D50 issues?

Ihaveaquestion

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I'm spending my student loan money next month on a d50.

I hear good things but I also hear bad about this camera.

First is about the white balance issue?

and then that you cant see the screen at night?




I also found this on amazon.com



Overrated, March 10, 2006
Reviewer: Wendy 1 - See all my reviews
Since so many folks already described the camera I will concentrate on issues I do not like about it:

1. Pictures are unacceptably soft when shooting out of the box. Fortunatelly one can use program mode to improve sharpness. Still, this should not be necessary.

2. Pictures are unacceptably overexposed in sunny destinations. Again, one can correct this by jacking up the contrast setting in programmed mode. And again, this should not be necessary.

Camera is very heavy if you're used to some of the new slrs with plastic bodies. Nikon, it seems went back to the days of F401, F601 and F801 when cameras where solid built, but at a cost to hikers and travellers. Add to it a good quality zoom lens, with glass optics and solid body and you are facing back ache. Still this is not a complaint, I like a heavy camera, it helps steady a shot. Potential buyers should be aware of this though.

Here comes my biggest issue with Nikon D50. My hobby is night time photography, night scenes, city scapes etc. You set up your tripod, you set up the camera, you shoot. After the shot, the D50 takes 2 minutes to process the picture (this has nothing to do with the speed of the SD card, although you may be interested to know that I am using 150x speed cards, fastest available today). 2 MINUTES!!! You cannot use the cam during this time at all. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!

Just so you don't think I'm here to complain only - battery life is excellent. You can literally go on a 2 week holiday on a single battery charge. Forget about the charger and power cord. Charge the camera before the trip and you're set. Now, isn't that cool? We took about 850 pics, reviewed them, etc, and no drain is shown on the battery. That's progress.

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Are these big problems?
 
Ihaveaquestion said:
I'm spending my student loan money next month on a d50.

I hear good things but I also hear bad about this camera.

First is about the white balance issue?

and then that you cant see the screen at night?




I also found this on amazon.com



Overrated, March 10, 2006
Reviewer: Wendy 1 - See all my reviews
Since so many folks already described the camera I will concentrate on issues I do not like about it:

1. Pictures are unacceptably soft when shooting out of the box. Fortunatelly one can use program mode to improve sharpness. Still, this should not be necessary.

2. Pictures are unacceptably overexposed in sunny destinations. Again, one can correct this by jacking up the contrast setting in programmed mode. And again, this should not be necessary.

Camera is very heavy if you're used to some of the new slrs with plastic bodies. Nikon, it seems went back to the days of F401, F601 and F801 when cameras where solid built, but at a cost to hikers and travellers. Add to it a good quality zoom lens, with glass optics and solid body and you are facing back ache. Still this is not a complaint, I like a heavy camera, it helps steady a shot. Potential buyers should be aware of this though.

Here comes my biggest issue with Nikon D50. My hobby is night time photography, night scenes, city scapes etc. You set up your tripod, you set up the camera, you shoot. After the shot, the D50 takes 2 minutes to process the picture (this has nothing to do with the speed of the SD card, although you may be interested to know that I am using 150x speed cards, fastest available today). 2 MINUTES!!! You cannot use the cam during this time at all. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!

Just so you don't think I'm here to complain only - battery life is excellent. You can literally go on a 2 week holiday on a single battery charge. Forget about the charger and power cord. Charge the camera before the trip and you're set. Now, isn't that cool? We took about 850 pics, reviewed them, etc, and no drain is shown on the battery. That's progress.

Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)





Are these big problems?


My answer to her review would be....... NO!

IMO she is either stupid or just really stupid...(no offence to her..... maybe just a little!).

For a start images would be soft depending on LOTS of things... including your lens...... and the D50 doesn't have issues involving softness than any other DSLR in that price range.
As for being unacceptably overexposed...... ????
The camera isn't especially heavy.
Most camera's may take a liitle longer for long exposures... but im sure she's exagerating.

