Build quality. It reminds me of my F100 every time I pick it up. Sometimes I get confused and have to see which one I have to my eye when I'm using both.

Ease of handling. It reminds me of the F100 once again. They are both great cameras, built well and I expect both to outlast me.

High ISO is the killer here. I use iso 400 at times, even 640, but at 800 and especially over 800 at it turns to crap. The D100 was better than this. What did you do, Nikon?

Even worse is IR. The D100 wasn't exactly good for IR, but the IR filter on the D200 is some 10x stronger. Was there a good reason for this?

I've owned the D200 for 2 years now. It seemed so up to date when I bought it, but like so many of our electronic gadgets lately, it too has become dated.

I've used it mainly for portrait and family gatherings. For nature shots I prefer film. I use an F100 and an old FE.

The D200 handles well, it reminds me more of the F100 than the D100 I had previously. Moving fro 6mp to 10mp wasn't the big jump you might think. One of my sharpest photos ever is with the D100, that of a lighthouse, taken on a tripod with a 35-70mm F2.8 lens. I have a 13x19 of it hanging in my house and it looks absolutely stunning. While I'm sure the D200 could duplicate that photo, it serves to remind me I don't need to jump on the next big megapixel bandwagon. 6mp was/is no slouch.

Customer Service

Never had a Nikon break down on me.

Similar Products Used:

D100, Coolpix 8400 - a very good little 'point n shoot'.

I guess my F100 is similar?

Within it's limits it gives excellent image quality.

Durable build with a metal frame.

Acceptably fast (5 FPS) burst speed.

Shoots in Raw (NEF) and Jpeg format.

Supports compact flash in the new large sizes, I was using a 16GB card in mine.

Can meter correctly with AI (Manual focus) lenses if they are programmed in the menu. However, with the DX sensor you still get the 1.5X crop factor.

Bad high ISO performance, 800 is about it for high quality pictures, 1000 can be cleaned up most of the time, forget about higher or even (shudder) 3200.

Tendency towards hot pixels. Mine had a few bright ones when I got it that (thankfully) went away, but I still see some every once in a while. Be very careful when buying used as this is why a lot of people want to sell their D200's.

Not good for IR (infrared), nigh shots, low light, or long exposures. Best for action, daylight and outdoor scenes.

Shorter battery life than should be acceptable, the Nikon battery grip is flimsy in mounting with a weak door, the aftermarket grips have a tray with contacts that are easily bent/damaged.

How the mighty have fallen! For 2005 the D200 was the "it" camera for Nikon's line. It looked so good simply because took the best features of Nikon's then-current cameras and put them into one.

To clarify where the d200 was supposed to fit, Nikon originally made the D1 as the top "pro" camera, then the D100 was the "advanced amateur" model, the D1X for high resolution and the D1H for high speed (fast burst mode). For the next revision we get the D200, the D2X, the D2H, but no D2. Go figure.....

What makes the D200 look so poor today (Yes, poor!) is it was stretching some of the available technology to the limit. The sensor simply was not up to the job, with lots of noise at high ISO and a tendency towards hot pixels. My D50 was far better camera for low light, while the D200 excelled at action.

I "liked" my D200 mostly because I paid so much for it, but after seeing the world of the uber D700 I keep it mainly because it's the only other body I have than can meter with AI lenses. On the other hand I don't care as much now about sending it through airport X-ray machines.

Customer Service

Haven't used it.

Similar Products Used:

D50, D700

Build Quality

Metering

Viewfinder

AF Speed

Burst Speed

Wide Array of Features

High ISO performance isn't spectacular

AF on subjects with really low contrast can fool the camera.

Viewfinder is only 95%... fixed in the D300

I previously owned the Nikon D80, which was a fine camera in many ways, but simply lacked the versatility and durability of the D200 (it met its end with a scratched sensor). Anyhow, The D200 is truly one of the greatest cameras I have had the opportunity to use, and that includes Leicas, Hasselblads, and the Eos 1d MkIII.

Some people might wonder why the D200 is worth it if the D300 is out now. The truth is, if you shoot at ISO 100-400 you'll be hard-pressed to notice the difference, even on a 16x20 supergloss lightjet or chromira print (a.k.a a print far beyond the quality [and price] of what you'll get at your local supermarket).

