D200 vs 30D

[-MasterChief-]

go for 30D, as my EF 1200mm works with it

whoa! watch out dude, you might poke an eye out with that!! :D

[eduardk66]

Never had a Nikon , so Have no Idea about that camera.

[eduardk66]

Canon is $1500 , Nikon $1600

[021411]

Yes the low light is very important to me, I have Rebel 400 , would like to go higher

There you go. 30D. The D200 at ISO 1600+ is noisy (more grain like).

[condyk]

I have a friend I sometimes shoot with and he has the D80 with the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. We have swapped gear on occasion and to be honest I would be hard pressed to see any difference and the combination works very well. A well exposed shot on a DSLR is pretty similar across bodies. I don't really shoot in low light so noise issues, if they exist (everyone Parrots that on camera forums), are irrelevant. I have Canon and I feel the range of lenses is better overall. If you really know exactly what lenses you want then Nikon should suit you. If I had choose again I might go for the D80 (D200 is even better) but I think I'd stick with Canon.

[eduardk66]

Thanks a lot

[Psychic1]

If the Nikon lenses weren't always on backorder it might be considered.

[eduardk66]

Well , looks like both cameras are very good , but canon perfoms at low light better than nikon.

[gjl711]

Yes the low light is very important to me, I have Rebel 400 , would like to go higher If you already have the 400, the 30D is really not much of an upgrade. More of a side grade. Different feel, few feature, but ISO 3200 is one of them. What are you looking for in the upgrade? You might consider moving from the 400 to the 5D

[farrukh]

d200 is a dandy camera. If i could mount EF lenses on it, then i would get it right now instead of waiting for the 40d. Its just that overall Canon system is better.

[eduardk66]

Well , 5 frames per second makes a different when shooting a moving subject , wich I think 5d doesn't have.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Merged...

[condyk]

Merged...

Nice idea ... a D200 with 30D noise performance, or a 30D with Nikon ergonomics ;-)

[eduardk66]

Thank you all for your advise will go for Canon 30D.

[Tareq]

Thank you all for your advise will go for Canon 30D.

GO GO GO, Oli Oli Oli

:lol::lol::lol:

[Croasdail]

Well , looks like both cameras are very good , but canon perfoms at low light better than nikon.

Not true in all aspects. The Nikon will focus in much lower light then the Canon. So the trade off is a low noise image of an out of focus subject, or an in focus image but with more noise. The Nikon can focus 1 full LUX lower then the Canon.

It just isn't that simple.

[MrChad]

If you already have the 400, the 30D is really not much of an upgrade. More of a side grade. Different feel, few feature, but ISO 3200 is one of them. What are you looking for in the upgrade? You might consider moving from the 400 to the 5D

I'll beg to differ on this point...the only real thing going for the 400D is the 10MP's and if you can see the difference between 8.2mp vs. 10mp you must be making some big prints. The glass prism viewfinder it bigger, the construction of the camera is better, the ergonomics are much easier to use in the field, no small part do to the toggle controller for the AF pts. and the rear thumb dial for exposure and aperture. The seperate control panel with dedicated buttons also makes switching ISO, AF, Drive, WB, etc. easier then using the rear LCD IMO. And 5fps is priceless if you need it, I'm also not sure if the Rebel line uses 1/3 stop iso yet but I enjoy this feature.

It's much nicer for me anyway to use the xxD camera's with my larger heavier lenses as well. The hand grip is simply too small for me on the new XT type Rebels.

Then again that said, for as nice a body as the 30D is the D200 is that much better; even the 5D lags IMO compared to the true feel of the D200 in hand, it's simply an amazing piece of kit. I wish I had a some Nikkors so I could own one for them :)

If Canon offers something even close to the build and content of the D200 in the next xxD I'll look at upgrading. If the only thing they do is slap a 10MP sensor with vibration cleaning and a brighter LCD on a 30D. I'll pass, there are better ways to spend my money. I'd hope Canon could do a little more then up the MP counts for the next body, else I'll be very disappointed.

