Nikon 50D for $100? - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

11/21/2005 02:19:20 PM · #1

My husband came home from church last night and said that a friend of ours had purchased a Nikon D50 for $100. The friend works for a local university and said that they auction off the equipment every so often and upgrade to newer stuff. I don't know what was included with the purchase.

He asked Tony (my husband) if I would be interested to know the next time they are unloading cameras. Hubby said yes.

I don't know much about the D50 - only a bit of what I've looked up online. Does anyone have first hand experience with one and what is your opinion? I do know that the longest shutter speed is only 30 sec...and I was hoping for longer. Still, at that price it's probably something I could live with?

It seems like a really good price to me, even if I would have to purchase the accessories. Any thoughts?

(By the way...I also thought about buying one to resell and use the profits toward the dslr of my choice, whatever I purchase.)

(edited to make it D50, not 50D)

Message edited by author 2005-11-21 14:21:43.

kosmikkreeper

Nikon D300s

11/21/2005 02:28:34 PM · #2

I would probably stay clear of a D50 for $100. They're probably stolen.

petrakka

11/21/2005 02:35:48 PM · #3

im pretty sure it has a bulb mode, which means the shutter will stay open forever if u want it to. I cant imagine any SLR not having a bulb mode.

Also yeah, a d50 for 100$ sounds sketchy. But if it's legitimate it would be silly not to get it. But lenses for slr's can be a lot of $$. d50's aren't old, and I don't know why they would be getting 'unloaded' yet either, they're a fairly new camera. Places don't tend to upgrade that often. Hell, I still use a 4 year old model as a newspaper photographer.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

11/21/2005 02:38:10 PM · #4

The friend who bought his is immpecable in character, so I really have no worries about the camera puchase itself being legit. I really don't know their reasons, since I wasn't there to ask him myself. I was just wondering more about the quality of the camera.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

11/21/2005 02:39:18 PM · #5

I'd agree that something does not sound right here. The D50 is a relatively new cam, and I don't understand why they would already be turning them over. I'd recommend a big "pass" on this, unless you can speak directly to someone at the institution and verify that this is in fact on the up and up.

Ombra_foto

Olympus E-300 EVOLT

Olympus 40-150mm f/3.5-4.5 Zuiko Digital

11/21/2005 02:40:43 PM · #6

I would grab it in a heartbeat...
The D50 is a very good camera.

11/21/2005 02:48:52 PM · #7

The man who bought one for himself actually works at the university. I know he does graphics or prints work for them or something along those lines. He is a really wonderful family guy. He's probably in his early 50's and has 8 kids! Of those 8, 4 of them are adopted and have special needs.

Although I, too, am curious as to why they would sell them (and I will ask him in person when I have the chance), I really don't think there would be anything "fishy" about it. Wasteful, perhaps. He did not offer to sell me one, only to let me know when/if any more become available. It sounds like he did get a great deal. I also want to find out what was included.

jbsmithana

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

11/21/2005 03:35:26 PM · #8

Maybe there is a mistake and the cmaera is a Nikon F50. That would explain the price and the fact that they are unloading them.

cbeller

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

11/21/2005 04:18:55 PM · #9

Originally posted by jbsmithana:

Maybe there is a mistake and the cmaera is a Nikon F50. That would explain the price and the fact that they are unloading them.

That would make sense since photography classes are normally film based.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

11/21/2005 04:20:15 PM · #10

Originally posted by jbsmithana:

Maybe there is a mistake and the cmaera is a Nikon F50. That would explain the price and the fact that they are unloading them.

That's what I was thinking. But, to be fair, I've seen educational institutions do some very wasteful things when unloading "surplus". Their goal is to get rid of it with a minimum of fuss, rather than to maximize the return on it.

R.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

11/21/2005 04:33:05 PM · #11

Originally posted by bear_music:

...I've seen educational institutions do some very wasteful things when unloading "surplus". Their goal is to get rid of it with a minimum of fuss, rather than to maximize the return on it.

R.

True, that. And industry is worse. I once saw a major company "dumpsterize" $300,000 worth of industrial cutting tools for a return of less than $1 per pound, and would not let employees purchase them. The rationale was that they were taking a write-off for "obsolete tooling." Problem was, they had to re-purchase new some of what they had scrapped (within 6 months!), because it really was not obsolete!

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

11/21/2005 04:48:01 PM · #12

Is the F50 a film slr? I do know that he said he had used a 1G memory storage for it, so I'm pretty certain it's digital.

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

11/21/2005 04:49:53 PM · #13

Originally posted by jpochard:

Is the F50 a film slr? I do know that he said he had used a 1G memory storage for it, so I'm pretty certain it's digital.

F50 would be fillum. If he's inserted a CF card, it better be digital, LOL.
Would be interesting to know the details of the university's reasoning for divestiture of such new equipment...

colyla

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

11/21/2005 06:22:55 PM · #14

Originally posted by bear_music:

Originally posted by jbsmithana:
Maybe there is a mistake and the cmaera is a Nikon F50. That would explain the price and the fact that they are unloading them.

That's what I was thinking. But, to be fair, I've seen educational institutions do some very wasteful things when unloading "surplus". Their goal is to get rid of it with a minimum of fuss, rather than to maximize the return on it.
R.

*I'm nodding my head* Unfortunate....but true....

jbsmithana

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4.0G IF-ED

11/21/2005 07:56:21 PM · #15

OK - if he put a CF card in it it must be a D50. Amazing waste.

Must be a Canon plot where they offered the Department Head a new 5D to dump Nikon and go with Rebels for the class!

cbeller

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

11/21/2005 08:11:47 PM · #16

I wonder if they'll be throwing away a D2X anytime soon? I might be able to swing a couple hundred bucks for it. =)

LedZeppelin588

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon

11/21/2005 08:12:20 PM · #17

Schools sell equipment after very little use for crazy reasons. I've heard of 1,000 dollar sewing machines being sold for 30 at school district auctions.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM

11/22/2005 03:42:40 PM · #18

I talked to him last evening. It is definitely a D50. It came with the lens (not sure which one, I assume whatever is considered a "kit" lens) and the 1G card. He's going to ask around for me and see if anyone got one that they're willing to let go of, or if there are any left of the original group. They were used for one class offering and then they either return them to the manufacturer or resell them, depending on the agreement they have with the company. Sometimes they have them for a fixed price, and other times they are auctioned. This one was a fixed price for him.

I'm not going to hold my breath, and I'm still saving for a new DSLR but it would be an awesome break for me financially to get one of these used for that price.

karmat

Apple iPhone 7

11/22/2005 03:55:40 PM · #19

ACtually, I don't know about other departments, but this kind of thing is common in music departments. I know my alma mater has an auction every year (or two) and all of the pianos (from studio practice models to the performance grands) are auctioned off as a fund raiser.

They then turn around and lease/rent/buy new ones from the dealers.

jpeters

Nikon D200

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

11/22/2005 04:25:57 PM · #20

Judy, what university is this?

thatcloudthere

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

11/22/2005 04:31:00 PM · #21

I will buy one.

mesmeraj

11/22/2005 04:45:30 PM · #22

i dont know about america but in australia, universities that are not private are not allowed to sell stuff they are not using anymore. They can do fundraisers with it but they are not allowed to sell to make a profit, so they give a lot of stuff away on a set day of the year.

You can score some pretty awesome stuff by knowing the right people at a uni. We furnished our entire share house (9 people - never try that!) with uni furniture when they got a truckload of new chairs/ couches/ tables for the library haha.