Review based on a production Nikon D200
The Nikon D200 was announced on 1st November 2005, some three and a half years since Nikon revealed their first prosumer digital SLR, the D100. It's fair to say however that the D200 is a completely different beast altogether, it shares far more with its 'bigger brother' the the D2X than its earlier namesake. The D200 has the robust build quality of the D2X, a 10.2 million pixel CCD sensor and a compact design more like the D100. Just as the D100 the D200 has a CCD sensor, unlike the D2X which utilized a CMOS sensor. It's clear that this camera is aimed at the same kind of market as the recently announced Canon EOS 5D. From a features, control and performance point of view the D200 is closer to the D2X than any other model.
Three years is a long time in the digital photography industry, a lot has changed since the D100, so treat the table below as a summary of the major changes. The most immediately noticeable however is the build quality, the D200 feels like a professional tool.
 Nikon D200  |
 Nikon D100 |
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| Body | • Magnesium alloy • Body seams sealed |
High-impact plastic |
| Sensor | • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD (DX format) • 10.2 million effective pixels |
• 23.7 x 15.6 mm CCD (DX format) • 6.1 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3872 x 2592 [L] • 2896 x 1944 [M] • 1936 x 1296 [S] |
• 3008 x 2000 [L] • 2240 x 1488 [M] • 1504 x 1000 [S] |
| File formats | • RAW (compressed / uncompressed) • JPEG (3 levels) |
• RAW (compressed / uncompressed) • TIFF • JPEG (3 levels) |
| Auto focus | • 11/7 area TTL • Multi-CAM 1000 |
• 5 area TTL • Multi-CAM 900 |
| AF area mode | • Single Area AF • Continuous Servo AF • Group Dynamic AF • Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF |
• Single Area AF • Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF |
| Metering | • 3D Color Matrix Metering II • 1005 pixel CCD |
• 3D Matrix Metering • 10 segment sensor |
| Sensitivity | • ISO 100 - 1600 • Up to ISO 3200 with boost |
• ISO 200 - 1600 • ISO 3200 & 6400 with boost |
| Shutter speed | • 30 - 1/8000 sec • 1/250 sec X-Sync speed |
• 30 - 1/4000 sec • 1/180 sec X-Sync speed |
| AI aperture ring | Yes | No |
| Continuous | • 5 fps • 37 / 22 frames (JPEG / RAW) |
• 3 fps • 6 / 4 frames (JPEG / RAW) |
| White balance | • Auto • Six presets • Manual preset (four) • Kelvin temperature • Fine tunable |
• Auto • Six presets • Manual preset (one) • Fine tunable |
| Image params | • Six preset looks • Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels • Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom • Color: 3 modes • Saturation: Auto, 3 levels • Hue: -9° to +9° |
• Sharpening: Auto, 4 levels • Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom • Color: 3 modes • Hue: -9° to +9° |
| Viewfinder | • Eyepoint 19.5 mm • Frame coverage 95% • Magnification approx. 0.94x • B-type Bright View Clear Matte II |
• Eyepoint 24 mm • Frame coverage 95% • Magnification approx 0.8x • B-type Bright View Clear Matte II |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5 " TFT LCD • 230,000 pixels • Removable protective cover |
• 1.8" TFT LCD • 120,000 pixels • Removable protective cover |
| Memory banks | • 4 x Shooting • 4 x Custom functions |
• 2 x Shooting • 2 x Custom functions |
| Timelapse | Yes | No |
| Remote | 10-pin remote terminal | With battery pack (optional) |
| GPS | Yes, NMEA 0183 with optional cable | No |
| Wireless | Yes, optional WT-3 transmitter | No |
| USB | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed | USB 1.1 |
| Battery | Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh) | Lithium-Ion EN-EL3 (7.4 V, 1400 mAh) |
| Battery status | • Remaining charge (%) • No. of shots taken since last charge • Battery life (5 stage) |
3 level on LCD panel |
| Vertical grip | MB-D200 | MB-D100 |
| Dimensions | 147 x 113 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in) | 144 x 116 x 81 mm (5.7 x 4.6 x 3.2 in) |
| Weight (no batt) | 830 g (1.8 lb) | 700 g (1.5 lb) |
It would be fair to describe the D200 as a 'compact D2X', while some features have been removed to preserve the D2X's uniqueness you would be hard pressed to find a situation (other than high-speed crop continuous shooting) where the D200 couldn't stand up to its bigger brother.
