Friend has had a D50 and for their purposes it is an awesome value/upgrade compared to P&S options that would be in a similar price range. Of course it is easy to point to the newer technology bodies, but what we are looking for is a Nikon slr that can accept larger CF cards than the D50, has performance that is worth upgrading to, is readily available used on B/S boards,and is reliable.
Any thoughts/discussion welcome. I'm a relatively new happy D700 owner now, but all of my experience is on the "other" side so I am not certain of the rep of many of the Nikon bodies historically.
At this level, we are obviously not looking for ultimate sports or landscape capabilities, but a modest upgrade from the D50 that has served them well thus far...
I agree -- the D300 has come down quite a lot, and is probably the best bang for the buck. A D90 will be a bit cheaper if he likes the smaller body (it adds video, but does not use CF cards, if that matters).
As a D50 owner they probably dont want to give up the screw drive motor so that rules out the lower end models. D90 is the best bang for your buck IMO. If a D50 got the job done for your friend then a D300 would probably be overkill. The D90 is 90% of what a D300 is at half the price.
i'll agree that the d300 is a great value now.....$700 is a great price....having said that, i just picked up a d70s for $160, and that was a deal and a half
D2X ! Still excellent image quality at the base ISO and the best colour quality of all Nikon cameras.
Picked one up a month ago for $800 with 26k clicks, as new with a box and all accessories.
I think a lot of D7000 bodies will hit the market once the D800 is out. A lot of D700 users have purchased these as their backup. Most D700 users won't let that body leave their arsenal because it's just so good.
The D200s have slipped below the $500 mark, even with extras. This is a great body if you shoot landscapes or people. The skin tones have not been equaled by any Nikon body since then. Too bad noise creeps in very quickly above ISO 200.
D2H bodies continue to come onto the market at about 20 percent of their original cost or less. I tried using one a few weeks ago and quickly was reminded of just how far we've come in 8 years.
Carl makes a good point about the D7000. I am VERY happy with mine so far, and paid $940 on here for it last week. A little more than a D300, but i think it's worth it.
