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Nikon D200

Digital Camera Review

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Components

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Modes
December 30, 2005 By Patrick Singleton & Alex Burack
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Nikon D200
Page 4

Shooting Menu



Shooting Menu Bank


Create four sets of shooting settings, which can each be labeled; each set has independent settings for the rest of the menu items


Menu reset


Reset menu options for current shooting back to default values


Folders


Create a new folder or choose an existing one


File naming


Enter a text prefix for file names


Optimize image


Choose presets for sharpening, contrast, color mode, saturation, and hue; create a custom preset


Color space


Choose sRGB or Adobe RGB


Image quality


Choose RAW; Fine, Normal or Basic JPEG; or RAW plus one of the JPEGs


Image size


Choose Large, Medium, or Small resolution


JPEG compression


Choose fixed-size compression or Quality-optimized compression


RAW compression


Set to compress RAW files


White Balance


Choose Auto, one of 6 presets, Kelvin color temperature, or custom white balance


Long Exposure Noise Reduction


Set to use dark-frame subtraction noise reduction on exposures over 1/2 second


High ISO Noise Reduction


Set to Normal, High, Low, or Off; effect starts at ISO 400; it can’t be shut off for ISOs over 1600


ISO


Set ISO in 1/2- or 1/3-stop increments from 100 to 1600, plus three higher settings corresponding to ISO 2000, 2500, and 3200


Image Overlay


Superimpose two RAW files to create a new image


Multiple Exposure


Shoot 2 to 10 exposures (JPEG or RAW) on one frame; auto gain control is available to control exposure


Interval Timer shooting


Set to shoot a sequence of images for time lapse photography



Model Design / Appearance (9.0) 
The Nikon D200 looks bulkier than the D70, although it's not much bigger. Like its predecessors, the D100 and the F100, the Nikon D200 is a bit more square – in spots where the D70 tapers, the D200 has filled-out corners. All Nikon DSLRs share certain stylistic touches, such as a small inverted red triangle towards the top of the handgrip, the leather-textured rubber body covering, and angular contours on the viewfinder hump. The D200 is no exception; it looks like a member of the family. 
 
The viewfinder profile of the Nikon D200 holds a pop-up flash, so it juts forward, like the D70s and D50 viewfinders. The D2X/D2Hs shapes aren't as pointy, though they do bulge a bit. In this respect, the gap between the midline Nikons and the top ones is visibly apparent.  
 
Size / Portability (7.25)
At 5.8 x 4.4 x 2.9 inches, the Nikon D200 has roughly the same maximum dimensions as the D70. The distance from bottom to top of the hot shoe is the same for both the D70 and D200, but the D200 fills out that space more completely. Weight proves it. Nikon says the D70 tips the scales at 600 grams, or 21 ounces, while the D200 goes 830 grams, or 29 ounces. This gives the D200 a denser feel than most 35mm bodies that don’t include a vertical grip. The D200 will probably feel heavy to some, but it’s a solid, stable type of weight, indicating the type of construction and build quality that went into the camera. 

Handling Ability (9.0)
We found the Nikon D200 easy to hold and operate. The grip is comfortable. The rubber covering is the same material that's on the D2H grip. It's stickier than the coating on the D70, which gives it a more secure feel. The media card door is not covered with rubber, unlike the D2X and D2H, but it's a much smoother contour than the D70 grip. The swooping thumb rest on the D200 is comfortable, and positioned well to allow the user to operate the four-way controller and the rear control dial. The gap created by the door's hinge is much less noticeable on the D200. The camera strap lugs on the Nikon D200 are up and out of the way, and the camera balances well. The right one is more or less on top of the camera, and won't get in the way of the user's hand. The left one is high, too, mounted near the junction of the front and side panels. The rubber covering extends to the left front and side of the D200, so users who find themselves gripping the camera, rather than the lens, with their left hands will still find a good texture to grip.


