My Digital Quest
My Second DSLR
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My Digital Quest |
The Nikon D200 was what I wanted, so the D200 is what I got. I really would have rather had the D2Xs, but just could not swing that kind of money. But, for one third the cost, the D200 comes awful close to being as good as the D2X and D2Xs.
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My plan had been to order the D200 with the 18-200mm DX VR lens, but that being so popular and so far in backorder, that I finally, on May 19, 2006 ordered the D200 with the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 DX lens. It arrived May 25, 2006. However, even before I made that order, knowing that was what I'd get, I began ordering accessories for it: EN-EL3e batteries, extra LCD covers, remote shutter cable, and larger capacity 2MB memory/media cards. The D200 looks very much like its predecessor, the D100, but that's really where the comparison ends. The D200 is so much more. |
The only regret I had with the D200 was that it didn't take an old style, remote, manual cable release, which the D100 does. Otherwise, the D200 was more of what I had wanted to begin with when I first moved into digital SLR photography, basically a digital F100.
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The D100 didn't quite live up to that hope. The D200 does, and even goes far beyond. It's extremely well built, fast, well sealed against the elements, and fits my hands as well as my F100. And, it's far more sophisticated. With its features and capabilities, it really is nearly as advanced as the D2X, and in some ways perhaps even more. When I bought the D200, it was selling for $1699.95 and $1999.95 with the 18-70mm kit lens. I had paid $1499.95 for my D100, which had gone through several price reductions before I purchased it. |
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When my D200 arrived and I first got a look at it, the first thing I noticed was the huge LCD monitor. After being used to the one on the D100, this one looked tremendous. Likewise, the top LCD display was pleasantly larger than what I had been used to on the D100. A minor disapointment was the camera strap supplied by Nikon. It was very thin, not as substantial as the one that came with my D100, or any other Nikon camera I had ever bought. I knew I'd replace it with something better as soon as possible. |
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