Overview
While most of the features and components are borrowed from the D7000, the D600 is physically larger in size and comes with a brand new 24.3 MP CMOS sensor. And as you will see on the next pages of this review, with a native ISO range of 100-6400, the Nikon D600 provides pretty clean images throughout the ISO range for both daylight and low-light environments. Built to be affordable, it does not have the same robust autofocus system used on the D800 and D4 cameras, so it comes with an older 39 point AF system used on the D7000. Its shutter speed is limited to 1/4000th of a second and its flash sync is also limited to 1/200th of a second, which might be a disappointment for some photographers out there. However, it has 100% viewfinder coverage, 5.5 fps speed, which is faster than the D800′s 4 fps and has the same 3.2″ LCD monitor with 921,000 pixels used on the latest Nikon DSLR models. And movie fans will be delighted to see impressive 1080p video with uncompressed HDMI output.
Nikon has clearly taken an aggressive pricing strategy with the D600, although some may have been expecting a price of $1,500, which was widely circulated on a number of photography forums. While outgunned by both Nikon D800 and Canon 5D Mark III relative to specifications, at only 60-70% of the price, the D600 represents a significant value. The camera is sure to attract a large number of customers that have been holding off upgrading their D700s, but also those who have been on the fence between the DX and FX camps, and put off by the higher costs of FX DSLRs. With the recent announcement of the Nikon 24-85mm VR lens, Nikon has signaled that it intends to bring value-priced FX lenses to the market to compliment the camera. And with the almost simultaneous announcement of the similarly priced 6D by Canon, the Nikon D600 now looks even better with its better features and sensor technology.
1) Nikon D600 Specifications
Main Features and Specifications:
- Sensor: 24.3 MP FX
- Sensor Size: 35.9 x 24mm
- Resolution: 6016 x 4016
- DX Resolution: 3936 x 2624
- Native ISO Sensitivity: 100-6,400
- Boost Low ISO Sensitivity: 50
- Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 12,800-25,600
- Processor: EXPEED 3
- Metering System: 3D Color Matrix Meter II with face recognition
- Dust Reduction: Yes
- Weather Sealing/Protection: Yes
- Body Build: Magnesium Alloy
- White Balance: New White Balance System
- Shutter: Up to 1/4000 and 30 sec exposure
- Shutter Durability: 150,000 cycles
- Storage: 2x SD slots
- Viewfinder Coverage: 100%
- Speed: 5.5 FPS
- Exposure Meter: 2016 pixel RGB sensor
- Built-in Flash: Yes, with Commander Mode, full CLS compatibility
- Autofocus System: MultiCAM 4800FX AF with 39 focus points and 9 cross-type sensors
- LCD Screen: 3.2 inch diagonal with 921,000 dots
- Movie Modes: Full 1080p HD @ 30 fps max
- Movie Exposure Control: Full
- Movie Recording Limit: 20 minutes @ 30p, 30 minutes @ 24p
- Movie Output: MOV, Compressed and Uncompressed
- In-Camera HDR Capability: Yes
- Two Live View Modes: One for photography and one for videography
- Camera Editing: Lots of in-camera editing options with HDR capabilities
- GPS: Not built-in, requires GP-1 GPS unit
- Battery Type: EN-EL15
- Battery Life: 900 shots
- USB Standard: 2.0
- Weight: 760g (body only), 850g (with battery and memory card)
- Price: $2,099 MSRP
A detailed list of camera specifications is available at NikonUSA.com.
2) Camera Construction and Handling
While the Nikon D600 does not have the same full magnesium-alloy frame like the D800 or D4, it still has a tough body covered with magnesium alloy on the top and the rear of the camera, as seen in the below image (the MB-D14 grip is attached in the photo):
Some photographers are spreading rumors that the Nikon D600 will have a problem with heavy lenses like Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR, developing a potential issue with the lens mount over time. The argument is that a heavy lens like 70-200mm would bend the plastic and cause alignment issues. You have to use common sense when mounting heavy lenses like Nikon 70-200mm on any camera body. There is a reason why the 70-200mm and longer/heavier lenses have tripod mounts. You should never let a heavy lens dangle off the camera mount – you are just asking for trouble when doing that. I don’t even do it on my Nikon D3s, which is built like a tank. Will plastic bend if I let the D600 support a heavy lens? It might a little, but it will typically go back to its original shape. Whereas if metal bends, you know it stays there. Another thing to keep in mind, is that metal will expand and shrink when temperatures change drastically, whereas plastic has a much higher tolerance in comparison. So there are pros and cons to using both plastic and metal in camera equipment and there is no such thing as plastic not being able to handle heavy lenses. Just use your common sense and handle heavy lenses properly.
In addition to tough construction, the Nikon D600 is also weather-sealed. This means that the camera should be able to survive in light rain, dust and humid environments without getting damaged. So far I have taken the camera to cold, rainy and humid conditions and it passed the survival test. Here it is, after getting exposed to about 5 minutes of light rain:
Once I got home, I let it dry out and it worked without any problems afterwards.
Handling-wise, the camera is excellent. True, it does not have the same soft rubber grip from the D800, but it is still pretty comfortable to hand-hold. The front of the camera looks almost identical to the one on the Nikon D7000, with two programmable buttons and the same flash, bracket and lens release buttons, along with the AF/M switch. The left top dial is also borrowed from the D7000, while the rest of the layout on the top resembles the Nikon D800.
The control layout on the back of the camera resembles the D800 more than the D7000 – five buttons on the left of the LCD, same Live View and Info buttons, a smaller multi-selector button with a lock. Like on all lower-end DSLRs, the AF-ON button is not there, so if you want to be able to focus and recompose, you will have to program the AE-L/AF-L button for focusing. On a negative note, the center button on the multi-selector dial cannot be programmed like on high-end DSLRs. This is a bummer for me, since I am very used to being able to zoom in to 100% view instantly without having to press the zoom in button many times. On the D600, you will have to press the zoom in button 8 times to get to 100% view! I don’t understand why Nikon decided to strip this important feature from all lower-end DSLRs, since it can be easily programmed to the camera firmware.
The memory card door is designed exactly as on the D7000 – you slide the door out forward and it opens up to the side. There are two SD card slots that can be set in 3 different configurations: Overflow, Backup and RAW/JPEG. I typically use the Overflow configuration since it gives me two cards to write to, but if I am shooting a commercial project, I switch to Backup. The same with the battery door/battery compartment – like the D7000/D800, it is also designed with a safety holder that prevents the EN-EL15 battery from falling down when the door opens.
One big thing I noticed right away when firing my first test shot with the D600, is how quiet its shutter/mirror movement sound. If you own a Nikon D700, D800, D3s and similar cameras, you know how loud those cameras can be. The D600 is way quieter in comparison and that’s without using the special “Q” (Quiet) release mode! When photographing wildlife, especially wild birds, I always wished my cameras produced less noise, since the very first exposure typically scares the heck out of them. The D600 has a nice quiet sound, similar to the D7000 and some Canon DSLRs.
3) Viewfinder Size
While many of the camera controls and the general layout on the camera are borrowed from the D7000, the full frame sensor on the D600 requires a much larger mirror and pentaprism, which means that the viewfinder is much bigger in comparison to any DX camera, including the D7000. How big is the difference, you might ask? It is huge! Once you look through the viewfinder on the D600, you will quickly realize what you have been missing on your DX camera. Size-wise, it is as big as the viewfinder on the Nikon D800!
One of the major concerns from our readers has been the spread of the autofocus points inside the viewfinder. While AF performance and accuracy are discussed in detail under the “Autofocus Performance” section, let me shed some light on this topic here. True, the autofocus points on the D600 are tightly squeezed in a much smaller area compared to the D7000 – that’s a given, since the viewfinder is so much bigger. If you compare the D300s to the D700/D800, the difference is very similar. However, if you compare any full-frame Nikon to the D600, you will see that the AF area is actually not much smaller in comparison. Take a look at the below viewfinder comparison:
As you can see, the difference in AF area coverage is not as bad as some think when compared to other Nikon full-frame cameras. If you are upgrading from the D7000, however, you will surely notice the difference between the two. If you are used to composing your images with far left/right focus points, then you will have to learn the “focus and recompose” technique, something many DX shooters have to learn when upgrading to FX.
4) Camera Menu System and Ease of Use
The camera menu system very much resembles all other Nikon DSLRs, but there are some great features and fixes worth talking about. One major advantage of the D600/D7000 cameras over all higher-end Nikon DSLRs is a working user preset system. Unlike the dual Shooting Menu and Custom Settings Banks system that doesn’t work (I leave those blank on my D800E and D3s), Nikon uses a much better user preset system on the D600/D7000. You have two programmable presets on the camera: U1 and U2 (accessible from the camera dial), which work perfectly for customizing the cameras for different needs. I set up my D600 for two presets – Landscape (U1) and Portraits (U2). When photographing landscapes, I always shoot in Manual Mode, with Auto ISO turned Off (ISO set to 100), 14-bit RAW, AF-S in Single Focus mode. So I programmed all those settings to U1 (Tip: if you want to set your U1/U2 presets to anything other than Program Mode, start in the desired camera mode like Aperture Priority, then Save user settings to U1/U2). For photographing portraits, I prefer shooting in Aperture Priority Mode, Auto ISO turned On (ISO Sensitivity: 100, Max Sensitivity: 3200, Min Shutter Speed: Auto), 12-bit RAW, AF-C in Dynamic Focus mode with 39 AF Points. I saved all these settings to U2. The beauty of this user preset system, is that when I photograph landscapes, I simply rotate the left top switch to U1 and I do not have to go into the camera menu for anything else. When photographing people, I switch to U2 and I am all set. Very simple and straightforward. I do not understand why Nikon does not implement this very useful preset system on high-end DSLRs – the dual bank system is plain stupid and useless in comparison.
