Diego Sahagún wrote:A friend of mine could buy that body for 400€ (550$). I still don't know if it'd be used or not. What would you do in both cases Is it a fair price

I think it must be used but I'm not sure. I've asked him and think he'll answer tomorrow

Does he have the original receipt? If you have the full history of the camera, then it's fine. Nikon will service your camera as long as you have the original receipt (kinda)

OK but I don't think he'd want a used camera with a probably dirt sensor and would prefer to buy a new one. I don't know if he'd receive the original receipt from his wife job coleague anyway

FortMental wrote:

radson wrote:

FortMental wrote:Make sure you don't buy the Asian market camera. The operating system is usually different on those cameras and the warranty will not work for you. These cameras are often found on e-bay and other sites for cheap without mentioning the fact that they were originally made for the asian market.

well the Nikon d200, d300 is made in thailand so i wouldn't worry too much about different operating systems, whatever that means. warranty may of course be an issue but usually, the price one pays for buying second hand.

From PC World:

Gray-market goods: One reason these cameras are so cheap is that some are so-called gray-market (or "International") goods, products that manufacturers intend to be sold cheaply in poorer countries where prices are lower (due to differences in exchange rates and in what the market will bear). But instead of heading to the destination country, the gray-market goods are rerouted to Europe or the United States. Selling gray-market cameras is legal, provided they're identified as such, but buying one is generally not a good idea. You may end up with manuals and on-screen menus in another language, incompatible video ports, or AC adapters set to the incorrect voltage. Worse, most camera manufacturers (including Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Sony) won't honor a gray-market warranty. If the product breaks, you're stuck.

In general photography and mountain gear in Spain is cheaper than in the US. I don't know if my friend's contact bought that Nikon 200D in the gray market. But I think he's fix a good price for him because he is his wife job coleague mate and the camera is some years-old

I bought my Nikon D200 used a few years ago for $750 orso; that was an outstanding deal back then. Unless you trust the person, you are never positive on the condition of the camera. So, if you can have a shop check it out, that would be best.

Yep Luciano, there are many shops that he can check it out here.

Gracias

I would buy it but I just noticed he decided to go new instead.

Maybe he doesn't even need such a 'high end' model? I know mine exceeds my abilities by a long shot for sure.

Diego Sahagún wrote:A friend of mine could buy that body for 400€ (550$). I still don't know if it'd be used or not. What would you do in both cases Is it a fair price

I think it must be used but I'm not sure. I've asked him and think he'll answer tomorrow

I bought my D200 thru best buy (online), paid $650, no regrets, great camera, very ridgid , body made out of magnesium, D300 and newer models are made out of plastic.
No video option, it's only downside i can see, they dont make D200 anymore i think Nikon stoped making this model in 08.
D90 is way to go, cost more money, roughly around $900 but vith HD Video option its a great camera.

FortMental wrote:

radson wrote:

FortMental wrote:Make sure you don't buy the Asian market camera. The operating system is usually different on those cameras and the warranty will not work for you. These cameras are often found on e-bay and other sites for cheap without mentioning the fact that they were originally made for the asian market.

well the Nikon d200, d300 is made in thailand so i wouldn't worry too much about different operating systems, whatever that means. warranty may of course be an issue but usually, the price one pays for buying second hand.

From PC World:

Gray-market goods: One reason these cameras are so cheap is that some are so-called gray-market (or "International") goods, products that manufacturers intend to be sold cheaply in poorer countries where prices are lower (due to differences in exchange rates and in what the market will bear). But instead of heading to the destination country, the gray-market goods are rerouted to Europe or the United States. Selling gray-market cameras is legal, provided they're identified as such, but buying one is generally not a good idea. You may end up with manuals and on-screen menus in another language, incompatible video ports, or AC adapters set to the incorrect voltage. Worse, most camera manufacturers (including Canon, Nikon, Olympus, and Sony) won't honor a gray-market warranty. If the product breaks, you're stuck.

I think more relevant for more lower end cameras fortmental.

Luciano136 wrote:I would buy it but I just noticed he decided to go new instead.

Maybe he doesn't even need such a 'high end' model? I know mine exceeds my abilities by a long shot for sure.

Probably it'd exceed his abilities as well but I think that photography is inveigling him lately. He want to pass from a compact super zoom Sony to a d-SLR

SenadR wrote:

Diego Sahagún wrote:A friend of mine could buy that body for 400€ (550$). I still don't know if it'd be used or not. What would you do in both cases Is it a fair price

I think it must be used but I'm not sure. I've asked him and think he'll answer tomorrow

I bought my D200 thru best buy (online), paid $650, no regrets, great camera, very ridgid , body made out of magnesium, D300 and newer models are made out of plastic.
No video option, it's only downside i can see, they dont make D200 anymore i think Nikon stoped making this model in 08.
D90 is way to go, cost more money, roughly around $900 but vith HD Video option its a great camera.

So would you buy it knowing that its sensor can be dirt Concerning video, when I buy a d-SLR don't think on having it, I only think on the photo processing and results

Diego Sahagún wrote:

SenadR wrote:

Diego Sahagún wrote:A friend of mine could buy that body for 400€ (550$). I still don't know if it'd be used or not. What would you do in both cases Is it a fair price

I think it must be used but I'm not sure. I've asked him and think he'll answer tomorrow

I bought my D200 thru best buy (online), paid $650, no regrets, great camera, very ridgid , body made out of magnesium, D300 and newer models are made out of plastic.
No video option, it's only downside i can see, they dont make D200 anymore i think Nikon stoped making this model in 08.
D90 is way to go, cost more money, roughly around $900 but vith HD Video option its a great camera.

So would you buy it knowing that its sensor can be dirt Concerning video, when I buy a d-SLR don't think on having it, I only think on the photo processing and results

I would ask a shop how much they would charge for the cleaning. I've seen prices vary from $40 to $200. Best is to go with an independent shop, not Nikon themselves.

On a separate note, anyone know if there is any regular maintenance that should be done to a D200 ??

Luciano136 wrote:
I would ask a shop how much they would charge for the cleaning. I've seen prices vary from $40 to $200. Best is to go with an independent shop, not Nikon themselves.

On a separate note, anyone know if there is any regular maintenance that should be done to a D200 ??

Basic sensor cleaning- google has tons but a lot of people endorse the Copperhill method. If you start getting error messages, you can clean your contacts (battery, lens. Again, google is your friend). Also just keep the outside clean in general. You can use a lint free cloth with distilled water to clean the outside. Really though, the things are built like tanks.

The comment above about the D90 being more robust than the D300 is false. The D300, D300s, D700, D200, D3, D3x, D3s are all magnesium bodies with weathersealing. The D90 is a PLASTIC body without the same sealing. Is it more robust than a D40/D60? Yes, but the D90 is still very far behind the D300 in terms of sturdiness. It's also funny that it was noted that the D200 is more robust than the D300, considering the grip available for the D200 was plastic whereas the D300's is magnesium but I digress...

spiritualspatula wrote:

Luciano136 wrote:
I would ask a shop how much they would charge for the cleaning. I've seen prices vary from $40 to $200. Best is to go with an independent shop, not Nikon themselves.

On a separate note, anyone know if there is any regular maintenance that should be done to a D200 ??

Basic sensor cleaning- google has tons but a lot of people endorse the Copperhill method. If you start getting error messages, you can clean your contacts (battery, lens. Again, google is your friend). Also just keep the outside clean in general. You can use a lint free cloth with distilled water to clean the outside. Really though, the things are built like tanks.

Yeah, I haven't really done anything to it. I always store it in its case with the lens attached to avoid dust/dirt making its way in the body.