chris hughes

I've tested the camera in a number of situations that are supposed to produce the striping

effect. So far I haven't seen even a hint of it.

He's over reacting. I've tested the *hit out of my D200 and I've never been able to reproduce

banding of any kind. This issue doesn't effect all the bodies. In fact, we really don't know how

many bodies suffer from it. A comprehensive recall is not called for in this case.

"Every now and then a camera is created that can become an extention of your body. My M3

is like this, it just fits."

Exactly. I've never shot an FM3a (my favored Nikon film rig is an F100) but my M3 strikes me

as a perfect piece of machinery. It's so finely crafted and well thought out. It's an elegant and

superbly powerful tool. If the FM3a strikes its owners in the same way then I completely

understand the cult.

Bugs? What bugs? The batter "issue" is a non issue. I've had a D200 since the day it came out

and it performs like a champ. No problems whatsoever. It makes the D70(S) feel like a toy.

NOTE: I used the wrong words in the first sentence of my last post. Obviously both batterys

are internal. Only one of them is removable though.

It's also been suggested here and elsewhere that the D200 has a separate internal battery

that needs to charge from the external when you first get the camera. This could be part

of the problem, if such reports are to be considered accurate.

Sounds like the advice given so far is good. You should exhaust the battery and then

recharge it fully over night. The internal battery meter figures out charge based on

previous charge/discharge cycles so there may be issues on that first cycle.

Personally, the first couple of cycles only got me about 150 shutter activations but I was

chimping the menus a lot at that point. After I turned off the auto top LCD illumination

and auto image review on the main LCD I started getting much better results. On my most

recent charge I got close to 350 activations before the battery was dead. That's about

where it should be based on Nikon's own estimates.

"Chris, generally speaking, there is a tendency for the first batch of any new product to

have problems, and unfortunately, Nikon is no exception."

Well, I think your evidence is mainly anecdotal. I've been a Nikon customer for over 20

years and though there have been some minor problems here and there the actual number

of cameras impacted compared to the manufacturing run in toto has been essentially

insignificant IMO. And I'd point out that - as I originally said - Nikon made good on those

products. Any camera line is susceptible to problems, be it at the beginning or the end of

its product cycle. I don't see any legitimate reason to shy away from buying new Nikon

products, outside of rationalizing your personal decision not to plunk the money down in

the first wave.

I don't understand why people act so timidly. I bought a D200 the day they were announced

and I haven't had even a hint of a problem with the camera so far. Nikon has a track record.

They'll support any problems with their cameras, if they're at the beginning of the product

cycle or at the end. I don't see any reason not to buy a D200 or any other Nikon DSLR in the

first batch if it's the tool you need to get the job done.

I agree with all of that. I will add that for me, the D200 is making my work better. I found

myself frustrated with the control layout and feature set of the D70S. My camera of choice

lately has been the F100 so the D70S just wasn't cutting it. The D200 gives me back my

prefered camera workflow. That means that I can think less about the hardware and more

about the images. Also, the increased dynamic range is a boon to the kind of work I do. So

yes, the camera won't make you a better photographer but it can make your photographs

better if it's the right tool for your style.

I don't really buy the idea that you should hold off on purchasing a product at the beginning

of its life cycle. When it comes to large companies like Nikon I feel I can rely on them to make

good on the purchase when/if something goes wrong. Nikon is a mature company making a

product that they have been making in various forms for decades. I bought a D200 the day it

was announced and as a result I've been enjoying the camera since before Christmas. IF this

was the very first digital camera Nikon ever made then I would have waited.

I don't see how this is related to being among the first people to buy the camera. If this was a

problem that a lot of people were seeing then you'd have a point but it sounds as though it's

specific to his camera. Whatever the issue, Nikon will fix it.

It has mirror lockup but not the type that will allow lenses that protrude too far into the body.

The lockup only stays locked up for 30 seconds before the shutter goes ahead and fires.

There's no provision for leaving the mirror up all the time.

"people on this forum look at 100% crops and see a difference but generally agree it's not

an overwhelming one. "

I guess that's what I take issue with: your use of the word "overwhelming". The way I see it,

digital imaging technology is sufficiently advanced at this point that we're really not going

to see an "overwhelming" difference between these cameras. The differences between

them is going to be limited to a fairly narrow range of qualities. You're not going to see

images that are "overwhelmingly" sharper than others, "overwhelmingly" more accurate in

terms of color, showing an "overwhelming" ability to render shadow detail etc. I think it

would be more accurate to talk about significant and insignificant differences and to my

eye there is a significant difference between the D100 and D200 sample images shown in

this thread.

I think that the built in flash is a benefit to the CLS since it can work in commander mode

but how about this: no built in flash but a built in SU-800 commander?

And as far as the LCD goes, I think the current size is just about right. It already

dominates the back of the camera. If anything I'd prefer to see either a wider LCD on the

back to reflect the same aspect ratio as the sensor and/or a color LCD on the top that's

user customizable.

Also, I'd like to see the function button on the front expanded in capability so that it can

control more of the camera's features. In specific, I'd like to be able to switch between

shooting banks with it.

Nikon should add the RF remote back in as well. That was a very cool feature of the D70S.

