Upgrade From Nikon D50?

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Discussion

Kinky

Original Poster:

39,456 posts

268 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
Peeps, a quick one for you all smile

Because of this forum, I purchased a Nikon D50 back in the day, when it was all green fields around here, etc, etc (remember Clud Nikon?) smile

And over time have built up a little collection of lenses, etc.

I now wonder if it's time to upgrade to a suitable equivalent. And this is where I start coming unstuck; in that I've no idea what I'm looking at, or even budget.

Most important is something that can use the various lenses we've got today.

In terms of actual use, it's purely occasional/casual/domestic; holiday pics, family, eBay, etc, etc. Certainly not hobbyist, or hardcore amateur.

Can anyone advise or provide any pointers please?

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
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wavey If you're still paying your Nikon Owner's Clud subscription then I'll have a D200 body spare soon for £notmuch. Not cutting edge now of course, but still a great camera unless you need high ISO, and great provenance wink

Bill

52,485 posts

254 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
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I am similar level use to you and was looking at upgrading my big zoom lense (on a D70) recently and pretty much came to the conclusion that a bridge camera would suit me better.

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
The Nikon D50 was the last of the lovely, easy days when all the Nikon bodies had an autofocus motor built into the body, so pretty much any lens would work with no concerns.

Whatever you upgrade to, you're likely to need one with a motor to keep all your lenses working as intended, so don't opt for one of these... https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/eu/BV_article?arti...

Really depends on budget but a D90 or D7000 would be a nice upgrade and allow you to use all your existing glass. On MPB a decent D90 is sub £200, a decent D7000 is sub £250. There are hundreds on the market so it would pay to shop around.




Dave.

7,324 posts

252 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
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I recently upgraded my D40 to a D3200 from CameraJungle (part of Jessops).

Really happy with the condition (it was advertised as "mint", & the advertise the shutter count).

Just a shame they wouldn't take my D40 as trade-in, but it is 10yr old.

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
ukaskew said:
The Nikon D50 was the last of the lovely, easy days when all the Nikon bodies had an autofocus motor built into the body, so pretty much any lens would work with no concerns.

Whatever you upgrade to, you're likely to need one with a motor to keep all your lenses working as intended...
redcard Scratched Record alert! Most Nikon lenses are AF-S, they don't need a motor in the body. The Sigma equivalent is HSM and so on.

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
redcard Scratched Record alert! Most Nikon lenses are AF-S, they don't need a motor in the body. The Sigma equivalent is HSM and so on.
Not sure which lenses the OP has but there are loads without a motor, particularly from the D50 days. Of the current Nikon lenses officially still available new 14 do not have a motor, including incredibly popular ones like the AF 50mm 1.8.

Worth bearing in mind anyhow.



Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
ukaskew said:
Not sure which lenses the OP has but there are loads without a motor, particularly from the D50 days. Of the current Nikon lenses officially still available new 14 do not have a motor, including incredibly popular ones like the AF 50mm 1.8.

Worth bearing in mind anyhow.
You buy the AF-S version instead. OK so you need to be aware of it, but it's not a reason not to buy a camera smile

GravelBen

15,656 posts

229 months

Wednesday 16th May 2018
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
You buy the AF-S version instead. OK so you need to be aware of it, but it's not a reason not to buy a camera smile
Unless you already have a few older AF lenses and don't want to have to replace them with AFS versions. tongue out

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
You buy the AF-S version instead. OK so you need to be aware of it, but it's not a reason not to buy a camera smile
The OP literally said Most important is something that can use the various lenses we've got today.

Kinky

Original Poster:

39,456 posts

268 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
Peeps,

Apologies for the delay in responding, but I was tied up last night (figuratively, not literally, given my PH name) tongue out

Thank you all for all the responses so far. That's been really really useful and helpful thumbup

What I'll do tonight, when I get home, is list all the lenses we've got, it's only 3 IIRC. I know it's not a huge amount, but hopefully will help. I should have thought of that yesterday.

