Image Quality - This is was photography is all about. The colors jump out at you as they are vibrant. The 10mp images allow for cropping when necessary and you can still print large. The b&w mode is great. This camera beats the medium format film cameras and I have a Hasselblad and a Rollieflex as well. So when I want higher quality than my d200, I have to grab my 4x5 camera...

Shooting raw NEF the files are about 16mb. But shoot compressed raw and the files are only 8-10mb and no one has been able to tell the difference in quality.

Cons: Still very hard to find as demand is so high. Need big CF cards, get 2gb or 4gb CF cards as you will not want to stop shooting this gem.

Bottom line: The D200 is a pro quality camera body for a consumer price. Wedding photographers have embraced it. There are few photographers who could outgrow it. It's got a ton of features so be sure to read the manual while you're charging up the battery. Unless you shoot high speed action sports, this should be all you need. If you need a faster motor drive, then get the D2x.

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 this thing is a 10 star...., February 21, 2006
Reviewer: Somanytools
I upgraded from a d70 and holy moly ...no comparison. The biggest diffrence is the feel and usability of the camera. The feel is all nikon pro..build fit and finish is amazing and compared to the d70 head and shoulders above. The pictures are great but really it is about getting to the picture that makes the diffrence with this camera. easy access to any commonly changed feature like wb, iso, file size and type, metering, focus point, shooting speed, ect...you will find joy again in shooting with this camera. I can only say if you have ever owed a 6006 or an 8008s and you enjoyed those film cameras...welcome home...finally a digital that feels and shoots like a film ...really its seamless...so far nothing and I mean nothing to complain about...I have the battery grip and use an 800 speedlight and 4/6 Hit. micro drives...beware it need a lot of space if your shooting raw +

ps: if your looking beware the people promising to have them in stock and then not delivering...even normally reputable stores. I got mine through best buy...check often and you might get lucky like I did...sucks to pay tax but free shipping and had it in 4 days via regular ups...I was on the Ritz waiting list for 2 months before I gave up on them and found out about the best buy thing from a nikon bulletin board...good luck.
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This camera puts it all together!, January 30, 2006
Reviewer: projectmgr
The excitement over this camera is justified!
We've all heard about the excellent build quality and it is true.
This is in many ways the best camera I have ever owned. The interface is intuitive and really is beyond compare in my experience. Every adjustment is right there at your finger tips making it fast and easy to change settings as different lighting and situations present themselves. This camera fits my hands like a glove!
So far the matrix metering is impressive. The amount of detail captured in the shadow area is exceptional!
Contrary to rumors I have read the D200 does offer capture in black and white mode.
Nikon has done a lot right here!
One other thing the software is another excellent feature. You can import existing pictures, regardless of brand camera used to capture. The upload is quick and offers the ability to tag, export, mail, adjust, resize and more. Very nice and comprehensive user interface there as well.
Packaging and accessories are first class!
One side note, the battery does not last anywhere near the 1800 captures described in the descriptions I have read. One battery does not get me through a day of shooting, particulary when using a VR lens. Plan on getting a couple of hundred shots in between charging possibly more if using manuall focus and shutting off frequently.
Overall I am very happy with the purchase of this camera. It's the best value on the market in my opinion.
*Continued assessment after even more extensive use.
Ok...I am even more impressed than I was when I wrote the above portion of this review.
The amount of well thought out features on this camera expand the photographers capability greatly.
Start with having four custom menu's that can be set and ready to use just a click away. For instance, one set-up for sports, one for flash portraiture, one for night capture and so on.
This camera produces the best life-like as witnessed at the time of capture color I have expereienced since discovering photography almost 30 years ago.
I mean superb color! Pariculary in the greens and blues. Every color really!
The images produced have the least amount of digital noise I have seen. This means better pictures, enlargements and best of all a lot less time spent in the processing. I even jack the ISO(International Standards Organization) up to 800 or a 1000 with excellent results! There is some noise at 1600. About the same as some of the other cameras I've used when set at ISO 200.
The EV(Exposure Variation) adjustments are easy to access and you can set the increment value to 1/3, 1/2 or 1 full stop depending on personal preference.
Oh! You can do picture Overlays in the camera! Yes right in the camera as long as they are captured in RAW and on the same memory card.
Add to that multiple exposure capability as well.
This camera puts a lot of capability in your hands!
Good luck!

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