Main advantages over the D40, D40x, D50, D60 and D80 cameras include: Compared with Nikon's professional cameras, mainly the D2Xs, the D200 lacks an integrated vertical battery grip, longer battery life, and some minor features.

The D200 was also often compared with the Canon EOS 5D, but these two cameras were intended for somewhat different uses – unlike the 30D or 5D, the D200 has weather sealed buttons, allowing it to be used in more demanding outdoor environments.

The camera won the TIPA 2006 award for Best Digital SLR in the Expert category.

The D200 is often used as a backup body to supplement the high-end professional line of cameras because of its similar feature-set and control layout.

It also has two command dials for adjusting various settings, e.g. aperture and shutter speed, and an AF-on button.

Unlike its predecessor model, the MB-D100 for the Nikon D100, the MB-D200 does not feature a voice recording facility.

Although physically similar to the MB-D200 on the outside, the transmitter can only hold one battery, compared to the vertical grip's two.