Is the D200 a big upgrade from D60?

Defy · Feb 28, 2009

I have the opportunity to get a D200 for a great deal. Is it a big upgrade from the D60? I'm am still fairly new to photography and the D60 thus far has been great but i don't know if i should pass up this deal or not. Also i would have to get different memory cards so that would suck but all my lenses would work and i could have the D60 as a back up/lighter traveler.

jlykins · Feb 28, 2009

would that great deal be the $599.00 sale that Best Buy has going on? lol. The D200 won't do anything for you unless the D60 is limiting you. It will AF all of the non AF-S lenses... It's a great upgrade if you can afford it.

epp_b · Feb 28, 2009

In terms of technical image quality, there won't be much of a difference.

In terms on handling, ergonomics and build quality, there's a great deal of a difference.

jlykins · Feb 28, 2009

yeah as far as the IQ, not a huge difference, but that's actually a compliment to the D60 I think. The AF motor, the 51 point AF system, and frames per second are enough to justify the upgrade to me.

Sw1tchFX · Mar 1, 2009

jlykins said:
yeah as far as the IQ, not a huge difference, but that's actually a compliment to the D60 I think. The AF motor, the 51 point AF system, and frames per second are enough to justify the upgrade to me.

You're thinking the D300..

The D60 and D200 use the same sensor, so you will get identical results at the same exposure.

You'll have 11 point AF, not 3, 5fps, not 3, built in motor, sealing, no auto mode, works with non cpu lenses, and CLS control.

I could easily justify the upgrade myself, but do yourself a favor and dont' put the 18-55 VR on it.

schumionbike · Mar 1, 2009

The deal on best buy look quite attractive but I probably get some more lenses and a flash before upgrading my D40 lol.

LuckySo-n-So · Mar 1, 2009

The deal on best buy look quite attractive but I probably get some more lenses and a flash before upgrading my D40 lol.

I'm struggling with this one. I'd really love the AF motor, which will open up a lot more lenses to me. But I need a flash, and I'd love to have an 85-105mm fixed focal length lens. Or maybe a wide angle--neither of which really need autofocus.

Damn damn damn.

What's saving me is that I don't have the money. :lol:

Maybe the D300 will drop drastically in price once the mythical D400 is announced.

Defy · Mar 1, 2009

jlykins: i saw the best buy deal but i can get a used one from a friend for 400! in awesome condition.

Sw1tchFX: No auto mode? I am still not at that point where I can exclusively rely on manual and some times I try the auto mode first and if i don't get what i like then i go manual. That could be a deal breaker at this time. But then again maybe i need to do that to break away from the auto mode....

schumionbike · Mar 1, 2009

400 dollar for a D200 ist quite a deal but I have to keep telling myself that these kind of deals on camera body would come and go often. It's probably not such a bad thing if you decide not to get it. But if you have some gears already and you do a lot of shooting, an extra body would come in handy. Of course, you can sell your D60 body for like 300 bucks and the cost of upgrade wouldn't actually be that much. Doesn't the D200 have a P mode? that's basically an auto mode.

bhop · Mar 1, 2009

Defy said:
Sw1tchFX: No auto mode? I am still not at that point where I can exclusively rely on manual and some times I try the auto mode first and if i don't get what i like then i go manual. That could be a deal breaker at this time. But then again maybe i need to do that to break away from the auto mode....

It's still got Aperture and Shutter priority modes... honestly, I feel that auto mode is a detriment to learning for newbies anyway. It might even force you to get better faster.

Personally, I would jump on the upgrade without a second thought.