[pagnamenta]

I got to recently hold the D200 at the camera store and for a guy whose hands fit the 30D perfectly, I found the D200 rather heavy and big. Granted I liked the added weight, it seems the 30D's grip is curved perfectly for me. I think the erganomics are perfect and once you use the camera, the layout seems perfect.

[rwong2k]

I was shooting Cherry Blossums last year, forgot the exact month, but someone had a d200 + grip. He let me try out the camera. or I just mainly held onto it and looked through it's view finder. I wish the 30d's viewfinder is as nice and the grid lines that turn on and off is a nice feature to have. Battery percentage indicators, neat thing to have. (more gizmo additional functions than practical)

These are just personal opinions, I haven't had a chance to fully play with the camera but I've been told Nikon's IQ is noisier, focus? is slower? (really depends what you're shooting, an no i don't shoot sports, once in a while for fun)

I'm not too familar with Nikon's menu system (last nikon i owned was the coolpix 885)

Although I'm really tempted to sell off all my canon gear to get the Fuji S5 pro, I really love the dynamic range and colours from the Fuji s3. Or well I guess I could stick with my 30d, improve my photography skills,techniques and buy a 5d or its replacement later when I acutally 'need' it.

ok enough ranting, got off topic for a second =p

Raymond

[MrChad]

I was shooting Cherry Blossums last year, forgot the exact month, but someone had a d200 + grip. He let me try out the camera. or I just mainly held onto it and looked through it's view finder. I wish the 30d's viewfinder is as nice and the grid lines that turn on and off is a nice feature to have. Battery percentage indicators, neat thing to have. (more gizmo additional functions than practical)

These are just personal opinions, I haven't had a chance to fully play with the camera but I've been told Nikon's IQ is noisier, focus? is slower? (really depends what you're shooting, an no i don't shoot sports, once in a while for fun)

I'm not too familar with Nikon's menu system (last nikon i owned was the coolpix 885)

Although I'm really tempted to sell off all my canon gear to get the Fuji S5 pro, I really love the dynamic range and colours from the Fuji s3. Or well I guess I could stick with my 30d, improve my photography skills,techniques and buy a 5d or its replacement later when I acutally 'need' it.

ok enough ranting, got off topic for a second =p

Raymond

Having used my buddies D200 with an older 80-200mm/2.8 Nikkor I can attest that AF is not any slower then that of the Canon 30D. Perhaps the Nikon's don't have an AF system on par with the 1D line, but for everything else on the market I think Nikon's have nothing to worry about. At $1600 the D200 is the sub $2000 market leader, we can talk High ISO all day long but the D200 is an amazing semi-pro/enthusiast piece of kit.

[hef]

Well... a thread revived... i have a 5d, 1dmk2n & a d200. I went to shot outdoors at a winter fest with the 5d... don't get me wrong the d200 is a great camera, but the 5d blows it away with combination of great resolution at high iso and of course the 'L' glass... ok. it's on 3fps..compared to 5fps... but how often do you need that if you have a 1dmk2n..? still when i vacation this past fall, i took the d200 and produced some absolutely beautiful pictures with the 85mm f1.4 and the 35mm 2.0... horses for courses.

[grego]

Well... a thread revived... i have a 5d, 1dmk2n & a d200. I went to shot outdoors at a winter fest with the 5d... don't get me wrong the d200 is a great camera, but the 5d blows it away with combination of great resolution at high iso and of course the 'L' glass... ok. it's on 3fps..compared to 5fps... but how often do you need that if you have a 1dmk2n..? still when i vacation this past fall, i took the d200 and produced some absolutely beautiful pictures with the 85mm f1.4 and the 35mm 2.0... horses for courses.

The 5D vs the D200 is a faulty comparison.

It was built to compete against the 20D that held the market for like what, a year and a half? And the 30D. Nikon's are always priced a little bit higher, but you get a lot of features, so that argument for a higher price can be there because of that.

