My D200 Review

I have had extensive experience with scanning film. The scanning process is very time-consuming, so I was waiting for a digital SLR that would deliver the same resolution (10 megapixels) as my Nikon Coolscan IV. The D200 promised this resolution and goodies like mirror lock-up (MLU) that Nikon previously restricted only to its top-of-the-line bodies.

Unfortunately, I experienced the banding issue that seemed to be related to imprecise calibration of the 4-channel readout of the CCD. Nikon USA fixed this problem of early series cameras (serial no. is 3007XXX), but I was surprised to find the battery missing when I received my camera back. Nikon Customer Service was nice enough to overnight me a new battery. This was of course all done free of charge, but more hassle than expected for a $1700 body.

Digital "slides" from my first hikes with the D200

Several hundred images later, I am very happy with my first digital SLR. The magnesium alloy body is reassuringly solid and feels just right in my medium-sized hands. The viewfinder is bright and constrasty, but significantly smaller than on my F5 due to the APS C-sized CCD sensor. Because of that crop factor, I have to further back up which effectively increases my working distance and my depth-of-field. This can be a plus when taking images of little critters and sensitive plants. I have replaced the standard focusing screen with a Katz Eye Plus screen to facilitate manual focussing. I recommend to have the screen professionally installed; the way Nikon keeps the D200 focusing screen in place is not satisfying if you are used to their F5. Another accessory that I find very useful is the RRS L bracket for this camera.

I own an SB-800/600 combination that I use for bounced flash indoors. However, I prefer available light both indoors and outdoors when possible. The ability to dial in different ISOs from shot-to-shot is incredible. I limited myself to 100 ISO slide film outdoors and 400-1600 ISO black-and-white film indoors. Under overcast conditions or dense forest canopy, I previously had to pass on photo opportunities with film when I needed faster shutter speed or increased depth-of-field. The digital noise of the D200 is almost film-like and quite acceptable up to 1000 ISO. In terms of sharpness and grain, the D200 exceeds 35mm color film. I have used the D200 with my 85/1.4D for available light photography at 1600 ISO with very good, but not excellent image quality and autofocus results. No matter how hard I try in Photoshop, I still prefer the look of Neopan 1600.

White balance is not always spot-on, but a single click with the white balance pipette in Camera Raw is all that is usually needed to obtain highly accurate color. One of my biggest concerns with digital capture was to keep the look of my images consistent over time and similar to the slide film I used. My custom-designed presets in Camera Raw certainly help. I have customized my D200 for my style and shoot RAW exclusively, so I do not have to worry about in-camera settings. Thus, I can operate the D200 almost like a film camera. The big LCD makes it easy to evaluate a histogram or zoom to 100 % detail to evaluate sharpness in the field. I archive my images as losslessly compressed DNGs, so each file weighs in at 7-10 MB. That is about 15 % the size of the 16-bit TIFFs I created for scans of similar quality.

Being new to digital SLRs, it is great to have lens and time information available in metadata if you want to repeat a certain shot later and especially for documentary purposes in nature photography. I was even happier to have the option of including GPS information into my photographs with my Garmin GPSmap 60c. Unfortunately, this requires an expensive MC-35 cable and a legacy serial cable to connect the GPS to the MC-35 cable. Furthermore, I often do not have GPS reception where I hike which is hardly the camera's fault. If D200 and GPS unit are both powered on and connected, the D200 meters constantly, draining the batteries quickly. Even when I do not use a GPS, the D200 battery does not last anywhere close to the up to 1800 shots per charge that Nikon promised in its press release. Despite my (minor) issues with the D200, I can highly recommend this camera.

Red Trillium, Shelburne Falls, MA
Nikon D200, AF200/4D, 1/200s, f/5.6, ISO 160, Camera Raw
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