Lee Yuan Sheng
12-19-2005, 07:07 PM
I had a short stint with the D200 today, and in short, as a photographic tool, it's very well designed. I didn't get to keep any images though, so I will not comment on image quality, except to say that I believe it will not be worse than the D70.
The Camera Itself
The camera has a nice heft to it, being mostly made from metal. I'm unsure if there're any environmental seals, given the presence of a built-in flash (which also is one of the main parts made up of plastic). It's pretty much a modern Nikon, with elements from the D2 and the F80 (the film predecessor of the D100 and D70).
Controls
Controls are pretty much from the D2 series, with the exception of the thumb buttons for AE-Lock and metering mode dial, which comes from the F80 bin part, and the AF-On button, which seems to be a custom part for the D200. While I'm not particularly keen on this design aspect, for the spacing between the two is fairly large with the metering mode dial getting in the way, at least the construction for this area is well done. On the F80 and D100, using the metering mode dial is a jarring plastic on plastic affair, whereas on the D200 it's a smooth metal against metal feeling that can be easily controlled with just a thumb.
Controls are logically placed, and while some may not like the two command dial setup which Nikon uses, I prefer the Nikon system of having the main command dial at the thumb, as it allows changing of most settings without having to take the finger off the shutter release button. Also, the buttons on the D200 are large and easy to press, making it good for those who intend to shoot in cold winters weather!
Speaking of the shutter release button, it’s a wonderful one. The tension to a half-press is just nice, and from there on activating the shutter takes only the lightest of pressures. In fact I’d say it’s even better than my old F100!
Viewfinder and LCD
The viewfinder on the D200 is a real treat. After using the F100’s superb viewfinder, I struggle with practically any budget digital SLR viewfinder. Small and dim, they are near impossible to use for the purpose of judging sharpness. I’m glad to say that the D200’s viewfinder is very usable for that. It’s also brighter, and offers somewhat better contrast, although if you ask me to pick a winner, I think the F100 is still better in terms of brightness, but not by much.
The viewfinder status is pretty standard, but it also shows ISO settings. Finally!
I did not get to test the rear LCD outdoors, so I have no idea how it’ll perform. The LCD is huge though, and images appear very nicely on it. If it works well in harsh sunlight, it’ll be one LCD few can complain about.
The top status LCD is huge, to accommodate a wealth of data. It’s LED backlit though, not EL as with the D2.
Shutter and Mirror Box
The D200 has a fairly well-dampened shutter and mirror, which translates to a fairly quiet (by SLR standards) camera in operation, as well as one that should have fewer vibrations to cause any blurring of images in slower shutter speeds. For even fewer vibrations, there is the option of mirror lockup, selectable from the drive mode dial. While not as convenient as the F5’s lever next to the lens mount, it is nevertheless better than having it buried in the camera’s menus.
Autofocus
The D200 sees the debut of a new AF module, the CAM1000. In the brief time I had the D200, the AF seemed to be fast enough, snapping to focus quickly even in fairly dim conditions (EV 4 at ISO 100). Unfortunately, as I don’t carry around my 80-200/2.8 all the time, I wasn’t able to strenuously test the camera’s AF system.
Note on backfocus: While the issue is real and can be annoying, there was no way to test if the D200 has it. There are few things to note on this issue:
Firstly, it is not a systematic problem. If you take a few cameras from the same manufacturing batch, made within minutes of each other, you’re likely to find that some will have the error, and some may not, and not all of them will exhibit the errors in the same way.
Secondly, it is an extremely hard to pinpoint. This is due to the fact that this is extremely dependent on the combination of both the camera and the lens. Your 50/1.4 might be fine on your camera, but used with the same camera your friend has, backfocus errors appear.
Finally, on the Internet, there are (sadly) too many people who do not understand their cameras very well, and a legitimate and small problem can really get blown out of context as well. While the problem can be quite severe in some cases, for 90% of digital SLR users, it should not pose a big problem. Hence, be careful when evaluating a camera’s supposed “faults”. You might find out there may not be a fault at all, or it simply an irrelevant issue in real life day-to-day shooting.
ISO Settings
No more fiddling with Hi settings in the menus! Now with the ability to increase in 1/3 stops once past the rated ISO settings! :D
Batteries
With the D200, an improved version of the EN-EL3 (based the same OEM battery which started with the Canon G1) is introduced, the EN-EL3e, with a mAh rating of 1500. Only the EN-EL3e can be used with the D200, as the groove next to the contact pins is different on the D200. So if you're looking to upgrade from the D70/D50, you'll have to buy new batteries!
Final Words
That’s all I can think of for now. I came away really impressed with the way the camera handles. It’s practically like my beloved F100; solid and sure. If the images are no worse than the D70, I think it’ll be a great camera to buy, especially at its price.
