D50 discontinued?

I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

I'm baffled. The D40 is a less powerful camera (albeit perfectly
capable). Is this gospel? Or just an uninformed sales person?

And for an additional curiousity: The D40 has gone to the new DX lens
series, which has the AF in the lens, like the Canons. Is it possible
that Nikon is following Canon in this regard and moving to AF in the
lens for future DSLR cameras?

Any insights from those close to Nikon is appreciated.... I suppose
with PMA show coming up in the spring, we'll see some new product
announcements from Nikon...

alexeck wrote:
I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

I'm baffled. The D40 is a less powerful camera (albeit perfectly
capable). Is this gospel? Or just an uninformed sales person?

And for an additional curiousity: The D40 has gone to the new DX lens
series, which has the AF in the lens, like the Canons. Is it possible
that Nikon is following Canon in this regard and moving to AF in the
lens for future DSLR cameras?


Compare it with the D50. Then ask yourself, "What is the point?"

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond40/page2.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/page2.asp

"Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!)" wrote in message
...

The ability to use non-AF-S lenses for one.

Yes, people will be cutting themselves off from being able to use some of
Nikon's finest lenses. I have a couple of af-s zooms, but my favourite has
got to be the non af-s 85/1.4. It will not zoom, but is damned good fun to
use, and I always hate taking it off my d70s!

cheers adrian www.boliston.co.uk

"Adrian Boliston" wrote:

"Ed Ruf (REPLY to E-MAIL IN SIG!)" wrote in message
.. .

The ability to use non-AF-S lenses for one.

Yes, people will be cutting themselves off from being able to use some of
Nikon's finest lenses. I have a couple of af-s zooms, but my favourite has
got to be the non af-s 85/1.4. It will not zoom, but is damned good fun to
use, and I always hate taking it off my d70s!


The AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D will function *perfectly* on the Nikon D40,
as long as you are capable of manual focusing.

Everything else works, you just have to turn the focus ring by hand.

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:48:27 -0800, alexeck wrote
(in article om):

I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.


It is possible that Best Buy has discontinued carrying the D50, but Nikon is
still delivering them to other retailers.

The D50 will probably be replaced by a D60. Nikon is still listing the D50
and even the D70s in their current lineup.

alexeck wrote:
I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

I'm baffled. The D40 is a less powerful camera (albeit perfectly
capable). Is this gospel? Or just an uninformed sales person?

And for an additional curiousity: The D40 has gone to the new DX lens
series, which has the AF in the lens, like the Canons. Is it possible
that Nikon is following Canon in this regard and moving to AF in the
lens for future DSLR cameras?

Any insights from those close to Nikon is appreciated.... I suppose
with PMA show coming up in the spring, we'll see some new product
announcements from Nikon...

The D50 was replaced by the D80, and the D70s was replaced by the D200.
The D40 is a stripped and shrunk down, and dumbed down new entry level
camera.

In Ottawa I found the D200 selling for $1,700 body, and the D50/18~55
lens selling for $650, the D40 was $750.

Not Disclosed wrote:
alexeck wrote:
I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

I'm baffled. The D40 is a less powerful camera (albeit perfectly
capable). Is this gospel? Or just an uninformed sales person?

And for an additional curiousity: The D40 has gone to the new DX lens
series, which has the AF in the lens, like the Canons. Is it possible
that Nikon is following Canon in this regard and moving to AF in the
lens for future DSLR cameras?

Any insights from those close to Nikon is appreciated.... I suppose
with PMA show coming up in the spring, we'll see some new product
announcements from Nikon...

The D50 was replaced by the D80, and the D70s was replaced by the D200.
The D40 is a stripped and shrunk down, and dumbed down new entry level
camera.

In Ottawa I found the D200 selling for $1,700 body, and the D50/18~55
lens selling for $650, the D40 was $750.

D70 repl. by D80. Major changes, some good, some bad..
D50 repl. by D40. Changes aimed to impress the novice. Like a big
LCD, probably the least important thing I can think of personally.
Meanwhile, functionality that the $200
P&S migrator will never miss....is now gone.
The D40 IMO, is a cost-cutting, too small, step down from the D50.

Rita Ä Berkowitz ritaberk2O04 @aol.com wrote:
Tony Polson wrote:

The AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D will function *perfectly* on the Nikon D40,
as long as you are capable of manual focusing.

Everything else works, you just have to turn the focus ring by hand.

Yeah, but you'll never know if you are even near focused since the
viewfinder isn't optimized for MF.

Eh? The rangefinder still works. The only part that doesn't work is
the motorized AF.

Andrew.

"Christopher Campbell" wrote in
message e.com...
On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:48:27 -0800, alexeck wrote
(in article om):

I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

It is possible that Best Buy has discontinued carrying the D50, but
Nikon is
still delivering them to other retailers.

Correct.

Nikon is still shipping D50 cameras. I don't know if they're still
manufacturing them over in Thailand, but I would guess they are until
another model is announced.

The D50 will probably be replaced by a D60. Nikon is still listing
the D50
and even the D70s in their current lineup.

People have been guessing about a D60 model for a while, but I don't
know if we'll see one or not since the D50 is a step above the D40 in
many ways and still a good choice, and the D80 came out with it's
impressive array of features and performance. With the D40 in the
entry level spot now, we might see a high end model replacement from
Nikon instead, like a D3x or a D300.

--
Happy Holidays!

On Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:56:37 -0800, Bill wrote
(in article ):

"Christopher Campbell" wrote in
message e.com...
On Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:48:27 -0800, alexeck wrote
(in article om):

I was all set to buy a D50, called BestBuy, they said the D50 was
"discontinued" and has been replaced by the D40.

It is possible that Best Buy has discontinued carrying the D50, but
Nikon is
still delivering them to other retailers.

Correct.

Nikon is still shipping D50 cameras. I don't know if they're still
manufacturing them over in Thailand, but I would guess they are until
another model is announced.

The D50 will probably be replaced by a D60. Nikon is still listing
the D50
and even the D70s in their current lineup.

People have been guessing about a D60 model for a while, but I don't
know if we'll see one or not since the D50 is a step above the D40 in
many ways and still a good choice, and the D80 came out with it's
impressive array of features and performance. With the D40 in the
entry level spot now, we might see a high end model replacement from
Nikon instead, like a D3x or a D300.



Well, that is what I have been thinking, too. But we have been disappointed
so far.

My guess is that the D3h is next, possibly followed by a large sensor D3x.