Build quality

5 fps is pretty good

Fast Autofocus

Exellent Color

Fast Buffer Speed

Easy to use

Good features

The only complain is battery door is flimsy.

I have waited this long to buy digital camera since I took some time to learn the digital technology. I prefer film over digital. But now, I am convinced that it's time to go digital since printing technology has been so good lately. I have tested out this D200 at the camera store a year ago and have done a lot of research before going digital.

To me, Nikon D200 is a very good deal for pro or semi-pro photographer who is on the budget and this would be a good camera for backup especially taking pictures at the wedding reception.

Again, Nikon has done a great job making this camera a sucess. Pro build qualify, weather seal, and fast AF especially if you put AFS Nikkor lens on it. The color is excellent, good speed, and pictures come out beautifully.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F5, F100, F4s, F3hp film cameras and Nikon Speedlights.

Two-button quick control for bright light, when one end of the pitch is light and the other is darker.

Haven't found any yet!

This is a brilliant camera for sports photographer's needing a reliable hi-resolution camera on a budget. It's light but solid and the ease of controls makes it a definite winner.

Customer Service

The D70 broke and the New York office fixed it for free and returned it within 6 days. No problems with the D200 yet...

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70

user controlls--not hidden
ease of use--given the time to learn
lcd top and bottom
metering
good and sharp images
iso good
flash--when used with a smaller lens(barrel wise)
instant power up
menu selection--there is alot but can quickly go to what you want and save when learned
big and bright view finder
1/3 stop iso--at the time my 20d didnt have

batteries!
eye piece--could stick out a little more
verticle grip--dials are to recessed
push button selector
flash base
depth of field--cannot change the aperture when stopped down

being a canon user and having a 20d (no longer have) given the chance i bought the nikon d200 with verticle grip, sb800, 10.5mm fisheye, 17-55, and the 70-200vr. it was and still is a little learning curve coming from a canon user. i like it and i dont like it. the there is a lot of menus wich can confuse you if not given the time to learn it, but once learned--awsome! metering is great. lcd is good coming from the canon 1.8 incher. holding it feels great in my hands. no problems finding the shooting buttons if i would like to change it from spot to matrix or go from continuoud high speed to mirror lock. nikon has well placed there buttons compared to canon. the view finder is great, big and bright. shows the information that is essential to the shooter. the batteries (i got two for the verticle grip) suck! this camera consumes battery power so fast. alot of it has to do with the lcd as well so i leave it off usually. i used the AA option in the d200 just to see how long it lasted and it was good, better than i expected. the canon 20d battery use was good, leave it in for a week, shoot and not pick it up for three or so days and it still shot good. the images are wonderful from iso 100 to 3200. not noisy as i had expected but noisier than canon. i love the flash on this camera. its commander mode is great for being a master for the sb800 flash. the pop up flash is not good for the nikon 17-55. lens is to big (77mm size). the verticle grip is ok. i think the dial buttons are hard to feel and use. its like the grip area is too thick. the buttons (dials) are to recessed. start up time is great, no problems there. the push button selector could be bigger or be made into a dial. the eye piece on my canon eos 1vhs is better at fitting my eye to it than the nikon, it doesnt stick out like my canon. also the thing i dont like about this is zooming a lens, the flash gets base gets in the way. checking depth of feild is different. you can stop the lens down but cannot change the aperture while its stopped down. you have to release then adjust then recheck, canons are not like that,(on the canons you can stop down and at the same time adjust the aperture and see what comes into your range of sharpness) other than what i have listed--still learning more--the pros outweigh the cons so its a keeper

Customer Service

dont need as of yet

Similar Products Used:

canon 20d
canon eos 1vhs 35mm camera
canon 16-35
canon 24-70
canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS
canon 28-300 IS
canon 580ex flashes

The main strength of the camera for me was the familiarity as I have used Nikon gear for 20 years.The compatibility of other Nikon lenses etc is a deciding factor too.The screen size and resolution is great.The handling is really good and the camera has a quality feel about it.The images are excellent in every way and with a 2gb Sandisk extreme3 card there is no real time lag even when shooting continuously at high res.The customizability of function buttons etc could be useful and the easy to use menus are logical and easy to understand/use even on the run.

