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11-20-2010, 05:14 PM - 1 Like   #1
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Nikon D200: went for a "walk"

I was considering D300S or D700 (and D700 still am), but wanted to see how will I like Nikon to begin with, w/o sinking tons of money into it... And this what I decided to start with:





So I bought an absolutely mint D200 from Albert here (Albert, thank you again so much!)

First impressions:

Great built quality
Excellent ergonomics
Nice, bright viewfinder
AF - why haven't I bough this sooner?
Metering - wow!

Anywho... I've had the camera for few days, but no time to get out, until this afternoon. First things first: AF is simply amazing! I can actually trust camera for the first time in 4 years. Do know how much of a relief that is??? Every single shot on the card in focus!!! Options and flexibility of AF setting are terrific!

Metering... What a pleasant surprise! To be honest with you, I've hardly every used AV mode in the past few years. I think you know why... And this thing's metering just blows me away! Even in the tough contrasty scenes!

Just some snaps from D200 with DX 35mm f/1.8 (nice, sharp lens for this body)























Did I mention that every single snap was in focus??? Well, it was! There is a reason why I hardly ever shot people on the street, and almost forgot how much fun it can be!

Starting with the basics on D200, going to shoot for a month or two with DX 35mm f/1.8 to get acquainted with the camera... It's great little lens, sharp, focuses quickly and accurately, quiet, close enough of a focusing distance. My first 35mm on the crop sensor, and much prefer to 50mm to be honest. Other lenses will follow, I'm sure... I'm a sucker for a narrow DOF, and will be looking at AF 180 f2.8 and AF 85mm f1.8 (or Sigma 85mm f1.4).

Regards,
D

P.S. Last of the home grown tomatoes for this season: Campari F2 (foreground) and Noir de Crimme (in the back). Same lens... I sure will miss them until the end of May of next year =(





Last edited by Duh_Vinci; 11-20-2010 at 06:14 PM.
11-21-2010, 09:31 AM   #2
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The worm has turned for you, my friend! The worm has turned...

c[_]

P.S. Love the image of the wall (girl with tie) with the guy standing to the side. Superb!
11-21-2010, 10:02 AM   #3
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I bought a D200 last year. It all started because I had bought an F100 on a whim.

The matrix metering on the D200 was a revilation. I had no idea that it could be so good.

Funny thing is that the K10D gets less attention then the D200 does. Not allways a good thing. People on the street seldom want to talk camera when i have my K10D, but I often get drawn into "gear talk" when I am using the D200.

After using both the K10D and the D200 for about a year now, I am really having trouble deciding if I want to go full Nikon, or keep some Pentax gear. With the introduction of the K-5, it has really gotten hard to decide on a direction. It looks like many of the things I was looking for with a change to Nikon has been addressed in the K-5. But then there are things about the Nikon that I don't want to give up.

Long term, I would like to have a Nikon system for flash and zooms, and a Pentax system for Ltd primes.
11-21-2010, 10:03 AM   #4
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Nice work.

Nikon AF is sweet, isn't it? I was shocked when I switched and noticed that nearly all shots were properly focused.

The flash system is good too. The system properly exposes the subject without trying to miraculously light up whatever cavern exists in the background. The camera can also command multiple flash groups with different power outputs.

AF and flash are great reasons to choose Nikon. But after a few months with Nikon I'm really missing the Pentax limited primes. None of my Nikon mount lenses excite me like the DA40 and FA77 used to. Maybe some day when more cash rolls my way I can buy a K-5 for bright sunshiny days.

11-21-2010, 11:27 AM   #5
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Nice set of photos. I'm also considering picking up a D200 as I still have some Nikon lenses gathering dust around the house. My first auto focus SLR was a Nikon back in the film days and I will admit to it being faster on the focus than my K10D but I never used it as extensively as I have used the K10D either. I bought my first Pentax back in 76 or so and I always seem to go back to Pentax and the new K5 is going to be a likely purchase next year.
11-21-2010, 12:23 PM   #6
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Very nice set (as usual), D!

Yes, the AF on that D200 is remarkable. I tend to value snappy & accurate AF above almost anything else in a body these days.
11-22-2010, 07:41 PM   #7
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Oh that worm!

I've kept K20D for macro DFA 100mm and Lensbabies for now. I have no issues with the 2, since these are used in manual focus. Not going to miss much of Pentax gear to be honest with you, since I've never gotten to spend money on the limited glass. Many defective lens copies of FA and DA series were disappointment and allowed me to save my money and prevented me from getting attached. Nevertheless, in close focus and manual focus, I enjoyed K10D and K20D a great deal!

As for the D200, the more I use it, the more I like it... 4 custom setting - love it! Fine tuning options are extensive and very user friendly. Absolutely love AF and love the metering, including the "chipless" lens menu. I can actually slap on a lensbaby, tell it what parameters of this particular lens I'm using and suddenly it's metering beautifully, and Av mode is trustworthy!

Our colors locally are pretty much done, winter is almost here, so I see many B&W shooting for me in the next few months...


Few more, same 35mm f/1.8







Regards,
D

11-22-2010, 08:44 PM   #8
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The D200 misses on autofocus as well, maybe not as much as the K10D but it does. As far as metering goes I have not noticed any advantage of the D200 over the K10D in fact it sometimes overexposes in program or auto modes.

I have used it since they first came out and had a waiting list and before that the D1X which I truly hated and my wife uses the K10D. My guess is that I might have 20-30K on the D200. It is a great camera but remember as well that when if first came out its selling price was considerably higher than the K10D. The K10D was half way in price between the D200 and the D80. As the job I had we used Nikon I debated on which to buy for my wife, the Pentax to use our lenses or the Nikon and borrow lenses from work so am well aware of the prices. I have never used a D80 to tell how it works compared to either of the other cameras. The D2X was even better than the D200 but look at the price jump there as well.
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