Autofocus: Quite simply, it's splendid. The camera sometimes will take a tiny moment to "think" but then it zips your lens exactly to where it needs to be. Naturally, the photographer is an enormous variable, as someone experienced with the D200 knows what focus zone to use where (contrasty objects allow for a faster focus). Of course, some lenses focus barbarically fast, while others are just fast. The supertele's, eg; the 300mm EDIF VRII f/2.8, focus unbelievably fast--- once the camera knows what its looking for you'll barely blink before the image is sharp in your viewfinder. For action and race-cars I definitely prefer the D300's 51 AF points; however, keep in mind that the D200 is already excellent in this regard.


Metering: The D80 had issues with highlights getting blown out in exchange for proper shadow exposure. The D200, being the mini-D2X that it is, properly exposes so that highlights don't get blown out. If you think the images are somewhat dark that's ok. Shoot in RAW and then mess with the fill lighting in Lightroom or PS if you need to. The D200 handle's most situations quite well (within reason). Remember that good metering doesn't cause the camera to defy laws of physics. If you want nice sunset shots or have intense contrast between halves or chunks of your scene, consider using a graduated ND filter.

Viewfinder: 95% Pentaprism. It's sharp, bright, and informative. Tells you everything except bracketing info (which you need to look to the secondary LCD for). Dust can stick to the focus screen though-- use a blower.


Build Quality-- You could probably hammer nails with this thing. Solid Magnesium Alloy Body-- just like the D2x, D3, D300, and upcoming D700.

Image Quality-- So long as you don't exceed ISO 800, image quality is excellent.

Customer Service

As always, Nikon is great.

Similar Products Used:

D1H, D80, Eos 1D Mark III

Build quality, ergonomic layout, logical easy to use menu, fingertip adjustments, matrix metering, good lcd screen size/resolution, fast capture rate and backwards compatible with most Nikkor lenses, feels good and solid in the hand.
Illuminated red sensor markers and grid(when selected) are better than the F5's all grey ones.

Battery life is not good at all but a grip allows switching between 2 onboard enel-3e batteries which helps a lot.
Battery door isn't properly hinged(just a bending piece of plastic!)although this hasn't caused problems it seems out of place on such a high quality camera).

This camera was my first step into digital imaging after many years using the Nikon F4s and F5 35mm equipment.I was quite wary about going digital but have to say this camera is brilliant! it feels good, functions well and has a great menu layout.
The ergonomics are fantastic with most important setting adjustments at the fingertips for instant changing/correction.
The D200 gives outstanding results everytime and has replaced my beloved F5 as most used camera on wedding shoots and general landscape photography although with it's APS-C sensor I will need an ultra wide lens to replace the Nikkor 18mm I have always used. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CAMERA and a little amount of learning will allow a world of creative freedom with this very capable and robust little beauty!!.

Customer Service

Never needed any customer service until recently when my trusty old 50mm F1.4 Nikkor decided it liked F1.4 and nothing else!! - after 400+ wedding shoots with it I'll not complain to Nikon.

Similar Products Used:

No digital gear until this camera but used Nikon gear for 25yrs with no complaints.

Good build
Intuitive control layout
Fast exposure capture.

Poor exposure metering
Images lack midtones
Poor autofocus

I'm sorry I bought this camera. I've shot about 800 images with this camera and I'm still in shock at the results I'm getting. I've been shooting Nikon products for about 20 years and I have never had ANY problems with the equipment or image quality. The D200 seems to constantly over expose every image. The highlites are blown out and the backgrounds are under exposed. Most of the images are out of focus.I have a small collection of Nikon and Sigma EX (Nikon mount) lenses. None of the Sigmas will autofocus on the D200 body. My Nikon SB-28 flash won't fire on the body either -even though it is listed in the instruction manual.
I've been shooting digital with a Nikon Coolpix 5000 for several years and have been very pleased with the high quality properly exposed images it produces, so I'm completely baffled by this "upgrades" performance.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon Coolpix 5000

Handling. Its obvious Nikon thougth a lot about the layout and shape of this camera. It sits in the hand very well and the controls are easy to find and use, especially if your a Nikon user. Although if you have small hands it may not be as good a fit.

Images are better than I expected. The colour,exposure and auto white balance are usually spot on. Images are detailed with good sharpness in jgps if you turn up the in camera sharpening.

Noise. At ISOs above 800 it can get noisy. Although the pattern is quite natural looking not the harsh digital look of other cameras.

