D200 - Things I Have Found Out

[Greg B]

I love my D70, but although I spent a good deal of time reading about it and so on, I never really felt that I achieved even
a medium level of understanding of the features and capabilities.

Now, I have bought a bloody D200. Crikey. So nowI am serious about working this sucker out - the sort of things where
I might have been satisfied with a vague understanding before will get a good looking at.

I'm going to share some of these discoveries with you. Many of you will be astounded at my capacity to state the bleedin' obvious.
Fair enough. Others of you may be mildly interested. Some may even think "I did not know that" - this is for you.

Feel free to add your own discoveries or tips about the D200.

(Nearly all of the following comes from reading the Manual and Thom's guide)

[Greg B]

The AF-ON button

Pretty obvious I guess, but when you press it, the camera auto-focusses and stays locked in until you release it. The half press of the shutter button doesn't refocus.

You can set it so that the auto focus from a shutter button half press is disabled, so that only the AF-ON button makes the focus happen (CSM A6)

[Greg B]

Those bloody Histograms

I have used Histograms a bit, by rote, but I had an "Oh, I see" moment about what they.

It is just a graph! I love graphs.

The x-axis is from darkest (left) to brightest (right)

The y-axis is number of pixels with the value on x

In the general Histogram, the x values are luminance.
In the RGB Histograms, the x vales are the amount of R G or B respectively.

I worried about the values that went out the top (It reminded me of the dreaded clipping in an audio file). But it isn't such a problem.

The big problem is when you have high numbers at the left or right extremities - indicates featureless black or blown highlights.

The subject is complex, and I think an understanding of Histograms and what means what will be useful. I am about to start.

[Michael]

I found the other day you can set the intensity of the flash when you are using it wirelessly with the D200, you couldn't do that with the D70 this is something I was very impressed with.

Each individual channel has this which is really cool.

[owen]

can't you just use the flash compensation on the d70 to do that? I don't have one but have been reading a lot about the speedlights lately.

[gstark]

I found the other day you can set the intensity of the flash when you are using it wirelessly with the D200, you couldn't do that with the D70 this is something I was very impressed with.

Michael,

Could you please expand upon this?

Regardless of the camera, you can set FEC on the SB800, and that works, wireless (ly?) or wired. Are you saying that you can set the FEC on the SB800 from the camera, as distinct from directly on the flash unit?

[beetleboy]

You can control the output of the SB800 from the D70 as well - I often use mine in Manual Mode and use the camera's menus to set the SB800 to 1/4 or 1/8 power. The advantage the D200 has is it can control multiple flash heads as if you were using an SB800 or SU800 as a controller.

[Michael]

I found the other day you can set the intensity of the flash when you are using it wirelessly with the D200, you couldn't do that with the D70 this is something I was very impressed with.

Michael,

Could you please expand upon this?

Regardless of the camera, you can set FEC on the SB800, and that works, wireless (ly?) or wired. Are you saying that you can set the FEC on the SB800 from the camera, as distinct from directly on the flash unit?

In the commander popup flash menu, you can individually set the ev comp on each channel for each flash it's a very detailed little sub menu. I've got to go to work shortly otherwise id take a photo of the menu.

[smac]

The D200 internal flash works like an SB800 on your camera in commander mode. The main difference is that the flashes that it controls must see the light output from the D200 and the D200 can only control 2 groups of remotes (I guess that is 3 if you include the D200 A, B & C). If you want to control more you need the SB800.

There are 4 channels available (Same as SB800)

So the menu lets you control flash output for the commander (D200) and two other remote flashes.

[Glen]

Greg, you have forgotten some of the more obvious things - people will be envious of your new toy, take the piss out of you for being a megapixel junkie, look more critically at your work knowing it was taken with a semi pro body, etc

[sirhc55]

Greg, you have forgotten some of the more obvious things - people will be envious of your new toy, take the piss out of you for being a megapixel junkie, look more critically at your work knowing it was taken with a semi pro body, etc

Then they will realise - Greg! Oh!

[Glen]

[smac]

What I have found and love about the D200 is that is is much smaller than the D2X (and that is the main reason I bought one). But now that I have added the Battery Grip, it is now larger (in height) than the D2X which sort of defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place (back to the drawing board).

