1. Focusing is fast and precise
2. Viewfinder is bright and accurate
3. 2.5 inch LCD is amazing
4. Controls are right where you want them and easily dialed in
5. Menues are extensive and well thought out
6. Solid body and dust and water seals add to the luster of the camera
7. 10.2 MP sensor provides excellent resolution, even when cropping
8. i-TTL. Nikon's got this dialed. Add an SB800 or 600 and take control of your light
9. 5 fps and excellent buffer. I've shot 33 continues RAW's in one burst
10. Nothing comes close to the D200 at 1699.00
11. ultiple image capable (very cool effect) in camera
12. Image overlay affect availble in camera

1. Battery life could be better.
2. Menues can be confusing if you're not used to Nikon's menues
3. Easy to hit DOF button when holding the camera
4. Can be noisy at 400 ISO and above, but this can be worked around easily
5. Cannot see ISO changes through viewfinder (just nitpicky, but it would be nice)

I bought a D70 when they first came out and cut my phtography teeth on it. It's still a great camera and I'm keeping it as a second body. But the D200 beats it in almost every way. I've played around with the D2X and the D200 is its little brother. Just about everything on the D2X is on the D200, for a lot less money. There is a much steeper learning curve with the D200 than the D50 or D70. The D200 demands you master your picture taking technique. If you're looking for an expensive P&S, or thinking of the D200 as your first DSLR, think twice. You may be better served by a D50 or a D70s. The better photgrapher you are, the better pictures the D200 will yield. If you're comfortable with your technique, take action, landscape, people, or macro pictures, the D200 will do it all with ease. The 11 point AF system is fast and precise. The viewfinder is bright and easy to see. The camera just feels good in your hand. Not too big, not too heavy, but substantial. This is a camera built to take you to the next level or further enhance your current skills.

Customer Service

I've had nothing but good experiences with Nikon support. When my D70 experienced GLOD, they had it back to me in 5 days. It doesn't hurt to call and be friendly to them though...

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70
Nikon D50
Canon 20D

Great images, great buikd quality. Feels good, looks good, Camera functions great, menu options and settings for customizing for specific needs and preferences. The whole camera is a strength. It is that good. For die hard Nikon fans this was like getting a gift.

The only real weakness I have found so far is the MB200 battery door, kinda of tricky and picky. The CF card door seems to have the same issue. I am not sure if it is due to the seals or not. If it is the seals then it is worth the little hassle for the protection. I am not to sure about the CF door set up, I notice I tend to be real gentle with it. Heck I love this camera so much that even if the latch broke I would tape it shut and keep on going.

I put my name on the list at the shop when this camera was announced sight unseen. I waited forever to get it and the wait was worth it. I was currently using my S3 for all photograhy needs, it can be challenging sometimes but the S3 is a great camera(excellent images). I had already used the 70 so the learning curve on the 200 was a couple of hours at the local zoo with the manual in hand. I also bought the MB200 and extra battery. I am not sure but according to Nikon the battery as they described it takes a heck of alot more shots than the ones I got. Funny how a companies product always performs so much better than the ones we get. Well thats the only part of this camera that was hyped, the rest was beyond what I ever expected. This is by the far the best camera on the market today, read the reviews on the 200 compared to the 2x. The D2x may be a little faster but it comes at a price. The images this camera produces are the best I have taken. They appear sharper than my S3 images. Color and tone seem to be on par with the S3. I do not know if it is just me but the images just seemed to pop off the screen with detail. This camera is fast, it works for me. I have only used it with 80-400vr lens so far,, but it works great wit this lens. I imagine any quality Nikon Lens will produce excellent photographs with this camera. It has the same menu navigation as the other Nikons which I am stil not a big fan off, but that comes with having a digital camera. The main buttons are on top, which solves a lot of navigation issues because those are the ones most of us are constantly changing the settings on. The menu is chalked full of options that are great at the default settings are give you a lot of custom options. It is obvious Nikon put a lot of thought and addreesed alot of issues with other cameras and produced a statement. This camera gives you alot for the price you pay. 1700 (average) is a alot of money but this is a bargain at this price. I know the digital war will continue but at least Nikon put the bar up and eveyone should benefeit from the release of this camera down the road.....hint, hint, Fuji. Full frame debate will continue on, but with so many compaines releasing digital specific lenes I wonder where their research money is being spent, more lenses to sell you for the many cameras already out there or replacing current models with full frame blah, blah. Look at the pictures. Only time will tell, next year. Bottom line I could write on and on about how i love this camera. It is a great camera. It does what it is supposed to do and it does it well. It takes excellent photographs even at higher ISOs. It is rugged and sealed and with the MB200 on it it looks the part and walks the walks. I know the pros out there are calling this a prosumer camera, maybe based on price. It is a performer. It is a well rounded do everything platfrom. i love this camera. I used my S3 for awhile bef=ore making the determination that it was as good as it really is. I have only used the 200 for about two months and it has blown me away. This one is a keeper. If you are thinking about getting this camera, run to your nearest camera shop and snag it.

