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12/07/2007 04:24:30 PM · #1 |
Right, I'm still without a camera, it's been over a month now. It hurts quite a bit do not have anything to shoot with, or well I do have an old p&s but really after being used to DSLR it's not even close to scratching the photography itch.
My birthday is in a few days now and it has leaked that I'll almost certainly get around 1000 pounds worth of donations to my "I need a camera fund" (Current status of the fund: 0 )
I had my D50 for well over a year and around 30.000 shutter clicks.
I'm starting from scratch and don't have any lenses or a camera since my lenses were in the bag that got stolen along with the D50. I have considered going to the Canon side of the force but I was really happy with the feel of my Nikon and I'm familiar with the Nikon lenses.
I've decided to not go for the D40 since I don't want to downgrade and the no autofocus on lovelies like the F1.8 50mm lens etc. is a deal breaker.
So the choice is D200 or D80? If I go for the D200 I will not have the money to get any extra lenses for a bit.
Now what I shoot, I mostly shoot cat photos and street photography. The cat photos are often action shots so the higher fps on the D200 is very tempting. Especially since that was one of the few things that were starting to bug me about the D50. I wanted faster bursts and more accurate auto focus on high speed targets.
However I was also used to carrying the D50 around with me a lot just in case I ran into something I wanted to take a photo of. I.e I'd stick just one lens on it (often the 50mm F1.8 for the least bulk and weight) and lug it around with me for the day.
The D200 seems quite big and heavy to do that with, in addition to not getting as many shots per battery charge. I know that's fixable by having more batteries or a grip but that's even more bulk and money I can't really afford atm.
So yeah I'm pretty much managing to talk myself into the D80, however the D200 *is* very shiny and the fps would be great (which is why I'm also quite itching for a D300 but that's way out of my budget).
I could save up more money and wait longer but not having a camera is really starting to bother me so I'm not to keen on doing that. I need a camera soon. I've even started dreaming that I had a camera again and was really happy wandering around taking photos and then woke up and felt all depressed, heh..
Odds are that I'll have more money to spare in around 6-7 months and I could add some more lenses and get a flash etc. then so it's not as if I'm stuck completely without extra lenses for a long time if I get the D200. Still, I don't know.
Any thoughts? |
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12/07/2007 04:28:13 PM · #2 |
i had the same dilemna,you'll regret not getting the D200 if you go with the D80. everything about the D200 is just amazing. the D300 is just right out of my budget right now. especially that i am planning to get a couple od speedlights to go with the D200.
in short go for the D200 you can find good deals now on it. |
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12/07/2007 04:46:37 PM · #3 |
| I'm certain it's gone, but there was a great deal on a barely used D200 in this thread. But there are a lot of owners letting them go right now. Try Craig's List for your area. |
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12/07/2007 05:04:46 PM · #4 |
The biggest differences between the D200 and the D80 is that the D200 has a magnesium body and 5fps. The sensor and quality of the image is the same.
If those features are important to you then go with the D200 if not the D80 is a fine camera. The other benefit to the D80 is the ML-L3 wireless remote. It is only $20usd but to me is priceless. It will not work with the D200. The wireless remote for the D200 is ML-3 and is $160usd.
There are other nice features of the D200 but on a budget the D80 is a fine choice.
But if you are like me you will start saving for the D3. :-P
Good luck!
Message edited by author 2007-12-07 17:15:25. |
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12/07/2007 05:17:11 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by thegrandwazoo:
The biggest differences between the D200 and the D80 is that the D200 has a magnesium body and 5fps. The sensor and quality of the image is the same.
If those features are important to you then go with the D200 if not the D80 is a fine camera. The other benefit to the D80 is the ML-L3 wireless remote. It is only $20usd but to me is priceless. It will not work with the D200. The wireless remote for the D200 is ML-3 and is $160usd.
There are other nice features of the D200 but on a budget the D80 is a fine choice.
But if you are like me you will start saving for the D3. :-P
Good luck! |
well i have to add the metering system, the D80 has the same one as the D50 with 460 something elements while the D200 has 1005 elements in some situation it does not really matter, in some others it's really a big deal, but yeah if you DO need a cmaera just to work with while you are saving for the D3 , then that's another story:)
Message edited by author 2007-12-07 17:17:48. |
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12/07/2007 05:25:02 PM · #6 |
Like I said:
"There are other nice features of the D200 but on a budget the D80 is a fine choice."
You can see by my portfolio the the metering system has hardly held me back. :-D |
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12/07/2007 05:54:00 PM · #7 |
I also have a D50 like you, then bought a D80.
I`ve just sold my D80 and bought a second hand mint D200.
The reason i sold the D80 was just mainly down to the matrix metering. It`s not like the D50`s metering, that works great. The D80 metering has no regard for your highlights. It would nearly always blow out the skies. Center weight metering was better but i was forever using the exposure compensator. After much research and comparing to my D50 i found it`s a wide spread problem that`s down to the way nikon have set the camera.
It`s to give bright punchy pics straight from the camera.
There are many forum threads on this but all boil down to use center weight and hope or dial in -0.7 exposure compensation and hope again.
Now the D200 on the other hand is a joy to use. The metering is spot on. Also shows iso in the viewfinder which i find very useful.
It is heavy but it`s built to last. The battery life is not so good as the D80 but spare 3rd party batteries are cheap and mine last just as long as the nikon one.
Go for the D200. |
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12/07/2007 05:58:43 PM · #8 |
Funny you must have had a bad sample I have never had those issues.
But hell as long as you get a Nikon... |
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12/15/2007 09:12:30 AM · #9 |
I got a D80 now :D My financial situation changed slightly so I couldn't afford a D200 without waiting around another 2 months and going that long without a camera is just too much for me.
It's charging right now. I can't wait to get going again.
I'm planning on saving up for a D300. After having been without a camera this long I don't want that ever to happen again and having two cameras definately helps with that. |
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