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Buy D200 now or wait..

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S Min

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Hello,

I am sure someone already posted similar post but I will post it anyways. :)

I've been using D40 almost 8 months now and feel like I want to move to more advanced camera like D200. And give D40 to my dad..

and yesterday in Tokyo where I live, I saw quite bit of price drop on D200 and with my strong Canadian dollar, I am so tempted to get D200.

My questions are.

1. should I wait for new D200 replacement? or you think D200 as good as it can get for most users?

2. should I expect improvement on my pictures with D200 compae to D40 which I think capable of producing nice photos.

Thanks for all your help in advance!

S.
 
Hi, you already own a D40, so you are coverd. In my opinion you must wait for the new D200 which is coming soon or later. Remember you will not take better pictures with the new camera. It iw a matter of prestige and being up to date.
 
It all depends on what you like to shoot and what your reasons for upgrading would be. The advantages of the D200 would be a faster, more adaptable focusing system, the ability to use lenses with autofocus that you can't right now with your D40 and 5 fps shooting rate (if that's needed for you). Not to mention many other features and settings. The D40 gives great pictures without having to do a lot of work on them. You would find with the D200 you will have to do some more post processing to get the best results. But that shouldn't put you off, either. It doesn't mean hours in front of your pc. Look at the specs/features of both here on this site. Decide if there is/are some that are important to you on the D200 that would be beneficial to you to justify the change. Then goto a dealer near you that has one and try it hands on. That's the best way to compare what you have now with any future purchase item. Best of luck.
 
If you want the D200 now, go for it. IF they announce a replacement in August/September, prices will be higher with little discounting, and who knows when you will get your hands on one. Then you have to deal with the inevitable new model glitches.

If you are just thinking about an upgrade, then wait, but from what you wrote, the price is what attracted you, and you will not see low prices on a new model.
--

'A man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.'
Winston Churchill
 
The D40 is an excellent camera that produces excellent jpeg images straight out of the camera. The D200 also produces excellent images that can usually benefit from some PP. While I have no complaints about the jpegs from my D200, I do believe that the D40 actually beats it in this area. I expect that the D200 successor will have an improved jpeg engine that will even the score. Unless you need to use some non-AFS lenses you should wait.

OTOH, you may be waiting a while. Even if the camera is announced early fall it probably won't be available until winter. Then you should probably wait for the initial reviews (unlikely, but it could be a dog) and then wait some more for the inevitable initial kinks to be worked out.
--
Please view my galleries at http://www.pbase.com/mpov
 
Cope said:
If you want the D200 now, go for it. IF they announce a replacement
in August/September, prices will be higher with little discounting,
and who knows when you will get your hands on one. Then you have to
deal with the inevitable new model glitches.

If you are just thinking about an upgrade, then wait, but from what
you wrote, the price is what attracted you, and you will not see low
prices on a new model.
--
'A man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time
he will pick himself up and continue on.'
Winston Churchill
Click to expand...
What Cope says makes sense to me. If you want to shoot raw and perhaps try manual focus lenses - go for the 200 and get the best price you can.
--
Rudi -
15 years in Blade Runner Tokyo - back in Sunny Sydney now
 
One thing to bare in mind is; how much will the D200 replacement cost? The D200 price now is a bargain but i'd imagine that a replacement will cost in the region of £1200-1500. At present you can pick up a D200 for around £750.
 
hv read a lot of comments comparing d200 with other model like d40 but none of them mentioned the quality of the image. please find the picture extracted fm dpreview gallery using same len with same scenary, iso, shutter speed & aperture. all the same except difference bodies of d40 & d200. if you find difference then go for d200. otherwise, d40 is good enough.
d40' shot
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/nikond40_samples/
d200 shot
http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/nikond200_samples/

to me big difference. it is like a good hi-fi. if you just look at the specification or frequency response, it looks the same. but after you hear it, you will find the difference.
frankie
 
The d200 is starting to get a little long in the tooth. The JPEG images do generally require post processing to look their best. A updated camera will provide better in-camera processing of JPEG images. However, the metering and autofocus of the current d200 is superior to the D40. According to some repots I've read, the d200 sensor is prone to hot pixels and I've seen a few pop up on my d200 even though the sensor was remapped by Nikon in April.

The downsides are the long wait time for a replacement, the higher cost, and the potential that issues will have to be worked out with the new camera, e.g., banding on the d200 when it first came out.

Your best bet would probably be to rent one, try it out, and see how you like the results compared with your d40. As one post pointed out, the d200 is at a bargain price right now.

Good luck with your decision.
 
here in tokyo D200 is 150000yen now..
which is like 1260US$ / 630pounds / 1322Canadian$...

knowing that I will return to Canada in Dec.. I don't know..
1322 CDN$ is really good price little more expensive than D80 in canada..

