Nikon D200

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Features
During the vigil that preceded the introduction of the Nikon D200, speculation was rife as to exactly which features would be trimmed from the D2X to arrive at this midlevel design. Considering that its price is about one-third that of the D2X, Nikon has been able to retain a surprising amount of features and functions.

The Nikon D200 saves photos to CompactFlash and Microdrive media.

A 10.2-megapixel CCD subs for the pro Nikon's 12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor, and the 8fps cropped-burst mode has been ditched, along with the built-in vertical grip, the ability to save photos in TIFF format, and a few miscellaneous features such as voice recording, specialized color-space options, battery calibration, and interchangeable focus screens. The D2X also uses a faster, more-advanced Multi-CAM 2000 autofocus system, instead of the new Multi-CAM 1000 system that the D200 uses.

However, the Nikon D200 virtually matches its pro sibling in many other areas. It has the same 30 seconds to 1/8,000-second shutter-speed range, four separate banks for storing any of 45 different custom settings, a 2.5-inch LCD, and a rugged body. Unlike the low-end D70s and D50, this camera has an aperture coupling ring that allows autoexposure functions in Aperture-Priority mode and manual exposure metering with most older AI or AI-S manual-focus lenses produced since 1977.

As with other digital SLR cameras in this class, the Nikon D200 offers a multitude of user options and is eminently customizable. Although the scene modes found in the D70s/D50 are absent, most users of cameras in this class don't rely on them anyway. The D200's 3D Color Matrix Metering II is a versatile exposure system, but you can opt for spot metering (using a 3mm-diameter circle) or center-weighted (which gives 75 percent of metering emphasis to a user selectable 6mm-, 8mm-, 10mm-, or 13mm-diameter circle.) Exposure compensation ranges over a full five exposure values in 1/3EV, 1/2EV, or full EV increments.

White balance can be set automatically via six factory-preset values, Kelvin temperatures, warmer or cooler fine-tuning, or four presets captured from scenes or existing image files. You can assign names to user white-balance presets for convenient retrieval later. If color balance is especially critical and you don't want to fiddle with white-balance adjustments in your raw processing software later, you can bracket the white balance for as many as nine successive shots. The D200 can also bracket exposure, flash, or both simultaneously.

ISO direct settings go from ISO 100 to as high as ISO 1,600 (instead of ISO 800 with the D2X) plus a one-stop boost to ISO 3,200 (the D2X has one- and two-stop boosts to ISO 1,600 and 3,200). Image tweaks include six preset looks: Normal, Softer, Vivid, More Vivid, Portrait (low contrast), Black-and-White (which is not found in other current Nikon digital SLRs), and Custom, which allows setting contrast, sharpness, color, saturation, and hue individually.

This camera has a built-in flash similar to those of the D70s and D50, but with two cool added features: A modeling-light option and a repeating-flash function, both similar to features found on recent Nikon external flash units. The modeling light fires a low-power flash for several seconds, allowing you to preview the flash illumination on your subject. In repeating mode, the flash fires over and over while the shutter is open. You can select output levels (from 1/2 to 1/128 power), the number of flashes (2 to 15), and frequency (from 1fps to 50fps).

As with the D70s (but not the D50), the Nikon D200's flash can function in Commander mode to wirelessly control additional external flash units such as Nikon's SB-600 and SB-800. The flash has an ISO 100 guide number of 39 and integrates smoothly with Nikon's iTTL flash exposure system, whether used alone or with compatible external speedlights. Action photography might be hampered by the 1/250-second top flash sync speed, which can cause ghost images under high ambient light conditions, but the low-end SLRs in the line are still the only Nikon models to offer 1/500-second sync.

Nikon Capture, which includes useful features such as tethered time-lapse photography, "defishing" of fish-eye photos, and advanced raw file manipulations with batch capabilities, is an additional US$99 option that's far superior to the supplied Picture Project tool.

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