Nikon D50
The D50 is Nikon's entry-level Digital single-lens reflex camera model. It has a 23.7 mm by 15.6 mm DX format image sensor with 6.1 million effective pixels. It also has a two-inch (50 mm) polysilicon TFT LCD with 130,000 dots. The camera uses a through-the-lens full-aperture exposure metering system. It can simultaneously record NEF and JPEG data to a Secure Digital storage device. Like its newer, higher-end sibling (the D80), the D50 uses Secure Digital instead of Compact Flash cards found on previous Nikon digital SLRs. The camera is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which is claimed to be able to take up to 2,000 shots on a single charge. The camera is compatible with PictBridge printers and can shoot 2.5 frames per second in continuous mode. The camera's dimensions are 133 mm in width, 102 mm in height, and 76 mm in depth. It weighs 620 g with the battery (about 22 oz).
The D50 was announced on April 20, 2005 and started appearing for sale around June 2005. The camera carried a suggested retail price of US$750 for the body only or $899 with a new 18-55 mm F3.5-5.6 G AF-S DX lens. Another variant of the D50 kit containing both the 18–55 mm and a 55–200 mm F4-5.6 G AF-S DX lens is available. Competitors of the D50 include the Canon EOS 350D, various incarnations of the Pentax *ist DS, the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D, and the Olympus E-300.
As was the case with the Nikon D70 (on which the D50 is largely based) and the Canon EOS 300D (predecessor of the 350D) the previous year, feelings run high between owners of the D50 and the Canon 350D competitor. Many fans of the D50 cite its "feel", build-quality and ergonomics as reasons for choosing it over the competing models, which many users felt did not give the same reassuring feel in the hand as the D50 did, or were too small (the Canon and Pentax models in particular). The Canon 350D/Rebel XT owners cite the slightly-higher resolution of the Rebel XT and defend its small size and build quality.
D50 body.The popular digital photography-oriented website Digital Photography Review, whose owner often evaluates cameras by well-known companies, rates the D50 very highly and notes its improved noise performance over the D70s it is largely derived from, although it does sacrifice some hobbyist features to achieve its lower price as compared to the D70s.[1] It should be noted that the excellent noise performance of the D50 may be attributable not to the superiority of its sensor over that of the D70s, but to more aggressive noise reduction algorithms implemented in-camera. Possible trade-offs include loss of detail and lower contrast. The reader is encouraged to view actual photographs and draw his or her own conclusion.
The camera is sold as body only, "single kit", including the 18â55 mm lens, and "double kit" including the 18–55 mm and 55–200 mm lenses.
Nikon D70
The Nikon D70 is a digital SLR camera model. In Spring 2004, Nikon introduced it at the 2004 PMA Annual Convention and Trade Show, as a direct competitor to the Canon EOS Digital Rebel (EOS 300D in Europe) (Digital Photography Review, 2003). It is succeeded by the Nikon D80, announced on August 9th, 2006.
The D70 features include:
Nikon DX-format sensor
1.5x field of view crop
6.1 megapixel sensor (23.7 mm x 15.6 mm)
Nikon F lens mount
File formats include JPEG, NEF (Nikon's raw image format), and JPEG+NEF
Single Servo and Continuous Servo focus modes
Continuous shooting at 3fps up to 144 images using a high-speed storage card (minimum burst of 4 images with a low-speed storage card)
ISO 200-1600
A picture of a wolf taken with a Nikon D70sDigital Photography Review (2004), regards it very highly and rates it superior in many ways to the older D100, even though the D100 has a higher price. Both the Nikon D70 and Canon EOS 300D/Digital Rebel are ground breaking with respect to their price/performance ratio. Feelings often run high between advocates of the D70 and those of the 300D; advocates of the 300D point to a lower price point, and better sensor technology yielding less noisy iso 1600 images, while advocates of the D70 point to greater control over the operation of the camera, more solid feel of the body plastics, and defend the quality of the sensor. The D70 is backward compatible with most of the older Nikkor lenses. Sigma, Tokina and Tamron are other popular lens suppliers of Nikon F-mount lenses.
MSRP as of 2004 was $999 (and $1299 with an 18-70 mm f/3.5-4.5 kit lens) in the United States.
In early 2005, Nikon announced the D70s. The D70s is essentially an update of the D70, adding a larger LCD screen (2 inches (50 mm) instead of 1.8 inches(46mm)), though still having 130,000 pixels. The D70s also comes with the newer EN-EL3a battery with slightly higher capacity. While the battery performance is increased, the new version of the D70 lacks the previously included MS-D70 battery holder, which allowed users to mount three CR2 batteries in the camera in case of a dead battery (notably the adapter is not compatible with CR123 batteries). The camera is also equipped with a terminal for a proprietary remote release cable (MC-DC1). In addition, the D70s features an increased 18 mm angle of coverage from its built-in flash; the flash on the D70 could only be used with lenses as wide as 20 mm. All other updates to the D70s are available for the D70 through a firmware update, which include improved autofocus performance, updated menu design and updated in-camera printer support.