D200, 18-200 VR and SB-R200

[ShunCheung]

My local pro store K&S in Palo Alto, California had it semi-annual

sale this past week. I was there for quite a while on Saturday

afternoon. They had a few Nikon reps on hand for questions.

 

First of all, all the new equipments announced on November 1 were on

hand for demos: D200, 18-200 VR super zoom and the new SB-R200

flash. The D200 and 18-200 are both "pre-production" models so that

they wouldn't allow you to put your own CF cards into the D200 to

capture images nor let you put the 18-200 VR on your own body to

shoot sample images. However, they are both functional units. They

confirmed that the D200 and 18-200 are shipping in two weeks. K&S is

taking $500 deposits to get onto the waiting list, and they claim

that on Friday alone, they had 25 people signed up.

 

The D200 is pretty much as expected. I can confirm that the

viewfinder is very nice, with a nice and big image on par with the

D2X. The layout is similar to that on the D2X and the LCD screen on

the back looks very large. In fact, it is the same size as the one

on the D2X, but it looks larger on the smaller body.

 

The viewfinder screen is not interchangeable (at least not by the

user without taking the camera apart). It has the same type of on-

demand grid screen as the D70. If you remove the battery, the

viewfinder becomes very dim.

 

I don't have a good impression on the AF speed yet. I tested a few

different lenses on it and it seems fine.

 

The 18-200 is a fairly typical super zoom. Using our recent

classification, I would consider it a B-grade lens. When I put it to

18mm, I see some noticeable barrel distortion, which is pretty much

expected.

 

The SB-R200 speed light system is very interesting. It is sold as a

set including the SU-800 commander and two SB-R200 flashes, plus a

set of rings for you to mount it on various lenses via the filter

thread. The set also include a large number of gel filters and flash

stands. The set is around $680 and it comes in a large box. And you

can buy additional SB-R200 flash units but the Nikon rep wasn't sure

what the price is. The SB-R200 uses one 3V CR123A lithium battery.

 

Below is a link to DPReview's new items on the SB-R200:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0511/05110102nikonremotefl.asp

[dan_brown14]

Thanks Shun, for this post and all you do here. I'm getting more and more excited about

owning a D200. The viewfinder sounds very good. Do you wear glasses?

 

Also, how is the fell and heft of the camera? Does it exude that feeling of quality like the

F100?

[fourfa]

thanks Shun. I thought about going down to K&S today, guess I missed out.

[vinser_w]

Is it made in Japan? If it's Thailand, I won't be buying. My D100 is made in Japan and is much better than later batches that are from Thailand.

[mksnowhite]

Hi Shun...I was at a photoexpo today where they had a D200 at the Nikon exhibit and they did allow you to shoot with it if you had a card. I borrowed one just to get the feel and wow the camera is super fast, and the lens is pretty fast focusing. The Nikon rep wasn't the nicest guy in the world. I asked about a Dec. 15th release and he said "no one ever said Dec 15...we said the middle of Dec." Well gee....isn't the 15th the middle of the month? Oh wait...Dec has 31 days...he must have meant the 15th and half.

 

Most of the folks I spoke to about the camera were going to hold off...and one guy there said there will be a vertical grip model released in May. The Nikon rep confirmed it.

 

So, the Nikon guy basically told me the camera would be very limited release and if I didn't get reservation early (which I did) I wouldn't get a camera right away.

[melvin_bramley]

SHUN; many Nikons have distortion of the viewfinder.I would not judge a lens by looking though it.EG My Tokina 28-70 shows noticable distortion when mounted on my F100 but not when mounted on my F2S.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

Hi, Did you d/load the images you took? What are they like?

 

Regards

Mark

[ShunCheung]

As far as I know, all D200's are made in Thailand. The sample I handled certainly indicates so. However, I wouldn't worry about that. If anything, Nikon's factory in Thailand is a new facility and that might be an advantage. Nikon is keeping their high-end stuffs Japan so that it might give you the false impression that made in Japan is better. If you look at Canon, they manufacture all DSLRs in Japan and the Rebels are about as cheap (in terms of quality and price) as you can get.

 

Yes, I wear glasses and I like the D200's viewfinder. I wouldn't necessarily say it is better than the one on the D2X, but it is certainly on par with it and clearly better than the one on the D70.

Overall, the D200 feels nice. I would say it is a good follow up to the Nikon "prosumer" line: N8008 -> N90 -> F100 -> D200 (digital).

 

I didn't bring any camera body with me to the show. I did bring a CF card, but since as expected, they wouldn't let you put your own card into a pre-production camera, I didn't bother to sneek it in. Since actual release is within 2 weeks, I am pretty sure that the D200 sample I saw is the same as the actual one in terms of hardware, but Nikon can still change the firmware.