If you have any queries, please leave them in this thread, and I’ll update this post accordingly.
The Camera Itself
The camera has a nice heft to it, being mostly made from metal. I'm unsure if there're any environmental seals, given the presence of a built-in flash (which also is one of the main parts made up of plastic). It's pretty much a modern Nikon, with elements from the D2 and the F80 (the film predecessor of the D100 and D70).
Controls
Controls are pretty much from the D2 series, with the exception of the thumb buttons for AE-Lock and metering mode dial, which comes from the F80 bin part, and the AF-On button, which seems to be a custom part for the D200. While I'm not particularly keen on this design aspect, for the spacing between the two is fairly large with the metering mode dial getting in the way, at least the construction for this area is well done. On the F80 and D100, using the metering mode dial is a jarring plastic on plastic affair, whereas on the D200 it's a smooth metal against metal feeling that can be easily controlled with just a thumb.
Controls are logically placed, and while some may not like the two command dial setup which Nikon uses, I prefer the Nikon system of having the main command dial at the thumb, as it allows changing of most settings without having to take the finger off the shutter release button. Also, the buttons on the D200 are large and easy to press, making it good for those who intend to shoot in cold winters weather!
Speaking of the shutter release button, it’s a wonderful one. The tension to a half-press is just nice, and from there on activating the shutter takes only the lightest of pressures. In fact I’d say it’s even better than my old F100!
Viewfinder and LCD
The viewfinder on the D200 is a real treat. After using the F100’s superb viewfinder, I struggle with practically any budget digital SLR viewfinder. Small and dim, they are near impossible to use for the purpose of judging sharpness. I’m glad to say that the D200’s viewfinder is very usable for that. It’s also brighter, and offers somewhat better contrast, although if you ask me to pick a winner, I think the F100 is still better in terms of brightness, but not by much.
The viewfinder status is pretty standard, but it also shows ISO settings. Finally!
I did not get to test the rear LCD outdoors, so I have no idea how it’ll perform. The LCD is huge though, and images appear very nicely on it. If it works well in harsh sunlight, it’ll be one LCD few can complain about.
The top status LCD is huge, to accommodate a wealth of data. It’s LED backlit though, not EL as with the D2.
Shutter and Mirror Box
The D200 has a fairly well-dampened shutter and mirror, which translates to a fairly quiet (by SLR standards) camera in operation, as well as one that should have fewer vibrations to cause any blurring of images in slower shutter speeds. For even fewer vibrations, there is the option of mirror lockup, selectable from the drive mode dial. While not as convenient as the F5’s lever next to the lens mount, it is nevertheless better than having it buried in the camera’s menus.
Autofocus
The D200 sees the debut of a new AF module, the CAM1000. In the brief time I had the D200, the AF seemed to be fast enough, snapping to focus quickly even in fairly dim conditions (EV 4 at ISO 100). Unfortunately, as I don’t carry around my 80-200/2.8 all the time, I wasn’t able to strenuously test the camera’s AF system.
Note on backfocus: While the issue is real and can be annoying, there was no way to test if the D200 has it. There are few things to note on this issue:
Firstly, it is not a systematic problem. If you take a few cameras from the same manufacturing batch, made within minutes of each other, you’re likely to find that some will have the error, and some may not, and not all of them will exhibit the errors in the same way.
Secondly, it is an extremely hard to pinpoint. This is due to the fact that this is extremely dependent on the combination of both the camera and the lens. Your 50/1.4 might be fine on your camera, but used with the same camera your friend has, backfocus errors appear.
Finally, on the Internet, there are (sadly) too many people who do not understand their cameras very well, and a legitimate and small problem can really get blown out of context as well. While the problem can be quite severe in some cases, for 90% of digital SLR users, it should not pose a big problem. Hence, be careful when evaluating a camera’s supposed “faults”. You might find out there may not be a fault at all, or it simply an irrelevant issue in real life day-to-day shooting.
ISO Settings
No more fiddling with Hi settings in the menus! Now with the ability to increase in 1/3 stops once past the rated ISO settings! :D
Batteries
With the D200, an improved version of the EN-EL3 (based the same OEM battery which started with the Canon G1) is introduced, the EN-EL3e, with a mAh rating of 1500. Only the EN-EL3e can be used with the D200, as the groove next to the contact pins is different on the D200. So if you're looking to upgrade from the D70/D50, you'll have to buy new batteries!
Final Words
That’s all I can think of for now. I came away really impressed with the way the camera handles. It’s practically like my beloved F100; solid and sure. If the images are no worse than the D70, I think it’ll be a great camera to buy, especially at its price.
If you have any queries, please leave them in this thread, and I’ll update this post accordingly.