# Nikon D50 Problem Should I Upgrade??



## marmisto (Jan 1, 2009)

Help!

my trusty d50 is now playing up and only takes pics when it feels like it - has been dropped and bumped in past.

is there a way to get these fixed that is economic - when i had my last digital repair it was more than the camera - or should i bite the bullet and get an upgrade? i'm not a professional user though i like good easy shooting, need clarity and reliability for my work reports and it's not too precious that i won't let my teenagers be 'official photographer' on days out.

i fancy a d80, but as i never seem to take full resolution pics, would a d70 be as good?

where is the best [cheapest] place to buy from?

looking forward to some good advice - cheers chris!!!


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## thedburgess (May 15, 2009)

First of all buy Canon! Only joking personal preference and all that.

I also got my last camera repaired for a hell of a lot of money and could have bought a second hand one for cheaper.

Do you use all lenses(wide angle, telephoto, macro etc or is it just the same lens you have on all the time. If so at least you will only need to buy the body if you stick to the same range but a lot depends on what pictures you are taking.

The D70 would probably be suitable enough for you. I think it has around 6 megapixels and the d80 has ten but its not all about the no of pixels its about the sensor and whatever nikon you get will have a good sensor and be more than satisfactory.

If you go for the d80 maybe you could possibly think about getting it insured aswell


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## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

No no, buy Pentax, much more reliable than Canon! (he he!) More joking, honest 

To be frank it will be probably be cheaper to replace than repair, there are lots of second hand places around, may be worth googling for a D70, see what comes up. I've been looking at SRS Microsystems for Pentax gear but they also stock Nikon, they seem to be recommended a lot on one of the photography forums I visit, may be worth a look.

Hope you get sorted soon


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## Tom Radford (Apr 28, 2009)

D50 is an excellent camera, but it is classed as old hat nowadays, as are the D70 and D80. They are both great cameras, but you might want to consider the D90, as it has the new gen. technology and will outstand you at high ISO's compared to the D50 etc.

Depends on your budget really. I'd pick a D80 over a D70 if you were to go down that road.

It would pretty much be certain to be cheaper to replace than repair.


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

I have a D50 still, as it uses both the SD cards of which I have many, and my older lenses.

That said, it is getting a bit long in the tooth, and will need replacing soon.

As I/we will also need to buy new lenses, (D50 lenses won't work on later Nikon bodies) I have been considering the Sony Alpha 200.

I have used one and the quality is excellent.

In addition, the ability to use a whole rake of older Minolta lenses is attractive.

If you have a number of existing lenses, it may be worth buying a D40 body (even a used one?) which can use them.


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## Tom Radford (Apr 28, 2009)

chris l said:


> I have a D50 still, as it uses both the SD cards of which I have many, and my older lenses.
> 
> That said, it is getting a bit long in the tooth, and will need replacing soon.
> 
> ...


The D50 shares the F mount with all Nikon bodies, meaning any Nikon camera can use any Nikon lens.

The only problem you may face is if you get a camera like the D40 or D60 that doesnt have an internal focus motor. The D50 does have this, therefore it is compatible with all Nikon lenses apart from a few of the really old ones. This means unless you have a AF-S or HSM lenses, you will only be able to manual focus. Also on some of the Nikon bodies, you wont have metering support, but you can still manually expose.

I still have lenses I used on my D50, and I now use them on my D200, D700 and D90.

So your D50 lenses will work fine on any Nikon SLR, you just may not have autofocus, depending on the body and the type of lens.


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## Blapto (Mar 7, 2006)

To add to the above, The D5000 is lumped in with the D40 and D60 with regards to the autofocus restrictions.

Don't forget, with the Nikon D200 and above you have full features on old Nikon lenses as well (exceptions follow). Below the D200 you can still mount them, but you do not get metering. For something like product photography, you don't really need metering. I use a handheld light meter most of the time no matter what camera I use.

OK, exceptions. You can't safely mount non-AI lenses. You can try, you might succeed, you might damage the camera. You can't mount intrusive lenses, like the old fisheyes that required full time mirror up. In short, buy AI, AIS or any AF lenses and you'll be a happy man on the D200, 300, 700, 1, 2 and 3. The AI and AIS lenses will mount but not meter on the D5000, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100.

The non-AI lenses will mount but will not meter on the D5000, 40, 60.

Basically, buy AI, AIS or any variant of AF and you'll be able to talk photos with any Nikon body you're likely to buy today. You may or may not get metering, but it may or may not matter.


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## marmisto (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks for all that advice people!

I have just got a good condition D70s body for Â£100, which I think is a good deal - fits all my lenses and have bought Camera Armor to protect it .

Quality of pics is good enough for me and I don't have to learn any new tricks so I'm a happy bunny. 

Chris


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## Odo (Mar 22, 2009)

Glad to hear!

nice to see you can use your old glass. As I progress at this camera thing, its becoming clear that lenses make more difference than bodies ( to some extent !!) 

have fun anyhow.

Paul


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## Tom Radford (Apr 28, 2009)

Odo said:


> Glad to hear!
> 
> nice to see you can use your old glass. As I progress at this camera thing, its becoming clear that lenses make more difference than bodies ( to some extent !!)
> 
> ...


Very true and also a good lens wont really loose its value, whilst even the best camera bodies will over time.

Look at some of the old Nikon lenses around. They cost more now than they did when they were first produced.

Todays future "classic" lenses I imagine will be the Nikon 70-200vr f/2.8 and the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 amongst others.

I sold my 70-200vr for more than I payed for it not long ago!


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## Blapto (Mar 7, 2006)

Sounda like a great deal!

Unless you're making huge enlargements, you don't need more megapixels, and for general photography the D70 has more than enough features.


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