New D60 vs. Used D200

I'm thinking about going SLR underwater ... definitely gonna go Nikon.

I can pickup a D200 with 25K actuations for basically the same price as a new D60.

Any thoughts on one vs. the other?

I'm thinking about going SLR underwater ... definitely gonna go Nikon.

 

I can pickup a D200 with 25K actuations for basically the same price as a new D60.

 

Any thoughts on one vs. the other?

Some thoughts from the Canon shooter

The D60 is still in production, and the housings that fit the D40, D40x also fit the D60. So you can get a back-up for the rig easily, cheaply, and it may hold true for awhile. (I think the D300 works with the D200 housings also, with some mods? There were some threads about that.)

The D60 needs some buttons pressed to get f/stop & shutter for manual shooting, while the D200 has the wheel combo so you can adjust both without going into the menu. I like that especially for above water, but many use the menu system and David Haas (Canon shooter) mentioned he likes the size of the Rebel sizes and the menu is not a big deal to him. Note that the D60 needs AF-S lenses for autofocus (not sure if you had any lenses that you own that you were thinking of using.) The smaller size/weight of the D40-D60 could be worthwhile since some of the housings are a tad smaller but I did not see anything real small (such as the Seatool) but the Aquatica housing is smaller-ish.

Not sure how much the D200 you are looking at costs, but amazon has it (body) for $799.00 new and I would tend to buy that one if you go D200. Having shot D40, D50, D70, D90, D200, D300 a bit overall I liked the mid and higher ends models more and how they felt (I also had a bad D40 I think so take it with a grain of salt.) Jeff has shot the small Nikons, if I recall he got one for his daughter a year and a half or so ago, and somehow wound up using it a bit

I really should just tell you to get a housing for the D700 and make you let me play with that sometime

Well ... I just managed to sell my whole G9 kit, so this has crossed the line from idle speculation into a full-blown case of upgrade fever.

I am definitely tempted to house the D700.

Just go for the D700!!!! you know you want to.

Well ... I just managed to sell my whole G9 kit, so this has crossed the line from idle speculation into a full-blown case of upgrade fever.

 

I am definitely tempted to house the D700.

Can't wait to try it out if we get to Dutch Springs or something

Hmmm. That was a bit of an enbaling comment.

Try to chill until you need one for the next trip but start looking. Shopping for the stuff is as much fun as getting it.

Yeah - I'm in no rush.

I've got a D200 and Ike case available. $1500 for both. I've got three bodies. I'm sure I've got two with less than 25,000 activations.

There are many good reasons to own a D700. I'm not convinced it's the best choice for U/W.

I shoot about 1000 pictures in air for each one underwater, so YMMV, but I'd pick a good used D200 unless the D60 can do:

• commander flash mode for SB-600, SB-800, etc.
  
• interval shooting, programmable
  
• useful bracket shooting (exposure, WB, with selectable increments)
  
• menu-adjust to work well with ALL Nikon lenses, even old ones
  
• vertical grip & extra battery is a nice option too
  

I like the weather seals on the D200, too.

But of course maybe none of that matters to you, in which case the D60 might be the one.