D200 Battery Consumption -- help needed

[klissarovik_klissarov]

so as i was thinking of buying myself a tokina 12-24mm for my landscape

photography.. at the same time i'm also thinking that i'll need another lens

that will cover up a bigger range. because i'll be doing mainly landscapes with

the tokina- but i also want to do portraits, urban day/night(architecture,

buildings, streets), animals, etc... so i was thinking of something like the

nikon 18-200mm vr(as i'll need something that covers up around those numbers).

but i'd like to hear y'all suggestions first, if you guys have any better lenses

to suggest me? i have a budget of around 700$ for my second lens. thanks

 

also- a little question about the d200. as i might get a instead of the d80,

i've read reviews about the camera... but something that scares me is the

battery life of the d200. they say it's around 400-500 shots. can any d200

owners confirm me that or? cause i'd need a body that has a good battery life as

i won't have access to electricity everyday. thanks

[Peter_in_PA]

I don't know about battery...

 

...but I'm ECSTATIC with my 18-200. If you need that range in that price, I think you will be

happy. If you're doing HUGE enlargements (over 11 x 14) then you should consider

something higher quality, but also much higher priced than your budget.

 

The 18-200 will be fine...

[bsd230]

That is probably pretty close on the battery life on a D200. I always carry spares so it's not a problem and I seldom shoot enough in one day to use up even one battery. I bought an after market battery that is 1900mah, it lasts quite a long time. Try to at least buy a brand name 3rd party battery. I have bought some of the really cheap no-name ones on Ebay for my old Canon and didn't have any problems but I have heard bad things about the no-names.

As for the 18-200 I just sent mine in to be checked by Nikon so I can't really comment on image quality other than a lot of other people have been very happy with it. Mine was very soft and wouldn't take sharpening or curves very well in photoshop. For what it's worth I'm pretty sure that the focus is off. It is a very versatile lens however and I can't wait to get it back.

[hiro]

The battery life is much shorter with the D200. But batteries are fairly inexpensive and there is the MB-D200. The D200 is well worth it IMO. I've thinking lately about the 18-200, but another option might be an 18-70 or a 28-105 and a prime. Good luck.

[Matt Laur]

I just spent a long day shooting roughly 365 images with a D200 (more, really, since I deleted some trash as I was shooting). I was constantly changing ISO and exposure settings in mixed conditions, so I was regularly looking at LCD output, including toggling to the histograms. During shooting, I was using VR on a long lens with lots of constant AF adjustments going on. Started at 6:30AM, stopped around 3:00PM. The battery meter only went down from full to showing one less segment on the display about an hour from wrapping up. And, for what it's worth, this is the original battery that shipped with the camera, and I use it a lot. Needless to say, that's pretty great performance. The only time I've come close to running it down was a day spent shooting just like that, and then a tedius hour or so using the NTSC video output on the camera to rough-screen some images with the clients on a TV (um, not the best way to show off your work!). That, or shooting tethered in the studio with Capture sucking the images right off the camera through USB (yeah, I should get an A/C adapter...).

 

All that being said, I DO have the MB200 battery grip and make sure I have a big old pile of NiMH AAs handy - since I also use them for strobes in the field. But man, that factory battery is pretty great, and the construction and features on the D200 WAY more than make up (for me) any slight edge the D80 might have on battery life.

[bob_s__n.e._mass_]

If you are comfortable with the difference in price between the two bodies, get the D200. There's just no comparison. I don't mean to offend D80 body owners- it's a heck of a lot of camera for the money, but I was in a camera shop today playing with a D80 and the D200 is just a better body. It's more rugged and has significantly (in my humble opinion) more controls to avoid having to set things via the menues. I may be mistaken, but that is my opinion on the comparison. I use a D200 and have two extra batteries- I believe you'll get several days (more than 3, less than a week) of heavy shooting if you buy a couple of extra batteries. Personally, I've bought the Nikon vs. after-market batteries because I'm conservative in that area (a bad battery will save you tens of dollars and can cost you hundreds). And I concur with the 18-200 choice- it's not a pro lens but there isn't a single pro lens alternative, and it certainly produces good images to my taste. This photo was shot last week with that lens/body combination (shutter speed 1/500 sec, ISO 110).

[bruce_margolis]

I am sure many will suggest using two lenses instead of the 18-200. Frankly, they can make a good case but in the end, I chose the 18-200 for a few reasons. I travel a lot and this is easily the best lens ever made for travel. There are many benefits to not having to change lenses frequently. And the VR is outstanding.