This camera is great really for intermediates or die hard pros. The bottom line of any camera no matter what limits it has or the latest techno bells is the image it produces. The bottom line with this camera is that it really is a great camera with alot of options that will serve many styles of photography. The images it produces are top rate and it is built like you expect a Nikon to be built. I think in all honesty when i pick this camera up I feel like i am holding a NIKON film camera until that huge LCD screen lights up. Thats great for a guy like me who has noticed as the years pass I tend to squint a little more than i used to. I would recommend this camera to anyone. i ove tech stuff and simple stuff also. This camera is a excellent blend of those two worlds. It is suited for anyone who loves photography for what it is, taking pictures, because that what it is really all about. It has bridged that gap from high end, high dollar to a great product at a great price.

Similar Products Used:

Fuji S3 and D70

Easy to use controls, up on top. A large 2.5" LCD monitor. RGB histograms let you check each channel as you shoot - frantastic! Magnesium Body - not plastic like D70. MB200 Battery pack & verticle contols. New cable release is great, easy to use and program.

Price, PRICE, PRICE!!

Images tend to need a little sharpening in photoshop. But little other enchancement!

A Dream Camera!. I ordered the D200 the day after it was announced. I received it just before a 2 week trip to the California Coast and Yosemite. The D200, with the MB200 battery pack handles beautifully. The menus allow you to set up the camera exactly to your preferences. The RGB histograms allow you to check your exposures and get the perfect picture. This camera is an absolute bargain at the price. The metering system is much better than the D70. I was saving my money for a D2X but I'm satisfied with my D200 - I don't think that the D2X is worth the difference in price.

The MB200 allows you to use 2 rechargerable batteries or AA batteries in an emergency. The battery meter is great, it allows you to check the status of your batteries at any time and replace one or both as necessary. This is a giant step up from my old D70. It handles a lot like my old F100, only better.

The 10.2 resolution is fantastic. I'm able to crop and still have the resolution to print very large prints. I've used it with Nikon 17 - 35 2.8, Nikon 70 - 200 2.8 VR,
with great results on landscapes. Macros with the Sigma 150 2.8 are very sharp
and portraits with the Nikon 28 - 70 2.8 are fantastic. ( I have to do wedding & portraits to pay for my equipment).

Customer Service

I keep my Nikon Cameras updated and serviced at Bedford's Camera and Video in Fort Smith, Arkanasas. They do an outstanding job of providing a full line service for professionals and amatuers alike.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70, Nikon F100, Nikon N80, Canon T90, Canon AE-1

great rugged workhorse (not quit a F5), its solid and takes some beats well build en designed convenient to use the best camera in this respect very good picturequality -A3-or A2 sized prints great for some expirimentation and scientific photography very well prized

card-door(minor), baterry compartment a bit plasticy software but not really an issue mirror-upfunction in combination-selftimer where is the oldfashioned release cable connection of the d100 / Fm2

