Nikon users in here please

Buttkicker

Buttkicker

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Nikon users in here please
a good friend of mine bought a Nikon D50 about 6 years ago and always used to moan it does not work right and always this problem and that problem
well I a ashamed to say 6 years later and he rang me up about a week ago asking if I would have alook at this camera with a view to assessing it and telling him any faults
last night he plonked a Nikon D50 with Lens on my doorstep with 2 Sd cards telling me it does not work
no manual or booklet of any kind to help me I use Canon and have never even taken a single picture with a Nikon!!!!

I have today downloaded a manual for this camera and was most surprized to find that this camera wont read either of his unbranded sd cards
the camera show CH A in bottom right of viewfinder
cannot find out what that means at the moment
I have 5 SD cards for my Canon all of them branded and all the newer one's wont work in his camera apart from a really old Riteck 2gb card which works as it should so 7 cards currently at my house and only the old 2gb will work

so at least the camera works

have been playing around and the flash sync speed is 1/500 which is pretty amazing for a 10yr old camera (come on Canon pull your finger out)

the autofocus is really really slow and the camera has bad lagging

he is a total beginner who spent about £500 on this outfit could not get it to work so has been stuck in a cupboard for the last 5 years and wants my advice
this camera has no firmware upgrade available which is a bit of a bummer as the current 1 in 7 is no good to man nor beast
must also add the kit lens on it is of a very low quality

I am thinking he should sell this for what ever he can get or maybe a trade in deal against a more modern camera...

any one know a cure for the sd cards with this camera or a brand known to work so far flogging a deadhorse with 16gb sandisk extreme trancsend 32gb 600x Sandisk 8x HD 8gb and the other unmarked brands
 
Buttkicker said:
I am thinking he should sell this for what ever he can get or maybe a trade in deal against a more modern camera...

any one know a cure for the sd cards with this camera or a brand known to work so far flogging a deadhorse with 16gb sandisk extreme trancsend 32gb 600x Sandisk 8x HD 8gb and the other unmarked brands
Click to expand...

I'm with you, I had a D50 years ago and I upgraded after a year as I wasn't that happy with it, Not sure what he will get part ex but id try that first then Ebay.
 
From memory l'm pretty sure it won't recognise anything over 4gb.
It's quite an old body, was the original DSLR by nikon
 
I'm pretty sure that 2gb (i.e. non-SDHC) cards are the limit on the D50. No particular reason to move it on that I can see, though modern toys are always nice. The AF speed is more likely governed by the lens. I suspect it will AF fine with a modern AF-S lens. Not sure about the bad lagging you mention.
 
The D50 can only use SD cards up to 2GB in size.
The laggy AF is not normal. Could be dirty lens to body contacts.
Try cleaning them with an eraser or a cotton bud with IPA, taking care to not drop anything into the body.
 
IIRC, the CH A means change the memory card and is probably a result of the card being too big for the camera to use. Try it with a smaller (Non HC) card if you have one. AF speed isn't as fast as modern cameras but isn't too bad for the time. The old 18-55 lens wasn't brilliant but does the job. The 18-70 that was shipped with the D70 of a similar age is significantly better.
Trade value is probably about £30-£40 including the lens.
A potentially significant plus for the D50 is that it can AF with older screw driven AF lenses and doesn't need the more expensive AF-S/HSM etc. versions.
 
thanks for the input guys... 2gb the limit my god it is years ago I have put a 2gb card in any of my cameras - been playing around a little bit more and am quickly coming to the conclusion that this setup is a bag of rubbish the lens with it is 18-55mm and is very low quality

one thing I do find surprizing have never used a Nikon the buttons are not very intuitive simple things like selecting autofocus points needs me visiting the manual I downloaded
so I believe this camera is totally unsuitable for a complete beginner just wish he would of asked me when he bought it

he was swaying as to keep this or get something more modern that is a bit easier to use

my advice is definately get something newer - the Sony RX100 3 looks a good bit of kit and looks good for a beginner
he will be totally lost with this set up - he went and bought 3 8gb SD cards for this Nikon - so no wonder he is in a tizz with it
 
Buttkicker said:
thanks for the input guys... 2gb the limit my god it is years ago I have put a 2gb card in any of my cameras - been playing around a little bit more and am quickly coming to the conclusion that this setup is a bag of rubbish the lens with it is 18-55mm and is very low quality

one thing I do find surprizing have never used a Nikon the buttons are not very intuitive simple things like selecting autofocus points needs me visiting the manual I downloaded
so I believe this camera is totally unsuitable for a complete beginner just wish he would of asked me when he bought it

he was swaying as to keep this or get something more modern that is a bit easier to use

my advice is definately get something newer - the Sony RX100 3 looks a good bit of kit and looks good for a beginner
he will be totally lost with this set up - he went and bought 3 8gb SD cards for this Nikon - so no wonder he is in a tizz with it
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the d50. It was fine for beginners when it was released and it's still fine now. I'm genuinely surprised that you're finding it so difficult to use. Even the 18-55 lens isn't that bad. A bit cheap maybe but the optics are fine.

Now that you know the camera is working, stick a card in, stick it on auto and let your friend have a play. He might like it.

A rx100 III is nice but at £650, it might be worth persevering with the d50 for a little while first.
 
One says bag of carp....

another says still have it works great...

I love this forum:D
 
its my friends choice what happens the current situation is he has a camera that wont work with his current sd cards
it seems odd that the answer is buy a bunch of 2gb cards
at the end of the day he is not short of a bob or two and wants a camera that is 100% working and easy to use

I will give him the camera back and show him the basics then let him decide what he wants
 
Buttkicker said:
its my friends choice what happens the current situation is he has a camera that wont work with his current sd cards
it seems odd that the answer is buy a bunch of 2gb cards
at the end of the day he is not short of a bob or two and wants a camera that is 100% working and easy to use

I will give him the camera back and show him the basics then let him decide what he wants
Click to expand...
I thought you said you were his friend!!!!!!!
 
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