If you are upgrading from the Nikon D7000, you will love the enhanced Auto ISO feature that was first implemented with the D800/D4 cameras. When selecting the “Minimum Shutter Speed”, you now have an option called “Auto”, which will automatically set the minimum shutter speed to the focal length of the lens. For example, if you are shooting with a 50mm lens, the minimum shutter speed will be set to 1/50 of a second. If you can handle slower shutter speeds, you can set “Auto” to be 1/2 or 1/4 the focal length of the lens. Or if you have shaky hands, you can set it to 2x or 4x the focal length of the lens. Think of “Auto” as -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, similar to exposure compensation in full stops. If your focal length is 50mm, your “Auto” setting would look like this: 1/13, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200. The default would be 1/50, but if you go one step slower your shutter speed would be fixed at 1/25 of a second, while going two steps faster would increase the minimum shutter speed to 1/200 of a second. Many of us have been asking for this feature for many years now and I am very happy with this implementation, although I hope Nikon takes it a step further, by automatically compensating for VR as well.
Just like the Nikon D800/D800E/D4 cameras, the Nikon D600 also comes with an advanced “Exposure Delay” mode with up to 3 second delay (d4 in Custom Setting Menu) that can be used in conjunction with “Self-Timer”. For example, you can set the Self-Timer to 5 seconds and turn Exposure Delay on with a 3 second delay. Once the shutter button is pressed, the camera will wait for five seconds, raise the mirror, wait for three seconds, then open and close the shutter, then put the mirror back down. This will prevent pretty much any sort of camera shake – equivalent of using mirror lock up (MLU) mode with a cable release. I have not taken my cable release out since I have been using the D800, since this combination does an excellent job.
5) Camera Sensor
Without a doubt, the most important feature of a digital camera today is its image sensor. You could put the most advanced autofocus and metering systems with a boatload of great features into a camera, but at the end of the day, they are all more or less secondary – the sensor performance is still looked at first. Things like resolution, dynamic range, color depth and ISO performance are all tightly related to the sensor and its physical size. The Nikon D600 surely does not disappoint when it comes to its sensor performance. As I have previously reported, the superb 24.3 MP FX sensor on the Nikon D600 was rated second after the D800/D800E by DxOMark. Take a look at the below comparison:
The D600 has almost the same color depth and dynamic range as the D800, which is incredible. Some people think folks at DxOMark are Nikon fanboys and they accuse DxOMark for favoring Nikon cameras over Canon and other brands. The reason why I point out DxOMark ratings, is because my observations more or less match theirs when comparing digital sensors. Take a look at my Nikon D800 Review and see the “Camera Comparisons” section, where I show how I tried to recover data from a shadow area from both the D800 and the Canon 5D Mark III. As you can see, dynamic range on the D800 is clearly better, just like DxOMark says. I am planning to do a similar comparison with the Canon 6D when I have it in my hands later this year. Going forward, I am planning to start assessing the dynamic range and color reproduction of cameras myself (hardware and software to do that is on its way). It will be interesting to see how my findings will compare to DxOMark’s, especially when doing cross-brand comparisons.
I tried to recover shadows on both the D600 and the D800 and I was able to get about the same amount of detail from both cameras. Hence, I have the same conclusion as folks from DxOMark in terms of dynamic range performance. The colors are also superb – I cannot see any difference in color rendering and skin tones between the D600 and the D800. As for low-light performance, the D600 also seems to handle high ISOs as good as the D800, as shown on the next page of this review.
6) Quality Assurance and Autofocus System
Before I talk about the autofocus performance of the Nikon D600, I would like to first point out a few things. After the whole Nikon D800 Autofocus Fiasco we witnessed earlier this year, many photographers are now very cautious of potential autofocus issues on new Nikon DSLRs. I promised to investigate any potential AF issues on the D600 as soon as it was announced. To be able to get a more or less good sample variation, I decided to get at least three D600 units for testing. One unit I purchased for myself, another unit was taken on a loan from our friends at B&H and the third unit was borrowed from a friend. I spent some time testing all three and I can happily report that none of these units had any serious autofocus issues like the D800. All 39 autofocus points worked well in phase detect AF. There was a very slight autofocus variation on the first unit, but it was well within the acceptable norm (dialing +3 in AF Fine Tune took care of the issue). I also checked out the alignment of AF focus points, which were good on all three cameras. It seems like Nikon did a much better job with the AF system on the D600 in terms of QA.
This is not to say that all Nikon D600 units are good. As I have previously pointed out in other articles, shipping and other factors can affect the performance and accuracy of the phase detect AF system. That’s why I always recommend to check your camera for potential autofocus problems within the within the 30 day return period. If anything is wrong, you should either return the camera, or send it back to the manufacturer for re-calibration.
As for quality assurance and other potential issues, while I do not see any technical problems with the camera, some of the units were shipped with dirty sensors. Two out of the three units I tested had plenty of dust on the sensor, as seen from the image below:
This is from a brand new D600 unit. I mounted the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G lens on it and snapped an image at f/16 pointing to a white wall. Gladly, sensor dust is an easy issue to deal with for me, so I do not consider this to be a deal breaker. I used the Giottos Rocket Blower on the sensor a couple of times and most of the dust was gone. However, I am not happy that Nikon shipped these units without cleaning them during the QA process. Dust is a normal fact of life in photography, but it is not very common to see this on a brand new camera. This is not the first time I have seen this happen lately – the Nikon D5100 I tested last year had some nasty residue on the sensor, which I unfortunately only noticed after coming back from a photography trip, so many of my pictures were spoiled.
If you do not know how to deal with dust issues, check out the “Photography Tips for Beginners” page, where you can find tutorials on maintaining camera gear and cleaning sensors and lenses. I also have a video tutorial on how to clean a DSLR sensor in less than 5 minutes.
7) Autofocus Performance
As I have already pointed out, I have received a number of requests from our readers, asking me to thoroughly assess the autofocus performance and accuracy of the Nikon D600, especially when compared to the Nikon D800/D4. Since the D600 uses a very similar phase detect AF system as the Nikon D7000, the big question is if there is any AF performance difference between the two. I split the answer to multiple sections, since people are considering the D600 for different environments.
7.1) Autofocus Performance: Daylight
In daylight situations, the AF performance of the Nikon D600 is excellent. I was able to obtain accurate focus on my subjects most of the time and I honestly could not tell a difference in AF performance between the D600 and the D800. I used lenses like Nikon 24mm f/1.4G, Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II – all worked very well without any issues. Daylight conditions are not really a challenge for most modern autofocus systems though – even entry-level DSLRs like Nikon D3100 do quite well when there is plenty of light. It is obviously a different story when photographing fast moving subjects or in low-light environments.
7.2) Autofocus Performance: Low-Light/Indoors
All AF systems start to suffer in low light situations, simply because very little light gets to the phase detect sensor (as explained in my “how phase detection autofocus works” article). In my experience, autofocus systems in full-frame cameras always seemed to outperform autofocus systems in cropped-sensor cameras, especially in low-light situations. For example, I had a lot more “keepers” with the Nikon D700 than I did with the Nikon D300/D300s. Since Nikon reused the 39-point AF system from the D7000 (MultiCAM 4800) on the D600, my first task was to see if there is any difference in AF performance between the two. After testing the AF system of the D600 alongside the D7000, I came to the conclusion that the MultiCAM 4800FX AF system is more accurate than the MultiCAM 4800DX AF system on the D7000, especially in low-light situations. While AF speed seems to be about the same on both, the D600 does not hunt for focus as much as the D7000 does and the hit/miss ratio is much better.
7.3) Autofocus Performance: Wildlife and Sports
I had a chance to do a rather demanding test on the Nikon D600′s AF system, photographing Colorado wildlife. I wanted to see if the camera would be suitable for photographing sports and wildlife, since many of our readers have asked me to do that in the review.
I started out photographing birds first. Small birds can be tough to photograph, since they move constantly and they fly fast. My primary subjects were Clark’s Nutracker and Steller’s Jay – both were very active, so they were perfect for testing the speed, responsiveness and the reliability of the AF system of the D600. I started out in AF-C mode, Ch release, Dynamic 39 points and Focus Tracking with Lock-On set to 3 (Normal). Focusing on perched birds was very reliable and I got a lot of keepers. I even used other focus points in the extreme corners while composing my shots and the images came out in perfect focus. However, the moment a bird would take off, I had a hard time tracking it in flight with my Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR (hand-held), since they were too fast. Very often they were too close and too fast, which made it harder to get anything in the frame and in focus. Gladly, I was not the only person having this problem – Tom was standing right next to me with his Nikon D4 and Nikon 500mm f/4 VR and he was having similar issues. So I knew it was not the camera at fault.
Having photographed birds with the Nikon D3s before, one thing that I really enjoyed about the D600 was its new Auto ISO implementation with an “Auto” value for the “Minimum Shutter Speed” (previous generation cameras do not have this feature). When photographing birds, I set my shutter speed to be double the speed of the focal length and it worked out great. And when I needed to go faster than that, I set the “Auto” value to +2 (Faster) and my shutter speed would be tripled (3 full stops), giving me enough speed to get fast action. The nice thing about this setting, is that I went back and forth between 200mm to 400mm and the shutter speed would be compensated automatically. At 300mm, setting Auto to +2 would give me 1/1250 shutter speed, which was often good enough for birds in flight. However, when I needed to go faster, I would switch to a desired shutter speed instead. I turned off VR most of the time, since my shutter speeds were fast enough.
As you can see from the images here, the Nikon D600 did really well with perched birds. All images posted here are very sharp and you can see individual feathers on birds at 100% view (none of the images were taken to Photoshop – these are crops out of Lightroom, with little sharpening applied upon export). Both the D4 and the D600 had a hard time tracking fast little birds in flight with Dynamic AF, so Tom and I both switched to 3D AF mode, with Focus Tracking set to 1 (Short). We then both started to get some shots of birds in flight in focus and the hit/miss ratio started to get better. My biggest challenge was to try to keep birds within the smaller AF zone (which is smaller on the D600). Overall though, the Nikon D4 still had the edge as far as AF performance and accuracy in my opinion. But I cannot say that the D600 was much worse either – it performed surprisingly well in this environment.
After photographing birds for about an hour, we took off to take some pictures of bighorn sheep and elk:
The detail level on each image is very high. Take a look at the below image of the Male Elk:
And here is a 100% crop:
Lastly, I took a couple of pictures after sunset of a running female elk. The first image was shot at ISO 3200 and the second one was shot at ISO 1600. Both images have plenty of detail and very acceptable noise levels.
If you shoot at higher ISO values, you might want to run some noise-reduction before you down-sample the image to get the best results.
