 Front (8.0)The front of the Nikon D200 will seem familiar to users of other Nikon DSLRs, particularly users of the D100, D50, and D70s. The handgrip has Nikon's signature red triangle just below the control dial, like its predecessors. The grip itself is thick and covered with leather-textured rubber. The edge of a control dial protrudes near the top of the grip, just below the shutter release.
The Nikon lens mount dominates the front of the D200, but it's small compared to the Canon mount and some others. The mount is on a platform that projects from the front, and the platform is integrated with several controls. Above the midpoint on the left side of the mount’s platform, there’s an electric depth of field preview button. Above that is the Autofocus assist light. Below the depth of field preview is Nikon's Func. Button, which can be customized to provide access to several different shooting controls.
On the right side at the mid-line of the mount’s platform is the lens release button, with the autofocus mode switch below. High on the right side is the flash exposure compensation button, and higher up, the button to pop up the integrated flash. On the far right, off the lens mount, is a 10-pin terminal for remote controls and compatible GPS units.
The viewfinder hump sports a large white Nikon logo. At the far right, above the 10-pin terminal, the camera is labeled D200.
 Back (8.0)Again, the back of the D200 is similar to other Nikon DSLRs, with changes that most users will regard as refinements. At the upper left corner is the bracket button, and next to it on the inside is the trash button. In a vertical column along the left side of the LCD are the Playback, Menu, Playback magnification, Lock/Help, and Enter buttons. They're larger than the corresponding buttons on the D70, and they are labeled in beige. The 2.5-inch LCD contains 230,000 pixels, just the kind of LCD a high-resolution DSLR should have. The viewfinder has a large rubber eye cup; it’s not round like the cup on the D2X and D2H, but sort of rectangular with the top corners cut off. The viewfinder window is larger than the D70's, and much smaller than the D2X and D2H’s. It has a dioptric adjustment dial on the upper right, hidden partly behind the eye cup.
Nikon users won't be surprised to find the exposure and focus lock button to the right of the viewfinder. The crenellated ring around it sets the meter pattern. The AF-ON button is next to the AE/AF lock button, and to the right of this, near the D200’s right edge, is the rear control dial.
The four-way controller is to the right of the LCD. It looks like the D2H/D2X controllers, surrounded with a locking ring. A rotary switch below the controller selects the autofocus sensor pattern, and below that is a latch to open the memory card door.
The leather-textured rubber of the handgrip wraps around from the front of the camera to cover the curving thumb indent on the right.
Left Side (8.0)
The PC flash synchronization terminal is at the top of the left side of the Nikon D200. The shoulder strap lug is at about the same height, but towards the front edge. Most of the remainder of the left side is taken up by two rubber doors, one to cover the video out port and the power supply jack, and one to cover the USB 2.0 port. The power supply door is very large in relation to the power jack.
Right Side (8.0)
The right side of the Nikon D200 is smooth. Most of it forms the door over the memory card slot. The strap lug is set very high, out of the way of the grip.
Top (9.25)
The D200's large control dial on the left side of the top is mechanically similar to dials on the D2H and D2X, with three large buttons atop the dial itself and a locking control ring around the perimeter. On the D200, the three buttons allow direct access to Quality, White Balance, and ISO, while the locking ring sets the drive mode. The pop-up flash covers much of the pentaprism (it really is a prism and not a pentamirror, the latter of which is the less-expensive technology Nikon and others use on their lower-end DSLRs), and the top of the viewfinder hump has a dedicated hot shoe. A large monochrome LCD status display covers most of the right side of the top. The shutter release, surrounded by a ring-shaped on-off switch, is on top of the handgrip towards the front. The mode control button and the exposure compensation button are between the shutter release and the LCD status display. The right-side strap lug is more or less at the corner of the right side and the top.
Bottom (8.0)
The Nikon D200's bottom has a large rubber-covered patch, which prevents the camera from sliding too easily on smooth surfaces. That's a welcome safety feature that might keep the camera from falling off tabletops here and there. The tripod bushing is just where it should be, directly under the optical axis. The battery compartment door is right on the underside of the grip. It closes with a secure latch.
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