Looking for a D200

Have been a photographer for almost 40 years. Time has come to put away
my Canon FD equipment (will never put away my Leicas) and get a digital
SLR. So along comes the Nikon D200, sounds great, a few teething
problems but all in all the right package at the right price. But can
you buy one well no. B&H won't even talk to you about the camera. My
local store (now a Ritz, how depressing)says they have seen two since
November. There are a few on EBay, but that is such a hassle. Luckily
prices there are getting more realistic. My questions a How do a few
EBay stores get stock when the traditional outlets are starved? How can
Nikon bring out a product they seem not to have produced in sufficient
quanity? Could go Canon but I'm old school and want a fast 35 (equiv)
on my camera. Nikons 24 f2 can be had for under $500, while Canon's 24
f1.4 is well over a thousand. Just frustrated.

Tom

Just a little more, I don't mind backorders, as long as they end. One
month maybe two is enough. My Ritz dealer said if I ordered it
yesterday, I could expect it by Christmas and they wanted half down. No
way I'm tying up my money for that long, and no guarantees I would ever
get the camera. Beginning to think this is the Walmartification of
camera sales.

Tom again

On 2006-02-12 12:01:34 -0800, "tomm42" said:

Just a little more, I don't mind backorders, as long as they end. One
month maybe two is enough. My Ritz dealer said if I ordered it
yesterday, I could expect it by Christmas and they wanted half down. No
way I'm tying up my money for that long, and no guarantees I would ever
get the camera. Beginning to think this is the Walmartification of
camera sales.

Tom again

So I live in Calif, my wife, for Xmas ordered one from Sarbers camera
here in Oakland, Sarbers is a relatively small concern with three brick
and mortar stores. I doubt they do as much annual business as B and H
or some of the larger online shops. That being said, the camera was
ordered at the beginning of Dec, I finally received one this tuesday
past. I woudl expect that over time this delay is reduced....

"tomm42" wrote in message
ups.com...
Have been a photographer for almost 40 years. Time has come to put away
my Canon FD equipment (will never put away my Leicas) and get a digital
SLR. So along comes the Nikon D200, sounds great, a few teething
problems but all in all the right package at the right price. But can
you buy one well no. B&H won't even talk to you about the camera. My
local store (now a Ritz, how depressing)says they have seen two since
November. There are a few on EBay, but that is such a hassle. Luckily
prices there are getting more realistic. My questions a How do a few
EBay stores get stock when the traditional outlets are starved? How can
Nikon bring out a product they seem not to have produced in sufficient
quanity? Could go Canon but I'm old school and want a fast 35 (equiv)
on my camera. Nikons 24 f2 can be had for under $500, while Canon's 24
f1.4 is well over a thousand. Just frustrated.



Couple of things,

First, the D200 has had a banding issue that Nikon recently released a KB
article about. It may be that Nikon knew about this issue and slowed or
halted production until the issue was resolved. It seem as if they can
adjust the camera's that have made it to the market so I assume there is
some sort of fix. Anyway, the acknowledgement of the issue by Nikon along
with a fix may indicate that Nikon is once again ready to ramp up
production.

Second, why switch from Canon to Nikon? We're about to see new releases
from Canon in the next couple of weeks which should be in par with the D200
and you are at least already familiar with Canon gear. I understand the
issue with lens cost but there are alternatives from Sigma and other lens
manufactures.

I've held and played with the D200 and It's a really nice camera but I think
if I were you I'd wait for the new canon cameras and then choose which is
the right camera to buy.

JMHO

--

Rob
"A disturbing new study finds that studies are disturbing"

Again, I have Canon FD so I have to go new. I've used a 20D, but only
for an evening. I have held the D200 and it just seemed right. Sigma
has a few good lenses but the last one I bought took 3 trys to get one
of acceptable sharpness, and that one broke when it was hit by a
falling light stand (28-70 f2.8 Sigma high end).

Tom

"tomm42" wrote in message
ups.com...

So along comes the Nikon D200, sounds great, a few teething
problems but all in all the right package at the right price. But can
you buy one well no. B&H won't even talk to you about the camera.

B&H had them in stock last week, but they sold all they had within a day.

