Nikon D50 or D80?

[mike78628]

I'm in the market to get my first Digital SLR. I've been leaning towards a D50 but I'm trying to decide whether I need to bite the bullet and get a D80 instead. Are there MAJOR significant differences that I'm going to hate myself over if I get the D50? I would appreciate your opinions.

Thanks,

Mike

[AdamN]

I have the D50 right now and only wish I could have/afford the D80. Commander mode for flashes built in(to fire SB600/800 remotely), second command dial, D-lighting feature for shadow areas(to lighten up darker areas), B&W picture mode, 4 color histogram, ISO 100, Depth of Field preview, and 10.2 MP..... I could live with out those features and currently do. They aren't that big of a deal to me but I could see that it would be much easier in the long run. As long as you have good lenses and an good eye, the camera really won't matter. HTH

[MRCPix]

I have the D80 and it is a great camera. there is a long list of differences so go to the nikon web site and compare them and see if the differences are going to benifit your type of shooting.
me I love the D80 and since I shoot a lot in manual mode I love having two command dials to use oh and the nice veiwfinder and the 2.5" lcd and the........................................

go to a camera store and play with both of them and see for yourself.

OH and I used to have a D70s

[Janice_d]

I have the D50... and my husband just recently purchased the D50 also..I love mine..but im..just starting out with a Big.. digital camera.. I have had point n shoots.. in digital..
and Mike gave great.. advice..to hold them..click them.. feel them.. ASK questions.. Id probably go with the D80..if i had the choice.. to re pick..BUT the D50 is a good one to start..with... Janice

[crfitchjr]

Check out the following link where Ken Rockwell compares the two.

Bob

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/d200...d40-5d-xti.htm

[thelegend1472]

D200. If you have to save more...just wait. Good things come to those who are patient. You'll find yourself wanting to upgrade in no time. Especially if you get the D50.

[Bartman01]

Personal opinion:
D80 > D50
D50 with good lens > D80 with consumer lens

If the D80 isn't out of your budget, I would get that . If buying the D80 means going cheap on other things - get the D50. While digital bodies will always take just as good of an image as the day they were bought - newer bodies tend to take better images due to advancements in the hardware/internal software.

Two things I would miss on the D50:
1) The second command dial. You can live without it, but it is nice to have.
2) The 10MP sensor. Good thing and a bad; good = more MP, bad = more disk space per file. Going from a D70 to a D200 myself, I prefer the images I get out of the D200.

[thelegend1472]

Don't buy a camera based on MP and memory card capacity. If you're spending thousands of dollars on camera gear whats a few hundred bucks for some memory cards. You get what you pay for.