If you had both the D200 and D2H

[larry n.]

You lucky dog!

 

Which one would be your primary camera, and which would be your

backup?

[vivek iyer]

Speculative post, right? Sure, I'll bite.

 

D200 and D200. No need for the extra bits from the D2Hs.

[photo5]

D200. No contest. I'd sell the D2H, or else call the chiropractor!

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[erickpro]

D2h faster accurate autofocus or relatively D200 good autofocus? It depends on what will I be shooting.

[loreneidahl]

Not speculative for me.

 

My primary camera would depend upon what I was shooting. However for the vast majority of my event stuff the D2h or the D2hs would be my primary cameras.

 

I am planning on using the D200 as remotes in my larger venues.

 

I always shoot two main cameras per event, so D2h and D2hs would be my primary units and the D200 or D2x would be the backups. With D200 as my remotes

[ky2]

That's fairly simple.

 

A D2h + D200 is roughly 14 Mpixels, or a tad better than a D2x. :)

[ShunCheung]

Norman, the answer to your question is, as usual, it depends.

 

For example, if you mainly shoot sports, the D2H will likely be the primary camera. If you mainly shoot landscape and make very large prints, the D200 should be the primary.

[ted turner]

Yes, it does depend. But for the majority of what I do, my D2H would be the primary body because:

 

<p> -- Superior AF tracking and AF point distribution across the viewfinder.

<p> -- Unlike my D2X, the D200 can't shoot below its max. resolution when using RAW. I'm not going to try to process 800-1,000 10MP RAW images at the end of day. Compressed RAW files from the D2H are really, really great to work with.

<p> -- I prefer the larger, heavier body.

<p> -- More shots to a charge.

<p> -- I rarely shoot faster than 5 fps, but when I need 8 fps I want it available immediately.

<p> -- I don't know if the D200 supports hi-speed flash sync (for using fill-flash at shutter speeds faster than 1/250). If not, then this is a serious deal-breaker for me.

 

<p>Ted

<p>www.pbase.com/turnert

[ransomsix]

I have and shoot with both those bodies. I shoot mostly action sports and use the D2h for sequence shots, due to the 8fps. The D200 for most still shots that aren't shot medium format film.

 

The d200 is an amazing body from what I've seen out of mine the past month or so.

[greg s]

It will take awhile for me to size up the D200... still not sure about it. I really need another DSLR and will buy either a D200 or stick with my current brand. Sometimes I wonder how much time investment is needed for obtaining great skin tones out of Nikons. Occassionally I see shots I like, but mainly from pros who really know their stuff. The D200 does look promising in some respects.

 

D2H wouldn't have the necessary resolution or other attributes.

[lex_jenkins]

I got the D2H for action oriented photography and for its ability to autofocus in very difficult lighting. The D200 has slower framerates, altho' 5 fps isn't bad. However I'd have to personally test it to decide whether the AF is up to snuff.

 

Until proven in the field I'd have to regard the D200 as a backup. But, again, my uses for a dSLR remain fairly narrowly limited.

 

If I wanted both high image quality and speed in one camera I'd get a D2X. Then I'd get a D50 as a backup.

[csuzor]

an interesting question, i have had a few thoughts on getting the d200 for high-mp landscape / architecture shots, and keep the d2h for portraits (a little like sports shooting for me, kids just can't keep still). I am often at the limit of d2h AF capability (low light, non-central af spot, moving subjects), so I expect the d200 just won't do it.

 

But now, given the banding issue on d200, which appears to be related to bright areas on the image, I won't touch the d200.

 

Has anyone compared flash performance between d2h/x and d200? The d70 is notorious for poor iTTL flash exposure control, and visible pre-flash causing blinked-eyes in sensitive subjects. Neither problem on d2h/x, what about d200?

[neal_vaughan]

"The d70 is notorious for poor iTTL flash exposure control,"

 

Suprising! I used the D70 in a professional capacity for nearly a year on a daily basis and found it's flash control was excellent.

[csuzor]

in a controlled, professional environment, d70 + sb800 flash is fine. in consumer typical situations, the result is variable, and when you can try a d2h/x in those conditions, you realize how much better it is. It is caused by the better camera flash sensor, I believe.

[vivek iyer]

Sorry to hear about the D70 and the "notorius" whatever. No such problems for me and is not heard of anywhere else or from anyone else.

[csuzor]

Vivek, the preflash problem on d70 causing blinking eyes is well documented, and requires the use of Fv-lock to avoid blinked eyes with sensitive subjects. The "trigger-delay" caused by the preflash reaction time on d70 is also well known. Finally, unless you have tried both, you won't know just how more reliable the exposure is "in difficult conditions" with the d2h compared to d70.

 

Now, for every camera, there are its fans who swear by it, and who probably have learned to work-around its limitations and get great shots in difficult conditions. For me, I was often bracketing or tweaking exposure for flash shots with the d70 to overcome the unpredictability, and I stopped doing that the day I switched to d2h. I believe the d70 flash meter reacts to tiny reflective areas in the image, cutting flash power, but leaving the image under-flashed, whereas the d2h exposes more evenly.

 

The point in this thread, though, is whether the d200 responds like the d2h/x or the d70 when it comes to flash photography?

[vivek iyer]

Christophe, Thanks for the explanation. That sounds better than leaving a single sentence like in the post above.

 

So, what you are saying is that it has something to do with the shutter lag in D70 rather than the flash, SB-800, right?

 

This (shutter lag) is supposed to be lower in D200.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

Come on nikon d3h 8meg will do just fine, better high iso noise and I'm done.

[neal_vaughan]

"The point in this thread, though, is whether the d200 responds like the d2h/x or the d70 when it comes to flash photography?"

 

 

My point is, I get better results on a SB800/D70 combination that I do with a SB800/D2H. Especially with the improved color rendition of the D70. I really don't know what problems you are experiencing, I preferred the D70 to the D2H when shooting flash, but I never much noticed much of an obvious difference specifically in flash performance.

[csuzor]

Neal, my experience is quite the reverse: d2h/sb800 gave better exposure control and generally more pleasing photos than d70/sb800. In addition, shutter lag was gone with d2h, meaning I could capture the right moment. And auto focus was easier to obtain on the d2h without firing an annoying focus assist flash (in low light, where flash is mostly used). Never mind that it is impossible to manual focus with the d70.

 

Agree on the d70 colors, the d2h are not as saturated, but I shoot raw and adjust hue/sat as part of the workflow, so it was not an issue.

[lex_jenkins]

I noticed that when Nikon added sRGB Ia and IIIa to the color modes in the new cameras and the updated version of Nikon Capture 4.x, it was possible to apply these modes to D2H captures. So it's possible to retroactively affect the color saturation and characteristics.