When the D200 arrived for review I was delighted to have another Nikon body to play with. My current camera is the D2X, and although I tried not to draw comparisons between the two because of the large price difference, it was difficult not to keep referring back to my own camera.

The D200 is a 10.2 million pixel body with a five frames per second (fps) motor drive, a 2.5 inch viewing screen, a depth of field preview button and a ‘pop up’ built-in flash. Programmed, shutter priority, aperture priority and manual exposure modes are all available and most of Nikon’s lenses, including manual versions, will fit this body. There is also an eyepiece dioptre control that enables you to adjust the focusing to your own eyes.

You can choose 3D colour matrix, centre weighted or spot exposure metering (the centre-weighted area can be changed via the custom menu) and image quality is available in RAW (NEF) or fine, normal or basic jpeg. Filming in RAW results in a file size of 15.4 MB, while the highest jpeg setting produces a 3.3-5.4 MB file, depending on how much detail is in the image. A Nikon EN/EL3e rechargeable battery provides power, although AA batteries can be used if the separate battery pack (MB-D200) is fitted.

Those are the facts and figures but, glowing as they are, I still had to put the camera through rigorous tests in the field. I wasn’t disappointed. With a 300 mm lens attached, it felt comfortable in my hands and the controls were easy to reach. The autofocus locked quickly onto birds flying past, with the fps keeping pace and allowing a good number of images to be taken. Using a larger telephoto lens presented no problems and I took a sequence of very acceptable Cormorant images.

I was also impressed by the higher ISO setting of 800, which showed little ‘noise’. Although I normally use manual exposure, I did try the D200 on auto, in both aperture priority and programme modes, and the results were very good. Like all the digital cameras I have used, however, it tended to over-expose slightly. It is possible to compensate for this in the menu via the custom setting, so if you prefer auto exposure you can experiment with the settings.

The large screen makes reviewing the images very easy and the clear protective cover keeps finger marks off the surface. Viewing, deleting and magnifying the images is simple, and you can download images direct from the camera via the lead supplied. Of course, it would be quicker to use a card reader, but considering that I’ll spend two days sorting out the hundreds of images taken, a few minutes spent downloading hardly makes a difference.

I also tried the ‘pop up’ flash while photographing Starlings and was surprised at how handy a feature it is. At close range and using a medium zoom lens, I was able to add a short burst of flash that lit the bird nicely on a dull day. It is a useful built-in accessory, although for bird photography it will be limited to occasions when the subject is close.

This is a top-quality camera giving top quality results and, at much less than the price of Nikon’s top-of-the-range model, I can recommend it to anyone thinking of upgrading from a compact digital or wanting a second body. In fact, I enjoyed using the test model so much that I went out and bought one for myself.