Well build + designed camera with good ergonomics. Only the fiddly battery-compartment and carddoor, but they are both well sealed against moisture like the rest of the camera. The camera fits like a glove and handles extremely well in combination with big lenses. It's also easy and fast to operate. Focus is fast in combination with AFS and other hypersonic lenses and when the light is not too dim. The cam1300 from the F5 works faster and more decisive than the multicam 1000 ccd sensor of the D200. The internal autofocusmotor of the d200 has also less torque than a F5/D2x_D2H. This is an item with AF screwdriver driven lens like the Nikkor 85mm f1,8 D. None the less the D200 works great with an Sigma 100-300mm f4 HSM APO and is a good combination when shooting fast action + wildlife. By the way all Sigma HSM lenses could be rechipped for free charge because of the disfunctioning AF-on-button. All the buttons are big just like the 2,5" screen, its not always easy to judge the right exposure and the right colour, its too warm/yellow in my opinion. but the rgb histogram gives the right clue. My copy tends to underexpose a bit about 0,3 stop when using the RGB colourmatrixmetering, normally I use spotmetering. I like the size of the body not to big like the F5 or to light like the D70, it's the counterpart of the analogue F100. The internal flash could be usefull , but not for me, they better spend the money for 2 extra AF-crosssensors. A sensorlayout like the contax NX would be great, 5 crosssensors four at each corner and one in the middle. This camera has a great resolution, so it needs quality lenses. It's good news that Nikon refitted the diaphragma-lever again so all your old lenses like the formidable 50mm f1,8 AIS and 105mm f2,5 AIS could be used again. Normally I shoot uncompressed RAW. The D200 is intended to use this camera this way. The standard out of the box jpg looks somewhat soft, imageprocessing like the sharpening is far from agressive If you want some good printable jpegs with rich colours dive in the menu and enhance the colours as much as possible, use a polarisationfilter. turn sharpening at +1. Colours are accurate. Banding was not an issue in mine copy. I think Nikon has fixed the problem which only occurs in certain high-contrast circumstances using ISO 320 or 400. A few words to the astroshooters, infraredfanatics The camera has all the needed options and even more. The menu hides many options, it takes some time. but there are a lot of possibilities e.g. a combination of timed intervalshooting and multiple exposures. It works great when making a shot of the setting-proces of sun or moon or growing plants reacting on the sunlight. The camera is quit suitable for astrophotography , ok its has not the greatest redsensitivity around 665 nm but it does quite well. Canon has a good solution the 20 Da or replace the hot mirror filter. Noise is well controlled (better than D70) but turn the camera off for some minutes between the shots to prevent heat building up near the ccd-sensor. Infraredshooting, for the best results get a D1x or a D70(s) / D50 their infraredsensitivity is a lot higher. The hot-mirrorfilter is getting a bit too efficiënt in the last few years. There is one small thing you couldn't combine the selftimer and the mirror prerelaese, ok there is a 0,4 sec delay option in the menu, but it cost some time to find and install it. The software of Nikon works reasonably well it's sham capture is not for free even not for the D2x. I use photoshop CS2 instead advise for some great (used) lenses: nikkor 50mm f1,8 AIS, 28mm f2,8AIS, 55mmf2,8 AIS Micro Nikkor, 105mm f2,5 AIS, 180mm ED AIS, sigma APO Makro 180mm f3,5 HSM (nice bokeh); Sigma APO 100-300 f4 HSM Sigma 15mm f2,8 fisheye (no reflections) Nikkor AF 85mm f1,8 Tokina 12-24mm f4 , tokina ATX 90mm f2,5 (nice bokeh)

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70, Eos 20d 350d Nikon FE, FM2, FA, F5, F90, Linhoff Technika

Build quality, large LCD, great features and results, ease of use, extremely strong lens selection, outstanding company.

No camera is perfect, but for my uses, this one comes close. OK, here's one, I would have liked to have seen a mode selector that could be locked-in.

