OKAY.... I'm a new owner of a Nikon D200. I decided to heed your
advise
regarding new glass and also purchased a lens [ AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor
18-70mm
f3.5-4.5G IF ED]

It didn't break the bank.....


The 18-70 was the first new glass I had in years. It's often called the
"kit lens" as it's packaged with several Nikon bodies. But don't let
that fool you. Any review of the 18-70 speaks highly of it. My far more
expensive 18-200VR is really no better across the same focal lengths.


It is an awesome camera. Thanks for the link to Nikonians. Now... is there
any way I can assign a macro to place the time and date to the photo
from
the data? I understand it has programmable options..... but nobody can
tell
me if time & date stamping is an option or programmable or can be
achieved
in another manner.

In spite of owning the thing for a few months I can't answer that. I've
just been shooting with it. Here are a few tips:

1) The default sharpening on the D200 is mild and expects you to
sharpen in post. It's a subjective thing, but some folks feel the in
camera sharpening could be stronger. I find it just fine.
2) The D200 is VERY vulnerable to poor technique. All those pixels will
translate to subtle motion blurring that will make images soft. Work at
it and you'll soon bet getting sharp images.
3) The D200 is not the best high ISO machine, UNLESS you really nail
exposure, so take special care at higher ISO's as the camera is not
forgiving. I'm hoping the D80 is better in this respect. Nikon's best
high ISO cameras are the D2H and D50


I'll let you know how it performs in a few days

Have fun and take your time. All of these DSLRs are power tools...

http://members.aol.com/bobsprit/images/posetweby.jpg

RB