Overall, I am quite impressed by what the D600 can offer to sports and wildlife photographers. While the AF system is not as robust as the one on the D4/D800, it is still a very good AF system that is far better than the one on the D7000 in my opinion. I have not performed any tests with Nikon teleconverters, but I am sure they will work just as well. More to come, since I am planning to visit Bosque Del Apache later this year and use the D600 for bird photography there!
7.4) Autofocus Performance: Landscapes
The Nikon D600 does quite well for photographing landscapes, but you do not really have to worry about AF performance/accuracy for landscape photography. If you shoot on a tripod, I would rely on the much more accurate contrast detect using Live View mode instead. You can also switch your lens to manual focus and use Live View while zoomed in to 100% to get the most accurate focus (see more on the Live View implementation below). During my fall landscape photography trip this year, I mostly relied on contrast detect via Live View for sunrise/sunset shots when I mounted the D600 on a tripod. During the day, however, I focused normally hand-held with Phase Detect and everything worked as expected.
8) Lens Selection
Many of our readers that either bought the Nikon D600 or are planning to buy one, have been asking about what lens(es) to get for it. While the D600 definitely has plenty of resolution, you should not be concerned about lens performance, since I found many lenses (including many budget options) to work extremely well on it. If you own DX lenses, now might be a good time to get rid of them, unless you are keeping your DX camera as a backup. While DX lenses work on FX cameras, shooting in DX mode is a waste – you are throwing away more than half of the data! It is like putting a cap on a Ferrari so that it does not go over 30 mph on a 60 mph highway. Good FX lenses do not have to be expensive – instead of using a mediocre Nikon 18-200mm superzoom, get a 50mm prime and you will be much happier. Sure you will lose the zoom versatility, but that prime will make you a better photographer.
If I were to decide what three lenses to buy first for the D600, I would go with: Nikon 28mm f/1.8G (for wide angle/landscapes), Nikon 50mm f/1.8G (for everyday photography) and Nikon 85mm f/1.8G (for portraiture). And if I wanted to get a zoom, I would buy the Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR. All these are superb value lenses that I highly recommend. There are many more budget lens choices out there, including some of the older Nikon AF-D and manual focus lenses for a wide range of photography. As for the kit Nikon 24-85mm VR lens, personally, I would not buy it because I would not want to use it on my Nikon D800E. However, it does an OK job on the D600 and it comes discounted when purchased as a kit. So if you cannot afford to get the 24-120mm VR, you might want to get the 24-85mm VR kit lens and some or all of the primes I mentioned above.
9) Metering and Exposure
Unlike the Nikon D4 and the D800 that have a brand new and sophisticated 3D Color Matrix Meter III exposure metering system with a 91,000-pixel RGB sensor, the Nikon D600 comes with an older and simpler 3D Color Matrix Meter II system with a 2,016-pixel RGB sensor – the same one used on the Nikon D7000. As I have pointed out in my Nikon D7000 Review, the metering system on the D7000 tended to overexpose images, especially when photographing people. Looks like Nikon might have tweaked the D600 a little, because I do not see the same exposure problem anymore. Most photographs of my kids came out properly exposed and did not need additional tweaking. However, the metering system is definitely not as good as the newer metering system used on the D800/D4 cameras. My Nikon D800E meters pretty much spot on whatever I throw at it and I rarely have to dial exposure compensation to get what I want. I definitely have to resort to exposure compensation more on the D600, which is expected.
10) Shooting Speed (FPS) and Battery Life
The Nikon D600 can shoot at 5.5 frames per second, which is pretty impressive, considering the fact that it has to process 24 megapixels of information. In comparison, the Nikon D700 with a 12 megapixel sensor was limited to 5 frames per second (without a battery grip), the Nikon D800 can only shoot up to 4 frames per second (thanks to its massive 36.3 megapixel files) and the Canon 6D is limited to 4.5 frames per second. So I find the 5.5 fps speed to be pretty reasonable for the D600. It strikes a good balance – not super fast to compete with the D4, but not a slow crawler either. The bigger concern is not so much the shooting speed, but how long the camera can last without filling up the buffer.
Here is a comparison table of camera buffers between Nikon D7000, D300s, D600, D700 and D800:
| Nikon DSLR | Speed | Buffer Capacity | Shooting Time | Image Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikon D7000 | 6 FPS | 15 Images | 2.5 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
| Nikon D300s | 7 FPS | 20 Images | 2.85 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
| Nikon D600 | 5.5 FPS | 27 Images | 4.9 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
| Nikon D700 | 5 FPS | 26 Images | 5.2 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
| Nikon D800 | 4 FPS | 25 Images | 6.25 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
| Nikon D4 | 10 FPS | 98 Images | 9.8 Seconds | 12-bit Compressed RAW |
As you can see, aside from the crazy fast Nikon D4, the D600 is ahead of all other Nikon DSLRs with a 27 image buffer, which equates to close to a 5 second continuous shooting time, twice as much as what the Nikon D7000 can do. One of the biggest complaints from sports and wildlife photographers was the short buffer on the Nikon D7000 compared to the Nikon D300s. As evidenced from the table above, while the D600 is slower than the D300s (5.5 fps vs 7 fps), it will actually last twice longer when shooting 12-bit compressed RAW files before the buffer fills up. Hence, the D600 could be more suitable for sports and wildlife photography where length of shooting time is sometimes more important than the speed of capture. Another key difference is in resolution – the Nikon D600 gives more options for cropping than the Nikon D300s.
As for EN-EL15 battery, I find 900 shots on a single charge to be plenty for any kind of photography. Those that need more can get the MB-D14 battery grip, which will allow using two EN-EL15 batteries for twice the capacity. I am very happy that Nikon is sticking to the same battery on many cameras. With the D600, there are now a total of 5 cameras that have the same battery: Nikon D7000, D600, D800/D800E and Nikon 1 V1. I love the fact that I can use the EN-EL15 battery interchangeably between the D800E and the D600, and I do not have to carry an extra charger with me when I travel.
11) Dynamic Range
As I have already stated, the dynamic range on the D600 is superb – even better than most medium format cameras. While I have not done any scientific measurements to evaluate the dynamic range of the D600 yet, I trust DXOMark when it says that the D600 can go as far as 14.2 EVs, which falls just a tad short from the Nikon D800′s 14.4 EVs of dynamic range. I have tried recovering shadow details from RAW files and I was amazed by how much I can pull out of them. There is so much information stored in those 14-bit RAW files, that you can easily restore overexposed and underexposed parts of the image, as long as they are not completely blown out. Dynamic range is the highest at ISO 100 and gradually goes down as you increase ISO. My field tests are showing that shooting between ISO 100 and 800 is quite acceptable without heavy loss of dynamic range. Anything beyond ISO 800 will decrease dynamic range dramatically.
Examples of dynamic range recovery with a comparison to Nikon D800 will be posted shortly.
12) Live View
The Nikon D600 comes with two live view options – one for photography and one for videography. You can switch between the modes by moving the live view lever on the back of the camera. The photography mode is similar to the previous “tripod” mode on older DSLRs – you cannot record video or audio, but you can zoom in and out, track objects / faces and acquire focus using contrast detect. The video mode is used for recording video, so you will see microphone record levels and other video-related features.
Unlike the ugly interpolated live view on the Nikon D800, the D600 has a good 1:1 pixel level Live View mode. To be honest, I do not understand why Nikon chose to screw up Live View on the D800/D800E. It makes it far more difficult to obtain critical focus on the D800/D800E than on the D600 when zoomed in. I am glad the D600 is not crippled the same way and I am still waiting for the moment when Nikon releases a firmware fix to the D800/D800E with a proper Live View implementation.
13) Movie Recording
Similar to the Nikon D800, the D600 also features impressive movie recording capabilities. It can record 1080p videos at up to 30 fps and 720p videos at up to 60 fps using the H.264/MPEG-4 codec. There is a built-in mono microphone for recording sound and you can connect an external microphone via the external stereo microphone jack on the side of the camera. As specified by Nikon, the D600 is also capable of outputting uncompressed video feed via HDMI (just like the D800 can), which makes it a potentially great camera for recording videos. However, there is currently one serious bug that affects the uncompressed video output via HDMI – the Nikon D600 outputs only 95% of the image, giving a black frame around the video (the D800 does not have this problem). If you are serious about videography, keep this in mind, since you will have to scale the video to around 105% in post-production to get rid of the black frames. Hopefully Nikon will address this issue in the next firmware release of the D600.
As for the quality of videos, while I have not really experimented much with video recording (I am not much into video yet), the D600 makes very impressive 1080p videos at high ISOs. I recorded a couple of sample videos at home of my kids at ISO 1600 and 3200 and I was very impressed by the lack of noise. At ISO 6400, there was some noticeable grain, but it is very tolerable in my opinion. The rolling shutter effect is still noticeable when moving fast. When recording videos, the Aperture setting is locked to whatever it was before the Live View button is changed; there seems to be no workaround for this at the moment.
See the next page to see more examples of D600′s ISO performance, along with comparisons to Nikon D7000, D700, D800 and D3s.
ISO Performance
14) ISO Performance at low ISOs (ISO 100-800)
Setup Information:
- White Balance: Auto, changed to Custom, Temp: 4500, Tint: +25
- EXIF information is preserved in the images
- Focusing was performed through Live-View Contrast Detect
- Long exposure NR: Off
- High ISO NR: Off
- Active D-Lighting: Off
- Image Format: RAW, 14-bit Uncompressed
- Imported images into Lightroom 4.2 and normalized to 12 MP resolution
- Lightroom export: sRGB JPEG Quality 90
- Cameras were mounted on the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II sitting on a Gitzo tripod. Focal length was adjusted for the D7000 (DX) to have the same field of view as on FX.
Let’s take a look at how the D600 performs at low ISOs. Here are some crops at ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800:
The images look very nice with no noticeable noise between ISO 100 and ISO 800.
15) High ISO Performance (ISO 1600-6400)
High ISO performance is a very important measure of DSLR sensor quality for low-light photography. Here is how the Nikon D600 performs at high ISO levels between ISO 1600 and 6400:
Every step up in ISO adds a slight amount of grain. Shadow areas start to get impacted at ISO 3200 and some noise is added at ISO 6400. Getting rid of noise at very high ISO levels would require a more selective noise reduction algorithm, so software like Nik Software Dfine would have to be used for best results. See my “Photo Noise Reduction Tutorial” for examples of selective noise reduction.