Control Button / Dial Positioning / Size (9.25)
The majority of the control buttons on the Nikon D200 are large and mechanically very good. Their travel, and the slight resistance they exert against the finger, gives reliable tactile feedback to the user.
 
Nikon uses two jog dials for major shooting settings on all of its DSLRs except the D50. Like the other cameras, the Nikon D200's dials are at the back and front of the handgrip, placed for use by the thumb and forefinger, respectively. The Nikon D200's dials are large and made of a rubbery plastic, like the ones on the D2X and D2H. They are easy to turn, and an improvement over the smaller, hard plastic dials on the D70.
 
The four-way controller is large, and appears to be exactly the same as the controller used on the D2X/D2H. Its operation is quick and smooth. Pressing the center of the control prompts an action related to the current function of the arrows. For instance, when one is using the sides, top, and bottom to scroll around an image, pressing the center of the dial will scroll to the center of the image. The ring surrounding the four-way controller turns to disable it in some functions. In shooting mode, the lock prevents the controller from switching autofocus areas, but leaves it enabled for menu navigation.
 
The D200 has a customizable function button below the depth of field button on the front of the camera, a welcome feature it shares with the D2X/D2H. On the D200, the options for the function button include temporarily changing metering patterns and exposure options. We expect that most users will find access to their shooting shortcuts via this dedicated button quite useful.
 
The three buttons on top of the burst mode dial to the left of the viewfinder control ISO, white balance, and quality (image resolution and compression), providing convenient and quick access to key camera functions.

Menu (8.0)
Nikon continues to use tabbed menu interfaces, but they're getting prettier—the D200 features white type on black and dark gray backgrounds, with some yellow accents. The D200 menus are readable, even in bright light, and well organized. The sanserif text is large and well-rendered, with a vertical bar of tabs on the left side of the screen, a heading at the top, a list of settings in the middle, a narrow gray vertical bar on the right showing current statuses for each settings, and a very narrow scroll bar at the far right. The D200 has a contextual help system. Pressing the "?" key brings up text about whatever menu item is active.
 
Users of point-and-shoots or SLR-like compact cameras have gotten used to live views, which superimpose menus over the viewfinder image. Since this is an SLR, the D200 doesn’t offer this.
 
 
 
 
 
Setup Menu
 
Format
Format memory cards
LCD Brightness
Adjust display brightness over 5 steps
Mirror Lockup
This mirror lockup is not for shooting; it's just for CCD cleaning. The mirror lockup for shooting is on the burst mode dial
Video mode
Choose PAL or NTSC video output for slide shows
World Time
Set Time and Date, plus time zone, and time/date format
Language
Set to Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, or Traditional or Simplified Chinese
Image Comment
Add text comment to EXIF image data
Auto Image Rotation
Turn vertical images upright
Recent Settings
Recall recent camera settings individually
USB
Set for storage or printing
Dust Off Reference Photo
Save an image for Nikon Capture software to use in automatic dust removal
Battery Info
Displays battery status
Firmware Version
Displays current firmware version

