Nikon N50. Good camera?

[slrfan]

It sounds like you may be new to SLR photography, am I right? I'm not familiar with the N50, but I gather it's a manual film camera (and a free Nikon to boot, lucky you!).
I can't think of a better tool to LEARN. Maybe take a few lessons, most good camera shops offer them, or get a good book (again check the camera shop) at the very least "Read The Manual", and start taking pictures. When trying something new, keep a log of what you did ( f-stop, speed, lens type, lighting conditions etc.) and try a few different settings to see the different effects. Before you know it you'll be taking quality pictures on purpose. DSLR's are great, but for learing the art of photography, manual SLR is still the best tool out there.
So thank your brother, buy some film and most important, have fun!