16) High ISO Performance “Boost” (ISO 12800-25600)
Nikon D600 has two extra ISO “boost” levels – ISO 12800 and ISO 25600 for extreme situations. Let’s take a look at these:
ISO 12,800 adds quite a bit of noise compared to ISO 6,400, but thanks to down-sampling, the detail level is still pretty high. Even at noisy ISO 25,600 there is still plenty of details to work with, although the shadows look pretty bad to me with large grains and artifacts all over the image.
17) ISO Performance Summary
The Nikon D600 yields very impressive results at all ISO levels, even at boosted ISO 12,800 and 25,600. Given how little noise there is, I would not hesitate to use it at ISO 3,200 and could even push it as high as ISO 6,400. Now bear in mind that these are down-sampled images at 12 MP – I had to normalize the output in order to compare the camera to the D700 and D3s. Noise levels are obviously higher at 100% pixel view due to smaller pixel size, but that’s not how sensor performance should be compared. I always normalize images to the smallest resolution for proper camera comparisons (which is the only proper method).
It is hard to judge the performance of the Nikon D600 without direct comparison against other professional cameras, which is why you should definitely check out the comparisons on the next page as well.
Camera Comparisons
Compared to Nikon D7000
Let’s see how the new D600 compares to the D7000, a cropped-sensor (DX) camera with a 16 MP sensor.
18) Nikon D600 vs D7000 ISO Comparison at low ISOs
Take a look at the below crops at ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800 (Left: Nikon D600, Right: Nikon D7000):
As I have previously noted in my other reviews, one thing I was not particularly happy about with Nikon DX sensors was the apparent noise at even the base ISO. As you can see from the above, there is a little bit more noise on the D7000 than on the D600 at ISO 100. Even when I look at the images at 100% view without down-sampling anything, the Nikon D7000 still shows more noise.
At ISO 200, the noise difference is a little more apparent, with the Nikon D7000 producing even more noise throughout the image.
The same with ISO 400 – the Nikon D7000 is visibly noisier.
And by ISO 800, the new sensor technology on the D600 is showing its best – it has almost no visible noise, while the Nikon D7000 shows plenty of it. The Nikon D600 at ISO 800 looks as good as the Nikon D7000 at ISO 100, even when not down-sampled!
19) Nikon D600 vs D7000 High ISO Comparison
What about high ISO levels above ISO 800? You can probably already tell what the comparison is going to look like. Let’s take a look:
The Nikon D7000 gets very noisy at ISO 1600, as can be seen from the above image. The difference between the two is night and day.
And there is no need to talk about what happens at ISO 3200…
ISO 6400 on the D7000 is plain unusable, while the D600 is still performing really well. I would say the Nikon D600 is about two stops better than the D7000 at high ISOs.
In comparison to the D7000, the Nikon D600 looks usable at ISO 12800 and 25600…
20) Nikon D600 vs D7000 Summary
Since the first Nikon D600 rumors appeared on the Internet, many DX owners have been contemplating about upgrading to a full-frame camera. A number of Nikon D7000 owners that felt like moving up to something bigger and better did not quite want to shell out $6K on a D4 or half of that on a D800. While the latter is a superb camera, some felt like 36 MP was too much and the 4 fps speed was too limiting for certain types of photography. With the introduction of the D600, which has the right balance of sensor resolution and camera speed, and a price tag that is $900 lower than the D800, it looks like a great potential choice as the first full-frame camera. However, since many of the features and components on the D600 were borrowed from the D7000 and Nikon put some limitations on the shutter speed and flash sync, the question became “is the D600 worth upgrading to from the D7000?”. I consider the D600 to be worth upgrading to from any DX camera. Yes, full-frame does make a difference (if you do not understand the difference between FX and DX, check out my FX vs DX article), not just because you are getting bigger pixels and more resolution, but also because you are getting a much bigger viewfinder (which makes a huge difference when composing images or focusing manually). In addition, you regain the lost field of view due to the crop factor, which makes lenses like Nikon 24-120mm f/4G VR far more useful.
As you can see from the above ISO comparisons, a full-frame sensor (FX) makes a huge difference. Due to a bigger pixel size and better image processing pipeline, the Nikon D600 also looks cleaner at low ISOs between ISO 100 and 800, even when viewed at 100% without down-sampling.
If you would like to read more on the differences between the two cameras, please see my Nikon D600 vs D7000 article.
Compared to Nikon D700
Let’s see how the discontinued D700 performs compared to the D600. Please keep in mind that the Nikon D600 image was down-sampled to 12 MP to match the D700′s resolution.
21) Nikon D600 vs D700 at Low ISOs
I cannot see any difference in performance between the D600 and the D700 at all low ISO levels between ISO 100 and 800. Both look more or less the same, with excellent performance.
22) Nikon D600 vs D700 High ISO Comparison
Let’s see what happens at high ISOs above ISO 1600:
I still cannot see any major differences at ISO 1600, but the D600 looks a tad cleaner in non-shadow areas.
At ISO 3200, we see more noise on both cameras, but the D600 now clearly looks better, mostly thanks to the down-sampling process (the grain looks smaller in comparison).
You can see for yourself that the D600 looks even better at ISO 6400, retaining a lot of details throughout the image, especially in the shadows.
And even more so at ISO 12800.
Lastly, while ISO 25600 looks pretty bad on both cameras, the D600 still looks way better in comparison. In my opinion, it outperforms the D700 by about a full stop at high ISO levels, which is remarkable, considering that it has a lot more pixels (24.3 MP vs 12.1 MP).
23) Nikon D600 vs D700 Summary
The Nikon D700 has been a very popular camera ever since it came out back in 2008. As I have already pointed out in my Nikon D800 Review, the D700 ended up cannibalizing the sales of the D3, because it had the same sensor, same AF system and fast speed when used with a battery grip. This time Nikon took a completely different approach – instead of keeping a high resolution camera in a very expensive package (D3X), it made it available in a smaller and much more affordable D800, while holding the premium camera line (D4) specialized for sports, news and wildlife photography. The D800 release confused many photographers that wanted to move up from the D700, because it was not the same type of camera anymore. Sports and wildlife photographers wanted faster speed and better high ISO performance, while event photographers did not want to deal with the high resolution sensor that yielded gigantic files. The D600 release is another proof that Nikon is not willing to make another D700-like camera. While resolution and speed on the D600 are what many photographers wanted to see on the D800, the AF system is inferior and there are some other limitations and compromises. Sports and wildlife photographers are pretty much stuck with the D4 at the moment. For everyone else, the D600 is an excellent package. More than twice the megapixel count, better dynamic range and colors, video recording capability and more.
While I have been a huge fan of the Nikon D700 for many years now (and still own one), I am very impressed by what the D600 can deliver. While both cameras have very similar performance at low ISO levels, the D600 outperforms the D700 at ISO levels above 1600. Thanks to its high-resolution 24.3 MP sensor, the Nikon D600 provides a lot of detail compared to the D700. The advantages of a high-resolution sensor are clear here – the D600 not only show less noise overall, but also provides more details when images are down-sampled. We saw the same thing on the Nikon D800, so it is really not a surprise to see this kind of performance from a higher resolution sensor.
Another thing that is definitely worth talking about is dynamic range. As I have previously reported, the D600 has remarkable dynamic range that is almost as good as on the D800. You can recover some serious data from RAW files (especially in the shadows) on the D600 and the D700 stands no chance there. Hence, the it is a much better camera for landscape photography, where the ability to capture the most amount of dynamic range is important.
If you would like to read more on the differences between the two cameras, please see my Nikon D600 vs D700 article.
Compared to Nikon D800/D800E
Let’s see how the Nikon D600 compares to the superb Nikon D800/D800E. I used the D800E for a comparison here, but you can assume that the D800 will look the same, since both the D800 and the D800E have the same noise characteristics at all ISO levels.
24) Nikon D600 vs D800/D800E ISO Comparison at Low ISOs
As expected, both cameras perform exceptionally well at low ISOs – I cannot see any difference between the two.
25) Nikon D600 vs D800/D800E High ISO Comparison
Let’s see what happens at high ISO levels above ISO 1600:
We see the same thing when looking at performance at high ISOs – both cameras look about the same, even at boosted ISO levels of 12800 and 25600.
26) Nikon D600 vs D800/D800E Summary
Another frequently asked question by our readers, is what to choose – the D600 or the D800. With a $900 difference between the two, is it still worth spending the extra money and getting the D800, or getting the D600 with better lenses? To be honest, for most photographers out there, I would recommend the D600 over the D800. The D600 has a lot to offer in a smaller package. I consider the D800 (especially the D800E) to be a specialized camera for specific needs. For commercial landscape, architecture and studio photography, the D800 without a doubt is the top choice. For everything else, the D600 is a great camera. Yes, professional/advanced amateur wildlife and sports photographers will still want the expensive D4 for better autofocus and speed, because the D600 might not cut it for them in critical situations (see more on the AF performance for wildlife photography below). Personally, I would favor the D600 with a good lens over the D800 with a crappy lens. In fact, the D800 is more demanding on lenses, so you have to get the best lenses for it if you want to get the best image quality. So at the end of the day it might be well over $900 in price difference between the two, once you take lenses into consideration. For those who already own a D800/D800E, I would seriously consider the D600 as a backup camera. Another key factor in favor of the D600 is its colors. The rendering of the skin tones on the camera is as good as on the D800!
I went back and forth and looked a lot at the performance of the two sensors to see if I could spot any major differences. As you can see from the above samples, both cameras perform about the same throughout the ISO range, which is very impressive! We are dealing with the best two sensors here and this comparison is a clear proof of that. The Nikon D800/D800E still has the edge due to more megapixels (36.3 MP vs 24.3 MP), but it only matters to those that truly need them. For portrait and event photographers that do not particularly care for sensor resolution, the Nikon D600 is clearly a superb choice today, while landscape, architecture and studio photographers would still be better off with the D800/D800E. This does not mean that the D600 cannot be a landscape camera! Before the D800, many of us were photographing landscapes with the D700 and not complaining. I have a boatload of beautiful images that I shot with the D700 and some images I can print really large, thanks to the panoramic photography technique. I am sure others have similar stories to tell. I did a quick calculation, and it turns out I can print as big as 40 x 26 inches at 150 PPI with the D600, which is more than enough for most of us out there. We clearly got spoiled with the D800! So unless you are a commercial photographer that wants the best high resolution full-frame camera in the world, the D600 is more than enough for landscape photography.
