Nikon has, as expected, launched the D50 digital SLR camera. Nikon claims it is the smallest, lightest, and easiest to use Nikon DSLR to date. The 6.1 MP D50 will arrive in stores in June 2005 and sell for an estimated street price of $899.95. At that price, the outfit will include the new AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED lens.
The camera is aimed at families looking to preserve "life events such as weddings, first homeruns, birthdays, prom night, and golden anniversaries, among others." One of the seven Digital Vari-Program modes includes a mode that adjusts several of the camera's settings, including ISO, shutter speeds, and white balance, to produce optimized images when taking pictures of children.
The D50 includes Nikon's new 3D Color Matrix Metering II. This feature automatically compares input from its frame-wide 420-pixel metering sensor for each scene to an on-board database of over 30,000 scenes from actual photography. The exposure evaluation methods can detect highlights and shadows in the frame and compensate for them to help prevent inaccurate exposure
The camera is ready to shoot in .2 seconds from power-on and the shutter response is almost instant. The D50 can shoot 2.5 pictures per second for up to 137 consecutive pictures.
For more info on the Nikon D50 digital SLR camera, visit Nikon's D50 website.
