Contemplating getting a back up body to accompany my D70, been thinking about it for a while. Torn between a D200 with grip and the new D2Xs. Shooting consists of mainly general stuff (as we all do) and then a do some studio sessions (home studio) to make a few quid on the side. Also a bit of motorsport and the very occasional Wedding. Mainly amature but a little paid work on the side...

Read the reveiws and talked myself into the D200 but something's niggling me that I'd regret not going for the D2Xs. Money is an issue, can afford either but D2Xs id a biggie of course :) D200 would be a UK model whereas the D2Xs would be imported (Digital Rev probably).

Any opinions......

Dave

Equipment consists of

D70
70-200 F2.8 AFS VR
18-70 F4 - 5.6 (kit lens)
70-300 AF ED F4 - 5.6
SB800 (x2)

Wait and see what the new one is...?

http://www.nikon-euro.com/DoesNotDisappoint/

Only 17 days..!

I remember buying a car which had 16 valves and I really wanted the 24 valve version but it cost a bit more. I drove my car for 7 years but every time I saw the 24 valve version I was green with envy. When it came time to change it for something else I wanted a scooby but having learnt my lesson the first time around I knew I wouldn't be happy unless I got an STi so I got one and have been a very happy hooligan ever since. If I had the choice between a D200 and a D2Xs I know which one I'd go for. The D2Xs should handle the same as my D2H which I love and presumably DigitalRev will deliver it with a one year international warranty so no problems there. Enjoy it Dave, you won't regret it.

It's a teaser that one Hank! It can't be a D3 surely as they've just upgraded the D2X to the s version so it must be a replacement for the D70 I reckon...and whatever it is, wait long enough and they'll bring out an "s" version :)

yep, current rumours are below d200 and replacement for d70(s). may lead to some bargains on the street...

Yep word on the street is a D70 replacement, something below the D200, which isn't really what I'm after....Another way to look at is

D200 with 2GB, spare battery & grip for £1100 or
D2Xs for £2500

Now I look at the figures :)

Other option is D2Hs which I think is a fantastic bit of kit I'm concerned 4 MP's isn't enough...What would you say Frenchie as you have a D2h????

Tis hard this :wonder:

Cheers guys

Dave, I normally don't print bigger than A4 and the results are great (I have one print bigger than A4 hanging on my wall and you can't tell it's from a 4MP digital camera). I don't really notice it's a 4MP at A4 size and the quality is very impressive. For motorsports events that I have shot the 8 fps shooting RAW is very handy and it sounds like a fecking machine gun! :) If you want to see what the quality is like for yourself I could send you a NEF file for you to play around with and even print if you go bigger than A4. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a D2Xs but as I don't make any money from my photograpy these days I can't really justify the outlay. The ISO 100 would be the thing I crave most and I'm not sure if I'd like the high-speed cropping when the D2H doesn't do that when shootiing at 8fps.

Here's a NEF file of a sunflower (3.28MB) Right click Save As (http://www.alwyngreer.com/temp/_DSC1656.nef)

Execllent, thanks for that. Did actually remind me how much processing power is needed in Capture to edit a D2x file...Just flies through your D2h file, which is a huge bonus. I think if I were serious about a D2Hs I'd be inclined to go for the non "S" version as they can be picked up for D200 money (or less) whereas the S version is still commanding nearly D2x money...I do tend to sometimes print quite large (30x20) so may be worth having your one printed to evaluate.

Gonna be a tough choice, got a week off shortly and think I'll have to have a play with all three before I make the decision :)

Cheers

Dave

If you want a semi pro camera for mainly amateur stuff with the odd bit of paid work I would have thought the D200 is perfect. Can't see the sense in spending well over twice the amount on a D2Xs. Both cameras will produce very similar results and you aren't ever really going to stretch the D200. If you were earning your living with the camera and out and about with it every day, that would make more sense. The £1300 you would save could be better spent on lenses, all in my opinion of course.

Your opinion makes purfect sense to me too, just that niggling feeling that Frenchie summerized purfectly.....

Someone whose opinion I value very much once told me, buy the absolute best you can afford.
I've tried to do that and it's worked well for me. The STi story is a perfect example.

I had a similar thing with lenses - I got a cheap 55-200 because I thought it would do but wanted faster so got a decent 70-200, I then wanted more reach, so bought a 1.4TC, I wanted even more reach, so bought a 2xTC, then I wanted VR so bought the Nikon 80-400.
If I'd bought it in the first place like I thought about instead of making do, I'd have been able to buy it and have change and not have lost on 2nd hand values for the rest of the kit!!

