Working the D50

Nikon D50; IR solution turned compact daily shooter.

I bought my pre-owned Nikon D50 primarily to do infrared work. My research  had indicated that right out of the box it was well-suited for IR, but it was also one of the easiest cameras to enhance by removing the IR-blocking filter. But after using it for a while, I’ve decided to forgo conversion.

The D50 is one solid, simple DSLR. Compared to the D70 it replaced, it has slightly enhanced performance in a smaller, simpler to operate package. Except for the most basic functions, the D50 is essentially menu-driven, which is OK, because the menus are quite simple compared with such cameras as the comprehensive D90. It’s only slightly larger than the diminutive D3100, but feels more solid in the hand. And, it retains the ability to work with D-series lenses, and has a top-deck LCD display, which the D3100 does not.

And for me, the D90 user, it works with all my D90-compatible goodies, including batteries and SD cards. No battery grip (save for third-party options) but then it’s nice to just to use it as-is and travel light. 

As an out-of-the-box IR camera, the D50 will white balance through the R72 filter, and makes pleasing tobacco and pale blue split-toned images which need little or no post processing.