I'd also like to see more grid display options built into the viewfinder, a better menuing

system and the ability to preview different post processing settings like white balance

adjustment on the back LCD.

You guys are missing a key point. 300dpi is 300dpi. It doesn't matter if your image is 72ppi

or 1,000ppi if you print at a fixed size like 8x10. The printer will down-sample or up-sample

as needed to achieve the 300dpi that it's set to. That's why we try to print 1:1 screen pixels

to printer dots. Using less than 1:1 means that the printer will use more dots to represent

each pixel. Using more than 1:1 means that the printer will throw out pixels because it isn't

set to resolve that finely.

>Thanks for the comparison. I must say I'm underwhelmed, Your real world comparisons

>make me think I will probably stick with my D100 longer than I originally expected.

Guess >I'll keep an open eye for Leica's digital M.

Interesting you should say that. To my eye there's a fair amount of difference between the

shots. It looks like there's a good deal more dynamic range in the D200 images, perhaps

as much as 2/3 of a stop. The D200 images are much sharper too, showing better detail

all around.

So far one of the most noticeable differences between my D200 and my D70S is how much

better the D200 handles auto white balance. The D200 is significantly more adept at

pegging correct white balance than the D70S. Since a good deal of my post process

workflow with D70S RAW files is tied up with correcting for muxed white values, this

should make editing quicker. At the moment though I'm shooting JPEG (until Adobe

updates ACR) so I can't really speak to the out-of-camera "readiness" of the D200's RAW

files.

Of course. You might want to make a few calls though. You may be able to find one locally at

MSRP. Sometimes little dealers get a couple units and, for one reason or another, their

customers either aren't aware of the camera or have already ordered elsewhere.

I've read somewhere that their production facilities can crank out about 40k per month.

Sorry, no source to back that up so take it for what it's worth.

My advice: call around to your smaller local dealers. You never know. There may be one just

sitting on someone's stock shelf waiting for you to come pick it up.

I agree. It's not exactly a fair comparison. The D70(S) serves a different market. It's an

excellent camera that has a lot of useful features. It's light weight, ergonomic and very

easy to use. The D200 on the other hand is almost twice as expensive and has the features

to back that up... if you need them. Coming from an F100 - and a string of other Nikon

film cameras - the D200 is exactly what I needed. It has a depth and breath of controls,

both physical and in software that puts it on par with some of Nikon's best cameras. The

durability, weather sealing, robustness of external controls, lack of shooting modes and a

dozen other factors make it the perfect camera for my style. The D70S is just a little too

limited for my style and it lacks some features (mirror lock up, lower ISO) that I use

frequently.

Personally, it comes down to three factors for me. First, there's the price. At $1,699.00 US

the D200 is right at the top of my budget. If I had a little more limited resources the D70S

would be an excellent alternative - and believe me, I thought long and hard about the

benefits of simply keeping my D70S and skipping the D200 for now. Next is camera

workflow. I love my F100 and in comparison the D70S kind of feels like it's fighting me.

The D200 is a closer match to the F100 in terms of control layout, the feel of the camera

in one's hand and the available features including the CAM 1000 auto-focus. Finally, the

metal body and weather sealing were huge factors in my decision. A good deal of my

photography takes place on the road or in the field and the D70S never feels as if it's quite

up to the task of withstanding inclement weather. I'm always a little more timid about

banging it around than I want to be. The D200 on the other hand is build so solid that I

can feel more confident with it slung over my shoulder.

So I'd recommend reading the DPReview pages on both cameras and then evaluating how

you intend to use the camera. You really can't go wrong with either, but one of the two will

match your needs more closely depending on what those needs are.

Ritz does seem to have gotten the bulk of them. Estimates are that they got 3k in the first

shipment. Some people may be able to walk into their local pro shops and grab one today or

monday but unless you have a pre-order somewhere I wouldn't count on getting one until

mid January at the earliest.

It takes a 10 pin electronic release. I don't recall the model number. It doesn't have a

mechanical cable release.

"Does it have a 100% viewfinder"

No. The viewfinder is 95%

"high eyepoint relief"

Eyepoint 19.5 mm

"weather seals all around,"

Has weather seals. All around? Looks like a fairly comprehensive set of seals but I don't

know if they covered every opening.

"mirror lock- up"

Yes

"simultaneous Raw and Jpeg save functions,"

Yes

"big buffer"

Yes

"high burst speed?"

5 fps max. No crop mode. I'd consider that a "yes".

"Is it built to withstand bad treatment"

We'll have to wait and see how it holds up. I haven't gotten mine yet so I can't say from

personal experience. It does have a magnesium alloy body.

"Does it NOT have all kinds of pre-programmed modes"

Yes, it does NOT have pre-programmed modes.

"Then, more than likely, it is what is considered a "pro" camera, pop-up flash

notwithstanding"

The specs look good enough to me. I'm semi-pro and I'll be using it to make money. The

D70S fights me too much. The D200 appears to more closely match my style (which was

developed mostly with the F100). For my money it's closer to a pro body than a consumer

grade model.

I'm in the running for that title. My D200 is now in the FedEx system and scheduled for

delivery tomorrow afternoon.