D200

<p>Hello guys, I was looking to buy a d60 for family photos and catching my lightning fast 3 year old, then I have an opportunity to buy a d200 body. I know they are totally different cameras, but it I would think the D200 is obviously a better constructed camera which will last longer than the d60, plus I can use my older F2 lenses on it and can buy better lenses later on. Is it a no brainer? how user friendly is the D200? Thanks for your input!<br>

George</p>

<p>It doesn't have the automatic settings that the D60 probably has like portrait, sports, etc, but the D200 has many pro features. I love all the buttons for features instead of having to dig through menus for common options. I personally would go with the D200. The D40-60 have never appealed to me for their smaller size and the fact that they won't autofocus with AF lenses. If you already own AF lenses then I would definitely go for the D200. The D200 also shoots at 5 fps and has a higher ISO available. The D60 has some newer features like video and a sensor cleaner. The build quality is definitely better on the D200, it feels like a pro level camera.</p>

<p>The D200 is missing the "crutch" settings, as Brian points out. But the cruise-control "P" mode is pretty damn effective. It also has a much nicer viewfinder, and its built-in pop-up flash can act as a remote commander for the Nikon speedlights. A very cool feature that you might really like when shooting in a social setting, or working on some portraits of the kids.</p>

<p>Thanks guys, unfortunately Best Buy no longer has the D200 body in stock. How trustworthy would it be to buy a refurbished D80 body from B&H photo, I'm leary of buying used cameras on ebay, what do you think? Thanks again<br>

Jorge</p>

<p>It appears Amazon.com still has some D200s listed from various sources. I am using a pair of D200s right now and really like them. Of course they are a little older technology, but perform very well and I am very pleased with them overall. In 2 or 3 years I'll buy a D700 when they get priced down....</p>

<p>Go with a D200 over the afore mentioned - you will not be disapointed</p>

<p>I would take D200 any day over D60, especially now with those deals from BB, you cannot get wrong get yourself one.</p>

<p>Best Buy no longer has it, however I need to research other sellers that may still carry it. I still think it would be a better investment long term than D60?</p>

<p>I,ve found a couple of new D200 bodies @ ebay for $700, is that too much $$ ?? </p>

<p>I saw that Best Buy no longer has the d200 listed as available. The web site says not available for purchase at this time. I wonder if that means some more might show up at another time?</p>

<p>I think there are new ones available on ebay as well. I just bought a D700, so I'm selling my D200 on ebay probably this week. If you decide to buy used just look at their feedback and try to find one that has been taken good care of. Also find out how many shots have been taken with it. Like mine has only had about 3500 shots and is in perfect condition, so it should bring decent money.</p>

<p>I own and use a D200. It's a great camera and I think it will last me a very long time. I have been a big proponent of buying the D200 at BestBuy. However now that the deal is over I would not recommend buying a used one for the same price. A D200 from ebay is risky buisness.. I do not think the F2 lenses will work on the D200 anyway. The D200 takes the AI mount lenses. The F2 takes the non AI mount lenses. I could be wrong about that but check that aspect out before depending on it. Also your lightning fast 3 yr old will still be to fast for the D200 and the manual focus lens. The D200 is not super easy to manual focus. The viewfinder lacks contrast, brightness and size. It does not have focusing aids like the little bubbles or split image. It does have a little round light in the bottom left of the viewfinder which helps a little. However I do not know what you should buy but a new camera with full warranty sounds about the right thing to me. If a D60 is what you can afford then buy that. If you can swing a more expensive model then buy one of those.</p>

<p>Suggest you keep checking Best Buy. It's showing as available now for me. I purchased one some time ago at the $599 price and have been extremely pleased.</p>

<p>I still think you should look for a D200 over the D80. Image quality is very similar but the build quality and features of the D200 set it apart.</p>

<p>I'd go for the D200 if you can. BB looks like they may still have a few left, you can just place an order and see if they fulfill it. Faster shutter release time and faster card write time. Having had a D80 and then upgrading, I could never go back. I can remember at times waiting for my D80 to finish writing to the card, which was really frusterating.</p>

<p>Although I dont use it, if you miss the "crutch settings" like portrait, landscape etc, you can custom program them into a bank on the d200. </p>

