Thalassamania:
D200 for $699.00
Am I missing something concerning this deal?
Is there a reason that I should consider the D40 except for the price?
Unfortunately there are more scammers selling camera gear than just about anything else I can think of.
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/bestpricecamera
Compare any price you see on the net to one of these reputable authorized dealers. If the price is alot lower than them there is a reason:
www.bhphotovideo.com http://www.resellerratings.com/store/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio
www.buydig.com
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/BuyDig_Beachtr
www.beachcamera.com
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Beach_Camera_Beachtr
I've bought from B&H and Buydig. Beachcamera is the sister company of Buydig but the prices between them vary a bit. All have great reputations in the photo world.
CametaCamera on eBay is also very good:
http://stores.ebay.com/Cameta-Camera_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm
They sell what they call Nikon sales demo's, (they are actually Nikon factory refurbs) and I believe you get a 1yr Cameta store warranty. A family member of mine bought his D200 and 28-70mm f2.8 from them and was very happy.
In regards to the D40 the primary advantage would be price, but its also smaller and lighter so if the housing is made well this would keep the overall size down. It also has a big bright 2.5" LCD like the D200. If your planning on using any manual focus or screw drive lenses, then don't get one as it doesn't have features the D200 has for metering with manual lenses and doesn't have a focus motor in the body.
I still think the D40 with an 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 Nikon lens would work great. The 18-70 is available used on eBay for about $200 and is an excellent lens. If you need wider then I'd reccomend the Sigma 10-20mm lens, it has HSM focusing (like Nikon's AF-S) and is available new for about $400-450. My brother-in-law has one and its awesome.
The difference in shutter lag between the D200 and D40 is small and I can't see why 2.5fps wouldn't be plenty for UW use. I've never used a manual focus lens UW but it seems like it would be a bit tricky anyway so I'm not sure this is a disadvantage. Don't overlook a used Nikon D70, when my brother-in-law moved up to a D200 he sold his like new D70 and 18-70mm lens for about $550.
You mention lower resolution on the D40 (the D50 and D70 are also six megapixel), I'm on my third DSLR but did not upgrade to get more resolution. My original Canon 10D was six megapixel, I considered that plenty then and still do now. A well exposed/low ISO 6mp shot can be upsized in Photoshop to make a nice print at up to 20x30 inches if the glass used was good and the photographer did his part (topside shot). The megapixel race on P&S digicams is one reason that most of them have noise problems at ISO's higher than 200, Fuji makes the only exceptions. The DSLR's have fared better with their larger sensors but ever higher resolutions present the same issues for them too. The smaller the individual photosites on the sensor, the harder it is to keep the noise down.
If you have the money for a Nikon D200, a metal housing, and big strobes go for it. I just think there are cheaper (and probably smaller) alternatives that will produce equal results. The D200 is a great body and although I'd prefer it to be just a bit smaller and lighter I love mine.
Hope this helps, good luck with whatever you choose!