Yes, I agree with the Sti analogy as well - particularly as I took the buy a wrx to mod route and should have really gone Sti. Nevertheless, cameras are just tools to do a job and if you are using it a lot you need equipment you are happy with. However, blokes in particular are always drawn to the most feature packed new gizmo available. So if money isn't really a problem, I can understand going for top of the range.

That said, on this forum I've seen some of Dave's excellent very well lit home studio pics taken on D70. Either D200 or D2Xs will provide bigger files and have improved chips. The technology at the top end of the Digital market is improving all the time. If you are looking to make more money from photography, you will make it sooner with the D200 whilst you could be paying off the D2Xs for a lot longer. I've always bought the best equipment I have needed knowing that the next time I update technology will have moved along again. My D200 paid for itself very quickly and I don't currently feel there is anything it can't do.

Horses for courses, but if you can afford top of the range I can see the attraction. Best give them all a try.

1 thing in the D200's favour for the general use bit is that it does go to ISO 1600 with a boost (effectivly ISO 3200 (and noisy as hell!!!!) against the the D2x which IIRC boosts to 1600.

Personally I prefer the battery grip as a grp to the built in unit on the D2x, but thats a personal preferance.

However, blokes in particular are always drawn to the most feature packed new gizmo available.

Spot on....As are all the other comments, cheers guys :)

As you use a D200 could you send me a NEF file I can have a play with in Capture? Again nice to see how the PC handles the increased file size above my D70.

Cheers

Dave

E-mail in profile if this is ok....

E-mail in profile if this is ok....
I can but it will have to be a download I'm afraid. Their 16mb a throw!!! and my email wont take it!!!

Its here

http://www.focuslive.co.uk/DSC_1371.NEF

Thanks Simon but is that not a TIFF file?? When open is called DSC_1371.tif rather than NEF extension.

Dave

I'm just checking now, but I doubt it, my TIFF files are 30 or 57mb depending on the file type.

Nopes, deffinatly a raw file.

This is how it opens....

http://dbphotographic.smugmug.com/photos/83427926-L.jpg

This is very werid, its opening and saying NEF for me in Capture 4.4.

Which version of Capture are you using? Cos its deffinatly a nef file cos the file is 15.4mb and its not 1 I converted.

This is how it opens....

http://dbphotographic.smugmug.com/photos/83427926-L.jpg

If you look at the shooting data, 3rd line down on the left says RAW (12bit)

Shot in Raw saved as TIF then...Sorry should have be clearer, what I'd like is an unedited (straight out of camera) NEF to have a play with...

Cheers

Dave

Dave, it is a raw file for download, its internet explorer thats casuing it to convert to Tiff (just tried it). If you download Firefox browser then it will save as a NEF file.

Strange, I downloaded a D2h file from Frenchie yesterday (see post 7) and that came down fine as a NEF...Don't understand all this IE/Firefox stuff though :) Think I have Firefox somewhere though, I'll try that :thumb:

Cheers

The only 2 things I can think of is teh 200 is a newer camera (files may be different) and he shoots in Adobe colour settings where I use sRGB settings.

Nothing to do with the settings Simon or anything to do with Firefox/IE (they certainly cannot convert RAW files LOL!). What I find a bit strange is that a 10MP camera like the D200 producing RAW files of 16MB. Incidentally if I try to load it with CS2 it won't open as CS2 tells me it's the wrong file type. If I change the file extension to .tif CS2 opens it but as a thumbnail which is typical of tiff images as they generally store a thumbnail along with the main image. It's a tif file.

Why not set up your camera to shoot RAW take a pic and save it onto your PC. Job done. :)

Oh and BTW, I'm using Firefox.

I agree with mgcvk. I'd buy a D200 and one or two better lenses than your 18-70, otherwise you won't be making the most of the better sensor.

I don't know much about Nikon lenses, but how about an 85 f1.8 and 17-55 f2.8, which would cost about the same as the price difference between the two cameras. Both of these lenses would be perfect for paid studio and wedding work and will probably never need replacing, making them a great investment. :)

I'll do another 1 later when I get back. But this is deffinatly strange.

On my machine its deffinatly raw, and when I down load it, its coming back as tiff, which makes me think it could be a server issue. If I stilll can't get it to work I'll post you a cd with a few on!!

STi, the raws from teh 200 are deffinatly 15 - 16 mb though the D70s are 5 - 6mb.