Buying used 300D or D50 ?

[cuneus]

assuming a a shutter count in the low 000's (and kit lens) any views are appreciated

[Andy M]

What price £?

[cuneus]

around £260 for each

[Mr Noble]

I've got a D70 going spare now I can work my D200.

[gfwilliams]

I've got a D50

I would recomend getting a D50. The only thing about it is that there is a better option not much more expensive, so it is probably better to get the D70 straight away

[beano500]

D50 will be a bit noisy and probably lacking a few specs? If it were me starting over I'd go 300D....


...mind you for any Red Cockwell fans out there, have a laugh at this "comparison"

Better still, try this and this

Conclusion - Pros

* Good resolution and detail, just slight less 'crisp' than the D70/D70s
* Use of default color Mode III delivers punchy vibrant colors
* Low noise even at high sensitivities, better than competitors
* Excellent image parameter control; sharpening, tone, color mode, saturation and hue
* Custom curves allows user definable tone response
* Nikon Matrix metering II , brighter than D70/D70s
* Body design, finish and build quality
* Very fast camera operation, virtually no startup, minimal usage delays
* Larger viewfinder eyecup (less stray light)
* Viewfinder focus screen display of memory card and battery status
* Fast SD write performance
* Excellent continuous shooting buffer usage, slower but more frames in 30 seconds
* Most camera settings available via buttons on camera body
* Lighter than D70 although not as small as Pentax or Canon competition
* Help pages on custom function menus
* Image comment attachment
* Multiple color space support (sRGB, Adobe RGB)
* Orientation sensor for automatic image rotation
* Fully Nikkor lens compatible (plus new DX lenses)
* Large, 2.0" LCD monitor
* USB 2.0 (Hi-speed) transfers
* Value for money

Conclusion - Cons

* Not as crisp (per pixel sharpness) as D70/D70s
* Still some moire / maze artifact pattern visible (noticeably less than D70/D70s however)
* Kit lens performance is pretty average, corner soft, light fall-off
* No Kelvin white balance selection
* No backlight on status LCD
* No mirror lock-up (vibration reduction for long / macro exposures)
* One command dial
* LCD monitor display gamma can make some images appear over-exposed when they aren't
* No viewfinder grid lines (surprisingly useful if you're used to them; D70/D70s)
* No vertical grip (portrait grip / battery pack) available
* Encrypted white balance in RAW files limits third party converters
* RAW+JPEG only captures a Basic quality JPEG


Versus


Conclusion - Pros

* Excellent resolution, matches EOS 10D
* Good color, more contrasty tonal response thanks to default parameter set
* Noise free 'silky smooth' images at ISO 100, 200 and 400
* Very low noise levels even at ISO 1600, virtually unnoticeable below this
* Bundled EF-S 18 - 55 mm is surprisingly good considering its price and weight
* Excellent seven point AF system, fast, good in low light and reliable
* Pop-up flash rises higher than EOS 10D, less lens shadowing, less red-eye
* Very clever 'smart buffering' means you can almost always take the next shot
* Good metering, although no direct control of metering mode
* Good manual preset white balance, average automatic white balance
* Much less of a 'dust problem' than other competitive cameras (special filter?)
* In-camera programmable 'parameter sets' to control image processing algorithms
* Adobe RGB parameter, although it's a shame you can't combine with other parameters
* RAW mode provides the 'digital negative', about 1 stop of latitude in over exposed images
* Remote capture software included for computer controlled shooting
* Despite the plastic body the camera still feels solid and able to take the knocks
* Easy to use, integrated digital / photographic controls and displays
* Playback magnification up to 10x (perfect for checking focus)
* Orientation sensor for automatic image rotation
* Higher resolution and bright LCD monitor (although no anti-reflective coating)
* Fully Canon EF lens compatible (plus EF-S lenses)
* Good selection of exposure modes although some settings have been reduced
* Excellent battery life, light weight and small batteries
* Excellent supplied software suite
* Unbelievably good value for money, groundbreaking


Conclusion - Cons

* Opening the CF compartment door shuts camera down, loses any buffered images
* Still a very average automatic white balance performance, we expected more
* 'Dumbed down' feature set (forced AI Focus, forced Evaluative metering, etc.)
* Plastic finish will not be everyone's taste, lightweight compartment doors
* Louder shutter sound than EOS 10D, more physical 'slap' from the mirror
* Occasionaly 'strange dot' artifacts on fine detail in images
* No flash exposure compensation
* No Kelvin white balance selection in-camera
* AF area red dot indicator isn't ideal and has a slight halo
* Reduced continuous shooting rate and buffer size (2.5 fps for max 4 images)
* Viewfinder view slightly darker than EOS 10D
* Five levels of parameter adjustment is welcome, but why stop there?
* No parameter adjustment with Adobe RGB color space selected
* White balance not fine-tunable
* Lots of features lost due to removal of custom functions
* ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed
* Slow RAW conversion (with supplied FileViewerUtility)




Of the pros and cons, dust, noise and lens are all on the side of the 300D

[byker28i]

I've read all this about low shutter counts, but I've had my 300d now for nearly 3 years and have shot over 35,000 photo's with it. BUT, it's hard to tell (isn't it?) as the photo count resets at 10K