Current D50 owner thinking of upgrading to a D90... Advice please

[devincco]

Hey everyone

I’ve been thinking of upgrading to a Nikon D90. I currently own a Nikon D50 with the 18-55 non-vr kit lens, and a 70-300 G series lens and I have been pretty happy with it. My only real gripes are the lack of true SDHC support (cards over 2GB in size), and the 2.5fps. The SDHC isn’t really an issue anymore as I have purchased a few 2GB cards. But having a larger card would be nice. The 2.5fps tends to be a bit slow. My son is now walking and getting into more things, so I think the higher fps would be helpful. But again, it’s not a real deal breaker. I’m just wondering if there are any real major advantages of upgrading to a D90 over the D50. I don’t really care about the Live View or the Video capabilities of the D90 so those points are mute in my book. Or should I look into getting a couple of better lenses like an 18-108-VR (the one the D90 comes with), or the 18-200-VR and a 50mm lens, and then upgrade the body in a couple of years when the DXX or whatever it is comes out. Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? Thanks!!

 

[I'm a Mac]

I'd say go for the D90. It's really a great camera. There's a deal going on (I think it might be from Nikon) that you can get the nikon 18-105 and the 70-300 for less, which would seem like a good combo for you. Or, get the body only, and get an 18-200, which IMO is a better and more practical lens than the 18-105. The D90 is supposed to be so good, that the picture quality is better than the D300....although the d300 is more suited for all-day shooting.

 

[TheReef]

Consider getting a faster f2.8 zoom lens, it will probably do more for your pictures than a few fps will in this situation.
Or even consider an f1.4 50mm prime for really low light.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Consider getting a faster f2.8 zoom lens, it will probably do more for your pictures than a few fps will in this situation.
Or even consider an f1.4 50mm prime for really low light.

I'm going to second this recommendation. The D90 is a great camera, but some of its more compelling features are of no interest to you. A faster lens will make a far greater difference than fps, especially if you're shooting indoors a lot.

 

[whoathere]

does the d50 autofocus the 50mm? i have the 50mm f/1.8 and a d40. I'll be upgrading soon, possibly a d200, but maybe a d90. My biggest gripe is the lack of support for lenses. MF isn't too bad, but it does take some getting used to and a lot of shots can either be missed or turn out terrible without the autofocus. Not sure if this is a problem on the d50 or not tho.

 

[Phrasikleia]

does the d50 autofocus the 50mm?

Yes. The D50 has a motor, so it can auto-focus Nikkor AF lenses (unlike the D40, which has no motor of its own and therefore relies on the lenses that contain motors for auto-focus).

 

[pdxflint]

I'd have to agree with the idea of using the money for better glass. The fps issue shouldn't really make that much difference if you try to time your shots more precisely. Besides, just shoot lots of shots. You'll nail a few. Relying on fast fps is sort of hit and miss anyway - lots of stuff happens between each .2 second that can still get missed on 5 fps.

If you still want a more advanced body with more controls at your fingertips, consider the D80 instead of the D90. For still shots it's virtually identical image quality.

I'm still thinking faster lenses is the trick.

 

[OreoCookie]

The most important improvement is the viewfinder and not any of the other things you have listed. This may very well be a legitimate reason to upgrade. The D80 has a similarly large viewfinder and can be had for less.

Regarding glass, I agree with the general sentiment, although I would probably look into getting a D80 and better glass. Tamron's 17-50 f/2.8 is a lens with very good price-performance that gives you a lot more creative freedom.

 

[cube]

You can use SD (not SDHC) cards larger than 2GB if you format them properly out of the camera. No warranty.

 

[devincco]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I think I'm going to lean towards investing in some better lenses. Now this might be a loaded question, but can anyone suggest a couple of good lenses. I'm definitely thinking of the Nikon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4. How about some others? I'd like a good "all-in-one" for everyday shooting.

