Keep old D200?

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JamesE1978

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James
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Hi all, I'm new, so hello.

I've recently come back to photography and have realised that I would like a cheap camera with Live View and a better screen as its practically impossible to view images on the screen of my D200 in broad daylight. So I've ordered a cheap D7100 - if I stay with photography I'll probably upgrade later on in the year. Through Mpb I can part ex my D200, but I'll only get £70 (including the free delivery on its replacement) and it's immaculate with 7k actuations on it. Do you reckon the D200 is worth keeping? I've read the reviews about the CCD sensor for skin tones but I never noticed it before. Would I still use it?

Would welcome any opinions!! Thanks.
 
FWIW I have a D200 converted for Infra Red, which is nice as its a familiar camera (I've had D300 and currently have other Nikon DSLR's), and it's a fine camera as you found previously. So consider getting it converted if you fancy a go at that - the MPB valuation is fair sadly, but maybe IR will give it new life and value?
 
Welcome to the site, by the way!
 
Yes thanks I've seen that - there are so many areas of photography to look at, IR is quite far down the list at the moment.
I just seem to get the nagging feeling that I should hang onto it!
 
A friend of mine sent me some glamour shots taken for a local paper and when I checked the exif I saw they'd been taken with a D200. OK, so these are pictures of a beautiful woman taken by a pro in a studio so what could go wrong? :D but they are outstanding and I might just find it difficult to part with a camera capable of taking shots of that quality (in the right hands and under the right conditions of course.)

Maybe keep it as a spare.. if it's not worth all that much...
 
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Only you know if you'll use it once the 7100 arrives! Personally, I'd take the £70 and buy a couple of memory cards with it.
 
there is an answer to your D200 not seeing the screen properly ,I had the same on the D300. The fix is quite easy and cheap but takes a time to work.


P1051446.JPG

what you need is a few packets as above , a plastic bag big enough to put your camera in . So put the camera and several of the above silica sachets in with it . get as much air out of the plastic bag as possibe and seal it up. What happens is the moisture is extracted from the camera and the rear screen area.

As I said I had the same issue, but leaving the camera in the bag for a few week does the job.
Before my D300 screen was impossible to see just like yours
now

P1051454.JPG
just taken on bright mid day today. sorry about pic quality and reflection

so try it ,IT WORKS. I think I may have to do mine again now.
don't forget to leave the camea cap off as you need to extract as much moisture in the camera as possible

P1051451.JPG this is how it should bedone
 
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LeeRatters said:
Depending on what lenses you have & what you want to shoot...... But I'd say keep it :)
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yes definately keep it, I got to the point of chucking mine until I discovered this trick. with older model cameras the cost of fixing an issue far outweights the camera value
 
I found my D200 to be fast, reliable and tough enough to take anywhere, so another vote for keeping it.

I grabbed this shot with mine, after most of a day wondering over the mountains around Seefeld (Austria)...

Nikon D200 B7339.JPG
 
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realspeed said:
there is an answer to your D200 not seeing the screen properly ,I had the same on the D300. The fix is quite easy and cheap but takes a time to work.


View attachment 388752

what you need is a few packets as above , a plastic bag big enough to put your camera in . So put the camera and several of the above silica sachets in with it . get as much air out of the plastic bag as possibe and seal it up. What happens is the moisture is extracted from the camera and the rear screen area.

As I said I had the same issue, but leaving the camera in the bag for a few week does the job.
Before my D300 screen was impossible to see just like yours
now

View attachment 388753


so try it ,IT WORKS. I think I may have to do mine again now.
don't forget to leave the camea cap off as you need to extract as much moisture in the camera as possible

View attachment 388769 this is how it should bedone
Click to expand...

Well that's interesting. I never thought of that. I'll give it a go anyway! Thanks!
 
Well now I'm torn... I don't know whether to cancel the 7100 order and just keep the D200 for now.
 
JamesE1978 said:
Well now I'm torn... I don't know whether to cancel the 7100 order and just keep the D200 for now.
Click to expand...

If all this has got you thinking get the D200 out and give it a good go with fresh eyes and if it is limiting you... get a new one :D but if you're happy, keep it.
 
