D50 vs D70s

[jlupo]

Hello All,

Can someone tell me the difference between the lens that come with the D50 and D70s kits?

The D50 kit comes with :
18-55mm AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
The D70 :
Nikon 28-80mm F/3.3-5.6 G Auto Focus Zoom Lens

I saw a D50 with the D70 lens for $100 less than the 18-55 standard kit.

Lens aside, I'm also interested in opinions on which of these 2 cameras to get.
I currently have a Canon A95.

Thanks

Jay

[Riley]

u can do almost everything u need with D50
theres a lot to grow with with a D50

did u mean D70s or D70 ?
the 's' has a larger LCD screen, also brighter and better menus
and more advanced functions
not sure what the price difference is in your area
D50 is older and rumoured about to be superceded

Id take either but, I like the D70s more
I wouldnt bother with a D70

Riley

[Prospero]

There are only a couple of features of the D70s that the D-50 is lacking. Here are some of them:

The D70s has a lighted LCD on top of the camera, which can be handy when taking pictures at night.
The D70s has a built-in wireless commander mode for Nikon Speedlights, so you can use a speedlight off-camera.
With a D70 you can use shutterspeeds faster of 1/8000s (1/4000 is the maximum of the D50). You probably will never need this, though.
The D50 has no white-balance finetuning.
There's no viewfinder grid in the viewfinder of the D50
There's only one command dial on the D50 to set the exposure (can be annoying when using manual mode).
You cannot adjust the ISO with 1/3th stops on the D-50.However, the D50 also has some advantages over the D70. It is lighter, more compact, there's an auto ISO mode and the high ISO performance of the D50 is slightly better than that of the D70. Furthermore, most people would never use the features that the D70 has over the D50.

Whatever your decision, do not go for the 28-80 lens. From what I have heard, the lens is pretty bad. Also, due to the crop factor of Nikon DSLRs (The focal length must be multiplied with 1.5), the lens has a field of view starting at 42 mm. This means that you would hardly have a wide angle. For that matter, the 18-55 would be a much better lens to start with. While its build quality is quite bad, it is optically pretty good and will give sharp results (especially when smaller appertures are used).

[jlupo]

Thanks for the responses.

I was in a local camera shot this weekend and was told the D50 and D70s have both been taken out of production. This place said they would not be getting any more D50's in and that he had 25 D70s's on back order, but did not know if he would actually get any. I know other places have D50 in stock, but I'm wondering if I should wait and see what Nikon comes out with in way of a sub $1k dlsr. An 8mp D80 light maybe. Has anyone heard any roomers?

Thanks

[tygersclaw]

Hmmmmmm..........not sure where you are, but in Canada the kit lens for the D70s is the 18 - 70mm Nikkor which is excellent!! I believe the 18 - 70mm is also the kit lens for the USA as well.

Add the 55 - 200mm and a 50mm 1.8 and you would be set as far as a nice starter package is concerned.

btw...when I bought my D70s, I also looked at the D50 and I liked the feel of the D70s better as well as the added features it has.

Either way, D50 or the D70s are both winners. But then, so I have heard is the D80 which is also in the same price area as the D70s.

[Prospero]

Thanks for the responses.

I was in a local camera shot this weekend and was told the D50 and D70s have both been taken out of production. This place said they would not be getting any more D50's in and that he had 25 D70s's on back order, but did not know if he would actually get any. I know other places have D50 in stock, but I'm wondering if I should wait and see what Nikon comes out with in way of a sub $1k dlsr. An 8mp D80 light maybe. Has anyone heard any roomers?

Thanks

For as far as I know, the D50 is still in production. There have been rumours that the D50 will be replaced shortly, but none of them were very specific. I expect it will take at least a couple of months, if not longer, before there is a replacement on the market.

While it is always nice to have the newest product available, you should remember that the D50 will not start taking worse pictures after a succesor has been anounced. Keep in mind that during the months in which you delay your purchase you may come across many great photo opportunities. Also, the quality of the lenses has a much greater influence on the image quality than the camera itself, so it is better to save money on the body and invest that in lenses (in my opinion).

Tygersclaw, you're right, in almost every country the 18-70 is the kitlens of the D70s. However, to get rid of kitlenses of the 35mm era, many companies bundle the D70s with lenses such as the 28-80.

I agree with Tygersclaw's lens recommendations, except that instead of the 55-200 I would opt for the Sigma 70-300. This lens is quite a bit sharper, has more reach and has a very nice macro mode as a bonus.