With my father getting my D40, I had to get another Nikon to keep the Nikon fit lenses "live". After hesitating a lot between the D40X (for not getting exactly the same D40), the D80 and the D200, I decided for the D200 because it was a significant upgrade from the D70 and it uses compact flash cards unlike the D40 and D80.
I haven't used it much as I got it only a few hours ago. The build quality is very nice, same for the viewfinder. The shutter is very smooth compared to the Canon 30D. The ergonomics are very good.
It is not easy to use and I will spend the night reading the manual :) There is no mode like portrait, landscape etc. The autofocus setting is huge. So not user friendly as the D40 for now but I will learn quickly ;)
Like for the Canon 30D, there will be probably a new version coming out soon but I am happy getting these "old" versions at 60% of their original price (with the cash back with the Canon and a free Nikon Capture NX software with the D200). Both cameras should handle 100,000 shots without problem.

Congratulations and hope your dad enjoys the D40! Looking forward to seeing your photos once you've got to grips with the instruction manual :)

Lol its like christmas every few weeks for you at the moment! Congrats on the camera (and all your other new stuff) :)

Congratulations!!!!!!!!:D

Thank you :)
I did some tests today just before it started to rain.
A flying duck:
http://www.photoboard.eu/photography/showphoto.php?photo=2496
A dragonfly:
http://www.photoboard.eu/photography/showphoto.php?photo=2497
I have only one Nikon lens here in the UK (beside the broken 18-70) and it is the Sigma 70-200 f2.8.
I still haven't figured out all the autofocus settings. This is going to take a long time...

After taking many photos with the Sigma 70-200 and the D200 I noticed many photos were blurry. I wondered if it was because of the huge autofocus setting that was maybe wrong or if it was because of the 10 megapixels (it is easier to get blurry photos with 10 megapixels than with 6) and I finally found out it was the lens that was wrong.
That lens works well on the D70 and on the D40 but not on the D200. At f2.8 the photos are blurry, at f4 they start to be decent and it looks it is only from f8 photos are very sharp. So much for a fast f2.8 lens!
The defaults don't show up with 6 megapixels where photos taken at f2.8 just appear "soft" while they are fully blurry at 10 megapixels.
The current Sigma 70-200 DG Macro appears to do well on the D200 but mine is two versions old.

What are you going to do now with this lens?Could you give it back and get another version?

Olly, congratulations on the new camera! I had no idea that 10 megapixels would blur more than 6 megapixels. That's definitely something I will have to remember when I upgrade.

What are you going to do now with this lens?Could you give it back and get another version?

I do not think it is a faulty lens. It is probably just not good enough with a 10 megapixels sensor. I can't give back to the store as I got it several years ago now and it was also a gift. I will leave it to my parents because it works very well with the D40.
If I get another version, it would probably be the Nikon 70-200 because it has an image stabiliser. I love the one on the Canon 300mm.

Olly, congratulations on the new camera! I had no idea that 10 megapixels would blur more than 6 megapixels. That's definitely something I will have to remember when I upgrade.

Thank you. 10 megapixels would not blur more than 6 megapixels if you use a tripod, but if there is some camera shake a 6 megapixels would forgive more than a 10 megapixels. It is often recommended to use a higher shutter speed with a 10 megapixels.

Thank you. 10 megapixels would not blur more than 6 megapixels if you use a tripod, but if there is some camera shake a 6 megapixels would forgive more than a 10 megapixels. It is often recommended to use a higher shutter speed with a 10 megapixels.[/QUOTE]

I see. Thank you for explaining that as it is always good to know. It is going to be a long time before I do any upgrading but I like not having to worry about a bunch of surprises later down the road.:)