The Nikon D50 DSLR body and my lens Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 HSM

30 months ago, the choice of my first digital SLR camera was focused on an low price of Nikon DSLR camera, the D50. Why talking about the Nikon D50 today as this model is no longer available for sale, and was quickly found replaced by other affordable DSLR cameras as the D40x or D60, and also the last D80 or D90 Nikon DSLRs, which all seem much more efficient in  term of sensor resolution, etc… ? Well probably because I find interesting to make a small balance on a regular use of one of these cameras after two and a half years of use. I think it’s even more interesting to share his experience in times of economic crisis, when everyone is trying to optimize their spendings and investments.

So of course it is not about highlighting the many tests and comparisons of equipment, some have already done very well, I think about dpreview.com for example. Anyway I think interesting  to share my experience and impressions of the Nikon digital SLR released in 2005.

Why did you choose for my first Nikon digital SLR, when I trusted Canon for 20 years for my AL1 film SLR. First, I was no longer “married” with the manufacturer, since my lenses could anyway not be reused, as too old. Then I, like many photographers interested in new hardware, peeled for weeks comparative tests, both on the web and in my favorite camera or photo magazine. At the time I was using a bridge rather well noted, the Panasonic DMC-FZ5 (which I still use it from time to time). But despite its many qualities managing the noise was below the quality of reflex, and the electronic viewfinder as well as the responsiveness of the device  was rather limited. The choice to buy a digital SLR and find an equivalent in ease of use of my Canon AL1 was quickly taken. I did hesitate between two models that were in competition at the time: the Nikon D50 and Canon 350D, the successor to the 300D, which had opened the ball of affordable DSLRs (less than 1,000 euros). Despite having a lower resolution compared to the Canon 350D (6 megapixel for the D50 against 8 megapixels with the 350D), the D50 seemed more interesting and more homogeneous: better management of noise, functions more suited to my needs, good autonomy, use of SD memory cards (which is an advantage when it already has a stock: it avoided investing in a new memory cards at that time were less accessible qu’ajourd’hui), and prices Kit below 100 to 150 euros compared to that of Canon. Moreover, the body ot the Nikon was larger than that of Canon, seemed to catch on bigger and more maneuverable than his opponent who, like his successors (400D and 450D) because of its small size and its Too much light, always gave me an impression of weakness and of poor quality, which are certainly very apparent both canonists are generally satisfied with this devices (from what I could read on the forums, magazines, etc. …). This “small” Nikon seemed the most consistent with my needs and my budget, it has thus prevailed over the Canon 350D.

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The Nikon D50 DSLR camera after 30 months of use

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The battery of the Nikon D50, excellent autonomy:

90% of the D50 utlisation was done outdoors. Over 30 months, I took nearly 34,000 pictures :  if it gives an average of 1100 trips per month, in fact the use was made in most concentrated periods in time. Thus, it is not uncommon for me to take 1,500 photos in the weekend, sometimes even in the same day. And that’s for this reason I enjoyed one of the greatest qualities of this camera : the autonomy of its battery. It never did that defeated default, “falling by the wayside” in the middle of a hike for example. And even after two years of use, the battery has held long enough last summer to enable me to make up to 1,800 photos in the same day.

Ease of use of the Nikon D50:

Enough reagent for a device body, I enjoyed a very good grip because of the appropriate size of the handle, and its effective anti-slip coating .

The viewfinder is a little small, it was certainly much better than the viewfinder of my digital bridge Panasonic, but less than that of my film SLR camera, with a much more bright viewfinder. The small size of the viewfinder of the Nikon D50 DSLR  is particularly annoying when you take photos with glasses. One element also missing in this viewfinder is the absence of the composition grid found on other models (such as the D70s, D80 and D90). The depth of field test is also absent, but I actually don’t really need it…

The LCD  indicator : on top of the camera, it is very readable. However the D50 LCD indicator as severeal lacks: no backlighting, which is now found on newer models, and an  information that is important, the ISO sensitivity. This information is indeed provided by the unit after pressing the button ISO. But it’s happened to me several times to start a series of shooting with ISO set at 800 or 400 when I thought to be at minimum (ISO 200), simply because I forgot to put the ISO at 200 on the previous evening. The penalty in this case is inevitable: more noise, and less detail in the image, even if you shoot in raw …

The image quality of the Nikon D50:

