Buy a D2X now or wait for D200?

[Mitchell]

I am a budding amateur with a D70. I am really intrigued by many of the features in the D2X including the fast AF and accurate WB. My only concern is the size and heft of the D2X especially when loaded with my new 28-70, f2.8 beast.

The big question is should I buy the D2X now or wait for a D200 down the road? Any thoughts on this? Anyone think the D200 will have the big. bright viewfinder of the X? Any projections on the release date of the D200?

Thanks,
mitch

 

[greyflash]

Anyone think the D200 will have the big. bright viewfinder of the X? Any projections on the release date of the D200?

Thanks,
mitch

We can only hope.

 

[hillrg]

Hi Mitch

You are correct - the D2X has considerable "heft". However, this acts to balance the weight of a larger lens, such as the 28-70. Whether you get the D2X or wait for the D200 is only something you can decide. Even if the D200 is announced in September, it will be quite a while before it is manufactured, and you need to consider whether you want one of the "first" ones.

I can tell you that you will love the D2X, and once you have used the professional camera, you will find it difficult to go back to the D70.

 

[Rich Gibson]

Mitch,
The concensus seems to be that 1 Sept. Nikon will announce the D200 along with some other things. There is a possibility that the D2X' price could be slightly reduced. I'd wait till mid-September to make the decision.

Rich

 

[Removed User 1]

Mitch,
The concensus seems to be that 1 Sept. Nikon will announce the D200 along with some other things. There is a possibility that the D2X' price could be slightly reduced. I'd wait till mid-September to make the decision.

Rich

I have a *real* source for Nikon information and he said that several new lenses will be introduced with the D200.
Whatever is coming, it should be here shortly.

 

[Bill]

If you are happy with your D70, then I would wait until September to see what may be announced. However, is you have the money and desire to buy a D2X, there is no need to wait. Although the D200 should be an improvement over the D100, I am not sure it will be a significant improvement over the D70.

Bill

 

[triangular]

I nearly purchased a D2X but decided not to for now. I'll tell you all the issues I kept thinking about in my decision.

I bought a D2H maybe 6 months before the D2X was released. I feel I was really burned on that because I paid $3,200 for it, then Nikon released not only the D2X but also dropped the D2H and released the D2Hs! This act severely depreciated my investment, and left me with no upgrade path other than to eat the huge loss, a much bigger loss if I were to then purchase the D2X for another $5,000, and sell my D2H for nothing near what I paid for it.

The price of a D2X will likely drop with the release of a D200, which itself will cost considerably less than the D2X now. From all the ramblings I hear, the D200 will probably be the ideal camera for many of those who are buying the D2X now, only because there is no other comparable model to choose from. If you still want a D2X later, I would expect more used models to end up for sale by that time as well, and it still won't be an old camera. Already I'm seeing the price down to $4,500 with some vendors.

If you have all those MP of the D2X, what kind of computing equipment do you have? It will take a significantly more powerful CPU, hard drive space and RAM in your computer to work with files that are so much larger with more detail. Photoshop and other editing programs will eat up much more system resources in the editing phase. If you only work with the JPGs to get around this issue, then you've just purchased a high resolution camera to output files similar to any other camera you might be using now. I know many people will disagree with me on that, but if you dont have the computing power to work with the RAW NEF's it produces, then what's the point really?

All first issues seem to have problems. The D2H has the light meter issue that will almost certainly happen to every D2H at some point in time. Right now the D2X has it's focusing issues. Nikon is making D2X repairs a priority, but its not an uncommon problem. The D70 has its GBLOD, becoming more and more well known. If the D200 does have it's own problems, at least we can expect it shoudln't inherit any of these known issues from other models with similar circuitry.

If you don't mind spending the money for a D2X now, knowing a D200 could be everything you need in the D2X at a much reduced price, then by all means buy it. But you should realize you will probably lose a significant amount of your financial investment after the release of the D200. People that have a true need for the D2X and its MP now, who are earning a significant living from their photography should not wait. But that's the only reason I can see for doing it, if you already have something that is working for you right now.

 

[Luckynp]

I made the decision last week and bought the D2X. Even if the D200 is announced on 1st September it will be many months before it is obtainable in the UK and I didn't want to wait any longer.

I found that once I started considering getting a D2X instead of waiting, the thought of having the top of the range pro body became impossible to resist. Now I have it, it feels really good in my hands and I don't regret the decision at all. It has so much more than just more pixels and I can't believe that Nikon will put out a camera which will compete with the D2x at a much lower price when it is less than a year old.

I've read many posts about focus issues. I've had my D2X for 3 days now and took it to a horse racing meeting today. I've had a quick look at the results and instead of the many OOF pics others have reported I seem to have many more keepers than I had on my last race meeting with the D70. So far I am more than happy with my decision.

 

[JeffKohn]

I found that once I started considering getting a D2X instead of waiting, the thought of having the top of the range pro body became impossible to resist. Now I have it, it feels really good in my hands and I don't regret the decision at all. It has so much more than just more pixels and I can't believe that Nikon will put out a camera which will compete with the D2x at a much lower price when it is less than a year old.

My sentiments exactly. Purchase the D2x two weeks ago and have absolutely no regrets. I will be a little bit annoyed if the D2x price drops considerably after the D200 but honestly I'd be surprised if that happens. I'll also be surprised if the D200 ends up being a D2x in a F6 body like some people are hoping. I think it likely that there will still be signficant advantages for the D2x than just frame rate and an integrated vertical grip.