 

But the lens is definitely not perfect. It is not very fast and I think it is weak at both ends. I have other lens to compensate for that but sometimes there just isin't enough time to switch out lenses. I would much rather use the 18-200 to get a shot than fumble through my bag to find another lens, only to miss it altogether.

 

I use the D80 but if you can find another $300+ in your budget for the D200, IMO it is worth it. Yeah, it probably will be replaced in the lineup before the D80 but who knows when that will be. In the meantime, just enjoy it. Whichever body you select can always become a backup to the newer technology down the road.

[larrybc]

The D200's reportedly poor battery life was a concern for me but I ended up buying a D200, anyway. Even with my D70, I always carried a spare battery, so things were no different with the D200. The battery seems to increase its capacity after it's been through a few charge/use cycles. In retrospect, the battery life issue was, for me, a non-issue.

 

- larsbc

[bill_keane2]

As it happens, I am in the market to switch from a D80 to a D200 because of the sealing that it looks like I'm going to need. The D80, to me is a beautiful camera, and the settings I change most are quickly there. I use a battery grip, and the battery life is enormous, though I don't have a VR lens.

 

Do you need a D200? Then get it, and a battery grip and don't look back. It's cheaper to buy the first time than to upgrade later.

 

But if you don't really need the D200, get a D80. It's very solid, if not weather sealed, and it takes some great pictures.

[elliot1]

Batteries are inexpensive (generics about $20-$25) and easy to change. Battery life depends on how you use your camera and display.

[bill_keane2]

Just to add. Not to fault anyone, but, without an MB-D80 attached, the battery life claims Nikon makes for the D80 are way too ambitious. This is not to say it has short battery life. It doesn't. But as one who rarely uses the on board flash, I don't know that I was ever getting more than 300 on a charge. Mind you, before getting the grip, I never ran a cell down to zero, but some of the estimates for the D80 seem fantastic.

 

I wouldn't use non-user estimates of battery life to decide between a D80 and a D200.

[photo5]

It's important to run your battery all the way down the first few times to get maximum life out of it. You generally shouldn't charge a battery that has more than 10-15% left on it. I get excellent life from my D80, easily shoot hundreds of photos without needing to change the battery. Also I use Nikon batteries, not off-brands, I think this makes a difference too. I haven't felt the need for a battery grip. One thing I like very much about the D80 is its smaller size compared to the D200.

 

Dave

[ronald_moravec1]

Lith ion batteries do not get memory problems.

 

The battery adapter takes any kind of AA, but many complain of poor quality on this device, $169 at B&H.

 

I just seem to shoot forever on one battery charge, raw+ fine JpEG. Never seems to runn out.

 

D200 is designed to have external switches that change most frequently changed items and to have it done by feel only. This is much more expensive, but a real photog does not have time to be resetting menues.

[craig_shearman1]

Batteries in my D200 seem to last forever and they're cheap -- about $40 for the actual Nikon battery at B&H. You obviously need at least batteries for any type of brand of camera and more the longer you're going to be away from AC. Are you going to be totally out in the woods or just not in a building? If you're traveling by car you can get a DC-AC invertor for about $30 and up, the kind you would use to power a laptop, and plug your charger into that. By all means go with the D200 if you can afford it. It's all around a much better camera for many reasons. As for lenses, you need different lenses for different purposes. I have the 12-24 Tokina and it's great for when you need a super wide angle. Can't speak for the 18-200 Nikon but I have the 24-200 Tokikna. It's a good vacation lens when all you want to carry is one camera and one lens. But it does too much to do anything really well. It's not as sharp or contrasty as much individual Nikon lenses. At 3.5 at 24mm it's slow to start with, and at 5.6 at 200mm it's not much use on a cloudy day. The 12-24 is really an 18-36 with the 1.5 factor, so that gets you back to the proper range for a standard wide zoom except that it's f 4 instead of 2.8. The 18-200 is really a 27-300, and 27 is wide but not super wide for landscapes. If you've got $700, go for the standard 80-200 2.8. That's a rugged professional lens that doesn't make compromises like any of the 18-200 or 24-200 lenses are forced to do in order to cover that wide a range.

