opinions of a nikon D200

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Bolerus

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I know there are a lot of these style questions, and they can get a bit repetitive but..

I currently have a D70 and was saving up to get a D90, but I have been offered a second hand D200 body (for £450)

never really looked into the d200, what are you opinions of it, and is it good value at 450?
 
The D200 is excellent - many of us went from the D70 to the D200 back in '05.

I personally think its an absolute classic camera, the body is just superb, it outperforms newer Nikon bodies at base ISO.

However £450 is a bit more than its really "worth" as you should be able to get one for the £400 ballpark.

Coming from a D70 you will find both the D200 and the D90 a little softer than you might expect - the D70s has a really weak AA filter, whereas later bodies (esp the D200) have got strong AA filters which means you need really good lenses to help combat that.
 
thanks for that, never apreciated that "problem" occuring.
 
Upon switching from Canon to Nikon, I swapped my 30D with a D200 and was fairly impressed, as the right honourable puddleduck mentions the fair going rates are £400. Combined with some fair glass there should be no complaints .
 
I love mine (although keep the ISO at or below 400 for best results). I paid £350 for the body (3200 actuations) and £50 for the grip, which was a GREAT price. It's a nice big body with weatherproofing to. The D70 is a nice body also, I don't think you'll see huge improvements but as a user friendly body, without having to go to the menus for functions, it great at the right price :thumbs:
 
Up until recently I had both the D70 and a D200. The D200 is better in almost every respect.
I doubt you will not regret the purchase although as has been said the going price for a Nr mint body is between £375 and £425. Exif data will give you the shutter count.
 
I sold my D200 but kept my D70 :lol: If you're saving up (which is good) why not wait and see where the D300 drops to in price?

It'll probably end up about £150-200 more than a D90, but unless you are seduced by the wonky video feature of the D90 it's a lot more of a camera....
 
Really supurb camera, it saw heavy use. Only really let me down in terms of high ISO but aside from that can't complain
 
Let me add my voice to those who've loved their D200. A fantastic camera :thumbs:. I sold mine to another member here; as has been told the going rate should be a lot closer to £400 .. but even at £450 it's all that bad, just depends on how "unused" it really is.

Going from the D70 to the D200 was a fantastic experience.
 
V8burble said:
I love mine (although keep the ISO at or below 400 for best results). I paid £350 for the body (3200 actuations) and £50 for the grip, which was a GREAT price. It's a nice big body with weatherproofing to. The D70 is a nice body also, I don't think you'll see huge improvements but as a user friendly body, without having to go to the menus for functions, it great at the right price :thumbs:
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That price is one heck of a bargain, I have to say.
 
I went from a 70 to 200 this year and the step up is fantastic.

Much faster to change settings with the 'three kings' and the dials on the back etc...

I love the screen size because I would shoot in the studio and take the shots home to find out they were crap. I couldnt see how bad they were on the tiny screen on the 70. With the 200 its not an issue.
 
Having used a D200 for a while and moving to it from a D40, I can honestly say it is a fantastic camera. As said, ISO isnt fantastic BUT, I was using it at ISO800 this morning and was impressed with the results. Unless your shooting a black cat in a dark alley then it shouldnt be much of a problem.

I recently treated mine to a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 and the results are amazing. I love it and cant see me getting shut anytime soon!

I paid £525 for a mint one at the begining of this year, which at the time was a good price as it only had approx 2,000 clicks on it. You will not be dissapointed :)
 
A real workhorse of a camera. :thumbs:

The build quality is fantastic, and as already stated the image quality below ISO 400 and with good glass is excellent. Remember this was Nikons best prosumer camera up until about a year ago. TBH for £450 (or cheaper if you can haggle), you are going to get a heck of a lot of camera :)
 
Agree with all comments its a fantastic camera.

Just try to get the price down!
 
Agreed on all points, especially the ISO comments...

It's a well built, workhorse of a body which will probably go on for years if you treat it right.

However, if you are going to need any low light performance, the D200 may not be for you. I've found that anything above ISO400 requires some PP to remove the excess noise
 
Probably one of the best ever Nikon DSLR's.

Highly recommended.
 
I nearly sold mine a while back, glad that I didn`t........:thumbs:

Cracking camera that is only let down by its poor high ISO performance, that is just my opinion of course, all in all it is a good bit of kit.
 
i used a D200 for several months in my job but had to give it back and now use my personal D70s which is good. I'd like another D200 but feel they are overpriced secondhand such that I feel it is wasted money presently as I expect the price to drop more (I hope). I almost feel better to pay double but get a new D300 because that seems to be the benchmark camera right now. The D90 seems so amateur in comparison, very capable but not substantial.

Re the secondhand prices well many private sellers seem to want around 400-450 secondhand. You can actually get them second user and warrantied for this from dealers and there seem to be many about.

Could anyone explain more re this AA filter issue? What's that all about? How good do lenses need to be?
 
The D70 is very sharp when viewed at 100%.

With the same glass, the D200 is softer. So folks tend to try to sharpen more to make it look as "per pixel sharp" as per the D70s. (Over) Sharpening doesn't help the noise levels.

The AA filter is a "blur filter" and I think that Nikon over-compensated a bit for the D70s colour moire issues.

Its not worth worrying about really, but its just something to be aware of.
 
thank you for all the comemnts guys. I think that based on them, I am probably goignto pass, the High Iso is an issue for me, and the first thing that attracted me to the D90 is the supposed superior high ISO handling. Have also being considering sellign all my nikon gear, and going for a sony alpha (we have a minolta dynax 7d at work, and I love the way it handles low light and the in body anti shake) but that is a much bigger decision that would need a lot more thought.

but again, thankyou.
 
I am probably goignto pass, the High Iso is an issue for me, and the first thing that attracted me to the D90 is the supposed superior high ISO handling.

I find the D90 and D300 noise superiority hugely over-egged tbh.
 
Over egged compared to what?
 
Bolerus said:
thank you for all the comemnts guys. I think that based on them, I am probably goignto pass, the High Iso is an issue for me, and the first thing that attracted me to the D90 is the supposed superior high ISO handling. Have also being considering sellign all my nikon gear, and going for a sony alpha (we have a minolta dynax 7d at work, and I love the way it handles low light and the in body anti shake) but that is a much bigger decision that would need a lot more thought.

but again, thankyou.
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I thought the Sony always got a pounding in reviews for low light performance :shrug:
 
puddleduck said:
Can you quantify "far superior"?
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No, because i`m not getting into a camera technology discussion on here, there are too many is it is.......:)

I enjoy using both cameras, both have good and bad points, each are better at certain things than the other. I prefer to use the 300 if I need high ISO.Just my opinion......:)
 
Yeah, I think "let down" and "poor" iso performance, is a bit strong.
Its as good as anything in its class, give or take a stop or so.
It really is only an issue if you want to shoot something in completely crap light, like a flippin gig, to be fair that's only a very small corner of photography.
Ok if you want 1/500th at night, that might stretch it a bit :lol:, but you have to be realistic.
From what I've seen, the high iso body's aren't the new messiah of clean shots....just improved.
I'd have to have a serious pro use for a high iso body before I knocked the D200 on the head......and I don't.
 
From what I've seen, the high iso body's aren't the new messiah of clean shots....just improved.

Exactly. If you actually test them side by side its surprisingl low little they are improved. There is an improvement, sure.. but its really not much.

The difference between my D60 and D90 is tiny.

Which is why I mentioned the over-egging, because there is a LOT of Emperor's New Clothes going on when discussing this.
 
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