REVIEW: Nikon D200 10.2 Megapixel DSLR
January 31, 2008
INTRO
The Nikon D200 camera was introduced at the end of 2005. Why am I reviewing this camera now three years (which is forever in terms of camera technology) after its release? Well for starters I just purchased this camera last year from a friend and have finally used it enough to provide useful insight on it. Also the D300 was recently released so many people who previously shot with D200’s are unloading them like hotcakes on www.craigslist.toronto.ca or www.ebay.ca. Hopefully this review along with the dozens on the internet will help people who are interested in the D200 finally make the $900-1000 (used price) plunge!
WHO/WHAT IS THIS CAMERA FOR?
The D200 is a semi professional body made to take day to day abuse (although my rubber grip is starting to peel off). It feels like a metal baseball bat and probably could be used as one (I take no responsibility if you break your D200 using it as a baseball bat). It’s 10.2 Megapixels allows for much more cropping space allowing me to be lazy and just crop for composition when I take portraits of people.
Did I mention this baby is fast? You can quickly turn this sucker on and shoot at 5FPS in a blink of an eye. Also with a HUGE buffer I can take 21 RAW photos (or almost limitless JPEGs) before it becomes full and needs to write to a card. The only thing that knocks the camera down is AF focus points, although it has 11 AF points on 1 (the middle point is the good one. This compared to the D300, with its 51 point AF and 13 cross point sensors. So focusing on fast, moving, objects is iffy for me in low light situations.
Recommended for:
- General photography
- Studio work
- Portrait photography
- Some sports (low light fast focusing is the killer though)
HANDLING/EASE OF USE
This camera feels so good to hold and is made with a metal body and rubber skin that just screams expensive when you hold it. I love it. Compared to my old D70s and my friends’ D80 and Canon XT, which both feel like plastic toys, this camera feels likely to last longer in rugged use. Supposedly its also weather sealed but I don’t trust it too much. Who wants to risk $$$ photographing in the rain?
All the buttons are easy to use coming from a Nikon and the menu system of the D200 has a tremendously useful “?” (help) feature which basically allowed me to learn everything single setting on the camera without consulting the manual. Truly a very useful feature if you are caught in the field trying to figure out what Setting X does for your camera.
There are lots of cool extras that I find on my D200 that I can’t find on lower end entry level cameras:
- Illuminated exposure/settings screen on the top which tells you aperture, shutter speed, ISO.
- SPOT METER! Useful for scenes with contrasting light.
- 5 FPS! Never miss a shot.
- Gorgeous 2.5″ LCD screen that is so high in resolution that it’s easy to check sharpness.
- Wireless Commander Mode that enables control of 3 Groups of unlimited number of off camera flashes.
IMAGE QUALITY
Images out of this camera have the potential to look fantastic. I find the JPEGs look just average but this is normal for a prosumer camera. I tend to use RAW much more and with proper post processing the images look amazing. Resolution wise it is great. It’s 10 Megapixels is clearly resolves details better than my old D70s.Details captured by this camera are also sharper than photos taken with my father’s 12 Megapixel (interpolated) Fuji S2.
The only thing I can knock the D200 on is image noise. In JPEG I love the look from ISO 100-400. Details start to get lost at ISO 800 but I would still never fear using it. At 1600 it is clearly a hit or miss and exposure and white balance must be hit dead on or ugly noise starts to rear its head! In RAW, which is what I prefer to shoot, image noise is much much worse but I guess that is the nature of RAW and it requires a lot of post processing to get good images and then only at lower ISO values. For actual important studio shoots I would not want to go over ISO 400 in RAW. The RAW noise looks terrible and appears like little small worms all over the picture. But Noise Ninja clears most of that up in post.
CONCLUSION
If you haven’t noticed already from all the photos on this website, I AM IN LOVE with the D200. It is just so fast and speedy at everything that it does (ie. image capture, image review, menus, shutter lag, focusing) that I cannot imagine using any other camera. With the recent release of the Nikon D300 I am tempted but will definitely stay with my beloved D200. I do not think I will upgrade it until it completely falls apart.
One thing to remember is that the camera is but a tool for the photographer. It is like a paint brush used by an artist to help create his artwork. So if you can’t afford the D200/D300 get whatever camera you CAN afford and go out to take photos! It is not up to the camera but to the photographer.
