D200 Compact Flash card: Looking for some insight . I've owned a Nikon D200 since 2006. It's been a great camera and still is. Have been using a San Disk 2gb compact flash card since...

gfox333 Loc: Bloomington In.

Looking for some insight . I've owned a Nikon D200 since 2006. It's been a great camera and still is. Have been using a San Disk 2gb compact flash card since probably 2008. Have had zero problems. Today, I made a stop at one of the local pawn shops and found a mint looking D200 in its original box. It was a body only, no charger, no flash card.... I go out and pull the flash card and charged battery out of my camera, install in the shop camera to check it out, and it works fine! I make the purchase for $75, stop at the local best buy for a new compact flash card... a san disk 32 gb. Go back out, install in my new camera and it wont work! Has a flashing "CHN" code. The manual says the card is not Nikon compatable. I take the new card out of the "new" camera and put it in my old camera and it works fine. Again I put my old 2gb card in the new camera and it works fine. What can the difference be in the two cards?

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

gfox333 wrote:

Looking for some insight . I've owned a Nikon D20... (show quote)

The first thing I would check is whether the firmware in the "new" D200 is current. I had a D200 bought new at about the same time as yours, and it would accept CF cards only up to 4 GB until I installed a firmware update some time later. A quick look at the Nikon website indicates that the latest version available is "A:Ver.2.01/B:Ver.2.01." These date to 2008. Even with that update, there will be some limit on the size memory cards that the camera can use. I cannot remember whether that limit is 16 GB or 32 GB.

gfox333 Loc: Bloomington In.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. It must be 32 GB. The new card works in the old camera.

gfox333 Loc: Bloomington In.

Well that's not it... camera already has the 2.01 update

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

gfox333 wrote:

Looking for some insight . I've owned a Nikon D20... (show quote)

I would buy another Brand other than SanDisk
Such as Kingston, or Transcend. And make sure it is not more than 16gb. I have a Lexar 4gb SD card from 2009. Works in my current three cameras. It is strange the CF card works in one camera and not the other. I remember a friend had a SanDisk flash drive, that wouldn't work in his older desktop computer. Another Brand did work. Format the CF card in the computer, if possible. And camera. Good luck. I wouldn't want a D200, but the price of $75 is a steal.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Ok. Well...that would have been the easy solution. Seems like I recall someone else running into this once before. I'm going to have to stretch my memory to remember if there was a solution. Perhaps in the meantime someone else will chime in...

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

mas24 wrote:

I would buy another Brand other than SanDisk br Su... (show quote)

The D200 is a great camera. The CCD sensor can do some wonderful things with color that CMOS sensors struggle to do. I wish I had mine back.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Cameras that old typically can't use cards larger than 8 GB. Someone with an actual D200 may tell you it supports only even smaller. You might find it useful to visit the Nikon site and download a PDF copy of the camera manual where Nikon typically has a section on approved memory cards.

gfox333 Loc: Bloomington In.

As I said before the 32GB card works in my older d200 but not in the new one

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

CHG_CANON wrote:

Cameras that old typically can't use cards larger than 8 GB. Someone with an actual D200 may tell you it supports only even smaller. You might find it useful to visit the Nikon site and download a PDF copy of the camera manual where Nikon typically has a section on approved memory cards.

I remember using at least a 16GB card after doing a firmware update. So it makes sense that a 32GB card should work also. But I vaguely remember that not all D200s would work correctly with larger cards even after the update.
I don't recall that the manual was ever updated.

BVBob Loc: Tri Cities, Wa.

Just a thought, have you tried formatting the new card using the in camera formatting option?

dandi Loc: near Seattle, WA

I used to have D200 for several years before I sold it, every time I look at the images taken with it I miss my D200. Recently I came across d200 in excellent shape in original box with everything in it for $140. I bought it and now I enjoy my favorite camera. So you got a very good deal.
To your question. First I would reset the camera to factory settings. Then I would try to format the card. If camera would not do it, do it in the computer. If still no luck, use the new card in your old D200 for a while and then format it and try the card in “new” d200, but I would try camera reset first. Hope you’ll fix it.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

larryepage wrote:

The D200 is a great camera. The CCD sensor can do some wonderful things with color that CMOS sensors struggle to do. I wish I had mine back.

The D300 is a better camera. And I wouldn't want that camera either. To each his own. I'm sure you can find one on eBay or KEH.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

mas24 wrote:

The D300 is a better camera. And I wouldn't want that camera either. To each his own. I'm sure you can find one on eBay or KEH.

Yes...from a camera standpoint, the D300 has distinct advantages over the D200...less noise, significantly more and better menu options and flexibility, and the D300s uses dual memory cards. Other cameras have distinct advantages over the D300. I have a couple of them. But I also still have and use both a D300 and a D300s when I need smaller images or just when I don't want to carry a more expensive camera.

But you miss the point. The CCD sensor in the D200 naturally offers unique and very attractive and pleasing image characteristics that are difficult to approximate with newer cameras which all use CMOS sensors.

And while I understand that for any of several reasons you might not choose to use a D300, the truth is that it can create images that are indistinguishable from those of newer cameras, up to image sizes of 11x14 or so. It is a perfectly serviceable camera for a photographer on a tight budget or for a photographer who just doesn't feel the urge to buy every new thing that comes along.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

larryepage wrote:

I remember using at least a 16GB card after doing a firmware update. So it makes sense that a 32GB card should work also. But I vaguely remember that not all D200s would work correctly with larger cards even after the update.
I don't recall that the manual was ever updated.

Ok...a little more info...I dug out and powered up a D200 that I got in a box of "stuff." I don't use it because somewhere along the way it's flash circuitry got blown out. Neither the on camera nor any external flash will work. I've held on to it thinking about having an IR conversion done and actually forgot that I still had it.

It has also been updated to the latest firmware, but will not use the larger memory cards . I can force a format, but it times out without finishing and the shutter release freezes up, even though "Demo" mode is enabled.

I know that the camera I let go works with large cards, because it had one installed and functioning when I gave it away. So apparently there are two groups of these cameras...some that will upgrade and some that will not.