Review 1 of 40
Price Paid:
$915.00
from Adorama Summary:
I previously owned the Nikon D80, which was a fine camera in many ways, but simply lacked the versatility and durability of the D200 (it met its end with a scratched sensor). Anyhow, The D200 is truly one of the greatest cameras I have had the opportunity to use, and that includes Leicas, Hasselblads, and the Eos 1d MkIII.
Some people might wonder why the D200 is worth it if the D300 is out now. The truth is, if you shoot at ISO 100-400 you'll be hard-pressed to notice the difference, even on a 16x20 supergloss lightjet or chromira print (a.k.a a print far beyond the quality [and price] of what you'll get at your local supermarket).
Autofocus: Quite simply, it's splendid. The camera sometimes will take a tiny moment to "think" but then it zips your lens exactly to where it needs to be. Naturally, the photographer is an enormous variable, as someone experienced with the D200 knows what focus zone to use where (contrasty objects allow for a faster focus). Of course, some lenses focus barbarically fast, while others are just fast. The supertele's, eg; the 300mm EDIF VRII f/2.8, focus unbelievably fast--- once the camera knows what its looking for you'll barely blink before the image is sharp in your viewfinder. For action and race-cars I definitely prefer the D300's 51 AF points; however, keep in mind that the D200 is already excellent in this regard.
Metering: The D80 had issues with highlights getting blown out in exchange for proper shadow exposure. The D200, being the mini-D2X that it is, properly exposes so that highlights don't get blown out. If you think the images are somewhat dark that's ok. Shoot in RAW and then mess with the fill lighting in Lightroom or PS if you need to. The D200 handle's most situations quite well (within reason). Remember that good metering doesn't cause the camera to defy laws of physics. If you want nice sunset shots or have intense contrast between halves or chunks of your scene, consider using a graduated ND filter.
Viewfinder: 95% Pentaprism. It's sharp, bright, and informative. Tells you everything except bracketing info (which you need to look to the secondary LCD for). Dust can stick to the focus screen though-- use a blower.
Build Quality-- You could probably hammer nails with this thing. Solid Magnesium Alloy Body-- just like the D2x, D3, D300, and upcoming D700.
Image Quality-- So long as you don't exceed ISO 800, image quality is excellent.
Strengths:
Build Quality
Metering
Viewfinder
AF Speed
Burst Speed
Wide Array of Features Weaknesses:
High ISO performance isn't spectacular
AF on subjects with really low contrast can fool the camera.
Viewfinder is only 95%... fixed in the D300
Similar Products Used:
D1H, D80, Eos 1D Mark III Customer Service:
As always, Nikon is great.
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