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Used DSLR questions

N

nathancipher

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
322
My friend recently upgraded his camera setup and offered to sell me his Nikon D50 with whatever lens it came with for $250USD.

I have a couple of questions before i decide to jump on it.

1. Is that a good deal?
2. Would this be a good camera for a complete noob?
3. Any reservations about buying used? This guy takes care of his stuff, but it has seen heavy usage.
 
1) $250 for the D50 and the 18-55mm DX is a great price if it's in good condition. I still have my D50 wouldn't trade it in for anything less than a D300, maybe a D90. I will most likely keep it until I either upgrade to a D300 or switch to Canon, in which case I'll probably still keep it for telephoto duty. In my opinion, it still represents the best value for used Nikon DSLRs as it has almost all the capabilities you'd need if you're not a professional photographer. If you can't get good shots outta this camera, you're most likely doing something wrong.

The one area where the D50 does fall short however is high ISO performance. ISO800 is usable if you meter the shot perfectly, underexpose and you'll get a lot of noise. This is exaggerated at ISO1600. If you're shooting in very low light for most of your shots, go with something else.

2) The D50 takes great shots straight outta the camera. I shoot in RAW and even still, I found I do less PP with my D50 then I did with my D200. The D50 meters well and AF is accurate (Lens dependent as well of course) despite having fewer AF points then newer models. My dad has my first D50 paired with the 18-55mm DX and he still takes great looking shots despite having the camera in the full auto mode.

3) The shutter is good for around 25-50k shots (Though I don't believe Nikon actually quoted a number for the D50) so unless he was an extreme enthusiast, you should be good for another few years. I've seen D50 owners with over 60k shots on their body so it really depends on how the camera was treated. As long as the camera has been taken care of, you should be good to go. If you're a noob, you'll want to make sure the sensor is clean before you buy it or have the seller clean it for you as you won't want to poking around in there if you don't have any previous experience.
 
He said it's almost 10k on the shutter

So general consensus is buy then?

as for the sensor...is this something i can have professionally cleaned?
 
If the sensor is dirty, it can be professionally cleaned but it'll cost you a lot more and if you intend to do this, it would make more sense just to find one with a clean sensor. If he's used the camera that much I would assume he knows how to use a sensor swab and he might even have a bottle of Eclipse lying around so you could just ask him to clean it. If the sensor isn't dirty, obviously you won't have to worry about any of this.
 
I would have him send for cleaning by the Company (nikon), and then offer him 275 for it.
 
lundrog said:
I would have him send for cleaning by the Company (nikon), and then offer him 275 for it.
Click to expand...
If he does that, it's going to be a lot more than $25 extra. The service alone is $75 from Nikon and shipping will tack another $10-15 on there. The bottom line is just check if the sensor is dirty, if it's not, don't worry about all of this...or at least not yet. :D
 
skyline889 said:
If he does that, it's going to be a lot more than $25 extra. The service alone is $75 from Nikon and shipping will tack another $10-15 on there. The bottom line is just check if the sensor is dirty, if it's not, don't worry about all of this...or at least not yet. :D
Click to expand...

Really? I sent in my 5D, and Canon Covered the Cleaning for free, I just paid shipping.
 
Nikon will do it for free if the camera is under warranty but there is very little chance that the D50 is still under warranty as the D50 was only covered for 1 year.
 
ok, i spoke with my friend and he told me that the sensor is clean but if it gets dirty one of our friends who works at a camera place can clean it for me. this is a guy i've known for well over 10 years, so i trust his word on the matter. i should be picking the camera up this friday, any suggested reading for an ultranoob?
 
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