Nikon D50 review with 18-55mm f3.5~5.6 DX lens
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Written by Gordon Laing
Quality
Outdoor scene – Nikon D50 comparison
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |||
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1/250, f8, 200 ISO |
1/200, f8, 100 ISO |
1/400, f8, 100 ISO |
1/500, f8, 200 ISO | |||
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1/250, f8, 200 ISO |
1/200, f8, 100 ISO |
1/400, f8, 100 ISO |
1/500, f8, 200 ISO | |||
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1/250, f8, 200 ISO |
1/200, f8, 100 ISO |
1/400, f8, 100 ISO |
1/500, f8, 200 ISO |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Resolution
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D | |
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1650 lpph, 18-55mm DX at 35mm, f8, 1/100, 200 ISO |
1750 lpph, 18-55mm EF-S at 35mm, f8, 1/60, 100 ISO | |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |
 |  | |
1550 lpph, 18-70mm DT at 35mm, f8, 1/50, 100 ISO |
1500 lpph, 18-55mm DA at 35mm, f8, 1/90, 200 ISO |
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D | |
 |  | |
1500 lpph, 18-55mm DX at 35mm, f8, 1/100, 200 ISO |
1750 lpph, 18-55mm EF-S at 35mm, f8, 1/60, 100 ISO | |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |
 |  | |
1500 lpph, 18-70mm DT at 35mm, f8, 1/50, 100 ISO |
1550 lpph, 18-55mm DA at 35mm, f8, 1/90, 200 ISO |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Noise levels
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |||
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100 ISO not available |
100 ISO, 1/125, f8 |
100 ISO, 1/125, f8 |
100 ISO not available | |||
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200 ISO, 1/200, f8 |
200 ISO, 1/200, f8 |
200 ISO, 1/250, f8 |
200 ISO, 1/180, f8 | |||
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400 ISO, 1/400, f8 |
400 ISO, 1/400, f8 |
400 ISO, 1/500, f8 |
400 ISO, 1/350, f8 | |||
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800 ISO, 1/800, f8 |
800 ISO, 1/800, f8 |
800 ISO, 1/1000, f8 |
800 ISO, 1/750, f8 | |||
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1600 ISO, 1/1600, f8 |
1600 ISO, 1/1600, f8 |
1600 ISO, 1/1600, f8 |
1600 ISO, 1/1500, f8 | |||
| |  |  | |||
3200 ISO not available |
3200 ISO not available |
3200 ISO, 1/3200, f8 |
3200 ISO, 1/3000, f8 |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Corner sharpness
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |||
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18-55mm DX at 18mm f3.5 |
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f3.5 |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f3.5 |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f3.5 | |||
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18-55mm DX at 18mm f8 |
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f8 |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f8 |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f8 | |||
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18-55mm DX at 18mm f16 |
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f16 |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f16 |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f16 | |||
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
18-55mm DX at 55mm f5.6 |
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f5.6 |
18-70mm DT at 55mm f5.6 |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f5.6 | |||
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18-55mm DX at 55mm f8 |
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f8 |
18-70mm DT at 55mm f8 |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f8 | |||
 |  |  |  | |||
18-55mm DX at 55mm f16 |
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f16 |
18-70mm DT at 55mm f16 |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f16 |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Chromatic aberration and purple fringing
Nikon D50 |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | |||
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18-55mm DX at 18mm f3.5 |
18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f3.5 |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f3.5 |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f3.5 | |||
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18-55mm DX at 55mm f5.6 |
18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f5.6 |
18-70mm DT at 70mm f5.6 |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f5.6 |
Macro (bundled lens)
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To measure macro performance we photographed a custom chart using the bundled lenses at a distance and focal length which delivered the maximum possible reproduction. The dark lines are 10mm apart. The image left was taken with the Nikon D50 and the 18-55mm DX lens at f8. Like other budget digital SLR lenses, the best macro performance was achieved using its longest focal length of 55mm. Here the lens captured an area measuring 70x49mm from a distance of 13cm. This is essentially the same as the competition, although superior to Konica Minolta. |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | ||
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18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f8 Max area of 66x44mm at 13cm |
18-70mm DT at 70mm f8 Max area of 82x54mm at 20.5cm |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f8 Max area of 66x44mm at 12cm |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Geometry, wide angle (bundled lens)
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | ||
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18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f8 Distortion: 3.35% barrel |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f8 Distortion: 3.49% barrel |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f8 Distortion: 2.76% barrel |
Geometry, telephoto (bundled lens)
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To measure geometric distortion we photographed a custom test chart consisting of a grid pattern with perfectly straight lines. Here are the results for the bundled lenses at their longest focal length with an aperture of f8 in Aperture Priority mode. The images were analysed with Imatest using 5th Order line calculation and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. The image left was taken with the Nikon D50 and the 18-55mm DX at 55mm f8. Barrel distortion was measured at 0.169% which is barely noticeable and the best in the group. |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | ||
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18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f8 Distortion: 0.389% pincushion |
18-70mm DT at 70mm f8 Distortion: 0.309% pincushion |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f8 Distortion: 0.58% pincushion |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
Nikon D50 wide angle uniformity comparison
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | ||
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18-55mm EF-S at 18mm f3.5 Mean corner fall-off: 68.8% |
18-70mm DT at 18mm f3.5 Mean corner fall-off: 73.5% |
18-55mm DA at 18mm f3.5 Mean corner fall-off: 61.8% |
Nikon D50 telephoto uniformity comparison
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To measure lens vignetting and light fall-off we photographed a white target with a highly diffused custom filter. Here are the results for the bundled lenses at their longest focal lengths with the apertures wide open in Aperture Priority mode. The images were analysed with Imatest and the full areas presented here at a reduced resolution. The image left was taken with the Nikon D50 and the 18-55mm DX at 55mm f5.6. The light falls off to an average of 90.3% in the corners, which is similar to the Konica Minolta and comfortably above the Canon and Pentax results. |
Canon EOS-350D |
Konica Minolta Dynax 5D |
Pentax *istDL | ||
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18-55mm EF-S at 55mm f5.6 Mean corner fall-off: 83.8% |
18-70mm DT at 70mm f5.6 Mean corner fall-off: 90.1% |
18-55mm DA at 55mm f5.6 Mean corner fall-off: 81.1% |
Nikon D50 results continued…
Outdoor / Resolution / Noise / Corner sharpness / Fringe and macro / Geometry / Vignetting
