Nikon D50

Seven worry-free scene modes augmented by a serviceable set of manual controls and advanced focusing options make this inexpensive Nikon digital SLR camera a viable alternative to the popular D70s. The family-oriented Nikon D50, which includes a kid-friendly Child mode that brightens colors while retaining accurate skin tones, joins the Pentax *ist DL, the Konica Minolta Dynax 5D, and the Canon EOS 350D in the entry-level dSLR arena.

Bargain-hunting digital-SLR consumers will find a few features missing from the D70s's array, including a 1/8,000-second top shutter speed, a depth-of-field preview, and a second command dial; also, the kit lens has about 25 percent less telephoto reach: 27mm to 82.5mm vs. 27mm to 105mm (35mm-camera equivalent). But improved image-processing algorithms give the junior Nikon SLR better noise characteristics at ISO settings up to 1600 and offer gentler treatment of highlights. Budding shutterbugs looking for fast operation coupled with useful features such as a robust burst mode, accurate exposure metering, and iTTL electronic flash control (both internal and external) will find a lot to like about this budget digital SLR contender.

Experienced photographers seeking a backup Nikon camera body might be better off spending a few hundred dollars more for the Nikon D70s. The D50's reliance on SD/MMC media instead of CompactFlash requires an investment in two memory card formats, and multiple differences in the control layout, including the absent subcommand dial, a cursor-pad function swap during playback, and a lack of backlighting for the control panel, complicate switching back and forth.

Design
Although the bodies of the Nikon D70s and D50 tip the scales within a few grams of each other, the D50's AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18mm-to-55mm F3.5-to-F5.6G ED kit lens, furnished without a lens hood, is a featherweight compared with the kit optics of the 18mm-to-70mm D70. It accounts for most of the roughly 283g difference (850g vs. 1,133g) when the duo are each fully loaded with lens, battery, and memory card. At 133 x 102 x 76mm, the Nikon D50 is about 10mm narrower and shorter than its pricier stablemate but roughly the same thickness.

The mode dial provides quick access to both manual exposure and an array of automated settings.

On top of the camera you'll find the status LCD, the shutter release, the power switch, and the exposure-compensation and self-timer buttons.

The feel of the D50's molded plastic body in your hands belies its bargain price. Although it's solid and balanced enough for one-handed shooting, you'll probably hold it like a traditional SLR, supporting the left side of the camera with two fingers curled around the zoom ring while your right hand clasps the grip. With your right index finger poised over the shutter-release button, it's easy to spin the command dial with your thumb.

The control layout can be initially vexing to those who have used other Nikon SLRs. The single command dial's exposure functions change depending on the mode in use, so you'll need to practice switching gears if you're set on shooting with your eye glued to the viewfinder.

In shutter-priority and manual mode, the dial adjusts shutter speed. To set the aperture in manual mode, you must hold down an EV/aperture button next to the shutter release while spinning the dial. When you're using aperture-priority, the same dial adjusts the F-stop; in the programmed automatic exposure mode, it selects alternate shutter speed and aperture combinations that produce the same exposure. In the programmed, aperture-priority, and shutter-priority modes, the EV button transforms the dial into an exposure-compensation control (plus or minus 5EV in 1/2EV or 1/3EV steps).

The autoexposure and autofocus lock button, the command dial, the four-way controller for navigating menus, and the delete button are within easy reach of the right hand.

Buttons for accessing continuous shooting, ISO, white balance, quality settings, and playback controls are lined up on the left of the camera back.

Changes for the better include assigning the controls for switching between single shot, burst mode, self-timer, and infrared remote to two different buttons. Single shot and burst options can be command-dialed in by pressing a button just left of the viewfinder window (the same location as on the D70s), while self-timer and remote functions are adjusted with a button on the handgrip that replaces the matrix/center-weighted/spot-metering control found on this camera's higher-end sibling. It's no pain to use the menu system to set metering mode or bracketing options (which also get a dedicated key on the D70s), but we really missed the depth-of-field button and top-panel LCD backlight. We took to carrying a penlight along on nighttime shoots while testing the D50.

Most of the other controls have the same convenient layout as on the D70s. The top panel houses a flip-up flash unit topped with an external flash hot shoe protected by a slide-off cover; there's also a mode dial with the traditional M/A/S/P choices and seven scene modes. These include the no-brainer Auto setting plus Landscape, Sports, Night Portrait, Portrait, Close-Up, and Child, which replaces the Night Landscape mode found on the D70s.

Arrayed around the back panel's 130,000-pixel, 2.0-inch color LCD (which lacks the removable protective plastic cover found on other Nikon dSLRs) are additional dedicated buttons for common functions such as playback, menu access, ISO, white balance, and quality (resolution) settings. Most of these buttons have alternate functions in playback mode, letting you cycle through full-screen and four- or nine-thumbnail views, zoom in on a user-selectable portion of a reviewed image, or protect a shot from accidental erasure. The left and right keys on the cursor pad let you scroll through individual images; the up and down keys change the type of shooting information displayed (including a useful histogram). These functions are reversed from the D70s, which can be disconcerting if you use both cameras.

The back panel also includes a delete key and an exposure/focus-lock button to the right of a diopter-correction slider that's effectively blocked from accidental adjustment by the new, larger, and more securely attached DK-20 eyecup.

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