Just bought a Nikon D50

[Joel]

As the topic title says, I've just got back from the local camera store with a D50 in my hands - thanks to my boss and his generous Christmas bonus

I know it's the cheapest D-SLR around at the moment, and I only have the cheapest 18-55 and 70-300 lenses, but it is still a big step up from my old Fuji compact with its limited zoom and annoying shutter lag.

So now I have 4 or 5 months to learn how to use it properly and practise my panning technique before I go back to the 'Ring....

[5vz-fe]

Congrats =) Looking forward to see some sample pics

[TT]

Congrats! It's for sure a good camera! I wonder how long you'll resist with the 70-300 do you have steady hands?

[nthfinity]

Great camera Joel! im looking forward to your future ring' shots
the D50 is a very versitale camera... tell us your opinion of the 'cheap' 70-300 lens... i know my cheap one is utter crap TBH

[sikx5]

Good stuff there dude, you wont be disappointed, just practise away, you can only get better

[MartijnGizmo]

Originally Posted by TT Congrats! It's for sure a good camera! I wonder how long you'll resist with the 70-300 do you have steady hands?

Remember that Nikon doens't offer a consumer-70-300-IS..... Next best thing would be a 70-200 VR at over €1400.....

[Joel]

Originally Posted by TT Congrats! It's for sure a good camera! I wonder how long you'll resist with the 70-300 do you have steady hands?

Well I guess I don't have steady hands

I haven't taken too many shots yet as its been far from ideal conditions - flat grey midwinter light, and these last few days wet and windy too . But I have done enough to realise that the basic 70-300 is next to useless in these conditions. It reacts very poorly to low light and really needs a tripod to produce a steady image.

My next investment I think will be the new 18-200 VR lens. It has enough range that it should be the only lens I need for the time being, and has the second gen VR technology so should hopefully help to eliminate the camera shake. It looks good value too - should be able to cover half the cost by selling my current 2 lenses.

Here's a couple of shots I managed to take while the cat was sitting still. I tried to take some more in the garden but everytime was getting myself set up in position she just came running up to me to see what I was doing before I could shoot anything

[5vz-fe]

First off, nice cat Joel.

Back to the photos, there seems to be a bit of noise in the shaded area, is it possible to also provide the ISO, focal length, shutter speed and aperature? The image is decently sharp. Can't really judge the softness on the edge coz of the content of the picture...but can't wait to see more samples from you. Thanks for the good work Joel.

[Joel]

Both shots were taken with the 70-300 lens (without any filter) at ISO 1600. This probably accounts for the noise you can see; because it was fairly low light and I was shooting without a tripod I wanted to try and keep the shutter speed as high as possible.

Shot 1 was at 170mm, F4.8, 1/30sec.
Shot 2 was at 122mm, F4.2, 1/40sec.

I shot nearly 60 frames trying different settings, and ended up with maybe half-a-dozen that are worth keeping.

[5vz-fe]

Thanks alot for the info =) That really does explains the noise.

Hey...10% of the shots are worth keeping is still pretty good ratio, especially when u are switching from a point and shoot camera.

[sentra_dude]

Sweet camera Joel! 8)

So, I've finally got the cash together, and I'm really close to getting an SLR, my choice is also the Nikon D50 kit with the 18-55mm...is that 18-55mm a good choice? I don't want or need a fancy lens, so I think the 18-55mm is good, any comments?

Also, what size memory card would you guys suggest? I am thinking 256mb, that would give about 100-110(?) pics at a high quality, and a 110 pics is plenty for me.

2.3-2.5mb a pic, is that about right Joel? Thanks.

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by sentra_dude Sweet camera Joel! 8) So, I've finally got the cash together, and I'm really close to getting an SLR, my choice is also the Nikon D50 kit with the 18-55mm...is that 18-55mm a good choice? I don't want or need a fancy lens, so I think the 18-55mm is good, any comments? Also, what size memory card would you guys suggest? I am thinking 256mb, that would give about 100-110(?) pics at a high quality, and a 110 pics is plenty for me. 2.3-2.5mb a pic, is that about right Joel? Thanks.

id recomend no less then 512, and always record in the highest quality mode... you can always resize later.

the 18-55mm are great for close to medium distances... its good for wide angle shots. definately the lens i use 70% of the time or so.

[5vz-fe]

oh, don't forget to go for highspeed CF, not the ones with 40x / non-rated. When u are doing continous shots, speed of the CF is very important.