Photo gurus decode something for me

[Covey]

So for a while now I have been bothering you guys with questions for my up coming camera purchase.

Basically I boiled it down to:
The cheap side
Canon Powershot S3

High end
Nikon D50

That was a thread into itself but I decided to table the purchase and buy coral. I needed something to take pictures of.

Well a couple months now later I am thinking I will actually buying a camera.

I went back to dpreview.com (best thing you guys ever taught me) to him and haw and second guess myself over and over again and I discovered a new camera the Nikon D40
http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/541536652.htm

I wanted the options avaible with the DSLR but the price was always a killer. Then they released a budget beginners DSLR. Perfect for me.

I could still buy the D50 but I don't know about getting the model going out of date.

So D40... D50 could someone explain in laymans terms the difference between the two.

Thanks

 

[Covey]

and I forgot the decoding part...

from dpreview.com

"Auto Focus only for AF-S or AF-I lenses

Perhaps the biggest negative on the D40 is that it doesn't have an internal focus drive motor and hence no mechanical focus drive pin, instead it only has CPU contacts which means it can only Auto Focus with AF-S and AF-I lenses (those with built-in focus motors). Indeed our 'standard' lens the Nikkor 50 mm F1.8D (and the F1.4D) are manual focus only on the D40. The images below show the difference between the mount on the D40 and D80, the D80 has a mechanical focus drive pin at about the 7 o'clock position. "

Is this a big deal and what does it mean to the begining user?

 

[gregr]

I could still buy the D50 but I don't know about getting the model going out of date.

Sometimes that is not a bad idea. Manufacturers sometimes come out with new models that are only small upgrades, and the price drops on the old model, making it a bargain. I don't know if that's the case here as I'm not super familiar with the Nikon line, but I'll go look at the two models on dpreview and see what I can see.
First thing I see is a size difference- do you have small hands? The D40 looks to be about a centimeter smaller in most dimensions.
Same sensor so image quality should be pretty much the same, however Nikon has improved the processing technology so the D40 images actually looks better. The D40 has 3200 iso; that's not important to me or most people but if you think you're going to be shooting handheld in low light (concerts, parties, etc) you might find that helpful. Grainy but helpful
They made the flash much more powerful on the D40.
Speed is basically the same except the D40 can shoot unlimited jpegs (the D50 will stop after 12 shots to transfer the data... again, not a big deal).
The D50 can't use high capacity SD cards (D40 can).
The LCD is much better and 1/2 inch bigger on the D40. That is a pretty significant upgrade.
Based on what I just read I'd recommend the D40 over the D50 based on the improved image quality and better LCD- two very significant upgrades and worth the extra hundred bucks imo.
The AF issue is unfortunate considering you have that lens-- you won't be able to autofocus with that 50mm lens though manually focusing a fast 50mm lens isn't that hard, relatively speaking. Any lens that doesn't have an AF motor built-in will only focus manually on the D40. How big of a deal is that? It'd be different for everyone- do you wear glasses and rely solely on AF? If you are able to determine when the image is in focus in your viewfinder you should be ok, though it's an extra thing to worry about. In the old days... everyone had to focus manually...
Greg

 

[maroun.c]

You have gotten good advice so far, However I'll just add the fact that the D40 should be a good camera and for a very good price, however I would consider the lenses to buy. That is usually different from user to user depending on your shooting style. the reason for mentioning the lenses is that the lenses the D40 limits you to are usually more expensive than their equivalents that you can use on the D50. Just to mention the 50 mm which is usually present with each photographer (hobbyist or pro) it's a very cheap lens but is razor sharp, very good for closups, portraits, some who don't mind zooming using their legs (moving forward or backward) even have it for everyday use. add to it cheap closup filters and your set for medium quality macros. add to it teleconverters and/or reversing ring and your set for extreem macros.... best of all it's price is less than 100 usd. I don't see myself stuck with manual focus and for that lens aloe I would move to another camera wether D50or 70s.
Try to decide from now on yor probable selection and consider the price difference of the lenses and decide accorfingly