Nikon D50 review

Performance
The Nikon D50 delivers all the digital-SLR performance you'd expect, from its 0.6-second wake-up time to first shot to its picture-a-second single-shot mode, which snaps off images as fast as you can press the shutter release, slowing to just 1.2 seconds between shots with flash. In burst mode, the camera snapped off four full-resolution JPEG Fine shots in 1.4 seconds -- a hair better than its rated 2.5fps speed -- and when ratcheted down to the lowest 1,504x1,000-pixel resolution and maximum JPEG compression, it recorded pictures continuously until our finger tired two minutes and 200 photos later. As on the D70s, a counter in the viewfinder tracks the number of shots that can be recorded in the remaining buffer space, providing continual updates as photos are written to the SD/MMC card.

The D50 comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Shutter lag was minimal at 0.35 second under high-contrast lighting conditions, and the white autofocus-assist lamp kicked in under more challenging low-contrast lighting to keep autofocus delay manageable at 0.9 seconds.

The pentamirror view through the reflex viewfinder isn't as big and bright as some competitors', such as the ones in the Pentax *ist lineup, but it provides 95 per cent frame coverage. Like other Nikon consumer digital SLRs, the D50 uses a viewfinder that lags the competition by providing only 0.75x magnification with a 50mm lens mounted; 0.8x or more is typical. The viewfinder also has a relatively short 18mm eye point -- the maximum distance from the viewfinder at which you can see a clear image. If you wear glasses, that might be a consideration. The D50 viewfinder also lacks the optional alignment grid available with the D70s, but it adds Low Battery and No Card overlays to the picture area, where they're not easily overlooked.

Image quality
Although the Nikon D50's chief competitors are 6-megapixel digital SLR cameras from Konica Minolta and Pentax, its image quality competes with that of 8-megapixel rivals such as the Olympus Evolt E-300 and the Canon EOS 350D. Indeed, this camera's reduced visual noise, improved highlight detail and vivid colours -- thanks to its default sRGB colour space -- outshine the image quality of the D70s in some respects.

We were surprised at the generally good quality provided by the budget 18mm-to-55mm kit lens, which despite its light weight and plastic external components -- including a polymer lens mount -- features ED (low-dispersion) optical elements and smooth Silent Wave Motor focus. It delivered sharp images with moderate chromatic aberration (chiefly some cyan fringing around the edges of backlit subjects) and little distortion at the edges. The D50 performed even better when we attached the 18mm-to-70mm f/3.5-to-f/4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor lens most often purchased in a kit with the D70s, and it excelled with the very expensive and highly touted 17mm-to-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor.

Our images had good exposure and dynamic range. Compared to the D70s, the Nikon D50 tended to produce brighter images with improved highlights, although blown-out bright areas still plagued it. Colours were accurate and neutral, but the warm tones produced under incandescent illumination had us wishing for some of the colour-temperature-tweaking tools that other Nikon digital SLRs provide. Flash pictures looked especially good, with even illumination, as the D50's flash coverage has been widened to encompass the field of view of an 18mm lens. We saw excellent red-eye reduction and none of the magenta cast that sometimes afflicts flesh tones in flash pictures.

Edited by Aimee Baldridge
Additional editing by Nick Hide