Nikon D50

Model Design / Appearance (7.5)
The D50 shares the styling of the D70, down to the little chevron of red rubber just below the shutter release on the handgrip. The general design motif combines curves and edges, a little like the Batmobile or current-model Cadillacs. At a glance, you might confuse the D50 and D70, but when the two are side by side, the D50 takes on a distinctly little-brother-ish look. The Nikon logo is smaller, the mode dial squats on a sloping shoulder, and many of the edges from the D70 are missing.

It’s fit and finish are excellent, and though it's light, it feels very solid.

Size / Portability (8.5)
The D50 measures 5.2 x 3 x 4 inches and weighs 19 ounces (without battery), which is a bit bigger than the Canon Rebel XT and the Pentax *ist DL, but still not overbearing. It’s bigger sibling, the Nikon D70, measures 5.5 x 3.1 x 4.6 inches and weighs 21 ounces.

Like other DSLRs, the D50 requires a camera bag, or a shoulder strap, if you plan to be shooting most of the time. The 18 to 55mm kit lens is very light and compact at 7.4 ounces and less than 3 inches long. As a combination, it will not be tough to carry around the D50 kit and the camera will only look big when compared to compact digital cameras.

Handling Ability (7.5)
The D50’s grip is completely rounded and comfortable to handle. Without ridges and odd textures to hit your fingers in the wrong spots, the grip should feel suitable to a range of hand sizes, though either the largest or the smallest hands may have trouble.

Unlike all other current Nikon DSLRs, the D50 has only one jog dial to alter exposure settings, designed to do multiple duty in various modes. That's an inconvenience, because you have to hold down a button while turning the dial to access its alternate functions. Users have to use their right thumb to turn the dial, and their right index finger, which would ideally stay on the shutter release, to hold down the button.

Nikon typically chooses to be a bit redundant with camera status information, and that's what they do with the D50. Most of the information in the viewfinder's electronic display is also available on the control panel display. This approach may be overwhelming for new users – particularly users new to digital photography in general. It's likely however that most users will consult both displays at various times, after they get over the camera's learning curve.

Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (7.25)
The Nikon D50's buttons are large, flat rectangles with one rounded side. Nikon apparently silkscreened the labels on them – in any event, they're paint, which is apt to wear off after 30 or 40 thousand exposures (though by then, you'll probably have them memorized). The buttons are spaced far enough apart such that most users won't have a problem hitting the right one, and only the right one, even when they hurry.

The shutter release has an excellent feel, with almost a click at the halfway point that activates the autofocus, and a very short travel beyond that to get the shot off. The power switch on the D50 is a ring around the shutter release with a prominent tab. The arrangement makes it easy to turn on the D50 as you grip it and squeeze off a quick exposure thereafter.

The autofocus/autoexposure lock button is between the viewfinder and the control dial. It's the common general location for this control, but Nikon put it pretty far toward the viewfinder. It's safe from accidental taps from an errant thumb in search of the control dial, but it's so far that it will probably be a long stretch for small hands.

Again, I wish the D50 had two control dials, like the D70 and D70s. It really makes operation more convenient and efficient.

The mode dial is large, with deep ridges along its edges. It's stiff enough to discourage accidental shifts, but not so stiff that it's hard to use. However, the AF/Manual focus lever is too tight. While this is likely designed to protect against accidental alterations, it will lead to frustration when users are looking to switch over and tweak the focus manually.

Menu (7.0)
Nikon has long used the "tabbed" menu design to allow streamlined access to the various subsections. The D50 continues with this strategy. The tabs are denoted by icons, which indicate the general category of controls and will be familiar graphics to those who have used the Nikon system. The text is large and readable and the background is uncluttered, although not particularly attractive.

The Set-up menu includes a long list of options – so many that Nikon offers the option to hide a bunch of them.

The Set-up menu:

The Shooting Menu is likely the one users will be the most concerned with. Ideally, it should be intuitive and efficient to use, because users may want to make a quick adjustment to one of the settings during shooting. In some ways, that's not true of the D50 shooting menu, because the most critical settings – ISO, white balance, file size, and quality – are all adjustable without using the shooting menu at all.

The D50’s shooting menu combines these frequently-used settings with others that many users will not change often.

The Shooting Menu: 

Name	Function
Optimize Image	Sets Sharpening, Tone, Color Mode, and Hue--the D50 offers several modes for optimization, plus a customizable setting
Long Exp. NR	Reduces noise in long exposures
Image Quality	Chooses file type and compression
Image Size	Chooses pixel dimensions
White Balance	Sets white balance
ISO	Sets sensitivity

The Custom Settings Menu offers a deep range of options that suggests the sort of tweaking one can do with Nikon's more advanced cameras. It looks as though Nikon was concerned that the D50 not appear limited to more sophisticated users who might consider it as a backup body.

Custom Settings Menu:  

Name	Function
Menu Reset	Restores settings to factory default
Beep	Turns beep on or off
Autofocus	Chooses from continuous, single servo, or auto, which chooses between continuous and single servo
AF area mode	Chooses from single area focus, and dynamic area, in which the camera follows the subject, and closest object
No SD Card?	Sets camera behavior when shutter is pressed when no memory card is in the camera
Image Review	Sets whether images display on the LCD after they're shot
Flash Level	Adjusts flash in P, S, A and M modes
AF Assist	Turns AF assist light on and off
AF Area Illum	Option to have AF areas show up red in viewfinder
ISO Control	Allows auto ISO in scene modes
ISO Auto	Allows camera to set ISO if a good exposure isn't possible at the manual setting
EV Step	Choose between 1/2 stops or 1/3 stops for aperture and shutter speed
BKT Set	Allows bracketing of exposure or white balance
Metering	Chooses between Spot, Average, or Matrix metering
AE-L/AF-L	Chooses the function of the AE-L/AF-L button: it can lock both exposure and focus, one alone,  flash exposure, or autofocus
AE Lock	Locks exposure when the shutter release is pressed halfway
Flash Mode	Chooses manual flash at full or fractional power, or automatic TTL flash exposure
Monitor Off	Chooses how long the LCD stays on unattended
Meter Off	Chooses how long the light meter stays on unattended
Self-Timer	Choose a 2, 5, 10 or 20-second delay
Remote	Chooses how long the camera will stay active without a signal in remote mode; intervals of up to 15 minutes are available

The Playback Menu is the most straightforward of the D50's menus – all of its options will make sense to even new users, and they cover the functions required in playback. There's one exception: you protect images from deletion with a function button, rather than the menu.

Playback Menu:  

Name	Function
Delete	Deletes images
Playback Fldr	Chooses the folder to play back
Rotate Tall	Rotates portrait images for playback
Slide Show	Plays back photos in a slide show
Print Set	Choosse images to print
Small Picture	Saves a smaller copy of an image