If you would like to read more on the differences between the two cameras, please see my Nikon D600 vs D800 article.
Compared to Nikon D3s
What about comparing the D600 to the low-light king, the Nikon D3s? Let’s take a look.
27) Nikon D600 vs D3s ISO Comparison at low ISOs
Please keep in mind that the native ISO of the D3s is 200, so the ISO 100 crop you see below is boosted by the sensor.
Again, I see no difference between the Nikon D600 and the D3s at all low ISO levels.
28) Nikon D600 vs D3s High ISO Comparison
Let’s see what happens when both are pushed to ISO 1600 and above:
Similar to what we saw with the D800, there is really no difference in ISO performance between the D600 and the D3s, even at ISO 3200! We only start to see minor differences in shadows at ISO 6400, where the D3s seems to retain a little more details. Other than that, both are almost identical.
When pushed to ISO 25,600, the Nikon D3s is a little cleaner and retains more colors, while the D600 still shows more details (again, thanks to down-sampling). D3s retains more dynamic range at this ISO level. I do not particularly care for the ISO performance above ISO 25600 on the D3s, since it is too noisy for my taste anyway.
29) Nikon D600 vs D3s Summary
As you can see from the above image crops, the D3s is a worthy competitor to the D600 at most ISO levels. At high ISO levels the Nikon D3s shows a little better ISO performance in the shadows, mostly because it retains dynamic range better at high ISOs, thanks to the larger pixels (visible at ISO levels 12,800 and 25,600). At the same time, the Nikon D600 still resolves more detail at high ISO levels, thanks to much higher resolution (24.3 MP vs 12.1 MP) and the down-sampling process.
Compared to Canon 6D
Once I get my hands on the Canon 6D in November of this year, I will update this review with image comparisons between the D600 and the 6D.
30) Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D ISO Comparison at low ISOs
31) Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D High ISO Comparison
32) Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D Summary
After Nikon introduced the D600, Canon also brought a direct competitor to the market – the Canon 6D. Priced at $2,099 (exactly the same price as the D600), it shares some of the features of the D600, adds a couple of extras like built-in GPS and Wi-Fi, but also falls behind or lacks on some important features. I have always been an advocate for having built-in GPS in cameras, which is why I highly praised Sony for adding it in their SLT cameras like Sony A77. For a number of years, I have been very annoyed by the fact that Nikon and Canon users had to buy external GPS units and walk around with cords connected to their cameras. GPS is an important feature for landscape photographers and I am happy that Canon finally built it right into the camera – something that I wish was done a long time ago and something, I hope, Nikon will add to their upcoming cameras in the future. Wi-Fi is another important feature, because we are in a wireless world today and it would be very convenient to be able to transmit files without having to use external accessories or cables. Nikon also fell behind there, because it wants us to buy extra accessories instead of building it right into the camera. Again, I hope this will be a good motivation for Nikon to start building GPS and Wi-Fi into their cameras.
While these are great new features, Canon decided to cut on many standard and important features on the 6D. For example, there is no built-in flash on the 6D. In comparison, the Nikon D600 has the same built-in flash as higher-end DSLRs, with ability to remotely control other flashes. Canon decided to use the same old 11-point AF system used on the Canon 5D/5D Mark II with a single cross-type sensor, while Nikon used a much better 39 point AF system, with 9 cross-type sensors. The viewfinder on the 6D has 97% coverage, while the D600 has 100% coverage. The speed of the camera is also inferior – 4.5 fps on the 6D versus 5.5 fps on the D600. A single SD memory card slot versus dual on the D600 (a serious disadvantage in my opinion). Finally, it falls behind in terms of megapixels (20.2 MP vs 24.3 MP). While megapixels do not really matter, it will be hard for the 6D to compete with the second best sensor in the world (according to DxOMark), which has better dynamic range and colors than most medium format cameras.
The Canon 6D was an interesting move by Canon, since it has also significantly marked down the price of the popular Canon 5D Mark II all the way to $1,799, making it the most affordable full-frame camera on the market today. Obviously, Canon is discontinuing the 5D Mark II after the Canon 5D Mark III release, so the heavily discounted price is temporary, to get rid of the current stock. However, the 5D Mark II is a higher-end DSLR and yet it is significantly cheaper than the new 6D. I just cannot imagine anyone deciding to get the 6D over the 5D Mark II, if the latter continues to be available (it was available for purchase at most retailers, including B&H at the time this review was written).
If you would like to read more on the differences between the two cameras, please see Roman’s Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D article.
Summary and Image Samples
33) Summary
A small camera with a BIG sensor
When the first rumors about the D600 started to circulate on the Internet, I wondered about what kind of sensor technology Nikon would put into it. This question became even more intriguing when I found out that the D600 would have similar build and features as the D7000. At two thirds of the cost of the highly-regarded Nikon D800, I was afraid that Nikon would use an older inferior sensor with unimpressive noise characteristics on the D600. Deep inside, I kept on thinking that Nikon would not risk to have something that would compete head to head with the D800. After testing the D600 extensively, I was surprised to see that Nikon did exactly that – it performs about the same as the D800, only with less pixels. As you can see from the Camera Comparisons page of this review, the Nikon D600 shows very impressive performance at all ISO levels that match those of the D800/D800E! The only camera that retains a little better shadow detail and more dynamic range at very high ISOs is the Nikon D3s. However, keep in mind that the latter has much less resolution in comparison and hence serves different needs (such as sports and wildlife photography). Hence, the biggest strength of the Nikon D600 is its phenomenal sensor.
What about other features, is sensor the only good thing about the D600? While it has similar features as the D7000, it has a far better and larger viewfinder, faster processor, better AF system (see the first page), better movie recording features and some new firmware features such as in-camera HDR, better Auto ISO and Exposure Delay mode implementations. These key differences make the D600 a worthy upgrade from not only the D7000, D300s and other older Nikon DX DSLRs, but also from the discontinued D700 (the sensor alone is worth the upgrade in my opinion). The Nikon D600 would also serve as a great backup for the D800/D800E, because you can share the batteries and only carry one charger when traveling. As an owner of the superb Nikon D800E, I already purchased the D600 for myself, which I am planning to use as a backup camera for my everyday and commercial photography needs. As for its limitations such as 1/4000 max shutter speed, 1/200 flash sync speed, see my Nikon D600 Limitations article, where I covered the topic in a lot of detail.
Without a doubt, the Nikon D600 will be a very popular camera. I suspect it will be far more popular than the D800/D800E, especially after people realize that it is not some crippled camera, but a very functional DSLR with impressive performance characteristics. Overall, I am extremely impressed with the D600. It is one hell of a camera!
I hope you enjoyed this Nikon D600 Review. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments section below.
34) Where to buy and availability
B&H is currently selling the Nikon D600 body only for $2,096.95 and the Nikon D600 with the 24-85mm VR lens for $2,596.95 (as of 10/05/2012).
35) More image samples
All Images Copyright © Nasim Mansurov, All Rights Reserved. Copying or reproduction is not permitted without written permission from the author.
About Nasim Mansurov
Nasim, another killer review and the sample images are absolutely stunning. Looks like Nikon produced a real winner here! I can see why you are saying that it will probably be more popular than the D800. The pictures speak for themselves here.
Congratulations with running such an amazing site. I learn something new here every day.
Matt
Thank you Matt, I appreciate the feedback. I still have a lot more testing to do with the D600. Hoping to get out and shoot some wildlife tomorrow (depending on the weather forecast).
Hi Nasim. Writing from Istanbul…ı am a pro photographer who use d700 for mostly product and advertising shoots for magazines and newspaper and sometimes bilboards. I am little confused to buy d800 or d600 because istanbul is so expensive to buy equipments..both cameras are so good.. If ı like d700 and use it for everything so d600 is more than enough then d800..
I would like to hear your thoughts actually…
Sincerely
Mert..
Hi Nasim,
I am very impressed on your review & even you touched lots of basic stuff that may easy be forgotten a while ago. I saw comments from others that: The only bad thing about the D600 is that it has the same green color shift problem of the D800 and D4. And also found comment to 6D is much better than D600. Could you shed more lights on that? Please. Thanks.
Jacky
Lovely pictures! Just by looking at the picts taken with the camera it really looks like you took the time and dedication to write the review. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your feedback Alejandro!
Thanks! I have been waiting anxiously for your review since you recieved yours. I really have enjoyed shooting mine in the beautiful colorado fall-except the weather today sucks! It seems to add everything i was missing in my d7000. I have a perfect tool. Now i just need to learn how to get landscapes as gorgous as yours.
You are most welcome Chris! I regret leaving the San Juan area, because it snowed afterwards and I heard that it was beautiful up there with the nice clouds and blood red sunsets. Oh well, I’ll save it for next time!
Hi Nasim
Your reviews are one of the best to refer to when one is having 2nd thoughts on which bodies or lenses to choose for purchasing. I commend your hard work on taking time to present these to your supporters.
I have a D700 and it’s really a stellar performer. Though I’m planning to invest on a 2nd body to shoot kiddie parties, reunions, portraits, engagement shoots & on some occasions, as a 2nd team wedding photographer. The second body would either be designated as a primary body or a back-up unit.
And honestly, I’m dumbfounded as to which to body to choose: A D800 or a D600 for the matter. Of course with the subjects I shoot, the camera would mostly be handheld and I’m usually in the hunt for those “momentous candid shots.”
I’ve inquired from Mr. Ming Thein, a famous photography blogger in our region, with regards to the D800′s capturing performance and he said that I’m better off with the D600 as the D800 will require “higher shot discipline” in a reportage scenario (which is synonymous to candid moments I presume).
Nasim, I usually shoot in manual mode and Auto Focus (specifically AFS). Mr. Thein said that I need to have higher shutter speeds & optimal apertures to avoid camera shake & softness (given the D800′s resolution).