The only other consideration we've got (sensibly) is to opt for a more recent camera - very specifically one that could handle 64gig SD cards. So Lord Simpo wavey your very kind consideration of your trusty D200 is so wonderful, and for serious consideration.

To be honest, looking at the latest cameras, with those swivel/tilt screens, wi-fi enabled, bluetooth, etc, are all not features that we're interested in at all. I fully appreciate and understand the benefits of them, but they're not features that we'd use (honestly); so I'd be reluctant to pay the price for a load of features/functionality that we don't require.

One thing that surprised me was that yesterday I did a shutter count check on the camera, and it was over 48k yikes The website where I checked it up on also said that it was at 96% of it's shutter life! We've never had it serviced or anything. Is shutter count a serious consideration for a 2nd hand camera?

For buying 2nd hand or new, I think the only place I'd consider is Grays of Westminster, as I've always dealt with them and have been truly wonderful. Unless I purchased from a fellow PHer (Lord Simpo for example) thumbup

Sorry if I'm wandering and waffling here; but kind of out of my league on the expertise level on this (hence me posting for advice).

Again, thank you all so very much. It's really very much appreciated.

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
ukaskew said:
The OP literally said Most important is something that can use the various lenses we've got today.
My spare D200 will fit the bill perfectly then smile

stemll

4,065 posts

199 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
Kinky said:
For buying 2nd hand or new, I think the only place I'd consider is Grays of Westminster, as I've always dealt with them and have been truly wonderful. Unless I purchased from a fellow PHer (Lord Simpo for example) thumbup
MPB are fine (have bought from and sold to them) and the Sony I've just bought from Harrison's in Leeds is indistinguishable from new.

SCEtoAUX

4,119 posts

80 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
ukaskew said:
The Nikon D50 was the last of the lovely, easy days when all the Nikon bodies had an autofocus motor built into the body, so pretty much any lens would work with no concerns.

Whatever you upgrade to, you're likely to need one with a motor to keep all your lenses working as intended...
redcard Scratched Record alert! Most Nikon lenses are AF-S, they don't need a motor in the body. The Sigma equivalent is HSM and so on.
Most? There are millions of Nikon lenses still in use that aren't AF-S. Hell, I do this for part of my living and in my bag I have two AF-S lenses (70-200mm and 18-35mm) and two AF-D primes (50mm and 85mm).

The two AF-D lenses are probably 15 years old and they're on my D700 bodies just as much as the others.

SCEtoAUX

4,119 posts

80 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
stemll said:
Kinky said:
For buying 2nd hand or new, I think the only place I'd consider is Grays of Westminster, as I've always dealt with them and have been truly wonderful. Unless I purchased from a fellow PHer (Lord Simpo for example) thumbup
MPB are fine (have bought from and sold to them) and the Sony I've just bought from Harrison's in Leeds is indistinguishable from new.
Yep, MBP are great, as are Mifsuds in Brixham. As for Grays I found them to be totally pretentious with very high prices.

Simpo Two

85,151 posts

264 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
SCEtoAUX said:
Most? There are millions of Nikon lenses still in use that aren't AF-S. Hell, I do this for part of my living and in my bag I have two AF-S lenses (70-200mm and 18-35mm) and two AF-D primes (50mm and 85mm).

The two AF-D lenses are probably 15 years old and they're on my D700 bodies just as much as the others.
That's your choice - and the OP is not in D700 territory. Lenses for entry-level Nikons are all AF-S; they have to be. Unless you want something esoteric, which your average amateur photographer won't, there are plenty of AF-S options. In short, it's not relevant to most users. If it was, Nikon wouldn't sell any entry-level bodies.

It reminds me of Mac users who'd poo-poo PCs by saying they could only run one programme at once.

The good news for Kinky is that he can buy a camera body that will drive all his lenses for c.£100.

Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 17th May 22:12

Kinky

Original Poster:

39,456 posts

268 months

Thursday 17th May 2018
quotequote all
Phew, finally got around to having 2 spare minutes!!!!

So I've checked the lenses we've got and they are as follows:
- Nikkor AF-S Micro 40mm 1:2.8G DX
- Nikkor AF-S 18-70mm 1:3.5-4.5G ED DX
- Nikkor AF 70-300mm 1:4-5.6G

We did have 2 others, but I forgot they were accidently damaged (not our fault).

Just to clarify criteria ......
- A Nikon camera or body, which would fit the 3 lenses above
- Similar(ish) size/weight to the D50
- No limit/restriction on SD card size (not compact flash or micro SD)
- Not interested in all the latest bells & whistles (tilt/swivel screen, WiFi, bluetooth, etc)
- Purely domestic use only (not a hardcore hobbyist or hardcore amateur

Happy with new or 2nd hand, but probably sourced from a retailer as it would have been serviced (and I guess some form of basic warranty at least). Absolute budget is around the £600. To be honest, I think we'd rather a 2nd-hand unit as we're not paying for all the (unwanted bells and whistles). Unless there's a 'basic' new model around.

Why can't this be about cars, or computers .... I'd be much happier and in my comfort zone smile

eltawater

3,107 posts

178 months

Friday 18th May 2018
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Brand spanking new D7200 for £599
https://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/nikon-d7200-camera-b...

Second hand D7100 for £449
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot...

Or save yourself a packet by dropping from 24MP to 16MP:
Second hand D7000 for £279
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot...

All of the above are dual slot SD capable of at least 64GB and include a focus motor in the body for older lenses. Any new consumer model in your price range (d5600, d3400) doesn't have one so your 70-300 would go manual focus only. You could potentially pick one of these and replace the 70-300 with a more modern AF-P 70-300 but I would recommend picking a D7x00 series body instead from the list above as you won't then be limited to the basic controls.

I'm probably going to be chopping my D7000 into CEX for £150 soon as I'm itching for that D7200 so you can have my genuine Nikon grip if that's what you ultimately go for biggrin


Edited by eltawater on Friday 18th May 03:18

ukaskew

10,642 posts

220 months

Friday 18th May 2018
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
In short, it's not relevant to most users. If it was, Nikon wouldn't sell any entry-level bodies.

It reminds me of Mac users who'd poo-poo PCs by saying they could only run one programme at once.
I simply highlighted that as the OP specifically wanted his current glass to work that he may need a body with a motor. It was an educated guess as he had a D50, around that time the single most popular second lens was the AF 50mm 1.8 as that was pre removal of motor in bodies. No need to turn it into a 'thing'.

Turns out...OP does have an AF lens so will need a body with a motor.

In terms of the budget, a D7100 or D7200 would be a great shout, based on your requirements I think the D7100 would be plenty of camera for you. As others have mentioned I'd seriously consider other used stores such as MPB, most gear I've had from them has been indistinguishable from new. Grey's can be very expensive.

Edited by ukaskew on Friday 18th May 06:24

Kinky

Original Poster:

39,456 posts

268 months

Friday 18th May 2018
quotequote all
Folks,

I truly cannot thank you all enough thumbup

Some great reading and options to consider. I think my takeaway is that a D7x00 is the way to go, Whichever one we go for (the 0, 1 or new 2) will be a huge step up from what we have today with the D50.

It looks like there's some light at the end of the tunnel bounce

The D7200 that eltawater linked to above is very appealing ...... especially considering it's new and a 3-year warranty :scratchin: The only downside to a 2nd-hand body is having one that's been cleaned/serviced/etc - so buying from a retailer is key; although I guess I could get it serviced anyway, post-purchase (if done privately).

Time to start reading those reviews.

Thank you all again, so so very much. It's truly very much appreciated.

And most sincere apologies for the numptiness paperbag