My equipment at the time was not powerful enough to work on RAW files, so I started taking photos in JPEG. And the result was very satisfactory. Of course, the choice of JPEG is still quite limited, especially compared to the raw gives much less scope for editing or corrections of errors or bad settings. Thus, I had some photos taken in the forest of Fontainebleau did not give the highest quality because I was too pushed into options Nikon color saturation. They were taken in JPEG, it was too late, the information in the image (color gradients) were permanently lost, and I could not catch the mistake in part. This problem is not unique to the D50, but to all devices when one takes photos in JPEG. Also, as soon as I was able, I started to shoot in raw. The place required on the memory card is more important, of course (twice), but at least we are not dependent on a poor choice of white balance for example. Moreover, the use of development tools raw performance, such as Adobe Lightroom I tried a while, then the excellent DxO Optics Pro v5 I finally adopted, can take the quintessence of the sensor.

Thus, as the evolution of my tools (and certainly in my experience), I still continue to make progress in terms of image quality and have always fully satisfactory results. This is especially true since I use to replace 18-55 delivered in the kit of Nikon, with a Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 hsm. A very versatile that fits almost all my needs, and has a very good dive. Coupled with the DxO raw development software, I get images of truly honorable. And yet, I am not one of those who drive for perfection to spend hours to optimize the development of each image or edit in any detail in Photoshop (which in my view, past a certain limit, is much more graphism than photography).

But the Nikon D50 is a 6 megapixels camera, tell me some guys! Yes and then? It is true that I’d appreciate for example to have the last 12-megapixel Nikon D300, or even the last 24 megapixel Sony Alpha 900 that I had the luck to try and play at the last Salon de la Photo show in Paris. I make no secret that if it was not a matter of budget, I probably would have cracked one of these little gems. This can be useful to crop images, or possibly to make prints larger. Though, 6 mega-pixels are more than sufficient for printing A4, and even quite correct A3. Everything is a question of needs. If one day I change my DSLR, thiw will not only to succumb to the siren of marketers with the  “more megapixels”, but rather for the qualities of image sensors and the new body: better management of exposure, dynamic range , color management and digital noise, precision autofocus, etc … The resolution should not be the only argument to change a camera. Let us not forget also that the higher the resolution, the larger the files are becoming overweight. And when you take several hundreds or thousands of photos per month, logically it has consequences both in terms of storage (more than CD or DVD backups to burn, larger hard drives to buy, etc. …). Thus, if during the last 3 years my photos in 5 or 6 megapixels took me a total of about 200 gigabytes of disk space, this would give me between 500GB and 1 tera byte (!) if I had taken these photos with the latest DSLR.  Admittedly, the capacity of storage keeps pace, but the cost is still real.

One of the shortcomings of the Nikon D50 DSLR camera: its unknown longevity

If I remember correctly read articles here and there at the exit of the D50 DSLR camera, Nikon has put on the market this device in response to the Canon 300D, which inaugurated the entry level segment by making digital SLR cameras available (less than 1000 euros for the kits at the time). However, even if the D50 has inherited a careful construction and seems reliable, Nikon has apparently never reported it on the longevity of the body (having contacted myself I did not manage to get the any information on this subject): where some models are estimated can “survive” to 100,000 photos (or even longer for some), we are in the dark about the total D50. That is an entry-level and the average user should not make use of intensive. And we can not ask the reliability of professional equipment.

The only real surprise was a little over a year, when the lens at the base of the lens (the 18-55 provided in the kit) is leaving his home for no apparent reason. Repair service to Nikon was not very expensive (40 euros), but this was the trigger for the acquisition of a second goal (my Sigma 17-70).

Then since last winter, after 27 or 28,000 trips, the valve began to hang from time to time, especially when I take pictures in a burst. J’éteins the camera and I again, and things work again. Considering the current value of the case, I am not sure that it is profitable for oi to charge for a review. So for now I do with it is not really embarrassing, and since this has happened even when I have taken thousands of pictures. I will still try to take this case as far as possible.

The experience that I draw is as follows: first it is better to buy housing and aim to hand whenever possible, the objectives delivered in kits are often deemed to be of average quality (such as Canon Nikon or elsewhere). Then, to the cabinet, selection of an entry-level, in my view is preferable to use moderate or family use to go on holiday for example. If the use becomes a little more intense, a higher-end housing (D70s, D80, D90), should be more reliable over time, and would probably be a better choice. Then everything depends on where and how to use his camera …

Nor should we forget that a digital camera is an electronic equipment that generates pollution and consumption of natural resources, both for its production when it becomes waste past few years of use. The environmental cost, which was not entered in the customs in 2006, should be in the range of current equipment and tip the balance for equipment more reliable and more viable. So I am almost certain that my D50, because of its longevity apparently lower than its big brother at the time, the D70s, an environmental cost was probably higher.

