Nikon D50By: Dave Etchells and Shawn BarnettNikon develops an "entry-level" SLR loaded with features for less than $750. (Body only) <<Features Overview :(Previous) | (Next): Viewfinder>> Page 6:DesignReview First Posted: 05/20/2005, Updated: 08/10/2005 |
Design
With a very similar appearance to the Nikon D70, the D50 is slightly simpler in appearance and noticeably smaller in size. (As I've mentioned elsewhere, the D50 really seems to be a camera crafted to fit "family" requirements, easier to use than its big brothers, and easier to hold for people with smaller hands.) The camera is quite attractive, built of a black polycarbonate body with red, silver, and gray accents, and also comes in a silver body style as well. Anyone familiar with Nikon's film or digital cameras will appreciate the similarity of most controls on the D50. The body's plastic body shell and smaller size are responsible for its low weight of 19 ounces, or 540 grams stripped of battery, lens, body cap, and monitor cover. With the battery and a memory card installed, it weighs in at 22.1 ounces (626 grams), just slightly lighter than the original D70.
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Nikon D70 |
Nikon D50 |
Canon Digital Rebel XT |
The shot above should help you get an idea of the differences in size between the D50, the D70 (the new D70s has the same body as the D70 shown here), and the Canon Digital Rebel XT. As you can see, the D50 is noticeably smaller than the D70, but not nearly as small as the Rebel XT. How you feel about that will likely depend a lot on your hand size. Both the D50 and Rebel XT have clearly been designed with women's hands in mind, as they're both much more comfortable for people with smaller hands to grip than their larger brethren. On the flip side though, these smaller cameras may feel uncomfortable to people with larger hands. That's certainly been my own experience with the Rebel XT: While I like it's features and photo quality a great deal, it's one of the most absolutely maddening cameras to use of any I've tested. - The XT's handgrip is just too darned small for my hands, with the result that my fingertips and fingernails get mashed into the camera body when I'm shooting with it. In similar fashion, I don't find the D50 nearly as comfortable as the D70, but it isn't as outright uncomfortable as the XT is for me. All in all, I think the D50 is a good compromise, size-wise, for a camera that might be used by people with both large and small hands. (Hence, an excellent choice as a "family" camera, that would be used by Mom, Dad, and the kids.)
The metal F-style lens mount is the Nikon D50's most prominent feature, and certainly one of its most valuable, offering compatibility with a massive array of quality Nikkor lenses. A D-shaped button just left of the lens serves to release the lens lock. (All directions are noted as if reader were holding the camera face out.) Below this, a switch facing off to the left chooses between AF and Manual focus modes. Above the lens release button is the flash pop-up button, which also controls the sync mode and flash exposure compensation. The AF assist light is on the opposite side of the lens.
The Depth of Field Preview button has been removed on the D50, for those more familiar with the D70. Also missing from the D50 is the sub-command dial that the D70 sported, on the front of the hand grip, just below the shutter button. To my mind, this makes the D50's user interface a bit more convoluted, when you need to set both shutter speed and aperture (as in Manual exposure mode), but the users the D50 is intended for will most likely be making much less use of the deeper levels of exposure control that the sub-dial facilitated.
The right side of the camera has only the neck strap eyelet and the SD memory card slot. The card slot features a plastic door that slides toward the rear panel before opening.
The left side of the D50 has the other neckstrap eyelet and a rubber door covering DC in, USB, and Video Out ports. Here you also get a better look at the AF/Manual focus selector switch and the Flash pop-up button.
On top we see the pop-up flash and hot shoe, both in-line with the lens. To the right of the flash head and shoe is the Status LCD. Most of the status information visible in the viewfinder is available here, plus a few extras. Many features can be set here via button/dial combinations without having to enter the main menu, an excellent benefit as you become more familiar with the camera. On this side of the camera we also have the Shutter button, surrounded by the power switch. The Self-Timer button is just behind that, and next to it is the Exposure Compensation button. Left of the flash is the Mode dial, which can be turned in any direction, without limit. (Nice that you don't have to turn a long ways backward to get between some settings, as some other cameras force you to do.)
The rear panel holds the camera's remaining controls. Eyeglass wearers will appreciate the reasonable standoff of the viewfinder, as well as its rubber eye cup. A sliding diopter correction control is nestled to the right of the viewfinder. Just left of center is the 2.0-inch LCD (minus the protective cover previously included on the D70). Upper left of the LCD is the Shooting mode button. Down the left side of the screen are the Playback, Menu, ISO/Thumbnail, White Balance/Protect/Help, and Image Quality/Size/Enter/Zoom buttons. Above right of the screen are the Auto Exposure/Auto Focus Lock button and the Command dial. Below these are the Multi selector navigator and the Delete button.
The bottom panel has slightly raised ribs traversing it, to provide better friction when mounted on a tripod head. Otherwise, it's very flat, making for nice, level mounting on tripods. The metal tripod mount is aligned with the optical axis of the lens. (This will somewhat simplify parallax control on shots to be stitched into panoramas, but note that you'll still need to offset the axis of rotation slightly forward, to position it under the optical center of whatever lens you're using.) The battery compartment is on the right side of the body. A thumbnail-activated lock releases the battery door, and the battery pops loose slightly. A nice touch here is that the battery won't just drop out onto the floor, even though there is no sub-latch to keep it in place once the door opens. It will pop out perhaps 3/4 inch or so, but then encounters a little by-design resistance from the walls of the battery compartment. It takes a purposeful tug to remove it. Opposite the battery compartment on the left side (when viewed from the back) is a very tiny rubber Reset button to be used as a last resort, when the camera cannot be reset by other means.
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