What sort of maintenance should I do on my Nikon D50?

by Fadzly @ Shutterhack

I’m approaching close to 10,000 pictures taken with my Nikon D50, it still shoots fantastic, but I’m wondering what sort of Inspections / Maintenance need to be done. I want it to work for me many years to come!

Answer by greggrunge311
If it’s still under warranty I judge you can send it in for a sensor cleaning. If it’s not I would recommend taking it to a professional shop in your area that does sensor cleanings and have it done. If you exchange lenses a lot there is probably a lot of tiny particles on your sensor that aren’t blantantly obvious in your pictures, but are muddying up the image. I ran into this on my D2H and now have my sensor cleaned about once every 3 months or so. This isn’t really necessary maintenance if you’re not seeing huge particles or anything in your images, but may maybe maybe make a difference if there is a lot of dust.

Apart from that, check Nikon’s site if there’s updated firmware for your D50 and if so update it when you have a chance. This isn’t hard to do, but do make sure you read the instructions step-by-step.

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I’ve seen many pictures of motor-ways at night were the lights from the cars are all blurred lines on top of the first picture . . how can i realize this with a nikon d50? what shutter speeds and exposure would i need to set etc. ? thanks ..

Answer by Scribepalladin
Typically this is done by opening the aperture wide and then opening the shutter for a couple of minutes. Of course, you are going to want the camera mounted on a tripod and you’ll probably want to bracket aperture and exposure settings until you receive the effect you want.

Answer by danajg88
First of all, you will want a tripod for sure.

You’ll need to use a longer shutter speed and smaller aperture(larger number. Remember the smaller the aperture the larger the number). I don’t shoot much night time photography, but I’m guessing an aperture of just 5.6 or smaller will be small enough at night. Play with the settings a small bit! Try using your bulb background(I’m not sure what it’s called on Nikon) if you have a remote.

Answer by Your OUTHOUSE
Fix your ISO on 200. Set the f-stop at f11 on manual. Set the manual shutter speed at 30 seconds. Set your manual focus on a point where the most interest lies. Place the camera on a excellent tripod. Shoot away and check out the results on your LCD screen. Vary the shutter speed up or down according to your likes. Depending on how quick the vehicles are moving will determine how long the “streaks” are. The slower the shutter speed the longer the light streaks. It’s lots of fun, especially when you can see the results instantly. The beauty of digital is that you can “see” the results and then vary the parameters according to your taste and what you want the image to look like. Have fun.

Know better? Place your own answer in the comments!

Nikon D50 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera with 28-80mm f3.3-5.6G AF Nikkor Zoom Lens

• 6.1-megapixel sensor captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
• Compatible with AF and DX Nikkor lenses; kit includes 28-80mm f3.3-5.6G AF Nikkor zoom lens
• Continuous shooting at 2.5 frames per second for bursts of up to 137 pictures
• 2.0-inch LCD show; 7 scene modes, including new Child mode
• Supplies images on SD cards; powered by Lithium-ion battery (battery and Quick Charger supplied)

The Nikon D50 is simple to take with you anywhere you go! From its inviting body contours to its easily accessible controls, this is a camera that makes picture taking satisfying and fun! 2 Inch Color LCD screen Self-Timer – Electronically controlled timer with 2 to 20 seconds duration Storage (Number of frames per 256MB SD Memory Card, image size L) – RAW approx. 33, FINE approx. 70NORMAL approx. 137BASIC approx. 258, RAW & BASIC approx. 29 **We suggest getting a 512MB memory card or large

List Price: $ 339.99

Price:

Became kind of interested in making time-lapses with a dSLR, so I chose to give it a spin. I didn’t use any special gear to take the shots up your sleeve from my small Nikon remote. I’ll probably try to do a sunset, a sporting event or something more fascinating sometime soon.
Record Rating: 4 / 5