The only real weaknesses would be the battery door which seems flimsy and out of step with the qualityof the rest of the camera and perhaps the battery life which isn't crash hot giving around 200 shots before showing signs of weakening(I carry 2 extras charged and ready to go although there is a grip available which I will grab asap).I didn't use a VR lense which I assume would use power even quicker.

After much deliberation and pounding the pavement from retailer to retailer I finally decided to jump into the digital slr pool with the release of the Nikon D200.I have always been of the opinion that there wasn't sufficient reason/advantage to invest in digital imaging...this camera has changed my mind about 'going digital' and shown me that there are merits worthy of the costs in time and money.
The D200 is very familiar to me already thanks to Nikon's foresight in making the ergonomics and functionality of the camera similar to my trusty F5, so learning how to use the camera's various functions is confined to the specific digital functions such as white balance etc.
After buying the camera I took it with me on holiday to the sth of New Zealand and had a ball discovering how well this camera handles and how easy it is to switch around the various settings to optimize exposures.The screen quality is exceptional as is the handling and of course the image quality goes beyond anything I could of hoped for in a digital format.All in all I was looking hard to fault this camera and simply just could not be unhappy with anything about it.

Customer Service

So far I haven't needed any service at all(as you'd expect) but my camera actually came with dust on the sensor right outta the box!! which caused a few tense moments until I realised where the problem lay and fixed it with a mirror lock up and gentle blowing to remove it.

Similar Products Used:

I also use various Nikon film slr's such as F4s,F5,F90x etc.

well built, large/ bright LCD, fast, tons of features

low light with anything smaller than f/1.4 may require manual focusing.

After about a year of saving i finally was able to buy it. And i have not regretted it at all. It's everything i need for a day of shooting in the mountains. what i really like, is having all my most used features right there at my finger tips. Nikon did a very good job aat placing the controls. The 10 megapixels is a plus for all the cropping that needs to be done on a photo. And 5fps is plenty fast enough to catch all the action while shooting animals and people alike.
With a good piece of glass (and of course the right knowledge) proffesional grade photos are easily produced.

Customer Service

N/a

Similar Products Used:

Canon 30D

Lots.

None.

Not a weakness, but as mentioned above, I expect to see the D200's replacement weigh in at about 1/4 lb lighter, which isn't enough to justify the upgrade. In a few more years, I expect to see the same features in a camera 1/2 lb less, which would make a difference to me.

I enjoyed my D70s alot, and when the rebates came out I was ready to decide between Nikon's D200 or the newest D80. I debated alot between the D80 and D200, but it came down to D80's benefit being the lightweight and excellent battery life, and the D200 having weather sealing and 5 fps continuous. It was a ridiculously impossible decision for me, and right when I began to pull the trigger on the D80 and Nikon's 17-55, f/2.8 lens, I saw some comparison photos on dpreview.com of the D80 and D200.

The pic in question that made up my mind was of a small rowboat in a museum. Both the D80 and D200 review show this same pic in their samples section, and there is a BIG difference. The metering of the D80 leads to overexposure, not what I want in a $1,000 camera. I bought the D200 after viewing this one image side by side, and could never be happier with my decision.

I also switched to Canon for a few days, mainly because the images seem sharper and more detailed, and high ISO performance ranked better. After using Nikon, the button placement on the 30d was unfamiliar, and I didn't like the layout. The photos were excellent, extremely high quality in sharpness, but I just didn't like the camera. I'm sure I could have gotten used to it, but I think my D200's sharpness is just as good if not better (10 MP D200 vs 8 MP on the 30d), and the ISO performance at 800+ on the D200 looks like film grain, which looks very nice to me. Also, the Canon 580EX speedlight does not have a built in PC jack like my Nikon SB-800, so using my Pocket Wizards was going to be a major modification. Sorry Nikon that I strayed away, but I'm back.

The decision to buy a new camera was made more difficult in that Canon will be announcing a 10 MP 40D in a few months, and Nikon will probably have a D300. I didn't want to buy an out-dated camera. Turns out that the D200 is so advanced that I will be amazed when Nikon tops it. The only way that I could see needing to upgrade for myself from a D200 is if the newer model has all the same features but in a body the size of the D80.

Turns out that the day I bought my D200, Nikon came off the price an additional $100. What an unexpected surprise! I bought an extra battery because I heard the battery life is so-so (I recommend an extra battery as well).

