EOS 20D or Nikon D200?

[j_robinson2]

Am looking as I am barely into the digital cameras. Am using a

borrowed EOS for now but am looking to purchase in Feb or so when

the new replacement for the 20D is expected to be announced.

Nikons D200 sure looks nice. Still have Nikon gear so it would be a

head start on lenses if I got this.

Is one really any better than the other?

[benb]

If you still have Nikon gear the best choice is to get a NIkon body. Especially if you have no

EOS gear.

 

This question is almost silly... both cameras work fine, the obvious choice is to make use of

the glass you already spent money on.

[mark cohran]

Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses. If you have Nikon glass of any

substantial investment, you should go with Nikon. If you only have one or two consumer

lenses, it's a toss. Yes, the D200 has impressive looking specs, but the 20D is an extremely

capable camera as well, and it's successor will probably boast impressive new specs.

[PuppyDigs]

"This question is almost silly... both cameras work fine, the obvious choice is to make use of the glass you already spent money on."

 

That's probably the right answer as both systems are about equal. However, you should now have enough experience with both systems to decide which interface is most intuitive for you and which one feels better in the hand. I was originally a Nikon shooter and loved the F3, FM2, etc. When I switched to AF in the early 90s the interface of the 8008s and N90 proved counterintuitive for me. So I tried a EOS A2 and 10S and never looked back. The EOS interface made photography much easier for me.

[peter_white2]

For my use Canon makes better lenses. I do product photography and landscapes and the TS-E lenses are terrific for both purposes. Nikon makes an 85mm with tilt and shift that's comparable to Canon's 90mm TS-E but they have nothing in a shorter focal length with tilt. If you do landscapes the Canon 24mm TS-E and Canon 45mm TS-E have no comparable models from Nikon.

 

But if you already have the lenses you need from Nikon, why change systems?

[ed_k__north_carolina_]

I concur, if you have good Nikon glass, stick with Nikon.

 

The 20D is an great camera, if Digital stopped here I would still be happy. Any improvement to the 20D would be an impressive camera.

 

One thing in the January 06 Popular Photo pre-view of the Nikon D200 that I don't like is the battery is designed in such a way that only Nikon brand batteries will work. No possibility of inexpensive replacements, so you will be stuck with shelling out $50+ every time you need a new battery (they don't lasst forever).

 

Ed

[andrew robertson]

No sense in switching horses mid-stream.

 

Unless, of course, you need a wide angle PC lens, or a fast 28mm equivalent lens, or a fast

16-35 equivalent zoom lens. Nikon offers none of these for its DX format.

[fourfa]

the same type of batteries have been copied for other devices (for instance Sony camcorders), it won't be long before there are cheap knockoff batteries for the D200 either.

[ky2]

Wait until March, go to your local store and pit both (D200, 30D?) against each other and decide.

[rwhillman]

I switched from Nikon to the 20D and like it very much, but I had a very specific reason for doing it (wanted telephotos with IS). But for that reason, I would have stuck with Nikon. And with the D200 you will have backward compatability with some of your older lenses. Bob

[mark_ryan2]

Hands down the best camera to use, especially digital, is a borrowed camera!

 

I have a 20D and I agree with a previous poster, it is all the camera you really need. The D200 is pretty cool, but some coin more.

 

8 vs 10mp is even less important than 6 vs 8mp. Really it just comes down to how much you can crop a pic for a certian size and quality. I figure I'd need 20+mp to really step to the next level of performance, and I'm willing to wait for the 70 or 80D when it comes.

 

The biggest thing to me about using MF lenses on a 1.5crop body is how well you can focus them on the screen. I've seen reported that the D200 has an improved viewfinder and better compatibility with MF lenses than other crop cameras.

 

It does seem like Canon has a more varied line of autofocus and especially IS/VR lenses than Nikon.

 

If you have time, or you are prone to buyers remorse, I'd wait to see what Canon is going to do.

[digitmstr]

Depending on how old your Nikon lenses are you might NOT be able to use them on the new Nikon DSRL. The metering will not work...

[danny_lee2]

I prefer canon due to more accessories for the low end range.

[umd]

<i>Depending on how old your Nikon lenses are you might NOT be able to use them on the new Nikon DSRL. The metering will not work...</i><br><br>

 

This is incorrect, D200 does meter with MF lenses just like D2h and D2x.

[mark u]

I don't know where everyone is getting their opinions of the D200 from. All I have seen so far is specifications - which do look very promising, as Nikon have included some nice features. How the camera actually performs is still, AFAIK, an unknown. The question is unanswerable.

[fourfa]

"This is incorrect, D200 does meter with MF lenses just like D2h and D2x."

 

there are some really old pre AI manual focus lenses, older than 1974 or so. These won't meter with any current Nikon camera, I believe you have to go back to an F4 to get pre-AI metering.

