Comments on: Would it be completely reckless of me to bid on a Nikon D50 body on ebay then try to sell my Nikon D40 body on http://www.nikond40digitalslr.com/nikon-d40-body/would-it-be-completely-reckless-of-me-to-bid-on-a-nikon-d50-body-on-ebay-then-try-to-sell-my-nikon-d40-body-on Nikon D40 Reviews | Suggestions | Comparisons | Performance Sat, 04 Sep 2010 10:43:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: clavestone http://www.nikond40digitalslr.com/nikon-d40-body/would-it-be-completely-reckless-of-me-to-bid-on-a-nikon-d50-body-on-ebay-then-try-to-sell-my-nikon-d40-body-on/comment-page-1#comment-380 clavestone Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:02:59 +0000 http://www.nikond40digitalslr.com/nikon-d40-body/would-it-be-completely-reckless-of-me-to-bid-on-a-nikon-d50-body-on-ebay-then-try-to-sell-my-nikon-d40-body-on#comment-380 Keep the D50, it can AF with ALOT more lenses then the D40 series!. If your going to jump then go to the D80 and keep the lens compatability.<br><b>References : </b><br> Keep the D50, it can AF with ALOT more lenses then the D40 series!. If your going to jump then go to the D80 and keep the lens compatability.
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]]> By: Dr. Sam http://www.nikond40digitalslr.com/nikon-d40-body/would-it-be-completely-reckless-of-me-to-bid-on-a-nikon-d50-body-on-ebay-then-try-to-sell-my-nikon-d40-body-on/comment-page-1#comment-379 Dr. Sam Sat, 25 Oct 2008 23:30:59 +0000 http://www.nikond40digitalslr.com/nikon-d40-body/would-it-be-completely-reckless-of-me-to-bid-on-a-nikon-d50-body-on-ebay-then-try-to-sell-my-nikon-d40-body-on#comment-379 Not really, assuming that the D50 is relatively new and clean. My wife has a D50 and it has a COUPLE of features that put it a step ahead of the D40 in convenience and being intuitive to use, but I don't think you are moving up in image quality. Here's my stock answer comparing the two, which I have not been able to post for quite a while, so thanks for asking this question. ~~~~~~~~~~ Nikon D40 vs D50 The obvious difference is that the D40 no longer has a status LCD on top of the camera. All of the same information is available, however, on the larger rear LCD. I don't know what impact this has on battery life. The less obvious difference is that the D40 only has 3 autofocus zones and, therefore, only 3 spot meter zones. The D50 has 5 zones. The D50 also lets you define the size of your center-weighted metering zone and the D40 does not. The D40 will not autofocus with anything other than the newer AF-S and AF-I lenses, while the D50 will autofocus many older AF lenses, including G and D lenses as well as most other CPU lenses. If you do not own any lenses, this will not present a problem, but if you want to expand your lens collection (and who doesn't want to eventually?), you will have to bear this in mind before you make your purchase. There are MANY older lenses that are excellent and still available new. One thing I like in the D40 is adopted from the more expensive cameras in the Nikon line. You can set a maximum ISO in the auto-ISO mode and you can set a minimum shutter speed in the auto-ISO mode. Frankly, I have the same features on my D200 and I don't use them, but I can see how they might come in handy if I was in a rapid-fire shooting session (haha) where I couldn't pay attention to these values for every frame. I do use the programable FUNC button on the D200 and I see that the D40 has this feature also. The D40 has a lot of in-camera retouching, but I would never use this as I do all of my own work on the computer. If you are going to use a store kiosk to do your prints, maybe you would like this feature. If you read the review from the page I list below, you will see a comparison of the D40 and D50 right on the first page of the review. They used a green highlight for the "winner" of each category. The bottom line is, my wife has the D50. I use it and like it. If we waited and bought the D40 for her, I am sure I would like that also. The biggest thing I would miss is the 5-zone auto-focus/spot-metering capability. Check out this comparison page. Click on "In-depth review" and "Read Owner Opinions" for each camera. Be sure to note that the reviews are many pages long so you don't stop after page one. Check the sample images, also. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the link below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like fringing or noise. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d40%2Cnikon_d50&show=all Just for fun, here are two pictures that my wife took with her D50 the first day she got it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/443143403/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/443143411/ ~~~~~~~~~~ Since you are considering an upgrade via eBay, maybe you can find a D80 body? That would be a true step up instead of a deal full of trade-off's.<br><b>References : </b><br> Not really, assuming that the D50 is relatively new and clean. My wife has a D50 and it has a COUPLE of features that put it a step ahead of the D40 in convenience and being intuitive to use, but I don't think you are moving up in image quality.

Here's my stock answer comparing the two, which I have not been able to post for quite a while, so thanks for asking this question.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nikon D40 vs D50

The obvious difference is that the D40 no longer has a status LCD on top of the camera. All of the same information is available, however, on the larger rear LCD. I don't know what impact this has on battery life.

The less obvious difference is that the D40 only has 3 autofocus zones and, therefore, only 3 spot meter zones. The D50 has 5 zones. The D50 also lets you define the size of your center-weighted metering zone and the D40 does not.

The D40 will not autofocus with anything other than the newer AF-S and AF-I lenses, while the D50 will autofocus many older AF lenses, including G and D lenses as well as most other CPU lenses. If you do not own any lenses, this will not present a problem, but if you want to expand your lens collection (and who doesn't want to eventually?), you will have to bear this in mind before you make your purchase. There are MANY older lenses that are excellent and still available new.

One thing I like in the D40 is adopted from the more expensive cameras in the Nikon line. You can set a maximum ISO in the auto-ISO mode and you can set a minimum shutter speed in the auto-ISO mode. Frankly, I have the same features on my D200 and I don't use them, but I can see how they might come in handy if I was in a rapid-fire shooting session (haha) where I couldn't pay attention to these values for every frame.

I do use the programable FUNC button on the D200 and I see that the D40 has this feature also.

The D40 has a lot of in-camera retouching, but I would never use this as I do all of my own work on the computer. If you are going to use a store kiosk to do your prints, maybe you would like this feature.

If you read the review from the page I list below, you will see a comparison of the D40 and D50 right on the first page of the review. They used a green highlight for the "winner" of each category.

The bottom line is, my wife has the D50. I use it and like it. If we waited and bought the D40 for her, I am sure I would like that also. The biggest thing I would miss is the 5-zone auto-focus/spot-metering capability.

Check out this comparison page. Click on "In-depth review" and "Read Owner Opinions" for each camera. Be sure to note that the reviews are many pages long so you don't stop after page one. Check the sample images, also. You can enlarge these to full size images if you click on the link below the picture. You will have to then put your cursor in the white space to the right of the picture and click once. After that, you can pass your cursor over the image and it will turn into a magnifier. Click it as a magnifier once and the image will go to full size and you can really examine the detail or look for artifacts like fringing or noise.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d40%2Cnikon_d50&show=all

Just for fun, here are two pictures that my wife took with her D50 the first day she got it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/443143403/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7189769@N04/443143411/

~~~~~~~~~~

Since you are considering an upgrade via eBay, maybe you can find a D80 body? That would be a true step up instead of a deal full of trade-off's.
References :

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