Conclusion

The Nikon D50 is a digital SLR that I had a lot of fun to use in the past 30 months. While it has some shortcomings, and appears somewhat outdated in relation to current models, but enough to many of my needs for image quality entirely correct even today, if it is used with a quality lens and if photo are shoot in raw. There is a clearly a question mark on the longevity of the D50, but we must keep in mind that this is was an affordable DSLR camera, we cannot ask for same longevity that have professional camera bodies.

The Nikon D50 is a very pleasant  and pretty good DSLR, which I hope to continue to use for a long time…

nb : this post is partially an automatic translation of this original post . If you find any translation error, your comment will be welcome.

The Samsung SGH-M8800 Player Pixon

For two years I used the Sony Ericsson K800i, a leading cameraphones equipped with an autofocus sensor photo of a resolution of 3 megapixels, and and that provided quite correct photographs. A phone also pleasant to use, self comfortable (thanks to its lithium polymer battery), but fishing in the resolution of videos (a ridiculous and unworkable format postage stamp), a navigation wap not really functional, and a “joystick” central somewhat fragile.

Why did I choose this cameraphone ?

I love to take photographs with my digital SLR, but its size does not allow me to win all the time with me. In the same way, I can not always m’encombrer a camcorder, and yet at times when I am with the children by example, I wish I could make small movies, and if possible quality.

So if I am seduced by the latest touch phone Samsung, the Player Pixon is precisely due to its photo features (autofocus sensor with 8 megapixels), and also its video resolution of 720×480 pixels, actually the higher resolution for a phone or a smartphone.

It was an opportunity to use my reward points, and after adding a small complement monetary and a renewal of subscription of 24 months (!), The command of Player Pixon was passed. In the aftermath and as usual, my mobile operator, Bouygues Telecom for the quote, propose to recycle my old phone. Telephone operators that offer to recover and recycle old phones is a very good initiative, as most of time these devices are too weak. Of course, there is always the possibility of retaining his old mobile or give it to a relative (or even to sell if the unit is in good condition). Continue to “make live” his old devices is probably the best recycling

Unpacking the box:

A nice box, which opens like a jewel box, leaving an impression of quality. The camera uh sorry… the phone, was supplied with three hulls black, blue or red (camera side only). Aesthetics, this phone has a good grip. Its width, due to the large size of the screen, could I suggest it would be awkward in the pocket of a pair of jeans that my previous Sony Ericsson K800i, a more traditional format yet. In fact, not at all! Samsung Player Pixon is rather thin, and goes very well in the pocket of trousers.

It is also located in the pedestrian box kit (kit of two parts, on which it is possible to connect a standard audio headset, because of a classic mini-jack), a travel charger space, a USB cable (for transferring content, save his repertoire, or even charge the phone), and a retractable pen, supposed to be hung by a cord at the base of the phone. This pen has proved impractical to use, and for me especially likely to strike quickly touch the screen when the phone is trimballé at the bottom of a trouser pocket or a bag. A small housing to insert the stylus in the body of the phone would have been much better. I prefer to keep it in my bag or my jacket a real stylus (Palm stylus or even an old Psion stylus will perfectly suit).

The touch screen:

The image itself is well mixed and of good quality. This is not a surprise given Samsung experience in terms of LCD. The touch screen also left me a good impression, and as long as you do not have too big fingers, you can even do without the stylus. The touch screen is obviously not as sensitive (also “sensual” some would say) than an iPhone, but the handling remains pleasant, thanks to a small vibration when back pressure on the screen. To enter text, an accelerometer can switch from a virtual keyboard like “phone” (upright) to a keyboard “qwerty” as soon as you tilt the phone horizontally. The qwerty keyboard is quite good, even without a stylus, and I found the text entry very comfortable.

However scrolling images or list of contacts through pressure on the touch screen is not very accurate and even at times slightly jerky. On this point we are far from the fluidity of an iPhone, although it is still acceptable. One feature lets you scroll through photos with the accelerometer: in addressing the phone to the right or left, on scrolls in one direction or the other photos. If the idea sounds good on paper (or the Flash demo of the website of Samsung), this function is simply not practical at all, it lacks fluidity and precision, and I much prefer the standard browsing…

Note that as the unit has just been put on the market, and I have not yet found a shell or protective screen adapted to the SGH-M8800 Player Pixon. However, the protection sheets touch screen that I actually use for my Palm T | X agree very well.

