More thoughts on the decision between a D80 and D200

[johnw63]

"In 2 to 3 years, most of us will likely upgrade because of newer features in the future DSLRs."

 

Hmmm. Does that mean, in another 2 years, after the NEXT bigthing comes out, the D200s will fall enough to be in MY price range ?! I can only hope.

 

In my case I have 7 lenses. Only 1 is AF. So..the cost savings of the D80 could be lost in my need to get AF versions of my most often used lenses. ( And no, I'd rather not use the "guess and adjust" method with MF lenses on a D80. )

[anthony_bez]

I walked out of the shop with a D80 and have had no regrets?

 

It is funny how D200 owners snigger at the D80 exposure meter. I have had to make less adjustments than I did with my D70.

 

Build quality? well my D70 looks and works as new after almost 3 years. So the decision for me was can I live without 5 frames per second, and the extra pose value. Well as the price difference in England is still about $800.00. I did and put the saving toward a 300mm f4 AFS to help ease my feelings of inadequacy.

[g-man1]

#7 Regrets.

 

Did it for me. I ordered a D200 from Henry's instead of getting a D80. (started with a D50).

[nolan_ross]

I just take a sturdy film camera out on hikes or camping, usually the FE2 but sometimes I take a medium format but I shoot a lot of B/W. I haven't had a problem with that system. What happened to the trusty D70 anyway? The D200 seems like the thing to buy for the extra features and durability. It would sure hurt to see it bang against a rock. Ouch!

[vince]

<p>All the excellent discussion has spawned a few more observations. My use of the term <i>emotionally obsolete</i> could use some clarification. I'm not the first to be annoyed by the relatively poor resale value of DSLRs. I know it goes with the territory, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. A fifteen hundred dollar camera should retain more of its value than I suspect it will. That said, I certainly agree that there must be some decreasing rate to the obsolescence curve. If you print nothing but 4 x 6 prints, then you only need 2 Mp (or so). I don't make many prints over 16 x 20 and I'm quite happy with the performance of my 6 Mp D70 for that size print. There are obvious benefits to 10 Mp (better resolution on large prints, more cropping ability, etc.), but I doubt I would make 30 x 40 prints if I had a 20 Mp DSLR. That may add favor to the build quality benefits of the D200.</p>

 

<p>And I definitely see the problem with over-analysis. Compulsive behavior is a difficult thing, but something I've grown accustomed to over the years. Plus, it's not like I'm idly debating in a closed room. My D70 continues to pump out pictures of my daughter, her new puppy Shasta and the central Ohio skipped-winter landscape. It has occurred to me that I should just skip my tendency to chase technology and spend the D80 or D200 cash on another trip to Utah. Unfortunately, the knowledge that the value of my D70 body would have dropped another $20 in the time I spent in Utah eats at me.</p>

 

<p>I am definitely in that group where the $500 difference between the D80 and D200 matters, or I wouldn't be typing all this into photo.net. The world is not black and white and perhaps a quest for <i>the</i> correct answer isn't worth the effort?</p><div></div>

[erik_loza]

There was a new sales guy in the office for a while last year. He has since moved on to who-knows-where, but there is one thing I will never forget about him: Each time he would ask a question about one of our machines, as we began to answer, he would interrupt with something like, "I knew that! Don't you think...blah, blah, blah". How do you thing that went over with us?

 

Vince, you remind me of him. Sometimes, just a simple, "Thanks for all your advice", is all people want to hear. Buy the D200 and post some new pics with it. Happy New Year.

[fred_bonnett2]

I have both D70 and a D200 --- the D200 is my camera of choice except for hiking --- I can go all day with the D70 and the very light 28-100 --- the D200 does get a bit heavy after a couple of hours. I would guess the same considerations hold for the D80.

[nolan_ross]

Your the only one that can decide what to do. I would be happy with a Leica M6 and a couple lenses if I were starting from scratch but I am not one to sell everything and start over again..Maybe just keep the D70 since it's working and see what happens later. Utah would be beautiful right now..

[vince]

Sorry to sound so pretentious. I truly appreciate the thorough discussion and insightful comments. Thank you all for your advice and thoughts. Happy New Year!