Though I’ve read in other posts that you would still need that higher shot discipline for the D600 because of its 24 MPX resolution. The difference is that the supposed motion blur that could produce in the D600 when shooting handheld is that if it’s “hidden” on the D600, it’s going to be “tiny” on the D800. So, Ming Thein, , still recommends a 1/2X focal length for shutter speed settings to avoid motion blur on the D600 [which is roughly the same as that of the D800, though the conclusion here is that it would be more "forgiving")].
Honestly, I’m leaning more towards the D800 for the following reasons:
a. It has a magnesium alloy body (I had a D7000 before, and it unfortunately fell from 3ft. attached to a tripod and the middle portion, which is hard plastic polycarbonate, cracked open, ripping off the mount from the camera body. Maybe a magnesium body would not result to the same situation as it did to my D7000 but still I know there are magnesium bodies that cracked as well).
b. Live view movie mode Aperture control can be adjusted.
c. I have the following lenses: 70-200mm f2.8G VR2, 24 f1.4G, 50 f1.4G [Which all could be well-suited for the D800 as I’ve read from forums and with some of your comments (Though I’m not sure, though it is well documented that at 24mm and f/1.4, the AF Left focus issue of the D800 would be revealed assuming that the D800 you purchased has that problem).
Since you've tested both the D800 and D600, what will be your recommendation? ESPECIALLY, IN A LOW LIGHT SITUATION WHERE THE BODY IS HANDHELD AND THAT AF ACCURACY & PRECISION ARE A MUST? (Given also that I heard from a thread that while shooting at a wedding with low light, the D600 is kind of struggling autofocusing on the target. But you might have a different experience with yours, Nasim).
Your prompt response would greatly be appreciated. [It's because I had one D600 and D800 reserved until tomorrow, Oct. 8 (I live in Southeast Asia)]. Thank you!
my two rupees worth, handheld, low light, go for the d600
Hi Fathom….
If you are planning to use the Nikon D800 for video work be sure to budget for a Mosaic Engineering filter for that particular camera. The D800 does have very sharp video output…but It suffers from very serious moire issues, especially when shooting at 720 fps…..very, very bad. The Mosaic Engineering filter is now available for the D800 for roughly $300. You’ll need to mount it inside the camera over the sensor to help elminate the moire issues with the D800. I did some video tests with the D800 and was very disappointed with the amount of moire…..thus far I have not seen anywhere near the level of moire in video with my D600.
I have never found not being able to change aperature while shooting video to be a problem at all. My work is all commercial so it is typical to pre-plan scenes. Perhaps if I did video at events it would be a different story since lighting conditions can change rapidly and it is more common to shoot longer clips. Check out the video moire problems with the D800 before you buy it…otherwise you may be disappointed. It will come down to whether you really need to change aperature while shooting video or not. If that’s a big deal for you….then buy the D800….but absolutely buy the Mosaic Engineering filter for it to deal with the moire.
Hi Grimbot
Thanks for your reply. Much appreciated. I’m keen on using the D800 for photos actually. That’s why I’m interested to know if anyone here has used the D800 handheld during low light situations and still captured images that are quite sharp to tack sharp.
AF accuracy & precision is vital for me and I read from forums that the D600′s AF struggles a bit in low light whereas the D800 manages to focus at a fast pace. The question is that if the D800 would capture sharp images in low light given the shutter would be quite low to achieve the appropriate exposure.
Hi Fathom….I have had no problem getting good useable shots hand held with my D600 down to 1/15th of a second when using one of my Nikkon VR lenses…..have not shot at this speed with a D800 so I can’t comment on it.
Hi again Grimbot
I see. At 1/15, it’s good that you can still get usable shots on the D600. Thought I’m sure the VR of your lens definitely contributed on rendering the image usable. If you have a D800, it would be great if you could provide me an info if it would have similar results. Because I’m kind of leaning towards the D800. But I’m just hesitant primarily because I may not be able to get that much usable images for clients (especially the candid shots) and second, I might get a lemon unit with the undesired left AF issue. Thanks.
For low light hand held photography my two days old D6oo + Nikkor 24mm 2.8D / 50mm 1.4D / 85mm 1.8 G giving me more sharp, shake-free, noiseless smooth clean photos than ever !!! I have used the same lenses with my friends D800E but with lower presentable outputs even after down sampling !! I’m extremely happy with my new D600……best ever digital SLR to me :-)
Hi Dr. S. Mandal.
Great to hear you’re lovin’ your D600. Maybe you could provide some posts with your handheld-low light usable images. :)
… Especially with photos taken with AF-D 24mm 2.8! I’d love to see how the lens behaves!
Sorry for being late to reply. At present you may view my photographs at FB in the name “Samar Mandal”. I will upload my photos in Flickr shortly. Thank you.
Just got a D-600 and have about 40 pictures on facebook I think all except the old bridge picture is hand held. Most are shot with kit lens though the 24-85
Fathom, I agree with Ming Thein about the D600 being a little more “forgiving” than the D800 in terms of camera shake. As I have pointed out in my Nikon D800 review, I do find the D800 to be quite demanding if I want to get blur-free images at 100% view. The latter is a very important point to keep in mind though – if images from D600, D700 and D800 are printed at the same print size, all three cameras will produce about the same amount of blur if the shutter speed on all three is the same. You see more on the D800 only when you view at 100% pixel level view! So it all depends on what you want to do with your images. If the idea is to shoot and have the option to crop at 100%, then you have to be more careful with the D800. I hope this makes sense.
As for magnesium alloy – no camera will work perfectly fine after being dropped, whether it is magnesium alloy or not. Sure, plastic can break easier, but I would not want to drop ANY camera, no matter what body type it has. Live view movie mode – are you buying this camera for photography or videography? Who cares if aperture cannot be changed in live view movie mode if you will mostly be photographing? You have excellent lenses that will work great with any camera.
If I were you, I would probably just go with the D600. It works equally as well as the D800 in low-light situations (in my experience) and it will not produce monster RAW files like the D800 does. I shot a number of weddings with the D800 this year assisting my wife and she was not very happy about having to post-process the D800 RAW files. The images surely looked beautiful, but the client will not be getting the highest resolution files anyway. So if you will be working as a second shooter, you might not make the primary shooter happy by using the D800, especially if he/she will be post-processing the files. The D800 is a demanding camera and it is currently the best in the world in terms of image quality. However, you sometimes have to ask yourself what is more practical. For landscapes, fashion and architecture, I would recommend the D800 any time. For typical weddings where you end up with potentially thousands of pictures, I would say the D600 is more suitable.
Hi Nasim,
I shoot quite a bit of corporate video and the D800 does have some serious moire problems especially when shooting in 720…..quite a bit of footage is basically unusable. Philip Bloom did a good test in this regard. The Mosaic Engineering filter is definitely something that is required to shoot video with the D800. I have found the D600 to be pretty clean in terms of moire…not perfect but quite good…..so if someone is shooting a lot of video the D600 is a very good choice. I’ve also found that my DX lenses work very well in video mode and there is no need to upgrade to FX lenses for this purpose. This is very helpful for me especially since I have invested in the 10-24 and 16-85 VR DX lenses.
I have shot a lot of video with my D7000 and that camera cannot adjust aperture in video mode either. I have never found that to be a huge issue if you take the time to pre-plan your video segments.
Thank you for the info – it is good to know that the D600 is more suitable for video than the D800 due to less moire issues! And yes, I believe the aperture lock in live view mode is a limitation, not a bug as some people think :)
Hi Nasim , thanks for your explanation regarding shake during hand held photography with D600 vs that with D800. Thom and you have expressed that higher resolution is” less forgiving”…..though there is not much difference between D600 & D800 in terms of resolution. My question is whether heavier body with heavier mirror is another factor for it’s” less forgiving” nature ? In my experience lighter bodies with light/small mirrors produces less shake irrespective of resolution. What is your opinion in this regard ?
HI Nasim, gorgeous sample pics they really remind me of Ansel Adams, great detail and contrast.
Thanks for the reviews.
M
Thank you Mark, but I am nowhere close to the great master Ansel Adams…I could only wish! :)
HI Nasim,
The maritime museums in London is displaying some of Ansel Adams work! So feel very lucky going to see some of his prints in the flesh, quite rare in the UK I believe.
Your pictures remind me of his work due to the amount of detail and the tonal quality of the images. The trees have that punch and contrast that really strike out of the page. Do you ever use his zonal system? Or do you you always shoot in Aperture priority mode whilst shooting landscapes?
Thanks again for you reviews and tutorials, speaking of which do you ever plan to do a more in depth tutorial on hyperfocal focusing?
More in line with the article I would love the D600 and a 20 F4 mf prime, perfect for hiking and landscapes. But way out of my price range, I don’t think I have pushed my D5100 any where near its limits any way!
hi nasim, thank you for the very thorough and thoughtful review. i have the camera for a couple of weeks now, and i loved it from day one. my soon after conclusion was “if galen rowell was alive, d600 would be the camera in his hand while dangling off of some distant mountain ridge.” in price/performance/quality, nikon just broke a significant barrier, in my opinion.
I totally agree with you! This is one killer camera for sure and as I have pointed out in the review, I think it will be the #1 FX seller for Nikon for years to come.
Incredible review Nasim! I was a DX (300s) shooter for a few years and made the leap to the D600 after reading the specs and your initial review of the camera. This latest in-depth review of the D600 just confirmed that I made the right choice. This camera is perfect for my needs. I am still getting used to the feel of shooting with my first FX (everything is so much bigger and wider and the quality of the images are superb on this sensor).
Thanks for taking the time to review and educate us on the D600. Oh and your pics are AMAZING!
Thank you for your feedback Dan, I really appreciate it! I had a person email me saying that moving from DX to FX is not an upgrade. My response was: “you are getting a much bigger viewfinder, the right field of view, superb low-light performance, how is that not an upgrade?” :)
thank you for your review. finally one more nikon dslr in my camera bag with nikon d800.
Hi Nasim,
On dpreview there is a nice test (http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikon-d600/7). As you can see, if you change the position to the hearts queen face, Nikon D600 shows the most “soft” picture. Why? Thank you.
