D80 vs D200's AF Motor

[carl_becker2]

Is the focus acquisition any faster with the D200 vs the D80. I know they have

the same CAM 1000 processing brain. I don?t know if the focus motor (muscle)

is the same. I want to improve focus speed and accuracy over my D70 with the

same lens.

 

Thanks Carl

[Jerry_]

If you use AF-S lenses, the camera does not 'drive' the lens to auto-focus. It is a mini-electric motor in the lens that uses power from the camera to focus. How quick? It depends on how much contrast you have in the viewfinder. A white t-shirt in bright sun may cause problems, but a white shirt with a large red or blue number on it will give very good results.

[carl_becker2]

I am interested in knowing if there is a difference in focus speed using the same AF lens same subject. I know the AF-S lens does not use the camera motor. I want to capture moving objects but I don't have or want a AF-S lens. The lens in question is the 180 AF-D which is slow but I have it and like it very much. My deciding factor will be focus acquisition speed. If the difference is none to minor then the D80 will be the choice.

 

Thanks Carl

[frank_skomial]

"If you use AF-S lenses, the camera does not 'drive' the lens to auto-focus." - but the camera processor works faster on the D200, and the D200 makes faster determination when to move the AF-S motor or when to stop it. Not only AF-S, but also focusing with AF motor is faster on D200.

 

Not only auto focus but also other aspects (depending on mode) give final OK to press shutter deeper in the D200, e.g. metering with full 1005 pixels RBG on D200.

 

For fastest focusing get D2HS, or D2X, or switch to Canon.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

"For fastest focusing get D2HS, or D2X, or switch to Canon."

 

Or buy AF-S lenses. The 70-200 VR lens focuses really fast on my D200. Should be the same on other bodies.

[ShunCheung]

I don't think switching to Canon will do much good as far as AF with the 180mm/f2.8 Nikkor is concerned. :-)

 

Regardless of brand, you need the high-end DSLRs with the best AF system for that brand. The cheapest Canon body is not going to give you very good AF, either. The problem here is that the 180mm/f2.8 is not an AF-S lens.

[carl_becker2]

Shun Yes exactly but it will be between the D80 or D200. I want to use the 180 AF-D. I like its speed, size, weight and I have it. The other solutions do not suit me as well, $$$ or ###. From what I can gather in my research both use the CAM 1000 which should be the processor deciding the focus. If so then is there a different motor for the cameras that will allow faster focus with the 180. Just looking for the best compromise. I know many things are different between these two cameras but my main concern is focus acquisition improvement over my current D70.

[ShunCheung]

Carl, you are right that for non AF-S lenses, the power of the AF motor in the body can influence the AF speed. For example, in the film era, both the F5 and F100 use the Milti-CAM 1300 AF module; however, AF-D lenses AF faster on the F5 because the top-of-the-line model has a stronger AF motor.

 

Since I have none among the D200, D80, and 180mm/f2.8 AF, I cannot answer your question myself. If nobody else can help, hopefully you can bring your lens to a camera store and try it out on a D200 and a D80.

[rick_helmke]

I doubt you will see enough difference in AF speed between the two to matter. I suspect the D200 will be slightly better but beyond that you will probably like the D200 much better.

 

Rick H.

[carl_becker2]

I had imagined not much difference between the two but I should get a signifigant improvement over the D70. I would try them at a store but that will be much different then at the field. I don't know if I can rent both of them either and that increases the cost but could be well spent. If I use a store to compare then I would buy from that store and cost would increase. The D200 is probably more camera then I need but I'm sure very worth it. I really want to keep costs as a priority.

 

Thanks for all the help

Carl

[dhgeyer]

I have mentioned this before with respect to lenses, but it is also true of cameras. If you buy at Ritz Camera, you have 10 days to return the camera body (30 days for a lens) no questions asked, no restocking fee, no charge. You do have to keep the receipt, of course, and you want to be considerate about opening some of the extra stuff in the box that you don't need to evaluate the camera anyway. You have to return all the packaging in reasonable condition, so that they can sell the camera again. I'd counsel against opening the manual at all, as they are available online. Don't open any software CD's. That might be a good way to get your question answered.

 

I don't know the answer to your question either, but for whatever it's worth, I have a D80 and a D50, and 4 lenses. Three of them rely on the camera's motor, one has its own. I can't see any difference at all in focus speed between the two bodies with the same lens under the same condidtions. The lens with its own motor focuses noticably faster than the others on either body. There may be a difference between the two cameras in focusing speed, and maybe I'm just too slow to see it, but if that's the case it probably doesn't matter to me anyway.

[ShunCheung]

If your objective is to improve AF speed, I might suggest a different approach. If all you need is a D80 (e.g. you don't care about metering with AI-S lenses and 5 frames/sec.) and can afford the price difference between a D200 and D80, i.e. about $400, you might consider upgrading your 180mm/f2.8 to a used 80-200mm/f2.8 AF-S and get a D80. That is probably the biggest bang for the buck as far as improving the AF speed goes.

 

The 80-200mm/f2.8 AF-S will be a bigger and more versatile lens, perhaps less sharp than the 180mm prime, but that is probably the best way to maximize your AF speed within roughly a $400 budget.