Stuart

[Greg B]

Greg, you have forgotten some of the more obvious things

I have only just started

people will be envious of your new toy,

Yay

take the piss out of you

No change from the D70

for being a megapixel junkie

It isn't about the megapixels Glen, it is about status

look more critically at your work knowing it was taken with a semi pro body, etc

Assuming I can get the bloody thing to take pictures

[big pix]

wish I had one......... birdy this is not a request......

[Greg B]

What I have found and love about the D200 is that is is much smaller than the D2X (and that is the main reason I bought one). But now that I have added the Battery Grip, it is now larger (in height) than the D2X which sort of defeats the purpose of buying it in the first place (back to the drawing board).

Stuart

But Stuart, the battery grip is optional, you can remove it. Smaller again!

And there is that thing about the D200 being a third of the price of a D2X.


Reminds me of the exchange between Churchill and a cranky woman
Woman - "You sir, are drunk"
Churchill - "And you madam, are ugly. But in the morning, I will be sober"

[gstark]

Greg,

That would have been Lady Astor, I believe. One of my favourite insults.

[Greg B]

Excellent detail Gary, thanks.

Yes, one of my favourites too.

[johnd]

The AF-ON button

Pretty obvious I guess, but when you press it, the camera auto-focusses and stays locked in until you release it. The half press of the shutter button doesn't refocus.

You can set it so that the auto focus from a shutter button half press is disabled, so that only the AF-ON button makes the focus happen (CSM A6)

One thing that I found is that I can't get the AF-ON button to focus my Sigma 150mm macro lens when mounted on my D200. All my Nikon lenses focus using AF-ON button. The Sigma will only autofocus using a half press of shutter button. Yes, I know, I should be focussing manually with a macro lens, but I still want this to work. Could this be a re-chip required thing?

Cheers
John

[Alpha_7]

John I believe if you do a quick search you should find it is fixed by having the lens re-chipped.

[smac]

But Stuart, the battery grip is optional, you can remove it. Smaller again!

Easy for you to say Greg, but once you have held the D200 with the battery grip if feels soooo nice........(probably not as balanced as the D2X but very nice all the same).

Stuart

[Greg B]

But Stuart, the battery grip is optional, you can remove it. Smaller again!

Easy for you to say Greg, but once you have held the D200 with the battery grip if feels soooo nice........(probably not as balanced as the D2X but very nice all the same).

Stuart

So what is the problem, that the D200 feels too nice with the grip, or that it feels nice but is slightly bigger than the D2X and therefore you feel slightly guilty that it feels nice???

I haven't tried my grip yet - this weekend. Should be nice.

[leek]

I've found a few nice features so far, but I haven't had a lot of time to play yet...

- that you can configure it so that a modelling flash fires from the either the onboard flash or SB-800 when the DOF preview button is pressed...

- that most of the settings that I usually changed by accident are much more difficult to change, either due to locks on the controls, or more complex combinations of keys. Very difficult to accidentally change from A priority to M by accident...

- ISO indication in the viewfinder

- I love the exposure indicator / graph on the top LCD screen

- The ability to selectively zoom in on any area of an image on the LCD screen to check sharpness...

All in all, lots to read and lots to learn... (again)...

I have found something that is slightly worrying (but maybe it's a setting that I haven't found yet...) The AF-Assist light only seems to work when the centre focus point is selected... Could someone else check their D200 out and let me know if it behaves the same???

[beetleboy]

The D70 does the same thing with the AF Assist lamp - I assume it's because the lamp doesn't provide enough light anywhere but in the centre?

[birddog114]

AF assist light only works with centre focus, won't work with other mode.

If you're doubt about it, pass your D200 to me for a week and 'll try it out for you

[leek]

AF assist light is only works with centre focus, won't work with other mode.

If you're doubt about it, pass your D200 to me for a week and 'll try it out for you

You had your chance Birdy, but you chose to pass it on to me on the day that you received it...

[birddog114]

AF assist light is only works with centre focus, won't work with other mode.

If you're doubt about it, pass your D200 to me for a week and 'll try it out for you

You had your chance Birdy, but you chose to pass it on to me on the day that you received it...

