New Nikon/fuji

Just-Jay

Just-Jay

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Jason
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Looking for a tidy Dslr.. seen a few out there i use to have a nikon d70 was a amazing camera and then sold it to my friend because i had 2 Fuji s3pros and it never got used!! i am looking for another camera now fro a bit of motorsport,people and a allround camera!
whats would you pick looked at Nikon d90,d200 and the fuji s5 these are all i have looked up so there could be others i dont know about but it has to be nikon fit :D
 
D200 and S5 share basically the same body so handling is similar, aside from different menu systems.

D200 is a good camera for all round work; good AF, good image quality, reasonably fast at 5fps and a good buffer speed. You'll pick up a good one for £350-£400

S5 pro has great tonal range (hence it's use by wedding togs) but it's not as speedy apparently in terms of speed. Think these are going for £500+ used, such is their appeal for weddings/portraiture.

D90 sits below the D200/300 range but is probably a better camera than the D200 because it's new tech, although in a smaller body (about the same size as the D70 you knew). It has better high ISO sensitivity than the D200 and features HD (720) video function. They've just effectively replaced the D90 with the D7000, although I think they're currently listed as both in production. Think they're about £400 used.

All three have pop-up flashes and can be fitted with battery grips, although I'm not sure if this adds additional fps like it does on the D700. I know it didn't on my D200.

You also have the D300 at about £700 used. The newer 'S' version carries HD video functions. Personally, if I were looking at any of these I'd go for a D300 for its superior AF and faster fps if you haven't got a set budget.
 
I have the s3 for skin tone really!! so if i wanted it more for motorsport and outdoor things???
i have noticed the iso on the s3 is6400 and on the d200 1600 will that make much difference??
 
D200 (if I remember rightly) goes 100-1600 then has a Hi setting (Hi1) that equate to 3200.

Regarding the difference in maximum ISO, it's one stop, although I think the ceiling on the D200 is probably 800 or 1600 for useable prints depending on who you talk to. I used to have mine on 1/3rd setting and regularly shoot ISO 1250 and get decent A3 magazine spreads, albeit with definite noise in the shadows. Good exposure kept that to a minimum.

Whether the ISO makes a difference is something only you can tell. In really, really poor light then yes, just to get an exposure, but I can't see general spring/summer days when the racing is on needing more than ISO 800 to get you good shutter speeds.

Going from an S3 to a D200 wouldn't be too bad in terms of handling because their a similar size once the D200 has a battery grip added.

I found the focussing on my D200 to be a spot on and really quick. Plus it wrote to card really fast. Never tried mine on a million shot burst but according to specs it'll do 22 raw (.nef) or 37 JPEGs before it jams up.

I loved my D200, although after using a D300 I can see a big difference. But in general it produced fine results and I had loads of covers shots that never got criticised for poor IQ or excessive noise.
 
well i do a lot of club photography for my dj frineds!! and as you know clubs are dark!! but i think i need to find a D200 then :D
 
is it worth getting the one with extra battery grip?
Ruff how many shots should 1 have taken before its used to much? :D
 
For £450 I think that seems pretty good value with the grip. A vertical grip really does help when you're shooting lot of portrait-format shots. The battery grip only has a shutter release and thumb/finger command dials, unlike the grip for the D300 which has a joystick for further controls. It's a worthwhile addition though. They were about £120 new but probably £50-£70 used these days for reference.

That particular camera has got 36K shutter actuations, which is nowt to these cameras, and looks spot on. I'd ask them to include a rear LCD screen protector though. They're only a few quid so they should oblige. Maybe try to haggle them down a bit.... worth a go for free postage or a a few quid off :)

Both screw in PC/remote port caps are in place (these get lost very easily) and it has the AA cage for the battery. It comes with the charger and two batteries it seems.....

If I remember rightly (God, my memory is going bad lately) I used to get about 700 shots from an EN-EL3 battery; thing with the battery grip is it gives you a vertical grip and two battery spaces, so 1400+ effectively. Plus, you get an AA cage that fits in there that will allow you to run the camera off six AA batteries in emergencies. battery life off AAs isn't amazing but it's a good safety measure 'just in case'.

I bought Nikon ones and 3d party batteries and had mixed results; Nikon were brilliant, faultless. I had a hanhel one that was good also but I bought a few of the Hong Kong ones that lost their charge very quickly. New Nikon batteries are £40-odd but I think I picked up some new ones for about £25 at one point after doing a bit of shopping around.
 
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