Custom Settings Menu
 
AF-S Priority
Set whether shutter will trip before focus is achieved in single AF mode
Focus Area Frame
Set for 11 focus areas or 7 larger focus areas
Group Dynamic AF
Choose area pattern, and for center area or closest subject
Lock-On
Set to determine how camera tracks sudden movement
AF Activation
Set whether shutter release activates autofocus, or whether it’s activated via just the AF-ON button
AF Area Illumination
Sets how AF area is shown in viewfinder
Focus Area
Set how the user navigates from one AF area to another
AF Assist
Controls autofocus assist light
AF-ON for MB-D200
Customize the AF-ON button included on the optional accessory MB-D200 battery pack
ISO Auto
Set parameters for Auto ISO setting in Program, Shutter priority, and Aperture priority; set maximum ISO and slowest shutter speed
ISO Step Value
Choose increments of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 stop
EV Step
Choose increments of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 stop
Exposure Compensation/Fine Tune
Choose increments of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 stop
Exposure Compensation
Set to activate exposure compensation without pressing the "+/-" button
Center Weighted Area
Set size of center circle for center-weighted meter pattern
Fine Tune Exposure
Set to fine tune exposure for each metering pattern
AE Lock
Set to lock exposure with half-pressed shutter release
AE-L/AF-L
Set behavior of AE-L/AF-L button
Auto Meter-Off
Set length of time meter stays on while the shutter isn’t pressed
Self-Timer
Set Self-Timer delay to 2 to 20 seconds
Monitor-Off
Set length of time LCD stays on while the controls aren’t actuated
Beep
Set pitch for audio alert beep to either high or low. (The D200 lags behind the scores of point-and-shoots which offer everything from bird calls to phaser noises as customizable alert sounds. For shame!)
Grid display
Set to show grid lines for lining up verticals and horizontals
Viewfinder warning
Shows viewfinder alerts for low battery, no memory card, and black-and-white shooting mode
Shooting Speed
Set low-speed burst rate at 1 to 4 frames per second
Exposure Delay Mode
Delays shutter 0.4 seconds to limit shake
File Number Sequence
Set when the camera restarts image numbering – either when blank memory is inserted, or when it has shot 9999 images; manual reset is also available
Illumination
Set so that any control will light up all the displays
MB-D200 Batteries
The MB-D200 can accept one or two li-ion batteries or six AA batteries; set to indicate the battery configuration
Flash Sync Speed
Set the default shutter speed for flash sync to a speed between 1/250 and 1/60
Flash Shutter Speed
Set longest shutter speed for flash sync to full-stop values from 1/60 to 30 seconds
Built-in Flash
Set mode for flash
Modeling Flash
Set depth of field button to activate modeling flash
Auto BKT Set
Set the bracket mode to vary ambient exposure, flash exposure, both, or white balance
Manual Mode Bracketing
Set the bracket mode to vary flash and shutter speed, shutter speed and aperture, flash and aperture, or flash only
Auto Bracket order
Set the order in which bracketed exposures are taken
Auto Bracket Selection
Set increments for bracketing, or automate them
Center Button
Set function of the center of the four-way controller in both shooting and playback modes
Multi-Selector
Set function of four-way controller in shooting mode
Photoinfo/Playback
Set function of four-way controller in playback mode
FUNC Button
Set function of FUNC button on the front of the camera
Command Dials
Set functions of front and rear command dials
Buttons and Dials
Set whether buttons must be held while dials are turned
No Memory Card
Set to allow shooting without memory card
 
A separate menu comes up in Playback mode.

Playback
 
Delete
Delete current image or all
Playback Folder
Select which folder to review, if there is more than one folder on the CompactFlash card
Slide show
Select 2 to 10-second interval
Hide Image
Prevent selected images from displaying in Playback
Print Set
Set DPOF or PictBridge printing
Display Mode
Set display info – shooting data superimposed over the image, Luminance Histogram, RGB Histogram, Highlight warning, focus area
Image Review
Set to show image on LCD after it is shot
After delete
Control display behavior after an image is deleted – show the next image, the previous image
Rotate Tall
Display verticals upright on screen
 
Ease of Use (6.5)
The D200 offers an extensive list of customization options and was not designed as a beginners' camera; however, the major controls are easy to find and operation is straightforward. The camera offers a Program mode for fully automatic exposure, though it only goes so far; it doesn't offer the Scene modes that the D70, D70s, D50 or Nikon Coolpix cameras do.
 
On the other hand, the D200 offers manual overrides to tweak both its automated readings and its preset values. The overrides are easy to access, and can make pronounced changes in the final images. Also, the inclusion of a pop-up flash with commander mode makes it easier and more affordable to shoot with wireless multi-flash setups.
 

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Nikon D200
Digital Camera Review
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Previous: Page 3

Components

Previous: Page 5

Modes