John, the card is on the back and it is out of focus :) Check out the D800 image as well – it is out of focus.
yes, I noticed that. And the fact that for some reasons it is in the focus when you checked out Mark III, Sony 900 or Nikon 7000 examples. Strange? :)
checked out Mark III, Sony 900 or Nikon 7000 examples- the woman face on the left side before BAIlEYS – Nikon D600 shows the less sharp picture again, and colours are really not the best as well as the contrast. Any comments?
It looks like the camera kills not only the noise but the contrast as well, and something wrong with DOF – the objects just before and just after the focus point are out of focus though neither Nikon 7000 nor Mark nor SONY 900 III -they don’t have this issue. Any comments?
the woman face on the left side before BAIlEYS – Nikon D600 shows the strange colours – look at the lips! Do you think this is the correct colour? Compare with Sony 900 or Mark III. Comments? Thank you.
the woman face on the RIGHT side :)
This is really a question you should discuss at the dpreview forum!
The answer is simple. Although the scene is the same it is photographed from a short distance which make it difficult to focus the lens exactly the same every time even though they have a focus cross in the middle.
Also they must use different lenses for different brands of cameras. Both lenses, the different sensors and processing inside the camera as well as how the RAW-processor handles the files all can influnce how the images look not only in color but sharpness as well.
This doesn’t mean that the comparision is useless. One must simply have in mind there are variables that can affect tests. One thing that is clear is however how much cleaner the D600 images are in dark areas compared to 5DIII. That is where the difference in dynamic range really is apparent.
Thank you for this great review Nasim. I do not have my first camera yet. And after this review, D600 it will, probably, my first choice.
And thank for your concern to respond most the questions that your readers made. Your feed back means a lot for us- i think.
I’m await with excitement your review with wildlife shots.
Regards!
Rafael, thank you for your feedback! Wildlife images have been posted in this review as of last night :)
Nasim, I have just recently found your site and now consider it one of my very favorite sites on the web for all things Nikon. Thanks so much for your timely review of the D600 here!! I think I know what my next purchase is going to be!!
Thanks for a great, informative site!!
Ron
Ron, you are most welcome and thank you for your feedback!
Hi Nasim!
Another great review!
Can You tell what`s the difference in focusing between d600 and d800 in dim light? I`m thinking about even candlelight lit situations. Is the difference huge, does d800 sill hunts for focus?
Good AF is one of priorieties for me. I`ve never updated to d7000 from d90 because older one does better job, d7000 can confirm focus while being out-of. Does this happen on d600 or d800?
Thanks!
+ 1- Nasim, would you be so kind as to compare focusing speed of D600 vs D800? With so many potential buyers torn between the 2 cameras (and most leaning towards D600 as far as I can tell), this is a key factor when making the decision.
Alexey, I updated the review with detailed AF information for sports and wildlife. While I find D4/D800 to be better for tracking fast-moving subjects, the D600 is about the same for all other situations in my opinion.
Peter, for non-action photography, I would say they are about the same in low-light/dim situations. If there is not enough contract, both cameras will hunt for focus (which is quite normal). I experimented with the D600 in a dim room with a single light bulb and it focused very well with the 50mm lens. Obviously, the hit ratio will also depend on what lens you use – anything pro-level will land better focus than something like 18-300mm that is limited to f/3.5 at the short range. I can tell you that the D600 is certainly much better than the D7000 in dim light (in my experience).
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for the review, it reaffirms my choice to have bought the D600.
My camera, too, came with spots on the sensor but they refused to go off after repeated cleaning with a blower. Upon asking around and providing larger crops of my photos, I was told that there was a high possibility of those spots being oil and not dust. I’ve read that there was a similar problem to the D7000 when it was first released, and I’ve been advised to bring my unit back down to Nikon.
That aside, I have been quite impressed by the camera. My 50mm feels like a whole new lens!
Bryan, you are most welcome! I have a bunch of tutorials on how to clean camera sensors. If you do not want to do it yourself, send yours to Nikon and they will take care of it. It is unfortunate that Nikon is allowing dirty sensors to get out of factory :(
Yes, it is. I brought my camera down to Nikon yesterday and they cleaned it for free, though they said it was dust and not oil. Though from the way the staff told me that they were “classifying it as dust and not oil”, and not outright saying “it’s dust” did make me wonder a little haha.
I was watching your cleaning videos last night. Previously I’ve only used a blower, but after watching I think I will get a brush too. I think between those two it should be able to handle most situations. I’m not certain I feel confident using the swabs yet, though I may practice with my older d80 body. :)
There is a fair bit of angst going on in dpreview about oil on the sensor (D600) – have you had this occurring with your camera Nasim?
thanks
Great review and I lept at the chance to buy this camera.
Unfortunately I’ve just sent my second D600 back to Nikon today with two significant spots showing at F5.6 in the top left corner. The first camera I bought from a shop in Sydney had a large spot visible at F5.6 (top left again).. and literally loads of dust visible above F16 which I was less concerned with.
The Shop replaced the first one, and the initial test shot they quickly took looked ok, but a few shots in a couple of days later without changing any lenses and I noticed spots in the sky again at F5.6.
Hoping Nikon don’t just clean it and say next time it happens it will cost me.. I’m not confident about cleaning sensors myself and won’t I just invalidate the warranty?
This was exactly my problem with D800. I am glad to hear I am not the only one experienced this issue.
I too tried to clean the dust spots with Giottos Rocket Blower. But I quickly realize that they weren’t dust spots. The dots were moving leaving a visible trajectory on the sensor. They were clearly oil drops.
Nikon took the camera for service/cleaning. I got the camera back nice and clean. But I also got the first oil drop after just 17 clicks. And after 40 shots I had 6 oil drops on the sensor. This is not acceptable for $3K piece of gear.
I now have a new D800 camera and I am pretty happy with it. Nikon took the old camera back. I guess these things happen. I just did not expect this on a pretty high end camera.
I had my D600 sensor cleaned under warranty a week ago Friday…..appeared to be both oil and dust. After getting it back I immediately took some test shots on an overcast day and found there was still a number of small dust specs on the sensor so I took it back in yesterday (Friday – one week after initial cleaning). The technician had to spend quite a bit of time on it to get the sensor clean. Apparently the inside of the camera body needed to be cleaned as just a few shutter accuations would cause more dust specs. He finally got the sensor 100% clean, did a number of shutter accuations until no more dust was settling, then checked it thoroughly with a loop. I’ll be watching things carefully and if dust reappears quickly my dealer has arranged for a warranty exchange.
Well…..all it took was about 70 shots and the dust is back on my D600 sensor. I now have to return my D600 to my Nikon dealer under warranty to see what happens. If they can’t get this fixed I’ll need to consider moving up to the D800 and pray I don’t have the issue with focus…..or perhaps see what other brand of camera I can use my Nikkor lenses on. Will keep you all posted…..
D800 has the same problem. My second D800 has the same issue with the dust/oil as the previous one.
Hi Sergey, thanks for the heads-up! That really makes me nervous about the D800 as well. If my D600 issue isn’t solved I think I will need to shift to a different brand in terms of a primary video camera. I bought the D600 primarily for its video capability….so if this is going to be an ongoing problem I think I will need to start investigating the new Panasonic GH3 as potentially my main video camera. If the dust problem cannot be fixed on the D600 and Nikon won’t take it back I’ll need to use it for stills only and I’ll need to learn how to clean the sensor after every use…..which will be a pain in the butt….and not something a person should have to do with a camera of this calibre.
I’ve had my D7000 for almost a year and have taken just under 10,000 images with it, put the camera through hundreds of lens changes….and I’ve only recently needed to get the sensor cleaned due to a tiny bit of dust on it.
Woow that was a very detailed and wonderful review. I just sold my D7000 and can`t wait to buy my D600. Everything I read is making me more excited about D600. And your review makes me feel like to go to my car, drive all the way to New York City and buy it in the morning :) Thank you again for this wonderful review -as usual- :)
Beyti, you are most welcome! I will tell you that once you look through the D600 viewfinder, you will know right away what you have been missing with the D7000 :)
By the way, those sample pictures are FRIGGIN awsome man :)
Thank you!
Nasim – great review thank you! I’ve been enjoying my D600 for 2 weeks now. My only pressing question? Where did you go to get those great landscape shots? Cheers!
Phil, the images were taken in San Juan Mountains of Colorado during our landscape photography workshop this year :)
Most excellent review! Seems like the D600 will be my second body (I own a D3s at the moment and at times it’s too large haha; I will look to upgrade my current backup, a D7000, to the D600 when I can!)
Thank you for your feedback David!
very nice still camera, indeed … crappy for video, primarily do to very weak autofocus ability .. no substitute for canon 5d mkiii, as i was hoping.
Gregory, true, this might not be the best video camera due to slower AF in contract detect and 95% view limitation when outputting via HDMI…
Hi Greogory,
Using AF with any DSLR to shoot video is something of a non-issue to me. Most folks I know that shoot corporate video use a Zacuto and focus manually with a follow focus unit. I use the excellent System Zero from iDC with my D7000 and I’ll buy an iDC baseplate for my D600 as soon as it is available. The scene control using a follow focus is much better and allows much more creative use of focus to ‘tell the story’ in terms of pulling rack focus etc. Manual focus is also a critical element when trying to create a filmatic feel to video production as is the use of a camera slider. For any of Nasim’s readers that are interested in a great, portable camera slider for video work I’d recommend the Atlas FLT from Cinevate.
thanks much for the detailed reply .. enjoy
Dear Nasim,
What took you so long? Ive been waiting & waiting for this! Just kidding.
Anyway, I have held my ordering since the Nikon announcement as I have been waiting for this review, especially in the QA of this camera as I don’t want to be a frustrated member of Nikon’s inefficiency.
I owned a D700 and 24-120 F/4 for a year and half now and for me this is the best made camera/lens combi for enthusiast like me. Most of the keepers I have from this tandem can withstand any of my shots with my other fix lenses. But with the time demanding job I have, I cannot afford owning 2 bodies, else one will be just unused. Even with KR review, I find it difficult to let go of my D700 until the “AAA rate” quality of your review. You have left me without any doubt that upgrading to D600 will be timely and most advantageous, as I can still recover some money from selling my D700 . I travel a lot and the weight/size alone of D600 is already a plus, how much more with its sensor DR. I still feel that Nikon might release a kind of D700S but for now, big thanks for review, I will rest my case. My new partners next month will be D600 & 24-120 F/4.
