You can find much better reviews on this camera on the internet (see the sites I mention in the forums section) for instance here on dpreview
but here is my personal opinion.
General impression:
I bought my first Nikon DSLR beginning of 2005. At that moment,
there was only one logical choice for the amateur photographer, the D70. I
really enjoyed (and I am still enjoying) using that camera, one of the best if
not the best in the category. Thanks to a lot of advice I could get on several
forums, I improved my technique a bit and started understanding the limitations
of the camera and my exact needs. I have been dreaming of a few improvements on
the D70, before the D200 was even announced. I was looking for things like:
better display, 100% zooming on display, better viewfinder, better AF system,
more fps, optional grip, ISO value display.... The D200 just gave me that and
much more. My favorite dealer call me in January 2006, one day before a trip to
the carribean. I made the jump and I didn't regret it. The first impressions
were: professional build (even if the D200 is not marketed as a pro-level
camera, it should be at least considered as prosumer if not pro - build quality,
user interface, weather sealing are much closer to the pro-stuff than to the
consumer level camera's), fantastic user interface with large knobs, huge with
the grip, heavy.
It has been very easy to adapt to that new camera, coming from a D70. The Nikon
system is pretty consistent. Overall, the D200 is a fantastic camera, picture
quality is excellent, more consistent than with the D70 (better exposure, better
details thanks to the higher resolution, better speed, ...)
The pros
- excellent value for money, semi-pro camera, ideal for serious amateurs and pro-shooters (as a backup for a D2X for instance)
- excellent viewfinder, allowing easy manual focus
- excellent LCD display,
allowing to assess picture quality with a quick 100% zoom
- excellent user interface (consistency)
- most functions easily available under a button, thumbwheel...
- on board flash based on the
excellent CLS (Creative
lighting system by Nikon) with remote flashes (improved commander mode compared
to the D70, almost replaces the SB-800, including RPT stroboscopic mode)
- excellent build, weather sealed, bigger knobs
- grid lines in viewfinder
- 5 fps for action shooting, excellent buffer for action use
- a lot of functions, probably more than anybody will ever use
- excellent overall picture quality
- optional grip to be able to use AA batteries - fantastic for portrait orientation shooting (shutter button + thumbwheel and AF-on button repeated)
- ISO value displayed in the viewfinder
- High ISO performance significantly improved compared to the D70 - the D200 can be used without any hesitation up to ISO800
- improved ISO range:
100-3200 in 1/3 EV steps
- battery life and number of shots taken per battery displayed
- mirror lock-up
The cons
- battery life: this is a
real issue: only 200-400 pictures per battery compared to 600+ on a D70
- very bad design of the "joystick", almost impossible to click
without moving in any direction - incredible to have such a nonsense design on
such an extraordinary camera !!
- Not really a problem but you'll need to use the picture quality settings to get good results in JPEG mode (recommend settings are sharpness +1 or 2 and saturation [vivid] +)
- weight ? with the grip, a huge and heavy combo.
- no simple IR remote like for the D70: need to use an expensive wired remote or an even more expensive infrared combo (receiver+transmitter)
The lenses (a starter kit I would recommend - see other reviews as well)
- 18-70 (the so called kit lens) or the 18-200VR
excellent price/performance ratio, the most logical choices
as universal lenses
- more expensive but excellent quality: 17-55 2.8
- 50 1.8
cheap and should be in all photographers' bag
- macro: add a 500D close-up lens on top of the 18-200VR or 80-400VR or get the
new 105VR
- longer lens: 80-400VR or 80-400OS
- wide angle: Tokina 12-24 f4
excellent value for the money - comparable to the Nikkor at a
third of the price
- fisheye 10.5mm
The accessories
- SB-800/600 wireless flashes - can be used on camera or as a remote
flash
- the remote controls - wired - expensive
- don't forget to have at least one extra battery
- Compact flash cards - 2GB or 4GB cards are necessary because of the file size
to get enough "autonomy"
- choose fast cards to have reasonable performance for action
shots at 5 fps
A few pictures...
#1 High ISO performance here ISO1600 with the 18-70 kit lens
#2 Action shot
#3 Landscape (correctly exposed)
#4 Colors (shot in the Royal Greenhouses, Brussels)
#5 Colors (Martinique Island)
#6 Colors