When I opened the box, I was a bit ovewhelmed by all the buttons, dials, and switches. Since I had already owned a Nikon dSLR, I knew what most of the buttons did. After a day of using the D200, I was simply blown away by the placement of the buttons/switches. Everything is exactly where it needs to be! Having dedicated buttons never meant that much to me with the D70s, but now with the D200, I always know what adjustments to make to get the shot I want because they are all right where they need to be. To clarify, having shared buttons on the D50/D70/D80 made me forget that they were there. I had to really think to myself "Shutter, Aperture, ISO, White Balance". I never really adjusted the white balance before, I always just used AUTO because I was afraid that I would forget if I changed it to change it back. Now that WB and ISO have dedicated buttons right on top of the camera, I never forget about my main adjustments.

I'm unsure of the benefit of the weather sealing, but just mounting my Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 on the body was an amazingly snug fit. There are definitely tighter tolerances on the D200. Tamron's new lenses are awesome too, and my savings on the Tamron vs Nikon lenses easily justified the D200 over the D80. This is one sharp lens at all focal lengths.

At first the weight of the D200 seemed a bit heavy, compared to what I was used to in the D70s, but after two days of shooting, the weight and ergonomics of the D200 lend to it's professional quality and I love it. I feel like I'm holding the camera, not just the lens. However, since most of my photography is accessed by mountain bike, a lighter load on my back is always welcome. I find the D200 a bit heavy to use in vertical image capture with one hand, but I only do that when I have a remote flash in my other hand (not very often, but do at times). The fit of the camera in my hand does not matter much to me, I will adapt to any size, but I will say that of all the cameras I have used, the D200 has the best fit.

Adjusting metering mode, focus mode, and shooting mode is so simple with just the flip of a switch.

Exposure compensation seems to make a bigger difference in the image on the D200 than the EC did on my D70s, but that may be that I am just now learning to use it properly.

The menu format is the greatest. It's very straightforward and nothing is hidden. It takes some learning tofigure out where things are if you are trying to get to them quickly, but if you're not in a hurry, they are easy to find. I use the auto ISO, black and white, and adjust my image settings sometimes, and these are easy to locate in the menu.

The built-in intervalometer is an awesome touch. It's not necessary, but now I find myself using it to create time lapses that I had not planned to. It has opened my mind to a new aspect of photography.

Nikon bonus features: built-in wireless flash commander with TTL control and PC sockets on the SB-800 speedlight, a must for off-camera flash and a bonus for studio photography. Also, the D200 has built in control of up to 3 groups of remote flashes! Not only for triggering, but also for sync and flash output control. This is incredible, and saves me lots of time and frustration. When using remote flashes, they are not always easily accessible after placement, therefore manual adjustment can be complicated after firing off some test shots. Not any more, the D200 can do all that for you without you even having to move.

Overall, this is the best camera ever made. Is it worth initial price of $1700? I wouldn't have been able to afford it, but yes. Is it worth $1300? Dang skippy.

Customer Service

I called 800-NIKON-USA with a very technical question, which they were able to answer within 10 minutes. A+

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70s, Canon 30d

Excellent built quality (shutter actuation life same as 30D).

Excellent custom fuction features not found on 30D

Some useless Autofocus features.

Noisy at ISO 1000 and up.

Here I am with the D200 in my hands! Just did a indoor play shot using my D200 with the incredible 18-200mm VR f3.5-4.5 yesterday. Let me tell you the overall experience. We've all seen the data, lab, and studio results of this fabulous camera, but I've always questioned how it actually handled in real life practice--putting aside the knowledge we have of CCD an CMOS sensors.

Just so you know, I'm also a proud owner of a Canon 30D EOS. If anything, image quality and everything else will be compared to it.

First difference noticble is...the D200 is significantly HEAVIER than my 30D EOS. The body feels like a solid brick! (this accounts for its excellent built) The 18-200mm tends to be a perfect light-weight all around lens though.

The controls and buttons on the body is overwhelming if you don't know what you're doing, but they are well and logically placed one you get used to it. Love the decated buttons.

Now for the image quality comparsion. Shooting under mixed and low light situations hardly posed a problem for the D200. To be realistic, the VR can compensate for 1 shutter stop, so in order to get good handheld shots during the play, I had to use 1600 and sometimes 3200 ISO constantly with the D200.