As for the lenses I already have 18-200mmVR and sigma 30mm 1.4f so I am not moving to D200 because of lenses but mainly because I love the feel of its body and shutter speed, sound, and because I felt in love taking pictures so feel like need to move on better camera maybe I can also go with two bodies, D200 with 18-200 and D40 with sigma 30mm...

once again thanks for all your replies.. I will think more and decide.. :-)
 
S Min said:
Hello,

I am sure someone already posted similar post but I will post it
anyways. :)

I've been using D40 almost 8 months now and feel like I want to move
to more advanced camera like D200. And give D40 to my dad..

and yesterday in Tokyo where I live, I saw quite bit of price drop on
D200 and with my strong Canadian dollar, I am so tempted to get D200.
Click to expand...
There is a reason for the price drop. The replacement is coming soon. According to some rumors, the camera shops in Japan are already advertising the D200 replacement, which remains nameless.
S Min said:
My questions are.
1. should I wait for new D200 replacement? or you think D200 as good
as it can get for most users?
Click to expand...
The D200 is a good camera, but its image processing engine has been surpassed by newer cameras like the D40X. The D200 replacement will likely have the latest version of Nikon image processing hardware inside the camera. My suggestion is to wait or you can give your D200 away when the replacement arrives. :)
S Min said:
2. should I expect improvement on my pictures with D200 compae to D40
which I think capable of producing nice photos.

Thanks for all your help in advance!

S.
Click to expand...
The D40 has less noise at high ISO settings than the D200 but the D200 has more pixels. The D200 picture should be sharper at low ISO settings but you won't see a difference unless you print your photos at 8x12 or larger.
 
Just to set the record straight... D200 was launched in the US at $1699, not $1599. I knew 'cause I bought one then.
IeraseU said:
Too many rumors going around about a D300 or D200s for me to jump in
the D200 ship right now. I think the new model will be announced at
the same or lower MSRP then D200 was launched at ($1599) to compete
with the Canon 40D.

--
http://www.southfloridapics.com
Click to expand...
 
The price of the d200 seems to be going up ^ rather than down... Supply Vs Damand . One online retailer was selling the body for over $1800,LOL. The MSRP is $1600. Why spend that money on a body that is 18 months old !
 
Here's the end-all-be-all question... Do you need something on the D200 that you don't have on the d40 NOW? If you need some feature NOW, then go out and buy it.

Now if you don't NEED a feature, I would just put off buying a new camera. Personally, I don't see myself buying another camera for 5 years. What type of shots are you missing by having a D40 (I'm just curious). I don't need the latest/greatest, I have the features I need now and for a ways off.

Now, there is some glass that I do NEED...
My 20mm f/2.8 is okay
My 35mm f2 is wonderful
My 105 AIS ($125), I'll never replace.

I'm pining for a 200 or 300mm right now.

Some people have lens lust, some people have body lust.
Good hunting to you.

--
If you have a moment, check out my site:
http://www.zotsandboo.com
 
I think someone might be desperate in getting a camera before the end of summer vacation. Even if Nikon have D300 ready now, they wouldn't be dumb enough to announce it now and lose those D200 sales.

The weakness in offers from Canon (30D) and surprisingly the so-so sale of K10D in US allow Nikon to keep D200 price high. A mere $100 MSRP (and $200 on street price) drop on a 20mo. old camera is quite amazing.
Michael said:
The price of the d200 seems to be going up ^ rather than down...
Supply Vs Damand . One online retailer was selling the body for over
$1800,LOL. The MSRP is $1600. Why spend that money on a body that is
18 months old !
Click to expand...
 
Really? I own both and find the opposite to be true. Maybe we prefer different looks? I find auto-contrast on the d40 to be crummy so I have to leave it on normal and adjust nearly everytime in post with a curve. D200 auto tone works great, and rarely leaves much curve work in post. The other jpeg optimization settings seem identical to me. Both have noise at high iso but I prefer the look of my D200 noise at iso 1600+ to the look of the D40. If either bother you it takes just a light touch of noise recudtion in nx to smooth it out.
 
Before you decide to buy in Japan, you need to think about the warranty.
Are you going to use it in Canada?

It is unlikely that Nikon will repair the Japanese camera in Canada. I don't mean repair under warranty, I mean repair it at all!

Nikon's grey-market restrictions are draconian, and you may find yourself with a broken brand new D200 that Nikon may not repair.

Check first, before buying!

--
=~ AAK - http://www.aakatz.com
=~ Author of The White Paper
=~ http://www.aakatz.com/whitepaper
 
Im waiting but doesnt mean everyone should. The D200 is still a good camera and a relative bargain right now so it may be a good buy for some.
--
Jake
 
You'll see, at most, an incremental change in picture quality. The D200 is more capable with respect to metering and focus which may enable you to get shots you otherwise could not, but when that doesn't apply, you will not see much difference in the photos.

I would wait since you are only three weeks away. If anything, the new model will drive the price of the current one even lower. That is assuming, of course, a new model is introduced.

Greg
 
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