Nikon D50 Questions and Comments

[Bobbye]

I recently purchased a Nikon D50. I planned to take it on a trip in a few days. I was just going to put it on automatic and shoot with my 50 mm lens. Well, I took it out today and did a few shots with it on automatic and the photos were so washed out. They were awful. Tell me it will get better!!! I guess you can't just put it on automatic and shoot without going through and fix all the settings before you shoot and I don't have time for that. I was having trouble with my Sony 717 with the Zeiss lens so I purchased the new Nikon. Does anyone know of a quick way to set everything so I can shoot on automatic. I put my Sony 717 on automatic and the photos were outstanding. I do not like the way Nikon downloads the photos into my computer either - Sony's is so much better. Someone tell me I did not buy a lemon.

[K1W1]

That is a huge query.

Auto mode is sometimes called "waiter" mode as in the mode you use when you give the camera to somebody as say point it at us and push that button. You should at least read the manuals and learn a bit about S, A and M which are probably the three modes most often used by D50 owners.
What 50mm lens do you have?
I'm surprised about the washed out comment as the D50 has a reputation for well saturated colour. The default colour mode is IIIa, maybe you have changed to one of the less saturated modes.
The best way to download is not to connect the camera to the PC but to use a card reader and take the card out of the camera.
I suggest that you have a look at Thom Hogans site (www.bythom.com) and consider buying a copy of his D50 e-book it will give you a much better overview of the camera than the manual does and also many helpful hints about photography and settings to use.
It is extremely unlikely that you have a lemon. Go to Flickr and look at the photos on any of the D50 based groups and you will see what the camera is capable of.

[Bobbye]

I am using a 50 mm Nikon lens. I have two Nikon film cameras and several Nikon AF lens and that is why I bought this camera. I can see that it is not so easily operated as my old Sony. I will study all the settings later but was hoping I could use it this weekend and I was hoping for a quick fix. Thanks for the link you sent to me.

[Blob]

Was the exposure compensation set on a positive value like +1.0? If you could post the shots, maybe someone can give you better information as to the problem. It really is a great camera, I hope you can enjoy it soon.

Regards,

Bob

[coldrain]

Yes, it does sound weird. The D50 is known for vivid and very good photos out of camera. Post some downscaled examples to show us what you see.

[Bobbye]

I am sending you copy of my washed out photo via e-mail. I can't seem to get my photo here.

[coldrain]

Oops, sorry Bobbye... I did not see your last post. I did receive your sample and it looks like severe exposure compensation. Either that, or the camera is not metering correctly (broken). What happens when it is not on automatic?

I am sure the knowledgable D50 owners can tell you what to look for in the camera settings, I can't easily since I do not own a D50...

D50 owers, here is the sample:

[jcon]

Anyone have the EXIF?

[coldrain]

There was no EXIF info in the PNG I received. I did resave it to JPEG for posting on here.

How can one check if there is a standard exposure compensation set on the D50?

[jcon]

Bobbye, do you know how to get the EXIF(camera settings) for that photo?

Just by looking it it, its obvious to anyone that its very over exposed. Try a simple test. Put the camer on Manual (M Mode) and set the shutter speed to 1/250 and also set it to F9. I would also check your ISO settings and make sure its set to 200 and not 1600. Then, go outside and take a picture and see how it turns out. Make sure the flash is off.

**EDIT.. (responce to ColdRains question.) To check that, put it back in "P" mode and simply press the +/- button that is located to the right of the shutter release. It will then display the number on the top screen. Should be a zero.

[Bobbye]

I just snapped a picture on Manual at 250 and F9 and the picture was just as washed out. I could see no change or improvement.

[jcon]

Did you check the ISO? Did you check the exposure compensation in P mode? If that is at zero then I dont know whats wrong, it may be the camera. If all the settings are normal, I would stop by a local camera store and have someone look at it.

[Bobbye]

I do not know how to check most of the settings. I am going out of town tomorrow and will stop by the camera store where I bought it and ask them to look at it. Thanks for all your help.

[jcon]

I explained how to check the exposure compensation earlier......

[Bobbye]

I carried my camera back to where I bought it this morning and she could not understand the problem, so she called Nikon and to make a long story short, it was the 50 mm AF Nikon lens. She switched lenses on the camera and the picture looked good. I came home and tried my other Nikon AF lenses and the picture is okay. I did not know a lens could go bad but Nikon said something might have gotten bent. Looking back this lens was never as sharp as my other Nikon lenses. I have taken really good care of my lenses and I don't think it was anything I did to get something bent. Thanks for everyone's help and I am sure there will be other questions later on.

[coldrain]

So the aperture mechanism was not working on your lens... With that knowledge the results do make sense. Does the 50mm you have work still on your film SLR though? Which one is it, the f1.8 or the f1.4?

[Bobbye]

It is f1.8. I haven't used it in over two years but it worked okay then, but as I said it was never a real sharp lens as my other nikon lenses are. Where can I get my best buy on a new Nikon 1.8 lens? How much do they cost now? I have not bought a lens in several years. I am not sure I would to pay the extra for the f1.4.

[Bobbye]

I want to add that the camera shop recommended the D series for my camera. The Nikon AF lenses that I own are not the D series. Can someone tell me if my present lenses will make a big difference in the quality of the pictures?

[coldrain]

The 50mm f1.8 is a bit over 100$ I think, it is a lot odf lens for not too much money, and it should be in most peoples lens collection.

The question about your other lenses is hard to anser when you do not say what other lenses you have. The best judge on how they perform on your new D50 are you yourself... if the results please you, then do not let any camera shop try to push you into buying a whole new collection!

[jcon]

The Nikon 50mm 1.8D would be the best choice for you. Here is a link to PBase. The link will take you directly to pictures that were taken using the 50mm 1.8D..........

http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/50_18_afd

[Bobbye]

I have a Nikon AF 70-210, a Sigma 28 mm 1.8 (I don't think this is AF), and a Sigma macro 2.8 that is AF. I have not used these lens much since I got my Sony digital a couple of years ago but they all worked well. I used the Sigma 28 mm on my AF Nikon camera but I guess I used it on manual. The lady at the camera shop was very helpful and not pushy but she thought at first the camera may need the "D" series lens to make it work properly but Nikon said not. Do you think the Nikon AF 50 mm 1.8 lens would be better than the Sigma 50 mm AF 1.8 lens?? I love everything Nikon makes - I have two Nikon film cameras but have been pleased with the Sigma lens that I bought.

[coldrain]

I don't know any 50mm f1.8 Sigma.
Your Sigma macro lens will still be worthwhile, no reason to not use it. The 70-210 Nikon is also still a fine lens in its class.
The non autofocus 28mm Sigma may be not of much use on a D50, I think.

Do keep in mind that due to the smaller sensor compared to 35mm film the field of view is more narrow on all lenses, so to understand what field of view you get, multiply the focal lengths with 1.5.
So a 50mm becomes a 75mm lens in effect.

If you want to have a lens with about the same field of view as a 50mm lens on your old SLR, check out the 35mm f2 Nikkor, or the 30mm f1.4 Sigma. These can be considered to be the new "standard" lenses on 1.5 x crop factor cameras like the D50.

To give you a wider focal range (which you lost due to the crop factor of 1.5), you could do worse than getting the cheap but optically surprisingly good kitlens that belongs to the D50, the 18-55 kit lens. It will allow the same field of view at 18mm as your old 28mm Sigma gave.
(18 x 1.5 = 27mm)

[Bobbye]

I will absorb all you have told me when I return in a week. I am going to Nova Scotia and look forward to taking photos.