Best Digital SLR (Nikon D200) |
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 The aficionados’ choice, the Nikon D200 has a professional level of specification at an enthusiast’s price; it provides enough kit and control for the most demanding professional or keen amateur. Image quality is superb; colour balance and detail are top-notch with advanced metering and auto-focus systems combining admirably. |
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The D200 is the best digital single-lens reflex (D-SLR) on the market in its price range. Twinned with the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor lens, the kit is priced at £1,400/$2,050, though can be bought for considerably less if you shop around. If you already have a compatible lens, just buy the D200 body. It boasts a level of specification and neat camera kittery normally the preserve of the professional photographer but at a price that opens it up to those wanting pro performance and build but at a more finely tuned price.
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 Just like the price, this 10.2-megapixel D-SLR is also finely tuned and part of Nikon’s extensive D-SLR system so you get access to Nikon’s huge range of “F” mount lenses; in fact it will accept almost any Nikon lens made since 1977 plus other system elements such as accessory Speedlight flashguns.
Handling is extremely well thought out with a stepped level of control that allows virtual point-and-shoot snapping at one end to full manual control at the other. Add to that customisable controls to suit your way of shooting and a neat menu “Help” system that literally explains each setting; if you want it to, the D200 will guide you though its use, making it surprisingly simple to use, even for relative novices.
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 All this information is displayed on a neat 2.5-inch colour screen that’s sits below a see-through removable protective casing. Build is best described as teak-tough thanks to a magnesium alloy chassis, but best of all is the camera responsiveness and processing speed. Bursts of 37 JPEG or 22 RAW (unprocessed data) images can be taken at 5 frames per second, making it ideal for almost any shooting task, even sports. |
What They Say |
DP Review’s Phil Askey writes of the D200, it is, “small enough not to break your back yet sturdy enough to feel absolutely purposeful, solid and reliable. It fills the photographer with an air of confidence that each time they need it, the camera is going to perform. It also has an air of luxury, quality, and thoughtful design, which other cameras sometimes miss. Nikon know about good design and it shows, the D200 is a great camera to get along with.”
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 And Ian Andrews writing for ephotozine.com says: “With all of the technology being bang up to date; Nikon’s metering system, autofocus system and flash system, each in their latest guises, have all been brought together to place an image on a sensor that is able to perform … this camera is well worth the money as it covers many of the shortcomings of other models without a price tag that is in fantasyland.” |
Minor Niggles |
There are a couple of minor foibles. The D200 lacks a full (35mm) frame sensor so while its imager is still a cracker, it means there is a 1.5x field of view magnification for the lens in use, so a 100mm lens becomes a 150mm lens for example. This is a common trait on all but the top-end pro D-SLRs. Also, though very minor (but worth a mention for the sticklers among you) is the otherwise excellent viewfinder, which provides 95% coverage, more akin to lower end D-SLRs.
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