I’m prevaricating on buying a digital SLR. I have been for over a year. I’m pretty sure I know what I want, but I’ve been prevaricating so long that it’s now become hard to get hold of.
I’m pretty sure that I want a Nikon D50. I’m tied to Nikon because I have an old F65 (which hasn’t been out of the house for years) and I still have some Nikkor AF lenses that I’d like to continue to use.
But the D50 seems to have been discontinued and replaced by the Nikon D40 – which is cheaper than the D50. So why not buy that, you ask. Well, because the D40 has had the on-camera autofocus motor removed, so that my old AF lenses won’t autofocus on that body.
I’m looking on Ebay. And it seems that I can a D50 with its standard 18-55mm lense for about £300. That would seem to be the best answer to this problem.
Except.
I’m off to New Zealand in ten days time. That’s going to be photogenic, so I definitely want the camera before I get there. But we’re stopping in Singapore on the way to New Zealand, so there’s a chance that I could pick up something in Sim Lim Square. But will they have a D50? And, if they do, how much will it cost? Can I get one cheaper on Ebay?
Or should I just go straight for a D80?
Dave,As a very happy D70 owner, I’d say hold them and see. The D40x can feel a little small and “toy” and it has fewer buttons and dials to hand. The D80 will feel more substantial and has two thumb/finger wheels and more buttons to save you diving into the menus.And megapixels mean nothing.What lenses do you have? Zoom or prime?
Mostly zoom. But one or two of them are prime (I think – been a while since I looked in the bag).
Go for the D80 Dave. You know you want to ;-)
My current favourite idea is to buy a D70 from eBay. They aren’t that much more expensive than the D50s.
I went to New Zealand last year, it was really great. I’m not much of a fan of taking pictures though, I find you can spend too much time messing around. I’d rather just enjoy it while I’m there.Still, I’m sure you’ll have a great time!