As you have read with these first reviews, this is quite a camera. I did a lot of research before shelling out the 1700 bucks, and I was pleasntly surprised when I finally got this camera in my hands. A number of reviews from other sites did not do the build quality justice. In the current world of digital, you get an awful lot of bang for your buck with the D200, fro mthe build quality thru all of those amazing technical specs that can be better explained by going to the Nikon web site. Prior to the 200, I had the D70. To be honest, the 70 is a great camera for probably all of us except those who make a living with a camera strapped around their neck!! It is now my back-up. I got the 200 for a number of reasons, one being that I always tend to upgrade. The other is that I earn part of my monthly salary with my photography, and I never want just 1 camera to depend on. I do believe that the 200 is an overall better camera, but not by all that much. If it was the price of say the Canon 5D (3 GRAND), I would have gotten the 70s. Speaking of money. Careful where you buy it. $1699. is the price!! If you can get it for less with US warranty, battery, charger, USB cable, and booklets and CD, good for you! Beware the price gougers. I phoned a camera dealer who sells over ebay and they were selling the body for over $1800. The salesman on the phone admitted to me that they were getting more because of its limited availability. I called Camera Wholesalers in Stamford Ct. (Adorama and B&H were out of stock) and they had it for 1699. Got it in 2 days without paying extra shipping charges. I lean towards Nikon cameras because of the lenses and the build quality of their camera bodies. I checked out the Canon 20D but the LCD was too small for these aging eyes, and the 5D was simply overpriced compared to the D200.

Customer Service

Not used recently, but over the past 30 years I have found it to be outstanding, but seldom needed!

Similar Products Used:

D70 and a long history with Nikon film cameras from the 8008 to the F5.

wonderful flash built-in, compact, good feel, great ergonomics, great LCD, great autofocus, customizable func button

cannot get the Velvia look or even close without hours of tweaking, cannot get superwide view without compromising significant picture quality

O.K. You will find lots of praise for this camera all over the net and rightfully so. Thanks to dilligent preordering I had some time to get familiar with the D200. I am doing mostly landscapes. I probably should also mention that this is my first digital SLR and my second digital camera. I like the camera. It feels like my F100 and the menus, controls and LCD are great. Pictures are very clean and you can make fantastic 12x18 prints right out the camera. Flash is fantastic. I shot Magnolia blossoms yesterday (live in CA) and the built-in flash is not visible in the picture so well it is controlled with the ambient light. (no manual override). I use only high quality glass (which might not even be necessary with this camera) and the pictures are very sharp and detailed. The target market I think are the serious amateurs that spend a significant amount of time with their hobby. Most people will be satisified with a D70s. On to the very subjective negatives. It can be condensed into 2 statements: it's a digital camera and it has a DX sized chip. Let's start with the DX. I switch a lot between 35mm film cameras and this one. Loosing a lot of the wide view with the 1.5 crop factor is scary to me. Of course I got the Nikon 12-24mm but this is a terrible piece of glass with lots of distortion and even worse chromatic aberration. I have yet to see a satisfying solution to get a great superwide view on a digital camera with a crop factor. The film issue is very subjective as well. I shoot Velvia and it is very difficult for me to get close to the look of Velvia. I am used to get something out of the camera/scanner that fits right on without spending too much time on the computer which I don't have. In summary this is without doubt a wonderful tool and I will use it a lot but will not give up on other tools I have.

Customer Service

mot used

Similar Products Used:

CASIO S-500, NIKON N80, NIKON F100, MAMIYA 7

- 10 MP Image Quality! - Speed! - Huge 2.5" LCD! - Metal Body - Logical Controls - Solid Grip - Great Flash! - Takes AIS Lenses!

- None - Nada - Niets - Nihil

THIS IS THE BEST CAMERA IN THE WORLD! The image quality is unbelievable! The speed is lightning fast! The LCD is HUGE! The grip is, well, grippy. The build is bullet proof, dust proof, everything proof! The ISO-WB-Qual (Image Quality) trio are on a big knob on top - so convenient it begs for experimentation. The flash is the best on-camera flash I've ever used! The D200 takes old lenses, including the best lens ever made - my 1984 Nikon MF 50mm f/1.8 AIS lens! BUY THIS CAMERA! I'VE USED THE BEST CAMERAS IN WORLD INCLUDING THE LEGENDARY LEICA M3 (WITH THE 50MM SUMMICRON 7 ELEMENT) AND THIS CAMERA BLOWS THEM ALL AWAY!

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

- Nikon D100 - Nikon D70 - Nikon F5

Good all round, I wouldn't be supprised if most serious pros used this for their main digital body or perhaps as a backup to a D2X. iTTL flash is reliable. The FP sync mode allows flash sync at all speeds with my SB 800.

