D 50 or FM 10

Hi,
Its just a thaught. I have a FM 10 now. with the kit 35-70mm lens and a newle aquired 70-200 mm lens (this lens is from a company called KOBORN...anyone heard of it?The lens is good though). My father bought this camera for me 4 years back.And I have never liked digital photography.
Now, I join this forum and I see serious digital photography being talked about. I have never ever seen a DSLR. I learn from this very forum that D 50 is a good DSLR. Will it be wise to shift to a DSLR? can I use the lenses i used on FM 10 ?
I know many of you will say "its very subjective", "Its your call". But Its just a thaught and your opinion may shape up the talent of an ameture snapper.
C'mon. influence me.

Yes, your Nikkor lenses can be used on the D50. If you are serious about going digital, don't have second thoughts about getting the D50! The D50 is a solid investment (plus its the cheapest Nikon DSLR currently available). Unlike the D70 (which I own), it is small enough not to be too obvious in crowded places. The 2.0" LCD allows you to immediately check the photo you just made. It has a terrific in built TTL (through the lens) exposure metering system. One of my friends has a D50 and the exposure is spot on. Although the TTL system might only work in a limited way with your older lenses.

See review here http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d50.htm

i have a nikon fm10 that i purchased 10 years ago. i neednt tell you how great a camera this is. i like the fact that this is a no fuss, no fancy, simple yet great camera.

i recently purchased a D50. i could do so because i am getting stipend here in singapore. i wouldnt have thought of going digital if i were still in india... mainly because i am a poor architecture student.

both cameras are great and will take stunning pictures. the skill of the photographer is the main limitation in both cases

now to answer your other questions-
your existing lenses will not work on the D50. the 35-70 is an AIS lens and you will lose auto focusing, exposure metering and other functions. in short, you will end up treating the D50 like a manual camera with external light meter.

the advantages of digital camera is the lower recurring costs of developing and printing. this, to me, is by far the only real advantage of going digital. (yes i know there are many other advantages...). i would also like to stress that compared to the fm10, the life of a D50 is much shorter. apart from the 50-100K shutter actuation limit, there could be other potential problems with a DSLR. all this is of course in comparision to the FM10 which has practically no component that can fail!!

i would advice you to change to digital only if you see yourself not taking shots because you are worried about recurring costs. i have started taking more pictures after going digital, simply because i do not worry about printing them and there is no apparent cost involved in clicking and seeing images on the computer.

if you feel that a fully manual camera like the fm10 is a handicap for action shots, i would advice you to go for a DSLR instead of buying an auto-SLR.

i hope this helps.