Oh, RE: D50 vs D70, just check the specs lists, and you'll see pretty much all the minor differences:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/
RAW IQ is about the same (w/ D70/D70s being ever so slightly sharper at pixel level and a bit more prone to moire artifacts both due to weaker AA filter) though in-camera JPEGs can be a touch better on the D50 (and D70s) compared to the old D70. I forget now, but the D50 might also have a more pleasant, less contrasty native tone curve than the D70. I usually needed to apply a custom tone curve (or tweak it a little in post) to get the kind of results I (and most others) prefer when using the D70 -- well, I usually do tweak somethings anyway if I intend to show the photos to anyone other than some quick snaps for the family. BTW, the custom tone curve feature is one nice thing about Nikon, if you want to shoot in-camera JPEGs w/ a different look than what's offered in the menu. Some folks like to load in a custom curve that simulates the Velvia look for instance -- and you can google for various popular custom curves. Canon started to add this feature to their pro bodies also, but it's not available in their non-pro bodies yet AFAIK.
Anyway, the D70 has a few nice features not offered in the D50, but they are mostly about convenience and are not that necessary. Something like DOF preview sounds nice to have, but in practice, it's not a big deal since the viewfinders (on these two) are probably too small for that to matter. The D70 offers a built-in, basic, wireless flash commander, which can be nice to use on occasion. OTOH, if you like using on-board flash, the D50's on-board flash is a tad more powerful and is raised high enough to not be partially blocked when shooting w/ something like the 18-70 at/near the wide end.
The D50's spot meter seems to be a bit less useful (w/ its bigger spot) than the D70, so that's something else you might care about.
And yeah, it's nice to have the extra command dial (on the front) along w/ an extra button or so on the back, but that's mainly just a convenience thing.
The D70 offers 1/8000s shutter speed, but I haven't needed it myself. You pretty much need to be shooting at the bright afternoon sky at f/2.8 or so to need that. I suppose there might be use for such a high speed if you like shooting portraits or the like w/ shallow DOF under brightly lit afternoon sunlight. There's always the option of adding an ND filter (to cut down the light) for such instances though.
Although their viewfinders are similar in size and brightness, I seem to recall the D50 having somewhat better placement for AF points (for my taste anyway). I could be remembering wrong though. OTOH, the D70 does offer optional grid lines in its viewfinder that the D50 does not, which you may or may not care.
If you shoot often in low light (and want to minimize noise/grain), you may find the D70's 1/3-EV steps for ISO setting to be useful. It does help to be able to choose something between 800 and 1600 (or even 400 and 800). Some of the more savvy D50 users use its Auto ISO function to get at those in-between ISOs -- certainly, makes Auto ISO that much more useful on the D50. BTW, Nikon's implementation of Auto ISO is another nice feature that hasn't made its way into Canon's non-pro bodies yet. Nikon's Auto ISO will even work in M mode, which basically turns ISO into just another meter-controlled variable much like shutter speed in aperture priority mode (when you fix the ISO).
One thing I didn't like about the D70 is that it does not provide 100% magnification for image review on its LCD, which makes it just about impossible to check for picture sharpness during the shoot, eg. for focus error, slight camera shake blur, etc. Can't remember if the D50 was any better in this regard.
The D50 supports full USB 2.0 transfer whereas the D70 does not, so if you like transfering straight from camera to computer, that helps.
I'm sure there are a few other minor differences I'm overlooking.
_Man_
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/
RAW IQ is about the same (w/ D70/D70s being ever so slightly sharper at pixel level and a bit more prone to moire artifacts both due to weaker AA filter) though in-camera JPEGs can be a touch better on the D50 (and D70s) compared to the old D70. I forget now, but the D50 might also have a more pleasant, less contrasty native tone curve than the D70. I usually needed to apply a custom tone curve (or tweak it a little in post) to get the kind of results I (and most others) prefer when using the D70 -- well, I usually do tweak somethings anyway if I intend to show the photos to anyone other than some quick snaps for the family. BTW, the custom tone curve feature is one nice thing about Nikon, if you want to shoot in-camera JPEGs w/ a different look than what's offered in the menu. Some folks like to load in a custom curve that simulates the Velvia look for instance -- and you can google for various popular custom curves. Canon started to add this feature to their pro bodies also, but it's not available in their non-pro bodies yet AFAIK.
Anyway, the D70 has a few nice features not offered in the D50, but they are mostly about convenience and are not that necessary. Something like DOF preview sounds nice to have, but in practice, it's not a big deal since the viewfinders (on these two) are probably too small for that to matter. The D70 offers a built-in, basic, wireless flash commander, which can be nice to use on occasion. OTOH, if you like using on-board flash, the D50's on-board flash is a tad more powerful and is raised high enough to not be partially blocked when shooting w/ something like the 18-70 at/near the wide end.
The D50's spot meter seems to be a bit less useful (w/ its bigger spot) than the D70, so that's something else you might care about.
And yeah, it's nice to have the extra command dial (on the front) along w/ an extra button or so on the back, but that's mainly just a convenience thing.
The D70 offers 1/8000s shutter speed, but I haven't needed it myself. You pretty much need to be shooting at the bright afternoon sky at f/2.8 or so to need that. I suppose there might be use for such a high speed if you like shooting portraits or the like w/ shallow DOF under brightly lit afternoon sunlight. There's always the option of adding an ND filter (to cut down the light) for such instances though.
Although their viewfinders are similar in size and brightness, I seem to recall the D50 having somewhat better placement for AF points (for my taste anyway). I could be remembering wrong though. OTOH, the D70 does offer optional grid lines in its viewfinder that the D50 does not, which you may or may not care.
If you shoot often in low light (and want to minimize noise/grain), you may find the D70's 1/3-EV steps for ISO setting to be useful. It does help to be able to choose something between 800 and 1600 (or even 400 and 800). Some of the more savvy D50 users use its Auto ISO function to get at those in-between ISOs -- certainly, makes Auto ISO that much more useful on the D50. BTW, Nikon's implementation of Auto ISO is another nice feature that hasn't made its way into Canon's non-pro bodies yet. Nikon's Auto ISO will even work in M mode, which basically turns ISO into just another meter-controlled variable much like shutter speed in aperture priority mode (when you fix the ISO).
One thing I didn't like about the D70 is that it does not provide 100% magnification for image review on its LCD, which makes it just about impossible to check for picture sharpness during the shoot, eg. for focus error, slight camera shake blur, etc. Can't remember if the D50 was any better in this regard.
The D50 supports full USB 2.0 transfer whereas the D70 does not, so if you like transfering straight from camera to computer, that helps.
I'm sure there are a few other minor differences I'm overlooking.
_Man_