I have put a small ramble about the UK Nikon D200 launch (Marrakesh,
Tuesday) on the f2photo.co.uk forums Nikon user section.

In short, the camera is impressive but we were not able to tell how
impressive; no pictures permitted to be taken, no files provided, no
images projected, no repro quality material supplied on CD given out
(just a copy of the three brief Powerpoint presentations). Nikon staff
apologetic and obviously working under a constraint from Japan which
they did not expect; the purpose of taking the UK photo press and
dealers to Marrakesh was presumably to ensure some really good light and
subject matter, better test file images than dull November in Britain.

There is a new super-VR (4X claimed instead of 3X) 18-200mm DX lens
which seems pretty neat, and a modular multi head SB200 flash system
with commander (also commands SB800s) which is a killer product. You can
mount up to eight of these small GN10 'radio slave' modules on a ring
and they weigh so little an AF lens filter rim can support them. The
result is a kind of big ringflash with full i-TTL and individual tube
power control. Or you can use one flash, or two, three, four etc on the
lens front ring, and control the position (just slide it round) and
power of each one from the shoe-mounted controller. No cables to the
flash heads, no restrictions on movement.

Apart from fashion with a full (probably £1500!) 8-flash rig, there are
uses for macro, medical, forensic (several police dept photo heads were
invited to this launch for very good reasons - Nikon is very much the
standard system for UK police). Inventive users will be able to get
these tiny heads into products, mount them on bars for strip lights,
create mini still life sets for table top scoop work.

Talking to some of the pro photographers and others, the SB800 system is
something I need to cover in f2 magazine, in the context of 'channel
immunity' of remote flashes to punter flash-firing at weddings or other
professionals at photocalls. Anyone out there doing exciting work with
multiple SB800s, possible article/picture set use in f2 magazine, email
me with thumbnails.

And of course, I am anxious to obtain top quality full size RAW D200
sample image/s before December 1st. We did this for the Canon EOS 5D and
were able to run double-page spread and full size to 300dpi repros with
pull-out enlarged details in two of our magazines, thanks to Stuart Dee
in Vancouver (excellent 5D user review, in full, for our Master Photo
Digital title) and Jack Cox on the Costa del Sol (couple of good,
detailed, sunny full framers sent as raw and JPEG to enable some
assessment at my end in the absence of a physical camera). I am sure
somewhere in the world, a D200 is being used and escaping Nikon's
interdict that no files from the 'pre production' samples are to fall
into the hands of evil photopress operatives like me...

David Kilpatrick
f2photo.co.uk