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Nikon D200 by Kenrockwell

INTRODUCTION

My D200 is the best digital camera I've ever owned. I've made over 28,000 shots on it as of January 2007.

Boring lab tests can't tell you that my D200 gives me more great images with less work. My D70 and D40 can give similar results (resolution isn't related to image quality), but I have to twiddle the adjustments like white balance and exposure compensation more.

COLOR

My D200's colors are fabulous, and my work is all about color.

My D200 has much better color interpretation than any other digital camera. It sees color the way I do, and doesn't get too blue in shade. I used to run all my other digital cameras at WB Auto -3 and use a glass 81A (A2) warming filter all the time. My D200 gives me the results I want at Auto WB (+/- 0) and no glass warming filter required. I love this!

Auto WB works better than on any other DSLR I've used. I can shoot in shade, daylight or fluorescent and it looks right. My other digital cameras are always too blue in the shade and too green under fluorescent in Auto WB. I have to twiddle WB manually on those cameras. My D200's Auto WB actually works so I can concentrate on the image. AWB under tungsten still looks orange in dim light, but looks perfect in brighter light. Manual tungsten settings look too orange, just as they do on other cameras. On my D200 I use the manual white card or Kelvin adjustments (try 2,500 K) to get great natural results under home interior tungsten lighting.

EXPOSURE

Exposure is better on my D200 than anything else I've ever used. I spend much less time getting to the correct exposure in difficult situations. The D200 refuses to blow out my reds, which are a problem on most digital cameras in tricky situations.

BATTERY LIFE

The D200's LCD is big, bright, sharp, clear and colorful. It also uses a lot of electricity to make it look so delicious at every angle. I love looking at it because it looks so good.

Therefore battery life is only a few hundred shots on a charge. Nikon's ads claim 1,800. Baloney. It's a lot worse than my D70.

I bought a spare battery and can go through two in a day of shooting. I'd rather have the great screen and bring a spare battery. They charge faster than Nikon claims, too, in only 105 minutes from zero charge.

If I just shoot and don't use the LCD I can get over 1,000 shots. Everyone uses the LCD, and when I do I can get as few as 250 shots on a charge! If those are time exposures I'll get even fewer.

Your battery life has little to do with the actual number of shots. It has everything to do with how long you use the big, bright, sharp and colorful LCD to check your work, how long the shutter is open, how much data is written for your choice of file types and how long the meter is on while we twiddle. This twiddling is the creative process.

Even with the LCD off you'll suck the battery dry quickly with long exposures. My D200 sucks one entire battery dry in a single 80 minute exposure. My D70 never ran the battery down, no matter how much I used its puny LCD.

I don't mind the D200's battery life. It's a lot better than the primitive but state of-the-art at the time D1H I bought less then three years ago for $4,000. The short battery life suggests the D200 has the electronics of today's $5,000 D2X, but a smaller battery with the same capacity of the D70s. I'd rather have a smaller battery and smaller camera than the huge battery and body of the D2X.

Nikon seems deceptive in advertising 1,800 shots. They didn't specify the test conditions in the ads on whose basis I made my purchase. Only after I bought my D200 was I able to read these test conditions in the manual. They're a travesty of what a real photographer would do. Those conditions are only for a 1/250 sec exposure, a Basic medium-resolution JPG file and not using the LCD except for 5 seconds after each 6 shots. I often look at the LCD for 10 - 20 seconds after every shot. Nikon also specifies that you'll only get 340 shots when using the flash at full power for half the shots, and then that's not using the LCD at all!

I love my D200, but won't complain if lawyers bring a class action against Nikon to get us free spare batteries. Actually, to get 1,800 shots I'd need about three spares since I average about 450 shots per charge if I go easy looking at the LCD. I don't mind the actual battery life, but do mind that Nikon advertised a deceptive figure.

HOW DID I GET MINE BACK IN DECEMBER 2005?

Simple: I ordered it the day it was announced, November 1st, 2005. I paid full price and had to wait almost two months. I suggested you all do the same right here on this page on November 1st as well.

Just like any hot new digital camera, they are so popular at first that there are usually waiting lists. Nikon's not slow - they just have a zillion more orders than they can make cameras. Your store can't really tell you when to expect your order, since the store is waiting for Nikon to get the cameras to them.

No one could buy the previous D100 from stock for 6 - 12 months after it was introduced in 2002. It was on waiting lists and backorder for about a year.

If you're considering the D200 I'd suggest you order one right now, since if you don't like it you can just send it back if you order online as I do. Also when yours shows up probably could resell it to some who can't wait, at a profit, if you don't like it! Just like when the D100 and D70 came out, it will be a while before you can just walk into a store and buy one. The lists are filling up and waiting times are going to get worse before they get better. I'm glad I ordered mine the day it came out.

Some places have D200/18-70 kits in stock (Adorama has them here), but not the D200 body only. Darn. I suggest everyone get the 18-200VR I use, or the cheapest 18-55 lens which I also prefer to the 18-70. If I had a job to shoot and the 18-70 kit was my only option I'd go for it, be glad that I got my camera in my hot little hands, and sell the 18-70 lens later. If you're in a rush and like me you'll be so happy with the D200 that it won't matter how you had to get it. These things go obsolete so fast that waiting a few extra months isn't helping you.

BASIC SPECS

10.2 Megapixels, 5.1 FPS (measured), unusually high quality huge 2.5" LCD, 11 area AF, rubberized magnesium weather-sealed body, $1,699.95 US.

Announced 01 November, 2005. I ordered mine that very first day and I'm glad I did. Mine arrived December 19th 2005 and I LOVE it!

ORGANIZATION

I'm adding to these pages every day. Eventually I will reorganize them all to make more sense when I've finished writing them. If you're a daily visitor you may want to skip straight to the performance pages which is where most of the updates happen. My apologies for not being able to let you know what changes every five minutes, but not doing that while these pages are being written lets me spend that time adding more important information instead.