Battery life can be short, especially if you use the inbuilt flash. That said it'll still give many shots on a charge. My worst life was about 250 (on a VERY cold snowy day). I acheived 400 shots with about half using the flash, and 920 using high speed mode chasing hockey players. So its not too shaby, just not as good as others (my D70 would happily give 1500+ in must situations.

Simply the best SLR I've ever used. The image colour and definition are far more accurate than I expected (coming from a D70s). Handling wise its a perfect fit in the hand, superb button layout and easy to use menus with all the user options imaginable and more. If you think you might want one just buy it, you won't be disapointed.

Customer Service

Never needed and hope I never do!

Froma camera salesperson perspective Nikon Australia were good to deal with, as were most companies. Not many nikon's come back for warranty repair.

Similar Products Used:

I used to sell cameras and have played with most of the current (mid 2007) DSLRs. I used to own a D70s which was nice but nothing like a D200. My mother bought a D80 which she loves, its very similar but the D200 really has the handling advantage over it (trust me just try both in the hand and you'll see what I mean).

Quite well made, sturdy with a great feel in my large hands.
Uses all my older AF lens and the newest AF-S and VR as well.
The Nikon flash system is known as one of the best if not the very best (SB-800).
Great in the studio working with A/C lights.
Small built-in flash is handy and very useful at times.
FAST AF!
Battery pak is good for adding extra battery and vert. shutter release.
Nikon metering is again one of the best.
I have been using the D200 has my main camera (D70 back-up) for over two years now and I feel it is a digital step forward from my well liked 35mm F100.

HEAVY camera! I am a big guy so I can take it.
Battery life is short compared with film camers and even the D70.

The D200 is truly a great camera---a digital F100. I am very satisfied with its AF speed, metering, handling and capture. The viewfinder and large LCD on the camera are excellent. I have used this body with some of my oldest Nikon AF lens and still teriffic pictures. It gets even better with newer AF-S and VR lens-faster Af and reduced shake. This is important for me because much of my subjects are in music scenes at night or concert stages. Also, for motor racing the fast AF allows me to take quick "grab shots" for unexpected times like a crash. The ajustablity of the camera is a great help in capturing tricky lighting conditions. All in all, a very satisfing, well made camera body.

Customer Service

D200 has not needed anything. D70 had a issue with "blinking green light of death" Nikon fixed it fast and no charge even when warranty was over.
Nikon was ALWAYS fast and friendly with film cameras in the past.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70---a GREAT camera in its time and still very useful.
Fuji S2---anther great camera in its time--really good for studio shoots--geart skin tones.
I was also around for the Nikon/Kodak DC-410 and 420. Things ARE better today!

* Easy access to camera functions without having to use the menu!
- Change ISO, WB, Qual with a push of a button
- Change metering modes by turning a switch
- Quickly change shooting modes with the dial
- Change focus area easily and quickly
* Super metering capabilities, even in Program mode
* Great picture quality
* Easy to use if you already understand basic stuff like Shutter and Aperture priority
* Fast shooting speeds
* Great autofocus

* Battery life doesn't last as long as the D70. Carry an extra with you.

I love this camera. My previous camera was the Nikon D70, which is also a great camera, but I like this D200 even more. I'm really happy with my purchase.

Customer Service

No idea. Thankfully have not had to deal with them for any reason.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon D70, which is also a great camera, but I like the ease of use better with the D200.

Picture Quality
Well built

Battery Life

This is a fine camera and I have owned nothing but Nikon products, but there is no excuse for Nikon to release this comara with such poor battery life. I have e-mailed Nikon, but the advice I have been given was of little help. I have read the reviews of other manufacturers as weill as other Nikon dslr products and have not read of any complaints regading battery life. The price I paid was quite high, and I should expect more from this product.
Because of this defect, I cannot recommend this camera.
I hope the upgrade removes this defect, but I will wait until I read other personal reviews before upgrading.

Customer Service

Haven't needed any, but advice regarding battery life was of little help.

Similar Products Used:

NIKON F100, 8080s, FTP

picture quality

shutter life (killed it in 10 weeks)
focus speed is slow and will not aquire subjects well
battery life is the worst in nikons range
ergonomics are not as good as all other dsr's nikon make

I am very disapionted with this camera, we managed to destroy one in a mere 10 weeks. I amda pro who employs 10 photogs and hoped this body would replace a few of our D2h's, but it was not to be.
It is very cheaply built and the shutter/focus speed and battery life suck.

Similar Products Used:

D1h X2
D100 X3
D70
D2h X9
D2x