[carl_becker2]

Shun and everyone.

I have considered a 80-200 f2.8 and/or D2H. It?s not important to get the fastest setup and the weight is really more than I want to lug around and as important as dollars. From what I have read I should be able to get an improvement, hopefully considerable by going to either of these bodies. I prefer to keep lens count or change to a min. I can get shots with my current setup but would like to increase the percentage. After hours of research and study IMHO the best compromise is one of these bodies for my priorities. Since the focus issue is resolved ? same - it will come to ease of use, handling (size and weight), usable features and price.

I just came back from Ritz. These are two very different cameras! I like the size of the D200 and weight of the D80 and think the controls and useful features of the D200 are somewhat better for me. It is quite a journey to sort out the best compromise for my usage. Its still a very close call for me but I probably should bite the bullet and get the D200. It weighs more but fits my hands better and maybe I will learn to use all its features. Thanks all for the info. Hope someone else learns also.

 

Carl

[ShunCheung]

Carl, back to your original question. Do you see any AF speed difference when you put an AF-D lens (such as the 180mm/f2.8) on the D200 and D80?

[klix]

The biggest difference wrt to AF would be:

 

D80 - NO group AF; central wide area only

 

D200 - Group AF; wide area options

 

Whether or not those are deciding factors for you would be your call.

[carl_becker2]

I did not have my 180 with me. I think a field test is the only valid way to see the difference. With small zooms, stationary objects they both responded well. I think the D70 does fine in "house" also. I'm pretty sure faster processing will improve results, hopefully enough for me to be satisfied. It would have to do.

 

Carl

[dhgeyer]

You know, in the end you'll be happy with either one once you get to know it. Good luck and happy shooting.

 

For what it's worth, if I had known then what I know now I would have gone with the D200. Since then I have found out a few things about the D200 that were not reported in the reviews I looked at. I bought the D80 based on its being newer, and that the added features that I knew about on the D200 were probably ones I would not need. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'll wait for whatever replaces the D200, and I am thoroughly enjoying the D80 and the D50 in the meantime.

[carl_becker2]

Yes if I make a wrong decision I would rather over buy then miss something useful. I will not like carring the extra 1/2 and I'm trying to be a bit tight with the $$$ but I really don't want to buy and sell a D80. Of course that is an extreme I would not really need to do as the D80 will I'm sure do the job. Both will work and be an improvement over current. If I can get five years out of it I should be very happy. I have only had the D70 for 2 years and digital is good!

Carl

[kyle shortes]

If this si a debate for a D200 or D80, the autofocus isnt going to be too different, I own both camera, I use the D80 as a walking around camera dn teh D200 for sports, weddings and other socials. As for teh AF-S autofucus, the D200 seems a nitch faster with an 70-200 VR, but not enough to complain about, if your using this for sports its more so going to be a debate of your FPS, do you want 5 or 3? The D200 is miles beyond the D80 when it comes to sports and color accuracy (my opinion on color), I say give them both a shot, if your nto satisfied with the D80 take it back and get the D200. But my answer is D200 and my suggestion is get a D200....or if you have the extra change a D2H or D2X.

[tonybeach]

The D200 really delivers more bang for the buck because it has more fps, a bigger buffer, less shutter lag, and a more configurable AF system. The AF module is the same, but that misses many valuable nuances that you can't learn about without digging into the camera's capabilities with hands on experience.

[bsd230]

I trying to make this same decision a few weeks ago. I like the weight of the D80 but when I held the D200 it was game over. The D200 just felt like a pro camera. I have been very pleased with my decision. I know if I had decided on the d80 I would be wishing later I had bought the D200. Not to mention people seem to complain more about the d80 underexposing. Not saying that couldn't be user error, I'm sure there are more experienced photographers that use the D200 but I don't notice it being as much of an issue with the D200 and it hasn't been at all for me. In fact I have been most impressed with how often it get the exposure correct, light years better than my old D-Rebel.

[bruce_rubenstein___nyc]

Lots of responses that don't address the question originally posed. Typical pnet.

 

I have both cameras. I haven't noticed any difference in AF speed using the same screwdriver lenses. I believe that the D70 used the same AF motor that the N80 did, and that was none too speedy (I also have a N80 and F100). There are some things I like better about the D200 than the D80, but AF performance isn't one of them, because there is no difference.

[anthony_bez]

Carl, I have the D80 and until recently had the D70, I also have use of a D200.

 

I do not own the 180mm but have used one on all three bodies. You will be sorry to hear it is slow focusing even with the D200. You will get a slight improvement in speed with the D80 or D200 over the D70 but nothing to get excited about.

 

I agree with Shun my 80-200 AFD is a screwdiver lens, but it focuses much faster than the 180 on any of the camera's.

[juan_parm_nides]

Not only the wheels are important on a car. They are, of course, important, but there is a lot of other variables to consider.

 

Regards.

[carl_becker2]

Bruce, thanks for bringing focus back to the question and giving a comparison. I think that answers the question about speed. How would you rate tracking ability and subject focus lock between the D80 and D200? I imagine I would get an helpful improvement here also.

 

Thanks all

 

Carl