<p>If you're looking for refurb equipment, try Cameta camera. I've had great luck with them (no I don't work for them, nor am I affiliated).</p>

<p>Personally, being perfectly honest, having owned a D80 which uses the D200 sensor (though actually slightly improved over it from what I hear), I'd skip both of them. As well as the D60 and D40x, all of which are supposedly based on the same one. The problem is the dynamic range or more specifically highlights blowing out. It takes very little with these to blow out skies and the like, though I suppose if you use Active D-Lighting you can probably compensate for that a bit (alternatively, underexpose and use curves in PP, which is about the same thing).</p>

<p>That's not to say that the D200/D80/D60/D40x aren't capable of taking great photos - I've seen plenty out of them (and frankly they seem to have less base ISO noise than the D300 I have), but the highlight issue can be pretty painful at times. Of course I'm a bit spoiled there having a Fuji S5 (albeit its flaw is being detail challenged).</p>

<p>In short, if you could find a good deal on a D90, I'd consider that (it uses the same chip as the D300). If not, you'll still have a great camera regardless, but those highlights can be a pain (at least in my opinion)...</p>

<p>I've used a D200 the past two, almost three years on wildfires, and it's still hammering away, if you need to know how tough it is. On the user friendly end, it may seem a little complicated at first, if you're not too familiar with DSLRs, but it's better to have more options to learn from than to be stuck with a camera you'll soon outgrow. I went from F-series manual cameras straight to the D200 hundred without ever using any of the auto modes. I don't know if the D90 has customizable banks or not, but for the picture quality,I would get that over the other lesser D-series cameras around that price range. Especially for the children. THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! </p>

<p>D200 is a no brainer, don't underestimate how great it is to be able to use older lenses. I recently went on a little lens buying binge. Series E 50mm f/1.8, 105mm f/2.5, 200mm f/4, and the 75-150mm, the grand total for all of these was a hair over $250. The quality of these lenses are very good, the 105mm is now the sharpest lens I own. I was lucky enough to get the best buy deal of $599 but even at $700 I still think this is a no brainer, too many advantages to be ignored.</p>

<p>I think the sleeper in the current range is the D5000. Its a D90 with the essentials. No screwdriver though.<br>

In jumping from P&S to a D300, I found an answer to the confusion of all the picture controls. Shoot RAW and then just apply the ones you want in the simplest capture program you can find. I am trying Breeze Browser pro at the moment to see if its better.easier to use than NX2. I'm learning!!!</p>

<p>go for D200 you will never look back<br>

it's a great camera well built and you can use older AF lenses with it unlike D60.</p>

<p>Thank you for all your postings, after reading all of them I realize maybe I should bite the bullet, save some money and buy the D90 which seems like a better investment for the long run. If the piggybank crumbles then I'll buy the D60, II just think it wouldn't make sense to buy the D60 then a couple of years later wish I went for the D90. I really don't need the flip down screen of the D5000, it seems like an additional feature that will break. Thanks guys!<br>

George</p>

<p>D200 seems to be all gone at BestBuy. That was a great deal for those who got it.</p>

<p>I have / us both.<br>

The build quality and customization ability, button controls, and ability to use my AI lenses are for me the strong points of my D200's. I have one D200 body that i leave set up menu-wise for HDR @ iso 100 with a cable release & tripod quick release.<br>

The D60 is a competent little camera. Intentionally crippled by the maker (lens limitations, no auto exposure bracketing etc) but it is small and light. You can turn off alot of the annoying stuff and customize it via the menu. Nice travel size. I use it only in in Aperture Priority or manual, so cannot comment on the other modes. The small-light-use-instead-of-a-point & shoot is why i got mine.<br>

No experience with any of the newer bodies.</p>

 

<p>Just an update, I bought the D60 and I've been using it while having the thought of return it and getting a D90. Went to see the D90 yesterday, but couldn't turn it on at the store as they had a problem with power source. Almost ready to buy the bullet and buy the D90 thinking about possibilities later on. The camera feels like a tank, awesome! Just talked to some people at Disney (orl) and they use D70's, they say they're indestructible, just curious, the D70 is 6 megapix right? Anyway, I should be able to return the D60 and get the D90 soon!</p>