Overall...... i would read the review from DPreview....google it... they know what they're talking about there..... and yes. i own one... but i'm not being bias... its a decent camera for the money.... many people here shoot with one. :)
 
Camera makers make the assumption that if you have made the jump from a digicam to a dslr you are probably inclined to like to have a bit more control over your images than you have with a digicam. Thus:

1. Pictures are unacceptably soft when shooting out of the box. Fortunatelly one can use program mode to improve sharpness. Still, this should not be necessary.

All dslrs have multiple sharpness settings. You take a test shot, you evaluate the sharpness and you adjust the camera settings as needed. Or, you do it in post processing. Your choice.

2. Pictures are unacceptably overexposed in sunny destinations. Again, one can correct this by jacking up the contrast setting in programmed mode. And again, this should not be necessary.

Again, there are multiple exposure modes and settings, as well as multiple metering modes. When you understand that you can make an informed choice as to what settings work best for a given situation.

Here comes my biggest issue with Nikon D50. My hobby is night time photography, night scenes, city scapes etc. You set up your tripod, you set up the camera, you shoot. After the shot, the D50 takes 2 minutes to process the picture (this has nothing to do with the speed of the SD card, although you may be interested to know that I am using 150x speed cards, fastest available today). 2 MINUTES!!! You cannot use the cam during this time at all. VERY DISAPPOINTING!!!

All dslrs come with a manual of operation. It's advisable to read it. Somewhere in the manual it'll tell you about in-camera noise reduction. Using that feature, the camera takes a second black exposure equal in time to the original shot for the purpose of reducing sensor noise in long exposures. You can turn it off.

Not even going to address "heavy". White balance issue? Every dslr at one time or another has a white balance issue. Most let you set a custom white balance to overcome that.

I'll agree with Archangel- go read the review at dpreview and the forums. I think you'll find that most users are very happy with their D50. And I don't own one. ;)
 
This chick is off her rocker.

I love her saying that the D50 is heavy. Its the one of the lightest DSLR's on the market. And then trying to compare it to some old film bodies is insane. The D50 is feather weight compared to the F100, D200 or any of the Pro bodies film or digital.

The she talks about using a zoom lens with glass optics and all that weight being a problem for hiking. What does she wiegh herself 80lbs? I guess 5lbs of camera equipment is to much. And what kind of lenses is she using that dont normally have glass optics? Obviously shes a P&S girl.

She wants a camera that does everything for her. The D50 or any SLR for that matter is to much camera for her.

To me the most of the fun with photography is getting the camera to do what I want, not putting it in Auto mode and letting it do all the work. It doesnt know what I want any way.

If she would have spent the time to read the manual and test the different settings then she would have realized how to make the camera work for her situation. No auto mode will work for every situation. And that includes white balance.
 
I think it is the best value for the money out there. I often increase the sharpness on the camera. It depends on what I am shooting. I also love the feel and the weight. The Nikon lens that comes with the kit 18-55 3.5-5.6 is also a great value. I'm a former Nikon SLR Film camera buff and I could not be happier with the camera. You can view a few of the first photographs I've taken with the camera (First 60 days) at:
www.mypixelview.blogspot.com
 
I have been using a D50 for a while now and i agree that this chick is crazy. I find it very light, the sharpness is better than the Canon 350d out of the box. It does take a while for low light shots, but not that long.

The D50 is a great camera. If you are considering buying one, you are on the right track.
 
Geez... I'd much rather have some light weight crappy built camera rather than a solidly built one. Heavy? I guess she never packed around an F-2 with a long lens on it.

Go with the D-50.
 
The woman obviously has no concept of how to use her camera. When I go to a location and I'm carrying my lenses, the various cameras and all that other stuff, I consider that heavy. However, the D50 weighs about as much as my 5D, which is a feather compared to my Mark II N or my IV HS.
 

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