Problem is I'm new back to photography... So I'm not sure whether it is limiting me or not!!
My fear is that I shoot something decent and want to print out at a decent size.

I do like the D200 as it feels a quality, solid piece of kit.
 
JamesE1978 said:
My fear is that I shoot something decent and want to print out at a decent size.
Click to expand...
Going by prints that I've seen, it's quite possible to get a good image up to 4 feet wide from a D200. Is that big enough for your needs ? ;)
 
OK so slightly off topic...but maybe not. Am I going to see a 7000 series Nikon as a step up from my D200? Less "pro" build, no weather sealing (don't shoot in rain) but larger image size and live view. I'm debating whether I should just stay with the D200 then do a larger upgrade later in the year and get a D500 or maybe go FF.
 
JamesE1978 said:
OK so slightly off topic...but maybe not. Am I going to see a 7000 series Nikon as a step up from my D200? Less "pro" build, no weather sealing (don't shoot in rain) but larger image size and live view. I'm debating whether I should just stay with the D200 then do a larger upgrade later in the year and get a D500 or maybe go FF.
Click to expand...

I recently bought an A7Riii. I kept my old A7.

I was out shooting sunrise last week with my Riii & 40/1.2 on a tripod as the sky & light was changing. Behind me, a rainbow appeared in the distance. Luckily, I had my Tamron 70-180mm in my bag with the A7 attached to it :)
 
JamesE1978 said:
Cool. Are people still using the D200 at all? I presumed not apart from a few enthusiasts?
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It's worth mentioning that different people have different ideas about what is acceptable quality.

The advantage of a less old DSLR should be faster focusing, wider dynamic range, improved colour science, better in-camera image processing. Extra resolution might be helpful but may not make a noticeable difference for web size images.
 
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LeeRatters said:
I recently bought an A7Riii. I kept my old A7.

I was out shooting sunrise last week with my Riii & 40/1.2 on a tripod as the sky & light was changing. Behind me, a rainbow appeared in the distance. Luckily, I had my Tamron 70-180mm in my bag with the A7 attached to it :)
Click to expand...
Food for thought.
 
ancient_mariner said:
It's worth mentioning that different people have different ideas about what is acceptable quality.

The advantage of a less old DSLR should be faster focusing, wider dynamic range, improved colour science, better in-camera image processing. Extra resolution might be helpful but may not make a noticeable difference for web size images.
Click to expand...

Yes agreed, for small images it won't make any difference.
I'm not sure the upgrade is worth it.
 
JamesE1978 said:
I'm not sure the upgrade is worth it.
Click to expand...

What kind of pictures do you take?

FWIW I've 'upgraded' twice since getting into the digital side of photography, first going from crop to full frame, then moving from Nikon DSLR to Sony mirrorless. In both cases I had a clear idea of where the kit was inadequate for what I wanted, and was pleased with the improvement that I saw. If you don't see a good reason for changing camera other than because it's an older model then it's worth sticking with what you have until you do.
 
If using ISOs of 800 and above, noise is a real problem with the D200, even at screen sizes.
 
ancient_mariner said:
What kind of pictures do you take?

FWIW I've 'upgraded' twice since getting into the digital side of photography, first going from crop to full frame, then moving from Nikon DSLR to Sony mirrorless. In both cases I had a clear idea of where the kit was inadequate for what I wanted, and was pleased with the improvement that I saw. If you don't see a good reason for changing camera other than because it's an older model then it's worth sticking with what you have until you do.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's true. As I'm new coming back to it, I'm dipping my toes in a lot of different areas of photography - possibly landscapes therefore a larger image size and the chance to crop, and maybe motorsports and wildlife.
 
For me the biggest improvements have come from mirrorless rather than from sensor performance. The ability to focus accurately and consistently anywhere in the frame means that I'm free to compose shots how I want rather than for the benefit of a small number of AF points clustered around the central area. Add eye or even just face detect to this and mirrorless for me is a revelation. Being able to see the whole frame and the exposure and DoF are icing on the cake as is the ability to manually focus accurately anywhere in the frame.
 
Despite it's age and the limitations of the ISO and focus points it is still a very capable camera. I have 2, one of which has a shutter count of a mere 425
 
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