Do you think you can live without DOF preview in DSLR cameras or not, I thought of buying D50 but the lack of DOF preview make me think twice, please advie.

Your categories don't really cover the problem.

You can live without DOF preview. Most of the time if you do have it you probably won't use it. Once in a while it'll be very useful but not essential.

When you press the DOF button the image goes very dark if you are using a small aperture so it's difficult to see what is in focus anyway.

If you have a D50 without DOF then you can always take several shots at different apertures and choose the best one later. With a reasonable size card you aren't really limited to the number of shots you take like you are with film. A shot you bin later has cost you nothing but a little extra time.

What do you mean by very dark ?

The viewfinder depends on available light for you to see the image. As you stop down the lens, there is less and less availble light, making the viewfinder progressively darker. Once you're past f/8 or so, you won't really see much of anything in the viewfinder using DOF preview (unless you are in an extremely bright area, or focused on a bright object).

Have you expirienced with the Nikon D50 ? And do you recommend it ?

Guys please VOTE

Idan wrote: Yes, I own both the d50 and the d70. I actually use the d50 more, because it is slightly less bulky and easier to carry around. Image quality is as good as if not better than the d70. That being said, because of the extra control, my d70 is my "money" camera.

How can I get a shalow depth of field with the Kit lens ?

Set the camera to A (Aperture Priority) and open the lense (Smaller F #) to get a shallow DOF

In addition to the previous poster, use a longer focal length. Longer focal lengths help isolate the subject. If your background is still in focus after opening the lens as wide as you can at the longest focal length, you can achieve even more background blur by pacing more distance between your subject and the background.