The Player Pixon, on camera side :

The manufacturers of these cameraphones are probably trying to approach the level of compact cameras, and even want to think in their advertisements that these devices will replace, among others a real camera. Besides the design of the Player Pixon, very successful, is very similar to that of a compact digital camera : it may even make believe that there is an optical zoom, but it is there only a decorative artifice. The autofocus lens itself seems similar to those we see on the other cameraphones. However, the lens of the SGH-M8800 is recovered with automatic cache, which protects the front lens when the camera is not used. A phone with generally destined for a jeans pocket or a purse, its camera lens is often subject to dirt or scratches. This automatic protection is therefore welcome.

Regarding the picture quality, however, be clear from the outset, despite its 8 mega pixels, so do not expect the quality of a bridge or a digital SLR. It’s a little logic, after all, the lens of a cameraphone is tiny: a few small diameter milimeters for the lens of cameraphones against typically  5 to 7 centimerters in diameter in the funnel of light that compared the lens of a DSLR. Ditto for the sensor, which must focus its 8 million pixels on a tiny sensor compared to that of a bridge or a reflex.

Once said, the camera of the Player Pixon SGH-M8800 is very good for a cameraphone (and probably one of the best currently available), especially for shooting outdoors. The screen is readable outdoors as long as we do not directed in full sun, and the picture setting functions are easily accessible, whether the manual white balance, exposure compensation, scene modes, or a few small gadgets that are fun enough for some (mosaic, frame, picture …). The resolution of 8 mega pixels has the advantage of facilitating the digital zoom by cropping. Autofocus gives good results, including macro, for example, to copy documents like I did with my old Sony Ericsson K800i, and I can “photocopy” effectively and without risk blurring a poster, a document or label of a product in a store.

Indoor or lower light shooting is lower quality: the first LED that acts as a flash is not powerful enough, and then when the brightness decreases, the image is noisy quickly. This is the problem that we find I think with all cameraphones finding is one of their limits, at least for now …
GPS and geolocation of images:

Mentioned on advertising, on the CD and packaging, cameraphone that is equipped with a GPS receiver. If GPS reception is good (outside of a building for example), the Player Pixon records the coordinates in the metadata (EXIF) photographs for geo. This information may be retrieved from your computer with software to view or edit the information exif of a photo (ACD See pro for example), here’s an example for example géolocalisée this photograph:

Reference north latitude GPS Latitude
GPS Latitude 48 49 ’41.61 ”
Reference east longitude GPS Longitude
GPS longitude 2, 21 ’39.01 ”
GPS reference altitude Sea Level
GPS altitude 132 m
GPS timestamp 15:43:11
Reference speed GPS Kilometers per hour
GPS Speed 0
Reference GPS direction of movement north
Direction of movement GPS 0

But now, with the GSE photos, do not use GPS Player Pixon to get your current position, for example using Google Maps or equivalent. The only way I found to get my GPS, is to take a picture and then go into the properties of photography ( “i” button) to retrieve the latitude and longitude that the photo was taken.

The GPS function is incomplete. First on the geolocation of photos, from entering the properties of each photo, it is not possible to know whether the photos are géolocalisées (an icon on the browser miniature image would have been useful). And I find it rather unfortunate that the GPS function is so under-exploited and does not even lie on a map Google Maps.

I can only hope that Samsung quickly rectify the wrongs, whether by an update applications or firmware update to make GPS available … and useful!

The Player Pixon, video side :

It is the function for which I chose this phone. The resolution is simply impressive for a phone, it can go up to 720×480 pixels, 30 frames per second. Outdoors if the scene is well lit, the video is fluid including the maximum resolution. If the video is taken indoors, I prefer the slightly lower resolution (640×480 pixels), allowing it to maintain a smooth flow despite the low light. The videos are saved in mp4 format. On my PC, although I have not been able to read from Quicktime, Windows Media Player was able to open them, even if I posted a warning message-non-blocking as the codec used. The Pixon Player allows others to set the exposure compensation before starting the capture, or change the zoom level (digital) during video capture.

Here is a short video test in the rough. To read the record on your computer (right click – save as), and open it with Windows Media Player:

test_video_player_pixon

Phone features :

We forget sometimes, but these devices are expected to also serve as a phone, even though one might wonder if this does not become more and more incidental. To summarize the quality of listening and reception are very good. A well thought out function: to avoid “clicks” involuntary disappearances, the touch screen is automatically locked during phone call.

The management of SMS is similar to what I saw on other Samsung classics, except the possibility to have the QWERTY keyboard when the phone horizontally positioned. This adds a real comfort to the text entry.

