Don't get me wrong, it
is a "totally different" camera, but as listed above, the only things that I think are going to have a major impact on day-to-day stuff are :
Hoodi said:
Better action tracking
larger, brighter viewfinder
bigger LCD
And in the case of the D200, a more robust body.
I'm personally not fussed on the sensor - they could have used the D70 sensor for all I care, the resolution difference is too small for it to effect me in any way other than irritatingly larger files.
The AF system, although it has more AF points, only stretches out as "far" as the D70's - the extra AF points are all crammed into the middle of the finder. That isn't going to help much compositionally (I'd like to see AF points nearer the extremities) - but will aid tremendously in action tracking. Hence the above.
Sure, there are a zillion lilttle things, but none of those are going to have anywhere near the impact of the above.
It's also worth noting that the D200's AF is
not taken directly from the high end F bodes // D2X. It's based on it, but aint the same thing.
They use CAM 2000, the D200 uses CAM 1000 - which basically means you're gonna get better lower light performance from the D2X. The D200 will be much the same as the D70 in this respect (D70 = CAM 900).
As much as the above may seem to slate the D200, I really like the camera. Hell, mine should be here in the next two days! All I'm saying is that it's not necessarily the best idea for everyone to be rushing out replacing their D70's with D80's or D200's, when you could be spending that dosh on some nicer glass. Cos' I think you're gonna get more from nicer glass than the new body.