[hef]

The 5D vs the D200 is a faulty comparison.

It was built to compete against the 20D that held the market for like what, a year and a half? And the 30D. Nikon's are always priced a little bit higher, but you get a lot of features, so that argument for a higher price can be there because of that.

It's true... I agree. 5d is not a good comparison.. I did however have both a 20d & 30d... the 30d did have great low noise at high iso also.... the d200 has a lot of functions.. one of them that i thought was neat... was the 2nd exposure function on the same frame... just a neat thing from the old days.

[Ves]

Guys.. I did something bad today. I was up at the racetrack and one of my friend's friends had a Nikon D2H. I decided to hold it.. I fell in love. My god it just felt fantastic.. crap.

I don't think I'll make the switch.. but I just might (and no I don't care about noise performance at low light, that's just stupid).

[narlus]

Guys.. I did something bad today. I was up at the racetrack and one of my friend's friends had a Nikon D2H. I decided to hold it.. I fell in love. My god it just felt fantastic.. crap.

I don't think I'll make the switch.. but I just might (and no I don't care about noise performance at low light, that's just stupid).


maybe for you it's stupid, for those of us shooting live music and are at 1600 (or even 3200) routinely, it's far from stupid.

[Ves]

Exactly, I meant stupid for my needs. Sorry I posted this here and my other thread too, so ignore this particular discussion further as to not defeat the purpose of this thread and it's original creator :)

[Tareq]

Exactly, I meant stupid for my needs. Sorry I posted this here and my other thread too, so ignore this particular discussion further as to not defeat the purpose of this thread and it's original creator :)

Man, go and buy 1Dmk2N or 1Dsmk2 and stop that.

[RandyCanon]

Apparently dPreview prefers the D200 over the 20D/30D, except for the high ISO noise and banding issues.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond200/

i own both
d200 blows away 30d in every category but 1, high iso noise, and the 30d blows away the d200 in that 1

[avan]

the 5D it's the camera to compared to the D200. XTi/D50, 30D/D80, 5D/D200, D2Hs/1DmkII, D2Xs/1Ds mkII. For price both are similar and even Canon a bit higher (check the price of both 70-200 f2.8 stabilised).
Lots of professional are tempted by the D200, first for image quality up to 800ISO, convenience of control (no 2 fonctions for one button), a dedicated button for the fonction you want, you can use the old MF lens with metering, In camera wireless control up to 2 slaves (free), a very excellent viewfinder with in camera grid (you got also with D80). With AF-S lens the AF is as fast as the Canon USM. Those quality are very good when you use the camera all the time like a professional. Some people denied the quality of the Nikon, because they never look at it. If they do they gonna ask much more from Canon, believe me.
A dream camera should be a Nikon body with the Canon sensor.

[gjl711]

the 5D it's the camera to compared to the D200. XTi/D50, 30D/D80, 5D/D200, D2Hs/1DmkII, D2Xs/1Ds mkII. ..
Hmmm... I would have put the XTi against the D80 as they are almost feature by feature identical. Same mpix, same LCD, almost the same cost. The 30D and the D200 are also pretty close in features and cost. The 5D really doesn't line up with anything. It is in a class by itself.

[Damian75]

Guys.. I did something bad today. I was up at the racetrack and one of my friend's friends had a Nikon D2H. I decided to hold it.. I fell in love. My god it just felt fantastic.. crap.

I don't think I'll make the switch.. but I just might (and no I don't care about noise performance at low light, that's just stupid).

Before you go jumping ship try on a 1DmkIIn for size the D2H is a "PRO" camera and there is just a better feel to the pro modles in both nikon and canon.

[grego]

Guys.. I did something bad today. I was up at the racetrack and one of my friend's friends had a Nikon D2H. I decided to hold it.. I fell in love. My god it just felt fantastic.. crap.

I don't think I'll make the switch.. but I just might (and no I don't care about noise performance at low light, that's just stupid).

