nikon d80 vs. 200?

goodoneian · May 4, 2008

JerryPH said:
As I said, 11 months ago, I made the choice for the D200, and it was not just a whim, but a very detailed month long research about the 2 cameras. I held both cameras, used both, priced out both over the net and about 15 local brick and mortar shops.

I read every review available on the net. I looked at thousands of posts on flickr, DPreview and at least 10 other forums. I spent about $200 in long distance phone calls talking to D80 and D200 owners very specific questions.

I never... ever... ask the question on a forum "what camera is right for me". I would not trust anyone BUT myself to know that.... and I made my choice, and am very happy with it.

I hope you did research that was adequate for your needs. Nothing sucks more than buyer's remorse.

well i'm not really asking what camera is right for me, i just wanted opinions from people who had either of the two cameras. if that wasn't directed towards me then never mind that.

but yeah, i'm still researching and such cause i know what you mean with the buyers remorse, and i don't want to be put in a lame situation with that again. i want to go with the d200 more than the d80 in away now though, cause like you said in your previous post it helped you become a better photographer and learn more from it etc. thanks to everyone whose given their opinions so far though

Antithesis · May 4, 2008

rubbertree said:
Huh? I was not getting into a debate. I was just asking what the general opinion of him was. My friend that said this to me has been a professional photographer for years and she said that he is known to review equipment without actually testing it himself and also being very questionable or totally backwards, thus, he has a reputation as being a joke.
Sorry if I offended you.

In my opinion that sounds pretty accurate. Some of his stuff seems pretty legit, and others just seem flay out unresearched. I don't think he's so bad, I just wouldn't cite him for a thesis paper or anything.

I've had the D80 for about 8-9 months now, and it has pretty much fulfilled my needs. I've shot a couple weddings with it and most of my exposures and all of my focusing was accurate. My biggest issue was not really knowing what to do an SB-800 the first time I used one and getting underexposure. The controls where there when I need them. It would be nice to have independant buttons for ISO and WB, but that would just make it a D200. The controls aren't that poorly set up, and they certainly work.

The meter on my D80 has never really been "off" per se, but if your having exposure issues, you can just recompose and take another image with a stop more/less exposure. The FPS does feel pretty slow, but I've never found it to be much of a problem. The D200 is plummeting in price in the used market, to the point where it's only marginally more expensive than the D80. If I were making the purchase right now, I would go with a D200, simply because I've literally never used the idiot modes on the D80.

Stranger · May 4, 2008

I 100% agree with Jerry. I was in the same position a few months ago..

Went with D200 and after i saw some photos i was wondering why i bought the D200.. "My d50 photos looked a lot better"

But now i am extremely happy with my decision and PREFER the fact that i shoot only manual and no longer get asked by others to see my camera so they can take a photo or two

... Maybe i am greedy, but i get it back a lot faster now that they can not switch it to auto and get good results... Now its just "why is this one so dark or so bright?"

JerryPH · May 4, 2008

There is a "P" mode (auto), but I use it maybe 10% of the time.

Mav · May 5, 2008

I don't think buying a camera with more features is going to make you a better photographer. It's just going to give you a camera with more features which, depending on what you're shooting, may or may not be of some use to you. If you buy a BMW is it going to make you a better driver? Errmm, no.

I'm not a beginner, had a great desire to improve, but didn't see anything in the D200 that would truly benefit me, so why spend nearly twice as much? I disagree with the characterization in that respect. Top notch glass has made a much bigger difference for me, but even that was "optional" too.

Stranger · May 5, 2008

Yeah Jerry, but without the "nice" spin thing to select it they have no idea nor the desire to find out how to change it out of manual

.

Mav, although i agree with you mostly, color rendition and the dynamic range can be improved camera to camera.. But i will admit, lenses are much better improvement.

PuppY_K1ck3R · May 6, 2008

Stranger said:
Yeah Jerry, but without the "nice" spin thing to select it they have no idea nor the desire to find out how to change it out of manual .

Hey man, I just got my D80 last week and the fact that all I ever used were p&s. But as soon as the D80 was in my hands, I wanted nothing but to use the A S M modes. i hated the fact that Auto was still selectable. In fact the D80 just made me a more serious photographer (relevantly speaking). Discovering what Aperature Priority and Shutter Priority modes do just made me more eager to learn. Hell, Im surprised I shot these shots with my D80 all without using the dummy modes. So yes i think the D80 is a good choice for a begginer such as I. Don't get me wrong, once i do get better, I do plan on getting another body. But right now im content just learning the basics of photography.

Here are shots of from my D80. I just owned it for a week and I've learned alot.
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121735

Ben-71 · May 6, 2008

"I don't think buying a camera with more features is going to make you a better photographer."

What made me understand what I was doing when taking a pic', was my dad's old Leica, which he gave me when I was 16.

It had no 'P', 'S' or 'A'. It didn't even have a light meter

I started with B&W film and one instruction:

"In bright sun, set it to f11 and 1/250. In the shade, 1/125".

In time, I got most of the exposures right.

It did have a zoom though: In my feet... :wink:

I don't think that I'd have learned so fast if I started with 'P'.

I'm certainly do not recommend starting this way with today's cameras, but I agree with the quoted line above.

We all have two cameras one in the hand, one in the head. Having just one of 'em, isn't enough.

djacobox372 · May 7, 2008

A gently used a d200 is only about $75 more then a used d80 in similar condition.

So I don't see a price difference, who's buying new d200's these days when you can pick up a barely used one for half the price?