Bad luck for me, I wasn't in Sydney on that day.

[leek]

The D70 does the same thing with the AF Assist lamp - I assume it's because the lamp doesn't provide enough light anywhere but in the centre?

Dammit... you're right... How come I haven't noticed that in 18 months of D70 usage and noticed it on the 2nd day of using my D200

[beetleboy]

Always the way! When you got your D70 you probably weren't as thorough checking everything out!

In all honesty, I'd never noticed either and went to check it when you brought it up!!!!!!!

[Nikon boy]

Greg we have GOT to organise a minimeet in Melbourne a.s.a.p i just cannot wait to see you use that new camera and i promise not to laugh or point in your direction whilst sniggering

''trust me i was previously in advertising''

[Greg B]

I have found something that is slightly worrying (but maybe it's a setting that I haven't found yet...) The AF-Assist light only seems to work when the centre focus point is selected... Could someone else check their D200 out and let me know if it behaves the same???

John, The AF-Assist light (or as Thom Hogan calls it "The dreaded built-in Autofocus Assist lamp") also works when you have Closest Subject Priority active. Most of the VR lenses turn it off (exceptions - 18-200, 24-120)

[Greg B]

Greg we have GOT to organise a minimeet in Melbourne a.s.a.p i just cannot wait to see you use that new camera and i promise not to laugh or point in your direction whilst sniggering

''trust me i was previously in advertising''

...or as I used to say to howls of derisive laughter "Trust me, I'm a Bank Manager". For the record, I haven't been able to say that since 1 July 1996.

Yes a meet would be good. Laughing, pointing and sniggering I can cope with. Memories of the first wife, that sort of thing

[whiz]

Hey!
Don't be taking over this thread. Let him keep finding stuff about the D200.

As for Winston Churchill Quotes, I think another of Lady Astor's exchanges went like this:

Lady Astor: Winston, if you were my husband I would flavour your coffee with poison.
Winston: If I was your husband, I should drink it.

But my absolute favourite from Winston was: Nothing is so satisfying than to be shot at without result.

[Greg B]

Processing NEFs and issues with 3rd Party converters

The following is a post from Nikonians. I have included a link, there are a couple of images Jason has used to illustrate his point.

I've noticed a lot of posts here in the D200 forum about people getting sub-optimal images when shooting NEF with their D200s, especially as relates to color, noise, and sharpness.

It's been mentioned before, but this bears repeating:
In-camera settings are only applied to images shot in JPEG mode, or NEFs procesed using Nikon Capture 4.4. If you use a 3rd-party RAW converter, you'll need to make adjustments to your image regardless of how the camera was set up.

Things that you'll definitely need to adjust if you aren't using NC:

Tone curve (contrast, etc)
Sharpness
Noise Reduction (ISO 400 and above)
Color Balance and Saturation
CA removal (if available)

Things you may need to adjust, depending on the converter you use:

White Balance
Hue

Just to show an example, here is the same NEF (ISO 400 from a D2x) processed with Nikon Capture (using just the in-camera settings) and then in Bibble Pro 4.6 (with the default adjustments set to neutral--ie, no auto levels, sharpening, etc.) You can see some clear differences in the way the file is handled.

This is not intended to be a knock on 3rd-party RAW converters (I actually like some of Bibble's features), but rather intended to show just how different the conversion can be if you don't take the time to make some adjustments in your 3rd-party software.

The first two are the full-frame image, followed by some crops of the image at 100%. The edge crops are soft because they are out of the focus plane.

Jason P. Odell
Colorado Nikonian
http://www.luminescentphoto.com

Link to the post

[johndec]

A handy tip I found on the net from Thom:

One throwaway note in the Nikon D200 manual should be
noticed by all: if you’re using a filter that has an exposure factor of one stop or more, use Center-weighted metering
instead of matrix metering. That would, for instance, apply to
polarizing filters.
The reasoning behind switching metering types with strong
filters is simple: the matrix patterns were created using no
filtration. Strong filters can greatly alter what the matrix sees.
For example, a polarizing filter brings down a bright sky value
quite a bit without affecting foregrounds at the same level.
That means that the matrix pattern for “landscapes with sky”
might not be recognized as being the one to use.