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Nikon D200 |
 Nikon D2X |
|
| Sensor | • 23.6 x 15.8 mm CCD (DX format) • 10.2 million effective pixels |
• 23.7 x 15.7 mm CMOS (DX format) • 12.4 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3872 x 2592 [L] • 2896 x 1944 [M] • 1936 x 1296 [S] |
• 4288 x 2848 [L] • 3216 x 2136 [M] • 2144 x 1424 [S] |
| High speed crop | No | Yes (2.0x FOV crop, 6.9 MP, 8 fps) |
| File formats | • RAW (compressed / uncompressed) • JPEG (3 levels) |
• RAW (compressed / uncompressed) • TIFF • JPEG (3 levels) |
| Auto focus | • 11/7 area TTL • Multi-CAM 1000 |
• 11/9 area TTL (9 in High speed crop) • Multi-CAM 2000 |
| Settings lock | • AF Area • Shooting mode (continuous) |
• AF Area • Shutter speed • Aperture • Shooting mode (continuous) |
| Color space | • sRGB (2 modes) • Adobe RGB |
• sRGB (2 modes) • Adobe RGB (2 modes) • sYCC |
| Sensitivity | • ISO 100 - 1600 • Up to ISO 3200 with boost |
• ISO 100 - 800 • ISO 1600 & 3200 with boost |
| Shutter speed | • 30 - 1/8000 sec • 1/250 sec X-Sync speed |
• 30 - 1/8000 sec • 1/250 sec X-Sync speed |
| AI aperture ring | Yes | Yes |
| Continuous | • 5 fps • 37 / 22 frames (JPEG / RAW) |
• 5.3 fps • 22 / 17 frames (JPEG / RAW) |
| Continuous (high speed crop) |
n/a | • 8.0 fps • 35 / 29 frames (JPEG / RAW) |
| White balance | • Auto (metering CCD) • Six presets • Manual presets (four) • Kelvin temperature • Fine tunable |
• Auto (hybrid external and CCD) • Six presets • Manual presets (four) • Kelvin temperature • Fine tunable |
| Image params | • Six preset looks • Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels • Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom • Color: 3 modes • Saturation: Auto, 3 levels • Hue: -9° to +9° |
• Sharpening: Auto, 6 levels • Tone: Auto, 3 levels, Custom • Color: 3 modes • Saturation: Auto, 3 levels • Hue: -9° to +9° |
| Built-in flash | Yes | No |
| Voice record | No | Yes, up to 60 sec per image |
| Viewfinder | • Eyepoint 19.5 mm • Frame coverage 95% • Magnification approx. 0.94x • B-type Bright View Clear Matte II |
• Eyepoint 19.9 mm • Frame coverage 100% • Magnification approx 0.86x • B-type Bright View Clear Matte III • Built-in curtain • Interchangeable finder screen |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5 " TFT LCD • 230,000 pixels • Removable protective cover |
• 2.5 " TFT LCD • 232,000 pixels • Tempered glass coating • Removable protective cover |
| Wi-Fi | WT-3 (802.11 b/g) | WT-1 (802.11b) or WT-2 (802.11b/g) |
| Battery | Lithium-Ion EN-EL3e (7.4 V, 1500 mAh) | Lithium-Ion EN-EL4 (11.1 V, 1900 mAh) |
| Battery status | • Remaining charge (%) • No. of shots taken since last charge • Battery life (5 stage) |
• Remaining charge (%) • No. of shots taken since last charge • Calibration status • Battery life (5 stage) |
| Vertical grip | MB-D200 | Built-in |
| Dimensions | 147 x 113 x 74 mm (5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 in) | 158 x 150 x 86 mm (6.2 x 5.9 x 3.4 in) |
| Weight (no batt) | 830 g (1.8 lb) | 1070 g (2.4 lb) |
Thanks to its new AI aperture ring connector the D200 supports A / M modes and metering with AI manual focus lenses (essentially anything made since 1977). Click on the chart below for a bigger view. (Table reproduced from Nikon brochure with permission).
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2006 Phil Askey and the review in part or in whole may NOT be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author. For information on reproducing any part of this review (or any images) please contact: Phil Askey
Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $749.99 |
Niko Electronics Nikon D200 | $1,799.95 |
Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $749.99 |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Double-Zoom Lens Kit with 18-55mm and 55-200mm DX Zoom Lenses (Black) | $496.95 |
Nikon D7100 Digital SLR Camera Body with 18-200mm Lens + 64GB Card + Battery & Charger + Case + Flash + Filter + Tripod + Accessory Kit | $1,799.95 |
Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens | Too low to display |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens | $446.95 |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Screen (Black) | $596.95 |
Nikon D3200 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Black) | $546.95 |
Nikon D5100 16.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera Bundle with 18-55mm and 55-200mm VR AF-S Lenses | Too low to display |
Nikon D7000 DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR Kit with 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR II ED Nikkor Lens | $1,496.95 |
Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera Body (Black) with 18-200mm VR II Zoom Lens + 32GB Card + Case + Battery + Filter + Tripod + Accessory Kit | $1,329.95 |
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