My most recent toy

For years and years I was also the photo guy. People would always ask me "hey Goo where's your Camera" and I never knew how to reply. Should I have made some silly statements like "I'm here to have a good time", or "camera WHO?:-)". Maybe I should have said the real reason "I'm sick of taking photographs"? Well that has changed in a pretty major way with the advent of good and (relatively) cheap D-SLR's. I'll tell you, I looked for about a year and was deciding between an all in one camera like a Fuji finepix 5200
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Fujifilm/fuji_finepixs5200z.asp and a proper Digital SLR . What I found out was that while I loved the "all in oneness" of this camera, good megapixels, great zoom range, and even a great price. I found out that they didn't offer the expandability OR the picture quality of a proper Digital SLR.

This is the great camera I ended up with http://nikon.ca/products/d50/

I would have liked to have told you how I ended up with a Minolta 5d digital SLR instead of the Nikon, but it wasn't much before I got serious about my intentions that Konica/Minolta decided to stop making digital cameras and have pretty much pulled out of Canada.

I really wish I could have remained a "Minolta man"!!

Now if I played my cards right I would have waited a few more weeks. WHY? Sony introduced a camera based largely on the 5D, including Minolta's antishake, and antidust technology, and using a 10 megapixel sensor ... mine only has 6. the abundant availability of good quality Minolta glass(lens) was also a plus

Sony's new camera is the the A100 http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dslra100.asp

So why did I end up with the D50 over a new/used D70-70s or another camera? It's pretty simple, with digital technology moving ahead at a breakneck pace it didn't make sense to buy a more expensive unit that I've end up replacing in 2 years. Also the D50 has "out of the box" better image quality that either the d70/d70s. Sure, you lose a couple of features(depth of feild preview, a little better flash capabilties, a few more dedicated buttons, and a couple extra accessories, but you gain a better handling camera, with less digital noise, and you save $200+...Remember, put you money towards lenses ..... something you won't need to replace in a year.

As for why I didn't pick something like a Pentax ist or a Canon digital Rebel? Well that was pretty simple really. Firstly, the Pentax cameras have very little support among avid photographers and aren't reviewed anywhere as well as their Nikon counterpart. They also lack in "keeping up" with technology like Nikon does. As for the Digital Rebel, well that was a little tougher. The Rebel has a resolution advantage(10 vs 6 megapixels), and some of the best lens on the market. The real problem I had was the Rebel felt really cheap when I held it, that and the fact that I could never afford Canon's top glass kept me from buying the Rebel.

So,was it expensive?? Well I guess that's all relative. I was lucky enough to get a NEW U.s. version shipped to me door for about $620 everything included, and before you ask NO, the lens was included for that price. I knew the weak point of the D50 "kit" was the lens, so I hunted around and bought a used 18-70 from a Nikon d70 kit for $230.

Add a memory card or 2, and a UV filter and you're off to the races.

I did find 1 problem, and that came when I went to the Durham highland games. I really could have used a longer lens for a few of the band shots. I guess that's my next purchase and it looks like I'll be trying a cheaper alternative to Nikon glass, a Sigma 70-300 APO DG f4.5-5.6. Most consumer level digital SLR's use a smaller image sensor that multiplies a lens focal length, my D50 has a multiplication factor of 1.5. So my 18-70 is actually a 27-105mm, while the 70-300 becomes a 105-450. That should be enough reach for now, that is unless I go for a higher quality lens, but they start at $1000+ OUCH

Do I love my camera .... you bet.... see the unedited picture below.


It's a start, but I really need to figure out Photoshop!