Out of all of the Nikon's in that line, try to avoid the D2h, if you shoot Jpgs. Either go D200 or D2X

[RichNY]

Looking back I'm sorry I didn't go with the D200 instead of the 30D. Granted the Canon has a clear advantage when it comes to high ISO captures and has some really great glass.

But for me photography is purely a hobby and when it comes down to which camera is more "enjoyable" to shoot with IMO the Canon's just don't hold their ground.

I also have found that "I" shoot flash far more often than I shoot ISO 800/1600 and would have preferred the better flash system.

I'm really pleased with my 30D, Canon glass, and the quality images that it captures but I think over the long haul Nikon will find a way to improve their sensor while Canon will never catch up in terms of user interface just as Vista is nowhere near as elegant a solution as OS X.

It will be interesting to see where things are next March and whether it makes sense for me to upgrade in the Canon line or make the switch. In any case I'm glad that Canon's glass retains so much of its value.

[grego]

Looking back I'm sorry I didn't go with the D200 instead of the 30D. Granted the Canon has a clear advantage when it comes to high ISO captures and has some really great glass.

But for me photography is purely a hobby and when it comes down to which camera is more "enjoyable" to shoot with IMO the Canon's just don't hold their ground.

I also have found that "I" shoot flash far more often than I shoot ISO 800/1600 and would have preferred the better flash system.


You could always sell your stuff and start over with minimal loss(unless your stuff is fairly battered.


but I think over the long haul Nikon will find a way to improve their sensor while Canon will never catch up in terms of user interface just as Vista is nowhere near as elegant a solution as OS X.

Well Canon could very well continue to improve their sensor and stay on top... I guess it depends what quality you think is high enough on either side though.

[EOSAddict]

while Canon will never catch up in terms of user interface just as Vista is nowhere near as elegant a solution as OS X.

Each to his own, please!

Personally, I much prefer the Canon interface and would ber appalled if it ever 'caught up' with Nikon! They are simply different.

Don't apply your standards to everyone else ;)

[gubak1]

One of my friends has a D30 and he is pleased with it. He made beauteful photos with it. D200 is unknown to me.

[RichNY]

High ISO or flash system aside I am still the limitting factor by a long shot.

It's definately just me- If I had followed my heart instead of my brain when buying the 30D I would have had buyer's remorse that I settled for a lessor sensor:rolleyes:

Either way, I'm still loving learning photography- it is such a rewarding and humbling hobby rolled into one!

[HughScot]

Both Nikon and Canon make excellent cameras and lens. I think it boils down to how it feels in your hand and ergonomics. I shoot with Canon as I like their lens selection and I shoot a lot of sports. Neither is a better manufacturer of camera equipment IMHO. It all depends on what you shoot and what feels good in your hands.

[bestfromnw]

well, i just switched from 30d to d200 and i have no regrets, except its taking forever to sell all my Lenses

[Headcase650]

Give us your personal comparison, pros and cons to each camera and system.

[Keith R]

well, i just switched from 30d to d200 and i have no regrets, except its taking forever to sell all my Lenses

Want me to point you at hundreds and hundreds of reasons why you jumped in the wrong direction?

Just look at pretty much any D200 picture on the birdforum.net gallery: the odd one that's any good is in perfect light and in controlled, "easy" shooting circumstances (and usually significantly downsized to "crisp" things up and hide the noise).

The rest - 90% of 'em, I reckon - are vile: noisy, spazzy exposure, no detail (it has a built-in "watercolour painting" effect!), missed focus... Time and time and time again.

And many of them are at low enough ISOs that Nikon should hang it's corporate head in shame for inflicting that abysmal Sony sensor on the world.

All reasons why I jumped from the D200 to the 30D.

I can only assume that the vast majority of D200 owners are very easily pleased.

[kitacanon]

Guess you need another thread, 40D vs. the D300?