Still, now that it's pretty much a sure thing that the announcement is coming in a few days, it can't hurt to wait for the announcement to see if the D200 will be missing any features you want.

 

[Chris101]

Hiya Mitch, I just looked through your on-line portfolio. What exactly isn't the D70 doing for you?

ps, I predict the d200 viewfinder will be better than the D70's but not as good as the D2x's.

 

[Uncle Frank]

Hiya Mitch, I just looked through your on-line portfolio. What exactly isn't the D70 doing for you?

Oh, drats. Does this have to be a rational decision? If so, all I need is a used d70 for a backup. But that won't be any fun :frown:.

 

[Simon]

Nikon is close to releasing a new camera. I'd wait a few days if I were you.

The way things are going these days, high end prosumers cams have 80% of the functionaliy of the pro models that cost twice as much.

I had a D2H and now a D2X - in some ways, I wish I still had my D2H and used the $$$ difference for other things .... like a decent upgrade to studio lights.

It's been said before but best to get the right tool for the job and not go overboard at the expense of another area.

 

[Mitchell]

Chris,
Thanks for looking! I'm not really sure what I'm missing by not owning the D2X. I can only say that I would like to have a vertical grip and release. I hear that the auto white balance is superior (the D70's major weakness in my mind). I would also like the faster and more accurate autofocus and larger view in the finder. The extra resolution wouldn't hurt either!

Are all of these things worth $4,000?

mitch

Hiya Mitch, I just looked through your on-line portfolio. What exactly isn't the D70 doing for you?

ps, I predict the d200 viewfinder will be better than the D70's but not as good as the D2x's.

 

[triangular]

The D200 will most likely have all those things. You can get them now in the D2H and D2Hs (except the 12MP part). BTW a D2X is still $4,500, lowest I've seen. Usually its $5,000, but I haven't seen it at $4K yet.

 

[Johnnymg]

I am a budding amateur with a D70. I am really intrigued by many of the features in the D2X including the fast AF and accurate WB. My only concern is the size and heft of the D2X especially when loaded with my new 28-70, f2.8 beast.

The big question is should I buy the D2X now or wait for a D200 down the road? Any thoughts on this? Anyone think the D200 will have the big. bright viewfinder of the X? Any projections on the release date of the D200?

Thanks,
mitch

Depends on what you're looking for.

Big-heavy high performance camera with all the bells and whistles ............ (minus built in flash): D2X

Trimmed down semi-high performance camera with nearly all the bells and whistles + built in flash: D200 The current rumors imply that the VF of the D200 will be pretty darned good............. as compared with the D70. This is the main complaint when people discuss built-in flash.

Warning: don't underestimate how big and bulky the D2X/H are. I had a D2H and did not like the big-bulky feel of the camera. Very difficult to pack for any trail and bicycle use (which is what I use my cameras for). Also, I found the 'nerd' factor (due to the size) a bit to high for me. :tongue: That being said, 8 FPS is very appealing............ and the D200 will not have that. :frown: If you need/want 8 FPS you will have to go the D2 route.

Regards
JohnG

 

[Mitchell]

Thank you all for this great discussion. At this point I've decided to wait until the D200 is released to make my decision. If the viewfinder is a big improvement over the D70, I suspect I would make the jump to the D200.

In the meantime, if I see a decent price on a lightly used D2x, I may not have the self control to wait for the D200. :wink:

Thanks again,
mitch

 

[fjp]

Hi Mitch

You are correct - the D2X has considerable "heft". However, this acts to balance the weight of a larger lens, such as the 28-70. Whether you get the D2X or wait for the D200 is only something you can decide. Even if the D200 is announced in September, it will be quite a while before it is manufactured,.

Actually if it is announced September 1, they have probably already started to manufacture it, or close to it. But it will be months before it hits the store.

and you need to consider whether you want one of the "first" ones.,.

I think it's a very smart thing to be one of the first in line. The first batch is always very carefully made and adjusted, because Nikon wants the reputation of the new camera to get off to a good start. I noticed in particular the first batch of D70's and D2x's had outstanding receptions with very few complaints. It's only the subsequent few batches that seem to have problems, as they are more rushed to get into the field. Personally I was one of the first to get both a D70 and a D2x and both of them were perfect.

I can tell you that you will love the D2X, and once you have used the professional camera, you will find it difficult to go back to the D70.

This is so true. Before I got the D2x my plans were only to use it for "serious" work, that I would continue using the D70 for casual work at parties and family gatherings. I've hardly touched my D70 since getting the D2x, it handles so much better in every respect.

 

[Keith]

Looks like you couldnt control yourself...............look forward to hearing your first impressions with your new D2x!! congrats

 

[mca]

why wait

mitch,
If you have the doe to buy a d2x now why wait? Even if a new D-model comes out I don't think it's going to be the KING like the D2X!!! NO WAY!!
All The Best mike :wink:

 

[dbirdsong]

Not this year

Friday morning I was talking to a friend that works for Nikon about the Nikon school and he told me as he has in the past right now Nikon's big push is on to sell D50's.
That make a lot of sense from a business point of view.
Profits are made in volume , and they have a great camera in the D50 and right now they are going to milk it for all it is worth has the Christmas Season is about to arrive.
My guess is that they will sell 5-10 D50's for every D200 made, and the D50 sales are going to be mostly new buyers with maybe 15% as second cameras. That mean more sales of lenses and speedlights.
The D200 is going to be a replacement camera for most and those people have already bought the glass and the speedlights.
While he has never mentioned the D200 to me (nor should he) he has mentioned that there are going to be some really cool things at PMA in January.