Advice please: D90 or D200?

[Omitinibu]

id actually say go with the d5000.. but thats just my preference of settings.. so go with the crowd n get the d90..

Joe

yeah, actually my friend just got a D5000 after i started getting into photography. Its pretty nice actually. But I want something more capable in the long run and something that fits bigger in the hand:mrgreen:

thats fine just bare in mind that whatever DSLR you buy now may be upgraded 3 to 5 yrs from now.. with the advance of technology features you find in a camera now will not compare.. while its true they will share very similar quailties it is also true the new cameras will have things the old ones dont.. so dont dwell on having something for yrs on in with out upgrade..
in all honesty it depends how you willl use it.. the lacking of the wireless flash while attaining the TTL.. how often are you going to use it? if your in the studio a lot or taking pictures in a controlled environment day in & out then sure you will deff need that.. but if not.. how important really is that.. the d5000 shares a lot of quailitys the d90 does... including its sensor which is also found in the d300 which is also a great DSLR..

do whats best for you.. just be open minded and know what your going to use the camera for.
Joe

 

[NateS]

id actually say go with the d5000.. but thats just my preference of settings.. so go with the crowd n get the d90..

Joe

yeah, actually my friend just got a D5000 after i started getting into photography. Its pretty nice actually. But I want something more capable in the long run and something that fits bigger in the hand:mrgreen:

thats fine just bare in mind that whatever DSLR you buy now may be upgraded 3 to 5 yrs from now.. with the advance of technology features you find in a camera now will not compare.. while its true they will share very similar quailties it is also true the new cameras will have things the old ones dont.. so dont dwell on having something for yrs on in with out upgrade..
in all honesty it depends how you willl use it.. the lacking of the wireless flash while attaining the TTL.. how often are you going to use it? if your in the studio a lot or taking pictures in a controlled environment day in & out then sure you will deff need that.. but if not.. how important really is that.. the d5000 shares a lot of quailitys the d90 does... including its sensor which is also found in the d300 which is also a great DSLR..

do whats best for you.. just be open minded and know what your going to use the camera for.
Joe

Well, if you ever plan to expand out of the beginner stage (which being here kind of says that most of us do), then you will use that a lot. If you are in a studio, you probably won't use it at all since you'd have a dedicated lighting system.

I am far, far from a pro, but can get images that look professional because of the wireless system with the flash. I guarantee you can't make some of the photos that I do with a camera mounted hot shoe flash.

I have just started into doing some portraits, mainly for fun and I honestly wouldn't even attempt it without wireless flash capabilities....some might, but it makes life a lot easier.

Then we can talk about macro's. Having the ability to fire my flash wireless can add drama and style to even the most basic photos. Side lighting a weed
or flower or bug adds depth and drama to a photo. You can't do that with a D5000 unless you want to get tangled up in a tethered cord.

I'd honestly take a D80 over a D5000 for this reason alone. If you take nothing but landscapes, then yeah,.....D5000 would be fine, but if you want to even consider dabbing into some portraits or macro, the D90 is worth the extra cash.

I can post examples of how useful this system is for around the yard or even basic portraits of friends and family if needed.

 

[Mike_E]

The D90 will not meter with the older AI/AI-S lenses so if you were interested in using them you'll need a hand held meter. Neither will it take quite as much abuse as the D200. Newer sensor and image engine are a plus with the D90.

One thing about the D200, the noise is not as bad as all of that if you actually print your photos and it makes a killer B&W image right out of the camera.

You can also shoot infra-red with the D200. I was told at one point that you couldn't but being me I had to try. I don't know how the D90 will work with IR.

 

[anldyxp_gd3]

yeah, actually my friend just got a D5000 after i started getting into photography. Its pretty nice actually. But I want something more capable in the long run and something that fits bigger in the hand:mrgreen:

thats fine just bare in mind that whatever DSLR you buy now may be upgraded 3 to 5 yrs from now.. with the advance of technology features you find in a camera now will not compare.. while its true they will share very similar quailties it is also true the new cameras will have things the old ones dont.. so dont dwell on having something for yrs on in with out upgrade..
in all honesty it depends how you willl use it.. the lacking of the wireless flash while attaining the TTL.. how often are you going to use it? if your in the studio a lot or taking pictures in a controlled environment day in & out then sure you will deff need that.. but if not.. how important really is that.. the d5000 shares a lot of quailitys the d90 does... including its sensor which is also found in the d300 which is also a great DSLR..

do whats best for you.. just be open minded and know what your going to use the camera for.
Joe

Well, if you ever plan to expand out of the beginner stage (which being here kind of says that most of us do), then you will use that a lot. If you are in a studio, you probably won't use it at all since you'd have a dedicated lighting system.

I am far, far from a pro, but can get images that look professional because of the wireless system with the flash. I guarantee you can't make some of the photos that I do with a camera mounted hot shoe flash.