[minicooper]

I use D200 everyday at work (committed Canon though for shooting in my free time!) and it's ok... but I just don't really like the feel of it. I know it is weather sealed but it doesn't feel as solid as the xxD line, and although the menus are better, the high iso performance really isn't great, the noise suppression seems to mottle out the detail. The results from the Canon just have a certain 'something' to them I can't seem to get with the D200. I would never swap my Canon stuff for Nikon, ever!

[freakeystyley34]

i do like the d200 for a few reasons. The feel of the grip is maybe a bit nicer than the 30d, i have quite big hands and often feel my little finger coming off the bottom of the 30d grip, whereas the d200 grip seems a bit longer, and there's an indent for your fingers too. The other big thing i like is the wireless flash system. My friend has a d200 and SB-800, and he borrowed a friends SB-800 and was shooting with them both wirelessly at a gig a little while ago. the versatility of it is absolutely amazing. the noise in my experience doesn't seem that much different. A little better on the canon, but nothing huge. The weathersealing is ok, but the fact is, it's nothing to brag about unless you have weathersealed lenses, which are expensive. I really do prefer the canon glass though, which sells the EOS system to me in a big way.

[jeeper2000]

I am very new to this forum and to Canon. In fact I am in the process of selling all of my Nikon gear I have purchased over the 15 years I have been shooting. I will be purchasing my 5D and lenses later this week. Why the switch you may ask? It mostly had to do with the customer support of Nikon. I purchased a D200 and loved it until I realized that it had severe auto focusing problems. I dealt with Nikon and the store I bought it from for over 6 months. They would do nothing for me except to say it was my fault for the settings I changed in the menu. Kept asking me to reset the menu and such. I even sent it in and it was returned with no change. The noise is a real issue with the D200. It really is. Mine was terrible. Even at ISO400. I tried out a 5D at a local store. Went outside and took some test shots. They were amazing, even at ISO3200! For me it is worth the switch even losing money. I am excited for the full frame sensor. I am also excited to have a camera that I can (hopefully) trust. Nikon makes nice equipment. Their lenses are excellent. Although, Canon's are too.

[Madweasel]

Welcome to the forum, jeeper2000! Interesting viewpoint and unfortunate experience. I hope your 5D lives up to your expectations!

[Steiglitz]

D200 = Better build, better feel, better ergo's all that do nothing for image quality.

30D = Less noise, and for this reason alone it's the better camera.

It's got to be about image quality...everything else takes a back seat ;-)

[Jon]

D200 = Better build, better feel, better ergo's all that do nothing for image quality.

30D = Less noise, and for this reason alone it's the better camera.

It's got to be about image quality...everything else takes a back seat ;-)
True, but IQ is more than the signals the sensor captures. If the camera's not fast enough to retain focus on a moving target, IQ suffers. If you can't quickly change settings to keep up with changing conditions, IQ suffers. If the camera can't stand up to the operating environment, including the odd bump, IQ suffers. If you can't take the camera out of its case because it's not able to stand up to the weather conditions, you don't have an image to get IQ from. If all that mattered were the sensor, all anybody here would need would be a Holga with a digital back.

[Glenn NK]

Just one photographer's take (he's a birder so high ISO, low noise is essential):

http://www.kazemisu.me.uk/tp/index.php?id=144

[RIDEWYA]

Apparently dPreview prefers the D200 over the 20D/30D, except for the high ISO noise and banding issues.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond200/

talking from the previous owner for D200(me) I would not buy D200 in the future. I know QC for canon is bad , but they fix it. D200 on the other hand, I was in Las vegas last year and shooting for new year eve, My D200 suddenly jam, after 1 hour of using it. this is not the first time, 6 months before that on the wedding party, it happened, I owned F90X before and it also jammed. I think Nikon motor when it go over heated it jammed. but the worst thing of all is the NOISE !!!!!! Noise !!! Noise!!!!!!! and not sharp at all. so yeah last week when I ad to decide between D300 or 40, I go for 40D. I got it today from best buy and my 70-200 F2.8L is coming and the next one will be 24-105 L.