[birddog114]

Johndec,
Where's a button to press for a cappucino

[Greg B]

once you have held the D200 with the battery grip if feels soooo nice........Stuart

Stuart, Tried it, love it, you are spot on!

[johndec]

Johndec,
Where's a button to press for a cappucino

Thanks for the idea Birdy, I was wondering what I'd use the "FUNC" button for!!

[Nnnnsic]

Where's a button to press for a cappucino

You've gotta turn the steamer dial, Birdy.



I assume the L means Latte.

[gstark]

That's the new Nikon D200s-presso.

[johnd]

Something strange I discovered with the D200 over the weekend.

The D200 does seem to chew thru the EN-EL3e real quick. Plenty has been written about this already. In my battery grip, with 2 fully charged EN-EL3e's I'd typically get 400-500 shots with LCD review turned on, shooting in uncompressed RAW.

On the weekend I put 6 X 2500MaH AAs into the little cradle that comes with the battery grip and used them. I got well over 2,000 shots and the battery indicator on the D200 is still showing full. LCD review was on. I was shooting go-karts in jpeg fine large for about 2000 shots then uploaded the cards and started again at home and took another 100 or so in uncompressed raw.

I was gobsmacked and cannot understand why there is such a huge difference. Could it be the different type of batteries L-ion V Nimh Could it be raw V jpeg It's got me beat, but next time I go out I'll use the 6 AAs with uncompressed raw to see if I see any difference.

Weird

[beetleboy]

I've also heard 6 AA's in the MB-D200 do the trick..I'm planning on stocking up on AA rechargeable's when my D200 arrives. Was planning on using them as backup but from the sounds of things maybe the EN's will take that role!

[big pix]

Played with Steves Griffin's D200 today...... very nice, it had the battery pack and I found this gave the camera some weight which I liked, it remined me of the F4 with large motor drive come battey pack......... the extra weight would give the camera a lot of stability when shooting slow shutter speeds....... I also found that it was a lot faster with focus compared with the D70 using the same lens...... this baby is on my xmas list

[Alpha_7]

John, Geoff Did some impromptu testing before his batteries arrived with AA rechargables and also AA single use Engergisers. I don't know the final result but I believe there was a lot of variation (first set of rechargeables only took 40 photos) I think the single use went for quiet a while.

[Matt. K]

The D200 uses twice the battery power when shooting RAW. It has something to do with how the camera process all the data.

[gooseberry]

Yep, shooting uncompressed RAW as compared to JPG - you get a big difference in battery life. It's not the processing, but the amount of data written - writing 15MB files vs 3.5MB files. Writing at the speeds the D200 writes at seems to use more power, so larger files will chew up more battery.

[birddog114]

Johnd,
I confirmed the use of battery in uncompressed NEF and compressed NEF or JPEG.

Uncompressed NEF is "power thirsty" and it's alway does.

Not only with the D200, the D2x does it as well if you switch from one to another.

As same as the fuel consumption when you driving a car in low gear and the difference when driving on a freeway

[nito]

A bit off topic, but is there a difference in quality when shooting uncompressed vs compressed NEFs?

[Greg B]

The EL-EN3a is only about 1500 mHa (or whatever it is), whereas rechargeable AAs could be 2300 or 2500. I have an extra 6 rechargeable AAs so they might go in the bag.

Thom talks about battery drain - apart from the NEF thing, the large (and beautiful) screen soaks up some juice. You might find it helps to turn auto review off, it is only a matter of pressing the button next to the screen to get it on when you want it.

I'm going to buy a couple more EN-EL3a anyway, they're only $60 through Birdy, and with four, you are going to be fine. Plus with reasonably careful rotation, they will all last a long time.

[johnd]

A bit off topic, but is there a difference in quality when shooting uncompressed vs compressed NEFs?

I started shooting in uncompressed raw, because it was the "best". To be perfectly honest, I can't tell the difference in quality to compressed raw. Based on 16MB files Vs about 8-10MB files meaning more storage space reqd on card and PC, and more battery power chewed up with uncompressed raw, I'll be going back to compressed raw for most of my stuff and jpeg fine for sports.


Cheers
John