[tonybeach]

Regarding the battery life of the D200 versus the D80, they are the same. I have had more than 800 shots a couple of times on a single charge, but 600 is more common. Chimping (especially looking at the histogram display) is what really exhausts the battery and one reason so many report draining the battery quickly when they just get the D200 (or D80) is that is precisely when they spend the most time messing around in the menus.

[rick_helmke]

Old school like I am, I don't think a lens that goes from 18mm wide to 200mm long is going to be all that good, just too many design compromises. I'd rather carry two or else three. Costs more and that was a deciding factor for many years but now I have a great bag of lenses. As for battery life, the D200 just runs and runs. I have the MB-200 and one aftermarket battery and no problems. I shot all day yesterday at Talladega, lots of reviewing, lots of AF and VR was on though don't know why I bothered with it. Probably shot 4 gigs of highest quality jpeg and no problems at all. Personally I think the MB-200 is of good quality and makes the camera fit my hand better. The D80 is a good camera and you'll be happy with it. The D200 is better and you'll be happier.

 

Rick H.

[klissarovik_klissarov]

"I'd rather carry two or else three. Costs more and that was a deciding factor for many years but now I have a great bag of lenses."

 

So which lenses would you suggest me?

[dbcooper]

Started in digital a year ago with a D70s kit. 1st purchase after: 18-200VR. Love it! Sure, it's got barrel at the short end, and pincushion and a little softness at the big end, but with DxO and some sharpening, it delivers great results. It's incredible value and convenience. Together with the Nikon 12-24mm, it covers 98% of what I shoot.

 

Most recent purchase: D200 body, and I love it! I had the option to get a D80, but the D200 had the features and feel I wanted. Compared to the D70s, it guzzles battery power, but I've not yet had a battery go dead in a single day's shooting, and when the battery meter says it's getting tired, it's a comfort to know I've another ready to pop in. IMO, you'll fill up your memory card before you exhaust your battery. Just take spares for both, and go easy on the chimping and continuous focus mode, and you should be fine.

[albertdarmali]

kliss, just to make you a bit more confused:

 

Which one would you rather have?

 

1. D200 + 18-200mm

 

or:

 

2. D80 + 17-55mm ?

 

:)

[bill_keane2]

D200 + 17-55mm. I've never been a huge fan in all in one zooms, though the 18-200 gets raves. The D80 & 17-55mm makes a great combo.

[Peter_in_PA]

Rick writes

 

"I don't think a lens that goes from 18mm wide to 200mm long is going to be all that

good, just too many design compromises."

 

Yes it has compromises, as ALL lenses do, and yes it has more than most because of it's

extreme range. But you don't know that it's not "all that good" for sure, unless you've

owned and/or shot with one? The 18-200 is REMARKABLE for the price and for what it

offers, just as the reviewers state. Again, those who poo-poo this lens on this board either

used what they admit was a bad sample or defective lens, or worse... they haven't actually

used one. Those who own them tend to love them.

 

It's a GREAT lens for what it offers and what it costs. If you're going to blow up beyond 11

x 14 all the time, it's not good enough. Otherwise... it's great!

[russ_konrad]

I can concur with Peter's assessment of the 18-200 VR lens from Nikon.

 

We routinely use it for our wedding business and it has paid for itself many times over with very high quality shots.

 

It isn't the fastest lens out there and for ceremony shots with no flash we do use other lenses that are faster.

 

We have several 20" x 30" landscape prints from this lens on the D200 that turned out fantastic.

[russ_konrad]

Forgot to mention - We also use an MB-D200 grip with the two batteries.

 

We routinely will shoot an entire wedding - 1000 shots or more with no battery changes.

[twmeyer]

Yesterday I shot 7 Gigs of NEF+JPG Large/Fine on 1 and a half batteries with lots of image review. Don't reject the D200 just on battery life. There are many more (and they are important) reasons to prefer it over the D80... t

[rick_helmke]

Peter the 18-200 may be well remarkable for its price but is it a truly great lens regardless of cost? Past experience tells me probably not for a single lens with such a wide range. If I'm wrong then I'm glad there is such a good zoom out there. But since I was asked, I carry a 17-55/2.8 and either an 80-200/2.8D or a 70-200/2.8 G. I like the 70-200 less, very soft wide open. Then find a 300 you can justify the price of. That will likely cover 95% of everything you need and will do it well. I haul around those three lenses, an SB 800 and two digital bodies. Quite a load but I almost never miss a shot because I didn't have the right gear.

 

Rick H.