"tomm42" wrote in message
oups.com...
Again, I have Canon FD so I have to go new. I've used a 20D, but only
for an evening. I have held the D200 and it just seemed right. Sigma
has a few good lenses but the last one I bought took 3 trys to get one
of acceptable sharpness, and that one broke when it was hit by a
falling light stand (28-70 f2.8 Sigma high end).



Yes I realize you FD stuff won't work with EF mount camera's but that wasn't
really my point.

The D200 is a really nice camera as long as Nikon has it's issues worked
out. I prefer it's control locations and button size over my 20D but the my
20D's high ISO performance is better then the samples I've seen from the
D200 and in my mind the image quality is most important.

As to lens quality, I've stuck with Canon and bit the bullet on price. If
that's not an option then more power to ya with the D200 but the for the
cost of a D200 and a $500 Nikkor lens, you could get the 20D and have $1000
for a canon lens. The EF 24mm f/1.4L is only about $120 more.

Lastly, like I said before, if I were you I'd wait to see what Canon offers
at the end of Feb before I decided anything anyway. The 20D replacement may
be a better fit then the D200, then again it may not. Worth the wait as far
as I'm concerned.

--

Rob
"A disturbing new study finds that studies are disturbing"

tomm42 wrote:
I have Canon FD lenses. No I' am depending on how you lookat it screwed
or totally free.
I use a Fuji S1 at work with Nikon lenses, the view finder on Fujis (at
least S1 and S2 is abismal).

the d2x is large, bright, and sharp.


Tom

"tomm42" wrote in message
oups.com...
Again, I have Canon FD so I have to go new. I've used a 20D, but only
for an evening. I have held the D200 and it just seemed right. Sigma
has a few good lenses but the last one I bought took 3 trys to get one
of acceptable sharpness, and that one broke when it was hit by a
falling light stand (28-70 f2.8 Sigma high end).

I ordred my D200 on Dec. 18th and got it about a month later. I played with
a 20D and like the D200 much better for a number of reasons. One issue for
me is the fact that all manual Nikon Ai lenses can be used. In addition I
use a number of strange beasts such as a kaleidoscope and Olympus
super-macro lenses and homebrew soft focus lenses and all meter just
excellently with the D200. Another thing about the D200 is the excellent
ergonomic design--all the controls are where you need them when you need
them. I was up and running in an hour, with the camera feeling natural from
the beginning. A great camera for grabs. OTOH if you are starting out fresh
you should wait about another month and see what Canon introduces--rumor has
it that they will replace the 20D.

When I bought the body I sprung for the Sigma 10-20. I had read some reports
and was a bit doubtful, but it turns out to be a world-class lens. Sharp
from edge to edge--and very resistant to flare. Even shooting full into the
sun the contrast is excellent and the flare is limited to a single comet.
The main issue with this lens seems to be light falloff at the edges, but I
have not found this to be a problem. One stop down and it is already
negligible, and at full aperture it is visible but gradual and smooth, so it
really isn't too bothersome (for me at least).

I've had a number of Sigmas in the past with various shortcomings--a 70-210
with iffy contrast, a 14 that was a disaster (terrible flare, yellow cast,
extreme edge vignetting until f8), and have played with a 28-70 that was OK
but not great. Build quality tended to be mediocre in all these lenses, but
I am very impressed with this 10-20 in all aspects--including the HSM
focusing (which is admittedly easier in a wide lens). Worth a good look if
you are looking for extreme wide.

Toby

"Robert R Kircher, Jr." wrote in message
...
"tomm42" wrote in message
oups.com...
Again, I have Canon FD so I have to go new. I've used a 20D, but only
for an evening. I have held the D200 and it just seemed right. Sigma
has a few good lenses but the last one I bought took 3 trys to get one
of acceptable sharpness, and that one broke when it was hit by a
falling light stand (28-70 f2.8 Sigma high end).



Yes I realize you FD stuff won't work with EF mount camera's but that
wasn't really my point.

The D200 is a really nice camera as long as Nikon has it's issues worked
out. I prefer it's control locations and button size over my 20D but the
my 20D's high ISO performance is better then the samples I've seen from
the D200 and in my mind the image quality is most important.

Here are some interesting comparisons between the D200, the 20D, the 5D and
others. They take forever to load and they are in Chinese, but are worth the
time and the pictures are self-explanatory.

http://www.potatobear.com/ND200/D200G.htm

Toby.