is uncomfortable to hold. If you have small hands, the D50 would be the better camera for you, as the D70S would be too large and clumsy to handle. Also, you can get a standard D70 and for about $100 get firmware upgrades that give you all the more advanced features of the D70S except for the larger LCD if you want to save some money.
All in all, I have been extremely pleased with my D70S, and I believe that it was worth spending the extra money to get the crucial features the D50 lacks, at least in my eyes. I would recommend this camera to anyone, and I look forward to taking awesome pics with it during Chase Season '06.
Laura Duchesne said:
My uncle has a D50 (I think but I am pretty sure), let's just say it's very heavy and bulky. I couldn't handle that thing with my small hands LOL.

He likes it... the one thing I find annoying about it is that if you use flash with red eye reduction it flashes like a lightning storm and scares his dog
Your uncle definetly has a D70 if to you it is large and bulky and you have small hands. I discussed above the hand to camera body size issue at length. As far as the flash, yes, my friends/family always complain about the extreme brightness of the flash, and I've scared my dog and my cats with it as well. Oh well, it has great coverage, gives warm colors to the subject and you never see a trace of red eye.
 
I actually had to make this same decision recently and I went with the D50 for a couple reasons

1. cheaper - more money to spend on accessories
2. uses SD, which my old camera used as well, so I didn't have to buy more memory
3. simpler layout, not as cluttered on the back
4. Faster and more accurate metering and AF. I read in a magazine that the only camera with faster AF is the original EOS Rebel film body.

Of course, the 70 has a larger RAW buffer and faster write speeds. Wireless trigger option is also only available on the 70 I believe.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either one and your shooting needs may be very different than mine.
 
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