People don't believe that these are usualy ISO to be shooting at, but without flash nor a tripod, its a must. Remember the 18-200 VR lens is not a fast lens--at apretures of 3.5-4.5, it is not hand holdable for poor lighting at low ISOs (even with the VR on), so ISO must be bumped up to get a decent shutter speed.

Compared to the 30D, the overall shots I got yesterday were quite usuable for 4x6 prints. 100% crops revealed lots of noise in shadow and dark areas of the photo. The trick is to nail the exposure properly 100% of the time to decrease noise. Even so, I believe it D200 excels at being a ISO 800 and down camera. It is better suited for use with good lighting overall.

Don't be overwhelmed by the Autofocus custom features. You'd realistically need to set the AF-C (continous AF) on Focus to get a good picture, or else all you get is blur. AF-S (single shot AF) should also be left on Focus to avoid useless blurry out of focus photos. Group Dynamic AF? Never used.

Overall, loved the camera and keeping it.

Similar Products Used:

30D EOS

* simply great
* quality and robustness perceived
* great photographic range of use, included iso variety
* ergonomic commands
* focusing speed and accuracy
* grid lines very useful

* price
* battery consumption if used with a VR lens
* use iso 3200 (Hi 1.0 settings) only if really necessary, grain/noise is noticeable.

This is definitely MY camera. Come from a great F80 (N80 for you in America) and passed through a D70s, D200 is really awesome. I also had the luck to get it with a 18-200 VRII lens. I appreciate all of it (except the price !!!) : feeling while handling, photographic opportunities and what I like more is the rapidity to change fundamental settings (iso, white balance, picture quality) in an eyeblink thanks to well displaced commands and buttons. The only thing I warn you if you use VR lens is having another spare battery with you, since this piece of glass is quite energy starving and sucks it very quickly. My old D70s (even if without VR lens) was FAR better (even 1000 shots before charging the battery, or a whole month charged), actual average is from 200 to 400 shots but even less if VR is used steadily. Of course semi pro and fussy amateurs are the target for that camera, seen its price. Mine was really an opportunity to satisfy an insane desire :) but it really fits that. AF is very fast and accurate and the ISO range is very wide, from 100 to 3200 (imho best results are in 200-800 range, while from 1600 to 3200 grain becomes noticeable even if not so much as a film). You can see some shots on http://italy74.smugmug.com

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F80 (N80):
imho 4.5 stars overall, even if 5 stars both for colour and b/w film prints. Excellent performances for its price, something less overall respect the D200 as regards range of use

Nikon D70s
imho 4 stars: good for amateurs. A bit complex changing main settings, at least compared to D200.

build quality, resolution, image quality, color rendition

noise level in dark areas too high for this class of cameras, noise reduction algorithm reduces image quality at ISO 1600

Excellent semi-professional camera with a few weaknesses - but overall very attractive price/performance ratio.

You can read my complete review at http://www.gnyman.com/NikonD200.htm

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Canon 5D

+ simple intuitive use, just like any prof. Nikon
+ very fast camera and image processing
+ perfect color matches, ICC profiles
+ very good image quality (up to 800 ISO)
+ large monitor
+ perfect handling and built (power grip recommended)
+ due to 1.5 magnification (DX chip size), high quality with older lenses
+ built-in flash convenient for snap shots
+ perfect match with my existing Nikon equipment

- need for additional wide-angle lense due to magnification
- built-in flash not applicable for professional use
- shipped software package rather weak, esp. NEF-converter

To summarize, it exceeded all my expectations.
I waited to get back some professional prints of recent D200 pictures taken during a sports car test before posting this review.
Autofocus is far better than in all cameras that I used before. In the test scenario, it even outperformed the EOS 1ds (given, you are using AF-S lenses). The image quality is outstanding up to 800 ISOs (and too grainy above).
Color matches (both sRGB and Adobe ICC) are state of the art.

The D200 is a perfect second body for professionals and first choice for an ambitious semi-professional. I am really happy with my new D200.

Customer Service

Nikon prof. in Munich and Düsseldorf; fast, high quality work, expensive.

Similar Products Used:

analog: F3HP/ F4s/ F100/ F90x, EOS 1
digital: Coolpix, EOS 1ds, EOS 20d, EOS 30d, EOS 5d