Hi all

I replaced my E300 olympus 50-200mm F2.8 lens for my D200 & 18-200mm VR zoom. I have to say that i'm not impressed with the quality of image i'm getting now. I don't know if its the camera or lens?

How do people on here feel about their equipment?

I can't speak for the 18-200, but I will say that with any new piece of equipment there is always a learning curve. I'm sure there are many D200 users who would be more than happy to offer tips and suggestions over on the D100, D200, D300 forum.

FWIW, I currently own a pair of D200's and I love the images I get with them. The D200 has its limitations (high ISO issues being one of them), but overall it produces stellar images.

Is your 18-200 an older copy, in other words the first generation, versus the newer VRII model? The D200 is now two generations out of date and that lens (if it was the first version) gave only moderately good results. A good number of people complained about it.

In general you will find folks here very happy with their equipment, but they generally have more up-to-date equipment than that combination. I would not be happy going back to a D200 and that lens after three years with the D700, now the D800, and more contemporary lenses.

Larry Miller, Annapolis, MD
D700/D800
http://www.pbase.com/lmmiller9
http://lmmillerphotography.smugmug.com/

>Is your 18-200 an older copy, in other words the first
>generation, versus the newer VRII model? The D200 is now two
>generations out of date and that lens (if it was the first
>version) gave only moderately good results. A good number of
>people complained about it.
>
>In general you will find folks here very happy with their
>equipment, but they generally have more up-to-date equipment
>than that combination. I would not be happy going back to a
>D200 and that lens after three years with the D700, now the
>D800, and more contemporary lenses.

I realise its not upto the minute stock, but it's hardly an antique. It roughly the same age as my old E300 maybe 18 months newer. I bought this combination as i felt it was a step up from the standard 18-55mm / 70-200mm kit lenses that often come with these bodies.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7190/7073802327_4a8f1025b8.jpg
jugs by sj.godfrey, on Flickr

Wooden jugs

Image from my D200 + 18-200mm

Can you post some sample shots?

The 50-200mm f/2.8~3.5 covers a smaller image circle and smaller range of focal lengths than the 18-200mm, yet sells for approximately twice the price. The D200 is an older camera than the E300 as well. So I would expect the E300/50-200mm combination to outperform a D200 18-200mm under some scenarios. What percentage, I really couldn't say, but I doubt I would have made the trade you did.

The easiest way to determine if either the lens or the camera has an issue is swapping. If a different camera performs well with the 18-200mm, then it's worth checking the camera. If a different lens performs well with the D200 then it's worth checking the lens.

One easy step to take is to clean the sensor. Unlike your E300, the D200 does not have a sensor cleaning function.

I've never owned the 18-200mm and only used one briefly. But I bought a D200 shortly after they came out and until a few weeks ago it was my primary camera. I'm generally happy with my Nikon gear; it's not perfect but it's far better at it's job than I am as a photographer.

If you want to photograph a man spinning, give some thought to why he spins. Understanding for a photographer is as important as the equipment he uses. - Margaret Bourke-White

Hi I dont have any useful shots around at the moment as i have been using my Sony P&S compact. It gives a far sharper image than this camera.

The reason I went to Nikon was because of the lens availability. Olympus 4/3 fit lenses are like hens teeth and very expensive, however I found the results were always sharp and had great colour.

I'll take a few shots over the weekend and post them up ASAP.

Haven't worked out how to paste an image into the thread DOH

>Can you post some sample shots?
>


Hi If you look in my gallery on the wooden jugs and small glass vase these were taken with the D200 + 18-200 VR lens

I'd be interested in what you think

Thanks

Unfortuntately, neither photograph contains EXIF information which tells us camera settings at the time of exposure. If you can upload those items, it would be more useful to diagnostic efforts.

From first blush, neither photo is exhibiting objectionable traits. The problem you're seeing is that the lighting the subjects are in is pretty flat, especially in the case of the glass vase (hint - clean the window if it's going to be your background ). The vase and subsequently the flowers have no depth and therefore are pretty indistinguishable from the larger window pane.

The jugs are a slightly different story - the foreground is pretty dark, and the background is well illuminated. If this is artificial or natural lighting, you'd want it to be more of the reverse. The fill flash that was fired (evident from the specular highlights on each jug) was too directional and harsh. Ideally, you'd want a two point lighting on this subject. If you're limited to the one flash, you'd want it more diffuse and less directional.

I took the liberty of sprucing up the photos in CNX2 and PS, but really, these aren't good examples of what the camera can do. Have you tried nominal daylight photography? Even a generic landscape when the sun is relatively low in the sky would tell us more about whether the equipment is properly working.

"Toodle-loo from Covey22!"

-Armando
Nikonians Team
Nikonians News - Fresh Everyday!

The Covey Blog!

My Plan:

Get out of the car.
Get closer to the subject.
Pick the right mid-tone this time.

See My Nikonians Gallery

Attachment #1, (jpg file)
Attachment #2, (jpg file)

Hi Covey22

Thanks for the reply, don't get me wrong, i'm not basing the camera on my limitations of taking a photo, I just seem to think the images are soft compared to my olympus + 50-200 lens.

The two shots were quickly rushed as i had 10 mins to kill so i quickly fired off a couple of shots to show what i meant.

I'll try and sort out the exif data

Thanks

You used the term 'soft' twice in this thread. The D200 and maybe the D100 had the strongest antialising filters of any Nikon camera. The D100 lower resolution makes it difficult to be sure. In any case, photos from the camera are soft. Nikon seems to have assumed the pro would prefer to start soft with no morie and then sharpen to taste. The D200 can be sharpened a lot more than other cameras.

I sharpened the *heck* out of the D200 photos and much less with the D2H (4mp), D2X (12mp), and D3S (12mp).

Daniel McGowan
Visit my Nikonians gallery.

That could be well what I need to do. A lack of experience with the camera doesn't help. It appears this camera doesn't teach you to suck eggs and you either have to know it or learn it....