That link is only there to be counted by the advertiser for payment from the sellers of a BOOK, and DOES NOT lead to a D50 camera, but some crap book about cameras. The link’s only there to make you click on it!

SCAM!

Aside from that rant, yes, the D50 is a good camera. If I could buy them for the $30 or so advertised by that scam link, I’d take two hundred of them!
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The D50 is an older camera (introduced in 2005) .. the newest cameras are the D40x and D80. Here is a link to compare the three

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=nikon_d50%2Cnikon_d40x%2Cnikon_d80&show=all
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DigiPro

All of the major brands are good. Choose a brand that appeals to you. Then you have to think about getting a spare battery, what size memory card, if you want an extended warranty, how much you can afford, what size zoom, if you want manual controls, the size of the camera, finding a reliable place to purchase it, and the list goes on and on and on…….

The first thing to realize is that almost any digital camera will take good pictures. If more people would read the manual more than once, they would be able to take better pictures. Usually, the person assumes it is the camera when it could be them not knowing exactly what to do. Just give yourself more photographic knowledge by doing more reading on the internet.

I really believe buying a camera is an individual choice.
The person needs to read alot of reviews on cameras so they can decide on the features that they really want and need.
Go to the store and hold them so you can see if they feel comfortable in your hands. If possible, take some pictures in the store to check the quality of the pictures.
I can only give a suggestion of what to look for in a new digital camera.
Good Luck

my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions
References :

The most expensive, technologically advanced DSLR will never take a good picture.

Ask the Seller this question: "Does this camera have a USA Warranty?" If they reply "It has a full manufacturers’ warranty" thank them and shop elsewhere. Occasionally sellers will buy cameras from Hong Kong or Singapore cheaper than they can from the licensed USA importer. These are called "gray market" cameras and the warranty is only good in the country they were sold in. NikonUSA will NOT honor the warranty.
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Don’t buy it at any of these rip-off scam sites that are owned by George Sabato:

http://www.bestpricecameras.com
http://www.photodynasty.com
http://www.beststopcamera.com
http://www.citywidedigital.com
http://www.eastcoastdistributor.com
http://www.hellocamera.com
http://www.infiniticameras.com
http://www.infinitiphoto.com
http://www.infinitycameras.com
http://www.jandkcameras.com
http://www.mraccessory.com
http://www.razzphoto.com
http://www.regencycamera.com

Check out how many Better Business Bureau complaints there are (1000+). He keeps changing names to avoid ripped-off customers and to trick new customers.

http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.aspx?id=12668&pid=44&page=0&FindStr=photodynasty.com&SearchBy=company&Address=&City=&Phone1=&Phone2=&Phone3=&MembersOnly=False

References :
http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.aspx?id=12668&pid=44&page=0&FindStr=photodynasty.com&SearchBy=company&Address=&City=&Phone1=&Phone2=&Phone3=&MembersOnly=False

compare them under the Compare feature.

just be sure you want a SLR first. really cool to have. i know a lot of people who wanted one because SLR sounds better but they arent user friendly in the sense of point and shoot.

think about size. how much are you willing to lug around with you. is this your main camera? going to carry it with you all over the beach or do you have a smaller one for that.

Nikon and canon are both great cameras with canon coming out a little more on top when it comes to features and ease of use.

The nikons came out in this order: D70, D50, D80. 50 and 70 both have same max resolution while 80 is more.

all 3 have rechargable batteries which is the main thing i look for. never buy a camera that runs on AA. ever.

all 3 can shoot in RAW. the good thing about the D70 is its shutter speed, twice as fast as the other 2. great for fast shots.

the D80 has 10MP which in my opinion is ridiculous. dont be one of ‘those’ who fall for the MP myth of more is better. the hubble space telescope takes photographs with a .1MP sensor.

price depends on where you get it. i get mine used from ebay.

the canon XT, XS, XTi and XSi are great cameras as well.

the XSi and XS are both newer cameras so youll be paying a lot more for that. i stay away from the newest of the new. in my opinion its just bragging rights "Oh look, i have the newest camera".. but in a year its going to be "old". plus, new cameras always have bugs that need to be worked out so Id look at either the XT or XS.

XS has higher max resolution, higher MP, but doesnt mean it takes better photographs. the photographer decides how well the photos come out.

Both sensors are CMOS. Both have same shutter speed. The XS has a massive LCD screen. good and bad. the bigger, the more chance of scratches. smaller might be harder to see. I remember my canon G5. the LCD was tiny but I was able to see it quite well.

Remember that the XT has a plasticy look to it not sure if thats your taste.

The XS has a very odd grip on it. go to the store and feel for yourself but to me it seems too small for a camera that size.

as for the lens, there are always better lenses then the one you have. find the one that suits your need. more $$$ does NOT mean better.

So, id recommend either the canon XT or the D70 but the choice is up to you! Good luck!

i dont know a thing about pentax. I try to stick with cameras that I know work well.
References :

Pentax is actually the oldest optical company of those listed.

Avoid the lower priced Nikons they have dropped a load of functions on them and you can only use some of their lenses (good as they are).

Canon is the most expensive system to buy into.

I defy anybody to know which camera body a picture was taken on, lens quality is another matter. A quality lens will always stand out.

With Pentax you can use any K mount lens made since 1973, older ones with an adapter. Some of the best lenses ever made are Pentax. If you wear glasses chances are your looking through a Pentax lens right now.

With the anti shake in camera every lens you fit is anti shake with the newer Pentax DSLR models.

Chris
References :

Added

Some people will want to make a big issue out of the fact that there are some nikon lenses that will not autofocus on these cameras. Right now there are "only" about 39 lenses that autofocus on these cameras. They cover the range of focal lengths. I doubt any photographer would be seriously limited with "only" this many lenses to choose from. If you want to manually focus you can more than double this and do so at a low cost. Manual focusing is easy and how we did things for decades before the advent of autofocus.

Cannon and Nikon chose to put the vibration reduction in the lens rather than the body. Yes that means you get it only on lenses with that feature built in. In the body in theory it would work on every lens. But in fact image stbilization in the lens has proved to work faster and smoother with a lower impact on focus times than image stabilization in the body

I found it interesting that one of the comments here said "never buy a camera that runs on AA. ever." because while I agree that the other batteries can give you superior performance under most condiotns. I just bought the MB-d10 multi battery pack for my D300 spending 300 us on it and one of the main motivations was that in a real pinch I could use AA batteries which I could get anywhere

In closing all the major manyfactures make good cameras. With Nikon and Canon having the largest market share. Most photographers are loyal to what they use and like. Go to the stores get them in your hand and find what you like. What fits your hand well, which has the features you want in an easy to use format
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