To buy a D200 or not.

[StuartMoxham]

What would I gain replacing my D1h with a D200. I chose the D1h because of its

fast AF which is more than useful when shooting my kids running around. My old

D70 could not keep up that well. The D1h gives me many more sharp shots but of

course there is the price of dealing with the D1h batteries. So how would the AF

from the D200 or D80 compare to the D1h do they begin to come close or do I need

to wait and pick up a D2h or D2hs.

[frank_skomial]

Wait for D300

[sam_thompson2]

You get iTTL metering, a popup flash which lets you control wireless flashes. You also get more megapixels. Better battery life.

 

You lose professional build, lose the high speed sync and the ability to use some accessories.

 

Most likely the autofocus on the D80 or D200 will probably better than the D70 but not as good as the D1.

 

The new Nikon D300 is supposed to have a superior auto focus to even the D2 series.

[ShunCheung]

As far as I know, a used D2H can be around $1000 but the D2Hs seems to be the safer choice. 4MP should be sufficient for family type shots. Either one will give you Nikon's best AF until the D3 and D300 become available. Otherwise, wait a few months for the D300 and make sure that it doesn't have any major issues in the early samples.

 

The D200's AF is ok but I am not sure it can even match the D1H.

[StuartMoxham]

Thanks for the replies. My main worry about the d200 is the AF performance. If the AF could be a problem then I will probably pass on it and look for the D2h instead. I got the D1h out of frustation because of the D70's AF and it does work very well but battery life is bad. Such a shame that the CAM 1300 did not find its way into the D200.

[daverhaas]

The autofocus on the D200 is not as good as that on the d2h / d2hs nor will it be as good as that on the d3/d300 is rumored to be. I shoot D200's for sports and it is sometimes frustrating, but there's always the manual override. The D200's autofocus tries to figure out what is the main focus of the shot and sometimes it gets it wrong. When it get's it right though the image is incredible.

 

The d200 is a metal body and is sealed, unlike the D70 which is an unsealed body. But that doesn't appear to be your concern.

 

Bottom line is cost: D3 est $5,000 D300 Est $1,800 D2hs (current) $2,000+ D200 1000 - 1500 (when you can find them) D2h (used) right around a grand on ebay or B/H or Adorama.

 

Dave

[ilkka_nissila]

I would wait for the D300. It's going to have top-of-the-line AF and cost only moderately. A D2Hs would also be a possibility if you can get a really good price on it.

 

The D200 AF is "okay" but it's not the best for moving subjects. Which lens are you using? If you don't have them, the 17-55 and 70-200mm f/2.8 are great for following moving subjects. If you do have them then the D200 AF might be adequate. But why bother when you can get the D300 soon with only slightly higher price. Provided that the waiting lines are not too long.

 

If you don't have DX lenses, you might want to consider the D3 also. It will have a big viewfinder which is easier to manual focus and there is a wider array of lenses available for it than for DX. AF performance should be similar but there should be approximately a 1 stop advantage in high ISO performance because of the larger pixels. Should be great for photographing kids indoors.

[southjerseyphotos]

Guess I would ask how long to you wish to wait.

[harvey_edelstein1]

If its just to shoot kids shots I would wait till just before the D300 gets shipping and bottom fish for a D200 at a cheap price and a Nikon holiday rebate. I got my F100 and lenses for double rebates when Nikon was trying to get rid of stock. Unless you are planning on shooting in the rain the D200 is good enough for family shots and why not save money for better lenses.

[warrenlewis]

Just shot my kids football game with a D200 and 70-300VR. No issues at all. While the D300 might be top of the line, so was the D200, D100 etc... I'm not shooting for sports illustrated and most pics never get printed, they just sit on a hard drive and get emailed.<P>

I personally avoid most first generation electronics. I'll wait until it goes through it's paces and see how it does in real life.

[cfreemanphotography]

I don't know how anyone could claim that a D200 lacks professional build quality. Unless, of course, they mean that it lacks an integrated vertical handgrip. If you're doing a lot of AF work, you might want to wait for a D3 or D300. I don't know that the extra 40 AF points will necessarily increase speed, but it may increase accuracy. I personally never use AF, so I wouldn't be the best resource for information on AF systems. I can tell you that a D200 is a joy to work with. I imagine that the D300 and the D3 will follow this trend.