 

AI and AI-S MF lenses meter just fine, including matrix metering if you input the maximum aperture. According to the specs anyway.

[kipling]

i handled a d200 today at a camera store here in germany. nikon gave them a pre production camera to show at their store, so it might be slightly different than the real production model, but it's probably close enough. all i can say is that it's very, very solid, the perfect size for my hand, feels great, similar in size to the d70, a tab larger and heavier. easy access iso and white balance buttons on top of the cam (nice). af seemed quick and precise in the store (nicer). the viewfinder is huge compared to the dinky d70 finder (nicest). lcd is bigger of course. wasn't able to take any shots with it, so i can't report on image quality but being a d70 owner i know what that cam can deliver and if the d200 is even a little better with more resolution...well, to keep it short, i pre-ordered one on the spot. <p>

the biggest differences to the 20d (i've never owned one so this is just from testing a couple in different stores) are the viewfinder, better control access, more resolution (slightly), a better flash system, and (for me) the lenses. I'm sure canon will be updating the 20d soon so some of this will change but it doesn't matter because this is all the camera i need for what i'll be using it for.

[oceanphysics]

<i>Unless, of course, you need a wide angle PC lens, or a fast 28mm equivalent lens, or a fast 16-35 equivalent zoom lens.</i>

<p>

Wrong on all three counts. They make a 18mm f/2.8 that is effectively 27mm on the DX, and is much less expensive than Canon's 14 f/2.8. Their 12-24 f/4 is about as fast as Canon's 10-22 f/3.5-4.5. They make a 28mm PC lens that is effectively very nearly as wide as Canon's 24 (which is to say not very) due to the larger chip.

[oceanphysics]

The D200 will meter with any lens it can mount.

 

If you're going to include ancient non-AI lenses, then it isn't a matter of metering. It is a matter of it breaking the camera if you try to mount them. But they will also break nearly every camera Nikon has made since the late '70s. Which is why nearly all of them have been converted to AI, or junked.

[ky2]

<i>"The D200 will meter with any lens it can mount.

 

If you're going to include ancient non-AI lenses, then it isn't a matter of metering. It is a matter of it breaking the camera if you try to mount them. But they will also break nearly every camera Nikon has made since the late '70s. Which is why nearly all of them have been converted to AI, or junked."</i> - Ocean Physics<br><Br>

Get your facts straight, Ocean. The only lenses that you refere to as "breaking" the bodies are the ones that require mirror lockup and/or the ones where the pre-AI prongs clash with the body. There's another very small family of lenses that won't mount on pre-AI *NIKON* cameras. All of the above types, bar the ones that requires a persisten mirror-lockup (7.5mm etc.), mount happily on the 20D -- AND METER WITH IT. Yes, it's stop down metering, which is a nuisance for some, but my pre-AI 105/2.5 and pre-AI 50/2 have mounted nicely on my 20D, and have perfectly served the goods.

[umd]

- Guys, for practical purposes D200 is compatible (ie meter) with older Nikkor lenses. This include AI, AIS and AI'ed pre-AI lenses. Pre AI lenses are really old (pre 1977), most of them AI'ed and they are dirt cheap if they are not. <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/articles/nikond200/">Here</a> is the complete compatibility chart if you want to nitpick.<br><br>

 

- Only a few very old wide angle and fisheyes require permanent MLU and will damage the mirror assembly when used without it. If you have one of these lenses consider yourself lucky since they are collectible items.<br><br>

 

- Except G lenses almost all Nikkors can be mounted on EOS bodies and usable with stopped down metering; G lenses will only work with largest aperture. That said focus confirmation light won't work and you have to depend on your eyes for accurate focus.

[fourfa]

correction: by default, G lenses only work at *smallest* aperture, i.e. f22. Nikons stop down by default and have to be mechanically opened up.

 

You could take the lens off and jam a matchstick or such in the aperture lever to force it open to max aperture. not something you'd want to come loose and be banging around the mirror box though.

[umd]

<i>correction: by default, G lenses only work at *smallest* aperture, i.e. f22. Nikons stop down by default and have to be mechanically opened up.</i><br><br>

 

Nope, G lenses stop down to smallest aperture (ie 22) when they are not on a camera body, but as soon as you mount them they open up to widest aperture (ie 2.8, 3.5 whatever) by means of a mechanical lever so you can view through at full aperture even when the camera is not powered on. When you shoot with them on an eos with adapter you are at the widest aperture since the camera can not stop down the lens.

[fourfa]

ah, I see. On a Nikon camera that doesn't support G lenses (like my manual focus bodies), the lens opens up for viewing but stops down when the shutter is tripped. Makes them quite useless unfortunately. I didn't know that the adaptors force them open to max, makes sense. Sorry for the bad info.