The other thing I'm thinking of investing in is a flash. I currently just use the pop-up flash as it's done the job. I'm thinking that may help with some of my indoor photos as well. Thoughts?

 

[Regis27]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I think I'm going to lean towards investing in some better lenses. Now this might be a loaded question, but can anyone suggest a couple of good lenses. I'm definitely thinking of the Nikon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4. How about some others? I'd like a good "all-in-one" for everyday shooting.

The other thing I'm thinking of investing in is a flash. I currently just use the pop-up flash as it's done the job. I'm thinking that may help with some of my indoor photos as well. Thoughts?

Nikon 50mm 1.8 (low-light, all-around)
SB600 flash (indoors)
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (all-around)

These three would transform your shooting much more than a d50-d90 jump. IMHO.

 

[compuwar]

The other thing I'm thinking of investing in is a flash. I currently just use the pop-up flash as it's done the job. I'm thinking that may help with some of my indoor photos as well. Thoughts?

Starting with balanced fill and adjusting from there should help immensely. I'd go with an SB-600 and perhaps a cord/bracket to get it off the lens axis. Though if you can shoot it into the ceiling, you may not need a bracket.

 

[KevinP]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies. I think I'm going to lean towards investing in some better lenses. Now this might be a loaded question, but can anyone suggest a couple of good lenses. I'm definitely thinking of the Nikon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4. How about some others? I'd like a good "all-in-one" for everyday shooting.

The other thing I'm thinking of investing in is a flash. I currently just use the pop-up flash as it's done the job. I'm thinking that may help with some of my indoor photos as well. Thoughts?

I have the 50mm/f1.4 Nikon and it is an awesome lens. Really fast, super sharp, great color. It's a great portrait lens. Re: the flash, one thing you get from an external flash is the ability to point it at the ceiling and use reflected light, which creates a much more natural looking image particularly when you're photographing people.

Finally, I'll say that the D50 is great, but the image quality coming from a d90 is far, far superior. Clarity and color saturation are noticeably better. And I use a D50...

 

[devincco]

Well this is interesting turn of events. My boss offered up his D300 body to me for $1000. He's wanting to jump up to a D700. This is one I'll really have to think about. The camera is only about 2 months old.

 

[I'm a Mac]

The d300 is a pretty good camera, but the optics on that would not be much better than the d90 and $1000 is a great deal for such a camera....although it would be better than the d80. With lenses, I'd say stay with Nikon. If you want versatility, go with the 18-200 VR- it's a great-all around lens and I've even seen pro photographers shoot parties with it (and yes, the pictures came out good.) And yes, the 50mm f/1.4 would make an excellent lens, and for more money I think there coming out with a VR one for about $300....but I'd definitely stick with nikon if you want to invest a lot in lenses.

 

[cube]

The D300 is weather sealed, meters with AI lenses, it has chromatic aberration correction, and has autofocus fine tuning.

It will be some time until one is normally able to find a used D300 for $1000, and then it won't probably be only 2 months old.

The D90 does not autofocus for video, has no external mic input, and it uses a rolling shutter.

No question about it.

 

[devincco]

Yeah, that's why I'm really thinking this one over. I pretty much decided that I was going to keep the D50 and get a couple of lenses and a flash, then upgrade in another year or 2 when something really sparks my interest. Then he comes to me with this offer. It's really hard to not think about taking him up on this deal. Son of a...

 

[cube]

When the successor to the D90 comes out in 2 years, it won't have all the above features already present in the D300, and it will cost you about $1000.

And you don't care about video.

With luck, a used D300 will cost $800 in a year, when the D400 comes out.
It could happen that then you won't be really interested in getting the D300 anymore, although it's hard to image what else other than video could be added.

 

[JeffTL]

The D300 is a nice camera. The question is whether its benefits over the D50 will be as useful as $1000 of lenses or travel to shooting locations.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Buy the D300, promptly sell it for more, and put the profit towards a new lens.