[StuartMoxham]

I'm using a Tamron 28-75 2.8 AF and the 50mm 1.8 AF, I like the 28-75 on the DX sensor size as it is just the right focal length for me. On a full frame body I find it a little to short on the long end. On a full frame I like a 35-105. As for waiting that is no problem I would expect some D2h bodies will become available once the D3 and D300 starts to ship. I am generaly pleased with the D1h just the battery life is a pain more than anything else.

[tonybeach]

Stuart asked, "So how would the AF from the D200 or D80 compare to the D1h do they begin to come close or do I need to wait and pick up a D2h or D2hs?"

 

An authoritative answer can be found here: http://www.bythom.com/d200review.htm in the AF segment. The D80 is not the same inasmuch as there are not as many ways to configure it.

 

If your only issue is the battery life, then it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to buy extra batteries.

 

Sam said, "...You lose professional build [with a D200]".

 

That is simply not true.

[ShunCheung]

If you are happy with the 2.7MP D1H except for the battery, it may make sense to get one more battery for the time being. The D200 probably has somewhat inferior AF but image quality should be far superior with 10MP and much newer technology; however, at this point you might as well wait for the D300.

[StuartMoxham]

Thanks Anthony for the link, sounds like the D200's AF could be quite a bit better than the D70. Mainly the batteries bother me but the 2.75 MP is small by todays standards. Image quality is supprisingly good when looking at D70 and D1h 8x10 inch prints side by side so the D2h 4mp would be more than enough.

[Mike D]

Used a D200 with Sigma 120-300 HSM last weekend for some JC football. Last year I used a D2H. The disadvantage of the D200 is that there seems to be a little more shutter lag time than the D2H resulting in my sometimes not catching the peak of action. The advantage is that the image can be cropped significantly in post processing since the D200 is 10 magapixel while the D2H is only 4 megapixel.

[ShunCheung]

I have a D100, which uses the same AF module as the D70 and D50, as well as a D200. AF on the D200 is certainly superior. But again, if you can wait a few months, at least on paper, the D300 seems to be "the best of both worlds" at a moderately expensive price.

[juanjo_viagran]

The D200 before all the fuse about the new D3 series was an AWESOME camera which every one loves and everyone say wonderful things about it..

I had one and if fact is a superior camera VERY capable...

I also had a D1H and it would be a remarkable UP grade, you can't go wrong with the well known D200, how knows about the D3 or D300 when they are still out of the market..:/

[john falkenstine]

A D200 for kid shots because everything else is "too slow"?? I wouldn't worry about the camera, its the SPEED OF THE KIDS that should be the real topic.

[StuartMoxham]

Yeah they are pretty fast kids when they are running around with their friends. I can't catch them thats for sure. I could photograph them with my FM2 if needed but if the camera is going to be AF I would rather that it worked really well instead of just half well.

[cfreemanphotography]

Shutter lag on the D200 may not be as quick as the D_/X/s cameras, or h bodies, but I don't think that you will ever have any real problems as far as "missing the shot" goes. At least not with children. At some point, human response time becomes a greater concern than SLT.

[StuartMoxham]

Thanks for all the advice. I will hang on to the D1h for the time being. I have been getting some pretty good looking A4 inkjet prints and I can't print anything bigger than that a home so the D1h will stay at least for a while the AF is good and that was the reason for getting it in the first place.

[glenn_losack]

last year it was wait for the D200

then it was wait for the D300

its not the camera

its the shooter as long as the camera is camera worthy and man the D200 certainly was since it was out.

 

arent any of you aware of that?

do you really think this waiting around for the next D whatever is going to make your photos better.

this is hilarious and experienced shooters like myself have to laugh a you all. I could im sure make great photos with a 6060 or a 2002

that would match your D300's. Im not bragging im making apoint that in the right hands what the H is the difference if you have a D100 200 or 300? cmon wake up realize this... stop this nonsense

 

www.glennlosackmd.com

[john falkenstine]

YES, the D300 has a vacuum device on the shutter button that actually SUCKS your finger onto the button, thereby making the unit one with your body. It will also have an internal pumping device that pressurizes the camera body, making it impossible for dust to enter the unit. The software for its processor unit also includes the ART software package, which will automatically select faulty images and render them excellent. While I unfortunately missed the flight to Tokyo for its unveiling (I heard some people were actually KISSING the camera and crying out loud after Nikon Reps pried it from their trembling hands) I can almost visualize its sensual feel, its soft rounded features. I am sure that for a huge part of the male population of the US, the girlfriend will have to go when the D300 arrives. The house won't be big enough for the two of them at the same time. 'nuff said.