 

I used to live close to New York and visited B&H very often. K&S in Palo Alto is not nearly as big as B&H, but it is still one of the largest stores on the West Coast. I have talked to this same Nikon rep 3, 4 times in the last few years. It turns out that he is based in Chicago and Nikon flies him to the San Francisco area each time. That shows you Nikon is taking it pretty seriously. In the last couple of mini expos at K&S, you could a lot of people were crowded around the Canon counter looking at 1D and 1Ds Mark II's, 5D's and 20D's, while Nikon was busy showing D70s, D50's and Coolpix cameras. This time Nikon finally has something higher end to show.

 

Apparently, in the past there were a lot of people who got on multiple pre-order lists with several different stores, thus distorting the real demand for new cameras. So now they require a deposit so that they are pretty sure that you would actually buy it once it is allocated to a store.

 

Personally, since I have seen so many new cameras with bugs, I would wait at least 3 months and then re-evaluate. One thing that is still not clear to me is how well the Multi-CAM 1000 AF module will perform. Moreover, the PMA will be in February 2006 and we'll see whether Nikon will have more new DSLRs (and especially lenses) to announce. By March to April, initial demands for the D200 should be fulfilled and we should start seeing some slight discounts.

[csuzor]

Thanks for the info Shun. That is good news about the viewfinder. I guess you mean, "One thing that is still now NOT clear to me is how well the Multi-CAM 1000 AF module will perform".

 

With any luck, the d200 will pull prices down on the d2x! There is a steady decline already happening, so at some point it'll become affordable; the theroy of "offer Vs demand".

[ShunCheung]

Sorry about the typo; I fixed that.

 

One issue I cannot tell from just handling a camera inside a store is AF speed. I need to go out and shoot some flying birds or some moving cars. The D200 uses the new Multi-CAM 1000 that has 11 AF points. I am not too concerned about the one cross-type AF point in the middle, but I'd like how well the other 10 work.

 

I got my D2X from B&H after the initial shortage was over so that they had it in stock. I negotiated with them and got a few hundred dollars off. I expect the D2X will be around or even below $4000 some time in 2006. If you are willing to wait until the spring of 2006, you might be able to save $100 to $200 on the D200.

 

A friend of mine bought two F5's very early on, and both of them had the infamous battery indicator problem that Nikon subsequently fixed. Somehow she had to send both F5's back to Nikon multiple times to fix that problem and it was very frustrating. Eventually Nikon USA replaced one of them with a new F5. I waited a year to get my F5 which never had any problems in 8 years. Back then the web was not as convenient and I didn't check prices immediately beforehand. I walked into B&H and bought one, and I was pleasently surprised when I got my receipt from B&H that Nikon had just dropped the price by $500 like the day before. But of course I wasn't the first kid on the block to own an F5.

[aaron l]

Hi there, Melanie Snowhite. I think I was the guy you borrowed the CF card from. I fiddled with the AF a bit in the very dim light they had in there, going from near to far and the focus speed was pretty darned quick to me, as I shoot with a D70. I compared it to the D2X side-by-side. Since they didn't have the same lens on there, I can't say exactly how much faster but it was pretty fast in dim lighting and it didn't hunt. I think I did some shots at high-iso and they did look good. For being dark, hand-held and high-iso, sweet. I'll wait until summer to let the first people suffer and learn from their trouble.

 

Aaron

 

http://www.aaronlinsdau.com

[mksnowhite]

Hey Aaron! Thanks for letting me borrow your card! Small world!

 

I kind of wish I could hold off and wait but I ws ready to jump ship and go to Canon becuase I have a need for speed :). I also need a backup for my business so...oh well if it breaks I still have my D70. BTW I loved that dial for the AF-C high...that was very cool.

[joseph_smith3]

Thanks, Shun, I ordered my d200 right after I saw Bjorn's post about the viewfinder. It will be my first digital camera and I will share my experiences with you all about the camers, veiwfinder and my Nikon mf lenses. Joe Smith

[greg s]

Nice to hear the news about the viewfinder. Seems like they have made a really solid attempt to improve on some fundamental/important areas... like a larger LCD display too. Looking forward to seeing one next year, most probably as a buying customer. -Greg-

[aaron l]

Yes, that was much nicer than having to go into a stupid menu. BTW - nice horse artwork! Never knew horses could look so good.

 

The D200 also had the 18-200 mounted on the D200 - a 2-fer deal. I tried it at various focal lengths. I'll post the shots on my site later today, it'll take a while to upload, as each shot is 4.5M or so. DSL is too slow...

 

Ignore the quality of composition, there isn't any.

[maggy_chung]

Thanks Aaron for posting the images, they are so much more helpful than just reading one persons opinion.

[hotduckz]

I feel good to be Thai.

[ray_rupnow]

I just purchased my first Nikon D200...and so far I love it. I was also concerned about it being made in Thailand...I am used to my Nikons (FE,F2,F3,F4)being made in Japan. But the qaulity seems to be the usuall hi standard...very well made. And the color is very good, I think as good as anything I have seen. I think the autofocus depends on the lens used... the older lenses made for film don't focus quite as fast.<div></div>