I have just started into doing some portraits, mainly for fun and I honestly wouldn't even attempt it without wireless flash capabilities....some might, but it makes life a lot easier.

Then we can talk about macro's. Having the ability to fire my flash wireless can add drama and style to even the most basic photos. Side lighting a weed
or flower or bug adds depth and drama to a photo. You can't do that with a D5000 unless you want to get tangled up in a tethered cord.

I'd honestly take a D80 over a D5000 for this reason alone. If you take nothing but landscapes, then yeah,.....D5000 would be fine, but if you want to even consider dabbing into some portraits or macro, the D90 is worth the extra cash.

I can post examples of how useful this system is for around the yard or even basic portraits of friends and family if needed.

Yeah i want something very versatile. Im a photocommunications major so I do plan to become professional one day. And i plan to shoot contemporary/product/magazines/wildlife and things of that nature. again thanks for the input guys

 

[Lunchbox]

, the D200 was a "flop".

:raisedbrow:

 

[farmerj]

Use the D90 for college and get the D300 as a graduation present.

 

[Mike_E]

Oh, by the way, the D200's shutter is supposed to be rated at 150,000 actuations. I don't know about the D90's but generally the consumer models are rated at 50,000.

 

[PhotoXopher]

Oh, by the way, the D200's shutter is supposed to be rated at 150,000 actuations. I don't know about the D90's but generally the consumer models are rated at 50,000.

100,000

 

[NateS]

Oh, by the way, the D200's shutter is supposed to be rated at 150,000 actuations. I don't know about the D90's but generally the consumer models are rated at 50,000.

100,000

+1 100,000. I'm 2% of the way to needing a new camera in 4 months of ownership. I should be good for awhile.

 

[farmerj]

Cripes, I got mine in Oct and already have 10,000 activations on mine.

The D300 has been tested to 150,000 cycles making it the perfect choice for photographers who demand high performance and agility.

Durable, high precision shutter: Testing to over 100,000 cycles assures shutter life and accuracy.

The D200 was rated at 100,000, the D300 was rated at 150,000.

 

[NateS]

Cripes, I got mine in Oct and already have 10,000 activations on mine.

The D300 has been tested to 150,000 cycles making it the perfect choice for photographers who demand high performance and agility.

Durable, high precision shutter: Testing to over 100,000 cycles assures shutter life and accuracy.

The D200 was rated at 100,000, the D300 was rated at 150,000.

I shot a lot more when I was just beginning because I shot at everything and everyone. (Not saying this is you at all....just saying). Now that I stop and think about what I'm shooting before clicking the shutter, my keeper rate is much higher and my camera's shutter count much lower.

 

[farmerj]

I took 150 shots today working with figuring out my flash. ZERO keepers.

There were a lot of shots that were Auto shutter. Learning how to get the "action shot" with a swinging stick hitting something high speed isn't all that easy. frame rate could be important here, but so is learning your timing.

Just working on DOF can eat up shutter counts

 

[NateS]

I took 150 shots today working with figuring out my flash. ZERO keepers.

There were a lot of shots that were Auto shutter. Learning how to get the "action shot" with a swinging stick hitting something high speed isn't all that easy. frame rate could be important here, but so is learning your timing.

Just working on DOF can eat up shutter counts

True. Experimentation with new techniques and stuff can eat up a lot of shutter counts. I just haven't done a lot of that in the past 4 months I guess. I took a ton of photos with little to no keepers with my D70s when I was learning how to use off camera flash with macros.

 

[JerryPH]

...but the high ISO performance blows the D200 out of the water. I was afraid to take the D80 and D200 past 800 ISO, with the D90 I have no fear of 3200 ISO and can push it farther if I need to.

I will say the D200 is a rock solid camera, and for well lit conditions it's a master of it's domain.

To each their own, of course, but I say it is more about knowing your camera.

D200 and ISO 1600 is not a recepie for disaster, you just need to know what you are doing:

It also has weather sealing and is a magnesium metallic body camera.

When I wanted good photos, I would use the D200. When I want good video, I use the right tool for that... a video recorder.... As much difference in quality between it and the D90's video as a D40 and a D90's pictures... plus it has 0 lux capability, image stabilization, internal 100GB of storage and night vision, automatic focus as well as true 1080P video quality and batteries for a continuous 4-5 hours of video at a time. It takes pictures too, but you would never see me using it to take a photo... lol

Basically, it is about using the right tool for the job.

Both the D90 and D200 are good... but the best thing to do is try each out yourself and make your own choices.

BTW, did you guys know that the D200 won more awards than any other camera other than the D3 in the history of all Nikon cameras? That says a lot, IMHO.

 

[anldyxp_gd3]

thanks for all your info guys! Yeah I know that the D200 and D90 are both excellent cameras. But the D200 being a 1st gen camera would it be in anyway limiting for long term use? As mentioned I'm a photocommunications major and plan to use it for atleast another 4-6 years, maybe even for a duration of time when I become a professional in the field. and the D200 has been out for almost 5years now.