D50 vs. Digital Rebel

[buffalo]

Hello,
I'm looking to purchase a dSLR for the family. My research has led me to prefer the D50 but my brother is leaning towards the Rebel. I have done more Nikon research than Canon so I may just be biased. The camera would be used for sports (Running- cross country and track, skiing- rails and jump action shots), and the usual vacation and family photos.


Can I get some pros and cons for both cameras and which you prefer?


Thanks!

 

[mkrishnan]

Just to clarify... Rebel (300D) or Rebel XT (350D)? Can you say more about what kind of lenses you plan to use with it? Or do you want a camera you can do a lot with out of the box, without buying any additional lenses?

 

[jared_kipe]

I use Canon system myself, but the D50 is a good camera too.

Either way you go SKIP the kit lens. Buy a separate lens, you'll be much better off. For what you described you'll probably be looking for a longer, rather than wider zoom lens. Maybe go to sigmaphoto.com and look at their lenses, and sigma4less.com for purchasing.

That said, for what you describe you'll probably want USM, so a cheap canon lens you might look at is the 28-105mm USM. Unfortunately Sigma doesn't have any normal zoom lenses that have HSM (sigma's version of USM, nikon has a similar thing but isn't as common as with Canon). That lens should cost you under $200.

 

[mkrishnan]

That said, for what you describe you'll probably want USM, so a cheap canon lens you might look at is the 28-105mm USM. Unfortunately Sigma doesn't have any normal zoom lenses that have HSM (sigma's version of USM, nikon has a similar thing but isn't as common as with Canon). That lens should cost you under $200.

Agreed.... Like Jared, I also use Canon. I think, for the sports work, you're going to want a longer lens, though. Something at least out to 200mm.... Ideally something like the Canon 70-200 f/2.4L like Mike Teezie was selling on here, or the Nikon or whoever equivalent. It'll help a lot with that kind of photography.

 

[buffalo]

I ment the Rebel XT. And sports would only be less than 25% of its use. Skiing in the winter and running in the spring/fall. I'm mostly looking for the best camera for a variety of photos.

 

[sethypoo]

I've owned the Rebel XT for close to a year now and have nothing but good things to say about it. I don't know a lot about the D50, but I'm sure it's a good camera too. If I had to choose again, I would still choose the Rebel XT due to it's small size, big sensor, and great array of lenses.

By the way, I'm a pretty big guy (tall, that is) with big hands, and I find the Rebel XT to be very comfortable in my hands even for long periods of time. If anything, the smaller size and weight makes it much more portable.

Hope this helps you decide!

 

[Clix Pix]

Read reviews on sites such as http://www.imaging-resource.com, http://www.steves-digicams.com and http://www.dpreview.com. Go to a local brick-and-mortar camera shop (NOT a "Big Box Store!) and handle the cameras, see how each feels to you, talk to the sales associate....

As was mentioned, think about the kind of shooting you're likely to do. You may start out doing generalized stuff but eventually may find that you really like particular types of photography more than others, so think ahead to the kinds of lenses you might want one day in order to achieve your creative vision. Both Canon and Nikon make good glass, but Canon seems to favor sports photography more in its selection of lenses.

Also run a search in these forums to find the many other similar threads on this very topic...

Oh -- I'm a Nikon shooter and have been for many years. I am now using the D200, having moved up from the D70/D70s. Everyone who has a D50 really loves it and I've seen some excellent photographs from it. You wouldn't go wrong in choosing Nikon....

 

[jimN]

Would definitely recommend going in to a store and handling both. The canon looks to produce higher res images with less noise at higher ISOs but in the hand the nikon feels a lot nicer and that's sold me on the d50 - just need to sort out a couple of other things before i buy.

 

[macpastor]

D50

I bought two D50 cameras 3 weeks ago. Got a better deal by buying two. I love mine. I am completely impressed with the pictures that it takes. It looks better than the 6.1 MP that it is.

 

[MovieCutter]

I bought the RebelXT AND the D50 to play with both to see which one I liked. I picked the D50 because the photo quality between the two is SO close that I can't tell a $200 difference. The D50 feels much better in my big hands (I'm 6'3"), and I already had a 2GB Ultra SD card lying around and didn't want to buy a Compact Flash card. I've been shooting with it for 2 weeks now and it is just simply amazing, and for $600, you can't go wrong. It's $200 less than the Rebel XT and takes sharper and better pictures right out of the box. Here is my latest portrait subject (disclaimer, I'm a video editor, not a professional photographer)...

For the record...I'm a Canon guy (Canon printers, scanners, video cameras, etc.) , but this Nikon has me impressed.

 

[Hoef]

Can anyone show a nightshot or an evening in-house show. That may make a difference too. Everything shot outside with plenty of light looks fantastic to me (I am not a photographer though )

 

[macpastor]

Indoor Shots w/D50

I don't know if this will help or not, but here are some pics taken inside with my D50. This is on automatic settings, and highest resolution of 6.1MP, and the lowest resolution is 2.1 MP.


http://web.mac.com/pastordean/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

 

[macpastor]

More indoor shots from the D50

I have some other shots I took at the house of the kids with my D50 set at automatic with full 6.1 MP resolution.

http://web.mac.com/pastordean/iWeb/Site 2/Photos.html

 

[SpAtZ]

I am not a big fan of the XT. I own a 300d and have used the XT several times. It is a little too small and feels very cheap. Also the new "improvements" I feel are quite annoying. For instance, changing the ISO is in the LCD instead of the little display. Not to mention the shutter sounds really electronic in the XT compared to my 300d.

Or maybe Im just mad that I can't sell my 300d because it is only worth $200, when a year ago i bought it for $750 a month before the XT came out.

From my experience with indoor shots with canon you will need to use the camera with manual in order to get the shot you want. I usually get way to much contrast indoors in full automatic mode.

Probably should just go with the Nikon.

 

[NoNameBrand]

I have and love the D50 myself, but the thing that sold me over the Rebel XT was merely how the camera felt in my hands - the Rebel XT is too small, I couldn't grip it comfortably.


Here are some night & indoor shots (all in the evening or in poor light, but oddly not both for most).

I used the D50 kit lens, a Nikkor 70-300/4-5.6G zoom, and a Nikkor 50mm/1.8 lens.

 

[Hoef]

Thanks for the indoor shots .... really nice, with flash I assume. I need to get a DSLR myself!

 

[NoNameBrand]

Thanks for the indoor shots .... really nice, with flash I assume. I need to get a DSLR myself!

The only one with a flash is the shot of the guitars, which was done with the 18-55mm kit lens, along with the one of the building at night. The microphone and cat were the 50mm lens which has a large aperture of 1.8, so you can shoot in low light and hand hold (at 1/50s or faster with that lens). The curling and ultimate frisbee were done with the 70-300mm lens.

The D50 has very low noise - all of those shots, save the flash one, were ISO 800 or 1600.