What's Your Favorite Nikon CCD Sensor Camera (and why)?

[BruceSD]

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I love the colors produced by older CCD sensor cameras.

I currently own the following Nikon CCD cameras:  D200, D80, and D60 (four copies).  They all have the Sony 10.2MP CCD sensor in them.  I understand that the D40X also has that sensor in it too.

I have not owned these cameras very long, but based on my research (and the limited shooting I've done with them) I tend to prefer the D60.  Why?  Because:  of it's smaller size/weight,  after reviewing thousands of images posted on Flickr by these cameras I "favored" far more D60 images than the other two, and the D60 seems a bit sharper as it has a less aggressive AA filter than the other two cameras.

I also plan to purchase the following additional cameras that also have this same Sony 10.2MP CCD sensor in them  -  Sony A200, Pentax K10D.  I hope to conduct some side-by-side testing of these 5 cameras in the future (and if there's enough interest, I'll post my results/conclusions here).

What's Your Favorite Nikon CCD Sensor Camera (and why)?

Thanks,
Dave in Wisconsin USA

[Birna Rørslett]

D200 and D40x would on the top, probably. in particular the D40x was a little darling of a camera and it took a lot of beating in the field without much complaints.

[MEPER]

I have only tried one camera with CCD and this it a Coolpix 990 with 3.34 MP sensor. I used it recently just to try it out as I got new rechargeable batteries for it. I liked the results. I think it is the vintage look of the colors. It looked a bit like I remember the Kodak Ektar 100 negative film. But a CCD sensor that old can be very different from a D200 sensor and also the internal processing of the images can be very different. I have seen very nice D200 bodies for about $100 and this body was very well built. But I have never owned one. A couple of CP 990 images from a few days ago. They were also posted in the "Obsolete camera" thread. I think high ISO performance was not their strength.

[golunvolo]

D200 for me. I only have one and it is modified fir infrared only but I have used onother for a long time and I love it. An I miss it...

[John Geerts]

D200 for me. I only have one and it is modified fir infrared only but I have used onother for a long time and I love it. An I miss it...

D200, but actually the Fuji S5 Pro (in a D200 body)  I like more

[Øivind Tøien]

I have D200 and D40x, and I would say that unmodified the D200 wins image wise.  I still very much like the images from the time I used it. It has started ailing and become unreliable - perhaps not seen enough use lately, possibly allowing corrosion of contacts.


NIKON D200, f/8 @ 20 mm, 1/125, ISO 100


I think the quality of the AA filter was somewhat lower in the D40x, and Nikon picture controls did not give as good colors without some tweaking. However converted to IR-720nm my D40x really shines with the AA filter gone and replaced by the IR pass filter. It is still my only IR body and keeps working well after seeing a lot of abuse. I also like the small size, as an IR body is usually carried together with a larger unmodified body. It is also possible that lenses are less prone to hot spot in IR with D40x, for instance the 12-24mm.


NIKON D40X IR-720, 300mm f/4 PF @ f/4, 1/30, ISO 100

[MEPER]

Has anybody tried a D2H/D2Hs?
I read an article some years back when it was still an old camera. The author was very happy with this camera and he liked "fat" pixels. It has a 4.1 MP JFET-LBCAST DX sensor and should be own design by Nikon.
I like JEFTs especially from Toshiba but this is for input stages in audio amplifiers. But maybe JFETs also "sings" in image sensors.
Don't think a LBCAST can be called a CCD but maybe it is the "fat" pixels that are attractive?
The "C" in LBCAST stand for "Charge" so they have "a little" in common.

[HCS]

Has anybody tried a D2H/D2Hs?
I read an article some years back when it was still an old camera. The author was very happy with this camera and he liked "fat" pixels. It has a 4.1 MP JFET-LBCAST DX sensor and should be own design by Nikon.
I like JEFTs especially from Toshiba but this is for input stages in audio amplifiers. But maybe JFETs also "sings" in image sensors.
Don't think a LBCAST can be called a CCD but maybe it is the "fat" pixels that are attractive?
The "C" in LBCAST stand for "Charge" so they have "a little" in common.

Yes, D2H. I tried to use it just yesterday, but it seems to have died on me.

I liked it very much. It was my first digital, it handled everything with aplomb and the "measly" 4 mpix gives more quality than one might expect (as long as one exposes correctly). Also, it is the only previous technology camera i have owned (moved to D300, D3s, D810 and D850 after that). I wouldn't know whether or not it would classify as CCD. I do confess i am a nerd, but i am not a techie.

[Birna Rørslett]

I think there still is a D2H on the premises -- used it as a studio cam until approx. 2 years ago so it had a very long working life.

[Zang]

How does D200 compare to D300 in term of color rendition? I briefly had D200 when it was first released and I vaguely remember that the colors were more natural than the ones from D300.

Cheers,
Zang

[golunvolo]

I went from the d200 to the d300 and remember, apart from speed and iso capabilities, that the d200 was prone to clip the reds more easily. Still I love those colors. I have to confess also that it was my first ever camera so I was and still are in love with her.

[BruceSD]

How does D200 compare to D300 in term of color rendition? I briefly had D200 when it was first released and I vaguely remember that the colors were more natural than the ones from D300.

Cheers,
Zang

Thanks everyone for your comments and photos. 

I owned a D300 for many years.  I never cared for its' colors, however I do love the colors I'm getting from my earlier Nikon cameras with 10.2MP CCD sensors.  Because I no longer own the D300 I can not do any direct comparisons.

[OCD]

I still have my D40 and 35mm 1.8G DX attached to it, although I rarely use it I'm still fond of it and will take it out upon occasion.  I'm fine with the color rendition of my D7500 and D750 and I use DxO Photolab to process Raw files.

The nice thing about the D40 these days, is that a current program such as DxO and processing RAW files can bring the camera back to life so to speak, the D40 is still capable of making nice images.

[Akira]

I enjoyed D40 very much, because it allowed shoot both in UV and IR without modification.  Of course, it didn't perform as brilliantly as the dedicated modified cameras, but that was an added bonus in the true sense of the word.

I wasn't particularly aware of the uniqueness of the color rendition of CCD sensor, but I sometimes look for a D3000 body to make sure of it.  I look at D3000 because it was the very last Nikon DSLR with the CCD sensor and it is compact.

I know that the UV/IR-cut filter in D3000 is so efficient that it won't allow UV/IR shooting, but in this case, I'm interested in the color rendition under visible light.

[OCD]

I enjoyed D40 very much, because it allowed shoot both in UV and IR without modification.  Of course, it didn't perform as brilliantly as the dedicated modified cameras, but that was an added bonus in the true sense of the word.

I wasn't particularly aware of the uniqueness of the color rendition of CCD sensor, but I sometimes look for a D3000 body to make sure of it.  I look at D3000 because it was the very last Nikon DSLR with the CCD sensor and it is compact.

I know that the UV/IR-cut filter in D3000 is so efficient that it won't allow UV/IR shooting, but in this case, I'm interested in the color rendition under visible light.

Not sure if it matters, but the D3000 uses the Picture Controls menu for rendering JPEGS, while the D40 uses the Optimize Image menu.   When I first bought the D40 (2009) was just returning to photography as a hobby, it was my first DSLR, and I shot JPEGS.  In recent days, when I use the D40, as mentioned, I shoot Raw and am pleased with the images.  It's a real nice camera in its simplicity.