Digital SLRs, Interchangeable Lens Compacts & Lens: How do I get the Nikon D50 to display the current focal distance, as there's no window on the kit lens?

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

How do I get the Nikon D50 to display the current focal distance, as there's no window on the kit lens?

The 18-55 kit lens that comes with the camera does not show my current focal distance/depth of field on the lens. I’d like to know this without having to step up to a $ 400 lens. Any way to get the body to show me this, since according to Nikon the lens communicates the current distance to the body?

Answer by AaronB532
I don’t have a D50, but I just tried it on my List 20D. My kit lens also doesn’t have a window. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any way to ‘exactly’ tell the focal length. My lens has inscription at 18, 24, 35 and 55 so you can guess pretty close. There is no option I may maybe find under the cameras menu or the pictures info to show the focal length, I would imagine yours is similar.
If you don’t need to know straight away, there are many software programs the show it for you, including the built in Windows XP image properties.

Excellent Luck with your camera!

PS the 18-55′s on both List and Nikon are pretty low quality lenses. As you grow with your camera you really should budget in a new lens. Question around in the forums at doreview.com

Answer by k3s793
No. That data isn’t available on camera. I’ve pulled up a few of my pictures to look at the EXIF data and the subject distance on all of them says “0″.

The 18-55 really isn’t that terrible for general photography. No, it isn’t as sharp or as quick as more expensive glass but it isn’t a trash lens any.

One of my favorites and one that has subject distance markings is the 50mm f/1.8. It is a nice lens and gets high inscription and sells for around $ 100. The more I use that lens the less I mount some of my zooms.

What do you reckon? Answer below!

I have a Nikon D50 that I just bought in May, and I finally have time to mess around with it. Can anyone give me the rounds on my first dSLR?

Answer by fhotoace
All that information is in your manual.

BKT is your backlight button. It slightly over exposes the metered background and thus opens up the shadow area in back lit parts of the image.

EV settings make adjustments in exposure on every shot you take. When shooting on the beach in bright sun or snow this is the time to use the EV adjustments to assess for the slight under exposure caused by the highly reflective nature of sand and snow.

Since film is cheap and you can experiment all you want. Just start shooting and use all the innumerable controls on your cameras …take notes on what you do and what the results are so you can duplicate the skills you have learned.

Know better? Place your own answer in the comments!