There are still some minor flaws that I had already found on other Samsung phones: SMS received are by default saved on the SIM card (including memory limited to 20 sms is quickly saturated), a record default on the memory of phone would be preferable. Furthermore, if one adds an acknowledgment SMS, they are managed as a standard SMS (and therefore clog the inbox unnecessarily).

As for MMS, nothing wrong except that it is very easy to send a picture quality to a correspondent. Of course the unit automatically resizes the photo before sending it to suit the limitations of MMS.

The phone has a WAP browser owner, sufficient to reach some sites suitable for browsing WAP or iMode (such info, weather, traffic or auto ratp, etc …) or read RSS feeds. Obviously, this WAP browser less suitable for navigation on the Internet standards (though you can read without problem most blogs). WAP sites or iMode are very legible on the big screen, which automatically switches to portrait or landscape orientation of the phone. You can also choose the level of zoom and a full-screen navigation.

Battery life:

With standard telephone conversation or in standby mode, autonomy is quite correct, and similar to that found on many recent phones. However, once we use gprs or 3G +, or photo or video features, the battery is weakening rapidly. The manufacturer is apparently well aware of this problem, common to many cameraphone , as the battery level remains visible while shooting photos or video. Though seen as a means to manage their self-important if you intend to use the Player Pixon for anything other than take pictures (eg call …).

The screen is equipped with a light sensor that allows you to adjust the backlighting to ambient light, interesting that we begin to find on many mobile devices, precisely in order to save the battery. But it is insufficient in this case, as for example in navigation 3G + (TV reception) the battery fell flat in less than 1heure30. It has also emptied in one morning after a few videos (about 30 minutes of videos in total). On this type of material, a battery a little tougher would have been preferable.

Memory:

The Player Pixon about 180 Mb free in its internal memory. And myne came with a micro-sd card of 1GB. But it is a bit limited if you want to add mp3, and save photos and videos. Depending on your needs, the acquisition of a bigger micro-sd card  may be useful.

Conclusion:

A good cameraphone, aesthetic, pleasant to use, and which is very well as an additional digital camera or video source. But if you go on vacation, it will not replace a real digital camera or camcorder, because you do not always provide an electrical outlet to charge it.

The Player Pixon is a good photophone, but not perfect: a few small flaws ergonomic features that are not very successful (ie : photo browser), no true GPS functionality, and especially a battery too limited when you use the functions photo / video or browsing 3G +.

nb : this post is partially an automatic translation of this original post . If you find any translation error, your comment will be welcome.

3 years ago, the zoom of my Ixus was definitely damaged by a grain of sand. So I tried a no-brand 3 mega pixels digital camera. This was my first one, and despite this camera has not given high quality images, I found it fun to use, and it was a nice introduction to digital photography.

My real first digital camera was the Sony DSC-P93, I bought in 2004. A very nice 5 mega pixels camera, easy and comfortable to use, I took it everywere, and I also appreciated its movie capacity, very nice for familly events. I took more than 4,000 photos with this Cyber-Shot: more photos than i could take with my film cameras during the past 20 years .

If you want learn more on this digital camera, you can visit its reviews on Dpreview.com and complete test on Mepapixel.net

6 month later, I sold my Cyber-Shot to buy a bridge camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. Like with the Sony DSC-P93, it has a 5 mega pixels CCD. But the difference was in the huge optical stabilized Leica zoom (35mm equivalent = 36-432 mm). Its optical stabilisation system is very effective, and I loved use it during week-ends, holidays and travels. 8,000 photos were taken with this model in less than 1 year, and despite I now have my digital SLR (see below), I continue time to time to use it (main reason are its small size, and its huge stabilized zoom). Also, the FZ5 was considered as one of the best of its category when it was launched (begin 2005).

To learn more on this bridge camera, you can visit its complete reviews on Dpreview.com and Megapixel.net.

More recently, I came back to SLR with the Nikon D50, with its standard AF-S Nikkor 18-55 zoom. I have a lot of pleasure to take photos with it, and I find again pleasure and sensations of SLR photography.

To learn more on this SLR camera, visit its reviews on Dpreview.com and Megapixel.net

Note : When you’ll browse the photo gallery, informations extracted from EXIF data are displayed, including camera name, speed and aperture. ISO settings are not displayed for the D50, as Nikon use specific way of ISO speed setting record in EXIF datas. Anyway, most of time I take exterior and landscape photos with the minimum ISO setting available (ISO 200 for the D50).