At this price its hard to complain about anything given the superb results. If you are used to high point view finders as found on the pro level 35mm cameras, you may find the D200's a little small, but its better than many other digital cameras. This camera probably doesn't have the quite the tonal range or the film emulation modes of the Fuji S3 pro, but then the Fuji does not have reliable flash technology which is essential for fast moving Wedding and people photography.

Its hard to know where to start describing what a good photographic tool this camera is given the relatively low price; this camera has superb pro level features. I like the 3 colour histograms and the ability to display burn't out highlights in the playback mode. This give a quick overview of the areas that are likely to burn out in people shots which is what I spend most of my shooting time on. The 3 colour historgram indicates when one of the channels is overloading (the red channel is the first to go most of the time). I can't imagine any Nikon user upgrading from a D70 or even a film camera like the N80/F80 or F100 being disappointed by the handling, feel or quality of the results. The kit is supplied with a sharp 18~70 lense, though as documented by others this lense does suffer from noticable distortion at the extremes of the zoom range. The ability to use manual focus (AI or AIS) Nikkors of the past is handy if you have built up a lot of Nikon kit over the years. I use my 55mm Micro Nikkor on this camera with good results

Customer Service

Not needed for this product. Good for all the products except for a flash problem on the F80.

Similar Products Used:

Various Nikon and Nikon based 35mm and digital products.

Construction, price, feel and image delivery.

NONE

Nikon has a winner here. Metal body construction, very fast accurate AF and great flash system even with the little popup flash. Little to no lag time on firing the shutter or startup. Has a PC flash connection for those that shoot in the studio. Layout of buttons is super and the MB200 battery and vertical sutter release is an excellent add on. The MB200 even has the two wheels on it. CCD sensor delivers excellent color, contract and sharpness. What is not to like. I still enjoy using my D2X but it will be hard for someone to purchase one with everything loaded on the D200 at 1//3 the price.

Customer Service

Always great

Similar Products Used:

D1X, D100, D70s and D2X

- bright, crisp images with a very high (color) resolution, much better quality than D100 (in terms of color balance etc.) - RGB matrix metering does a very good job - superfast AF with widespread AF sensors which can be combined to larger areas - good frames per seconds reate at 5 fps. although I am a outdoor/sports photographer I am really fine with 5 fps. In mountainbike photography I don't do much sequences, no need. snowboard photographers could use more FPS than 5 fps, because sequences flood their magazines these days. however, sequence images somehow all look the same and get boring, so it is possibly a matter of time unless this trend goes away again. - very rugged - huge display - very good menu structure, easy to use - logical custom functions, well structured - very good ergonomics, every button is in its place where it belongs - good built in flash - architectual grid on or off in viewfinder (also great for landscapes or photostitching), Canon can't do that ;o) - USB 2.0 - FP flash sync - focus priority is back again!! (custom functions)- - RAW and JPG images simultaneous - needs quite expensive CF cards - has the 10 pin connection terminal again - my MC20 works without problems

- the german brochure says: Nikon Capture also in the box, which is not the case - FP flash sync not with built in flash (FP flash sync: < 1/250 up to 1/8000) - D70s has 1/500 flash sync, D200 only 1/250 (but FP sync of course) - seems to eat more batterys than D100 or D70, but not 100%sure yet - the viewfinder eyepiece cup can come loose and get lost (same headache with D100 and D70s too) - not a 100% viewfinder - EN-EL3 not compatibly (mechanically), and EN-EL3e additional batteries not yet deliverable!

Price Paid: € 1799,-... The D200 is a much more professional camera than thought first, it has most features of the D2X, expect 8 fps (5 fps more than enough for me) and the 12 MPixel (10 MPixel is enough). No comparison to the D100, it's much better - it's a Ferrari!. In look & feel and performance the D200 reminds me of my F5 or at least F100. The best feature for outdoor use (transporting in backpacks/trekking/mountainbiking etc.) is that the booster can be put away. the D200 then is about 100 grams heavier than a D70s but much faster. The price/performance ratio is excellent. € 1799,- for the camera is not much compared to what it can do! I have put some sample images here on my website: www.vertriders.com/d200.htm. Cheers

Similar Products Used:

D100, D70s. also used over the years: FM2, F90, F90X, F4s, F5, D1X, D100, D70s.