I do not like posting reviews without thoroughly testing the camera, which is why it took me a while to finish it. I really wanted to get a good feel for it, before I write about it :) The D700 is still an excellent camera. I am keeping mine as another backup, because I never had any problems with it. I am also keeping mine because its resale value is now very low, thanks to the D600 and the D800, but also thanks to the damage it incurred over many years of abuse :) But the D600 is certainly lighter, has a lot more resolution, better low-light performance and video options, so I can understand why you have the urge to move from the D700 to the D600…
Thanks for the review! Got the D600 on the day hit arrived in the stores here and have been enjoying my first time with a FX DSLR. Been selling off most of my DX gear but are unsure if I should keep the 35mm f/1.8. I also need a longer tele(zoom) now that I don’t have the crop-advantage of a D7000. Recently acquired a used 80-400mm. Like the lighter lenses since I will be doing some hiking with it. Not sure were to go lens-wise. I currently only have a AIS 28mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/2 AIS.
I have been thinkging of getting both the 28mm and 85mm f/1.8 later on, but not sure regarding the zoom. The new 24-85mm was what I originally thought about getting, but you speaking of the 24-120mm makes me unsure. It will be mostly/only for travel so I want a light lens, and I mainly use the wider end of the zoom. Is the 24-120mm so much better? And what about a used AF-D 24-85mm f/2.8-4? I read your review and got the impression that the VR version is the one to go for?
Thanks again – enjoy reading your reviews!
I’m in exactly this situation as well and struggle over which FX lens to go with at the wide end and for travel to replace the 16-85mm I was using on my D7000.
Hi AskB
Based on my experience with 24-120 f/4, it is a very sharp lens, fast focusing one and the range is very useful for travel. Although the weigth is a burden but with d600 i think it will be alright. One limitation you will have with this lens is, its very slow only F/4 , you will miss lot of good bokeh.
For wide-angles, I would go for the 24-120mm f/4 VR if you can afford it. It is an excellent lens at the wide end and gives you plenty of options to get closer to your subject. If you need to go wider, consider the 16-35mm f/4 VR. If price is too steep, then the 24-85mm VR is a good value on the D600…
Hi!
Thank you Nasim for this review. This is my first post but I read your blog almost every day!
Now I have a problem.
I own a Nikon D200 (I bought used as a backup for a safari in Kenya 3 years ago), a D300, a few DX lenses: Sigma 10-20, Nikon 17-55, Nikon 18-200 and Nikon 35 f1.8 and a few FX, all Nikon: 20 f2.8 AIS, 28 f2.8 AIS, 85 F2 AIS, 24 f2.8 AFD, 50 f1.5 AFD, 70-200 VR, Micro 105 VR, 180 f2.8 AF, plus a TC 17EII. Plus a PDK1 with 2 EN-EL 4A, the D200 grip and a few extra batteries and CF cards (Sandisk, Lexar, etc.) I quote all that because it should help to understand my dilemma. ;-)
Well, for years, I’ve been waiting to go to FX. I wanted a D700 (maybe a D3). I told to myself: you “shall”
not be tempted by new gear but seize the opportunity to buy a mint used D700 at a good price. You’ll sell the D200, keep the D300 and the DX lenses as a backup or when you need the DX factor (like in Kenya), you
will be able to use the PDK1, batteries and CF cards either with the D300 or the D700, and you “shall” be happy. :-)
Now I’m lost. Thanks Nasim (just kidding).
Should I sell my 2 DX DSLR, my 4 DX lenses and buy a D600 (or a D800)?
What I am afraid of, if I do sell my DX gear to buy a D600:
- the handling. I love the feeling of my D300. It feels solid, it feels reliable, it feels like a perfect tool, and I know that a D700 would fell the same, and even more. I’m not sure I’m going to get the same feeling with the D600. To me, the pleasure of handling your camera is part of the pleasure of photography (I know, it’s silly, but that’s why I love my Ricoh GRD3 too, for instance, and don’t like the Lumix FZ38 I bought for my wife);
- the AF area coverage. I know you already answer this question. But still. I usually shoot in AF-C with 51 active points and use the wheel to pick my AF zone (except for landscape, obviously), and I’m very used to that. From time to time, I use AF-S and recompose but I do not like very much this method…
If I choose the D800 (no problem with handling feeling, and less problem with AF coverage, plus I can keep the CF cards, but big problem with my bank):
- I’m afraid my lenses are not good enough (the 105 VR might be the only good enough lens), and there is no way I sell everything and start from scratch (besides, I love my AIS lenses — feeling again!).
So what should I do?
Resist the temptation and go as planned: buy a good old D700 in good shape and be happy like I would have been 3 years ago?
Take the leap, leave DX behind, and go future!
PS: as you can see if you go to my tumblr I’m a pure amateur and shoot all sorts of things, but no sports.
The D700 was a huge step up in picture quality for me after the 200 (although I enjoyed the 12-24 zoom), and the 600 + 800 both seem to have 2 stops more highlight (or shadow) range and perhaps 2/3 stop less noise at ISO 6400. (Do most people need more?) Why put off a change you want to make, letting years slip by that could be filled with better pictures?
The 700 does grow heavy though, on the wrist rather than the shoulder, and especially with the 70-200 VR2 which you would enjoy. The 600, being a good bit lighter (though not more stable for that), should help a bit. I see people selling the D200 for much the same price I got years ago, while a ‘mint’ 700 is only perhaps £300 UK less than a new 600.
Eric, the D700 is excellent, so if budget is an issue, get a used mint D700 and you will be happy for many years to come. One thing you did not point out is what you photograph. If you are into landscapes, then the D800 is the way to go. You would be surprised by what your old AIS lenses can do on the D800. Believe it or not, but some of those AIS lenses work better than some of the modern primes, especially when stopped down! Since you are used to the D300 and you want 51 AF points, I would say that you should exclude the D600 from the list and decide between the D700 and the D800. It all comes down to your budget and what you shoot…
Nasim, thank you very much for your answer. I shoot mainly landscapes and portraits, so D800 should be my camera of choice. I am very happy to learn that my old AIS can do well on the D800, I was afraid not and I like them very much. I reached more or less the same conclusion: I think the D600, as good as it is, is not a camera for me. As you said, it comes to a problem of budget… and about the decision of forgetting DX. At first, I thought of selling my backup D200, buying a used D700, and keeping the D300 with my DX lenses, with the option of the two systems, and the added benefice of sharing batteries and grip between the two. Now, I wonder if I should sell all my DX gear, and go for FX only (I read your article about the future of DX too). I could then add a 24-120 to the D700, to replace my old good 17-55. Or go to the D800 alone and live at first with only primes + the 70-200 VR (no budget for the VRII, but I do not mind that much). What is tempting with the D800, apart from its size, weight (compared to the D700) and stellar performances, is the ability to shoot in 1.2 or DX format with enough pixels. It’s a little like having the two systems in one camera. Anyway, thanks again for your site and piece of advice.
Thank you for a great and detailed review, Nasim. I’ve already purchased the D600 and read the review to more or less confirm that I’d bought the right camera and your review mirrors what I’ve discovered. I was torn between the D800 and D600 prior to purchasing, but I am very happy that I went with the D600.
Now I only hope that Nikon will release a firmware update, that will address the 95% crop on the HDMI Out signal and inability to change aperture in LiveView, then this camera will be excellent for video, in addition to being sensational for photography. If they do, this will also be the indie filmmaker camera of choice.
As always, thank you for great articles and reviews.
- Andreas
Andreas, I doubt Nikon will fix the aperture change in Live View limitation (I believe it is a limitation, not a bug), but the 95% crop issue is a bug and should be resolved via firmware.
the loud sound of the autofocus on the video track will chase us away from using it for video, and/or using internal sound.
Hi Gregory,
Pretty much any DSLR will capture focus noises from lenses unless an external mic is used. Nikon makes a decent external mic….I use a Rode VideoPro which does a good job for me.
thanks …
Dear Nasim. Thanks for this well written and very thourough review. I live in Denmark and just started reading your blog about a month ago. I now find myself returning almost every day to read your posts. I am a fairly new photographer, and still strugling to learn how to take good looking photos. Seeing all of the great shots you have taken for just this review, I was wondering if you below each of the pictures could include some basic metadata about the photo, ie. lense, apeture, shutter, exposure, ISO value, focal length etc. I think this could be both insightfull and interesting when reading any of your articles.
Thanks again for this site. It is by far one of the best ones out there!
Jacob, all exposure data, including what lens was used can be found in EXIF Data – I always preserve it for our readers :)
Thanks Nasim! I was aware of the EXIF Data, but thought it would be a little cumbersome to download each picture to find this information. Your link to the Firefox addon however solved that issue, so problem solved. Thanks again :-)
thanks a lot Nazim
I’m very glad to hear that there is a potential and hope to release firmware upgrade for d800 to fix live view magnification issue ..or may be we have to wait the d900
Mohamed, it surely bugs me with the D800, so I am hoping Nikon will do it soon…
Hi, thanks for great review. I’m planning to move on D600 from my D90. I think it will be a good step.
I have a question: I want to switch from 85 prime to 80-200. Does 80-200 f/2.8 will be good with that camera?
Azerbouf, the D600 will be a huge upgrade over the D90. But why do you want to move from the 85mm prime to 80-200mm? If you can, get the 70-200mm VR II instead – it is specifically designed for full-frame sensors (while the 80-200mm is not). It will work fine, but if you want edge to edge sharpness wide open, then the 70-200mm is the way to go.
Thank you for your reply.
Yeah, I know, but can’t afford 70-200 VR II, so the cheapest alternative is 80-200 2.8D. I’m looking for good fast zoom lens for shooting concerts/wedding/portraits and get great bokeh. I’ve read that the 80-200 has very good IQ.
May be I’ll wait a little bit with my decision and buy instead of it 24-120 f/4 VR? And I’ll keep the 85mm for portraits?
Do you have any rumors of release the 70-200 f/4 VR?
Personally, I prefer the 85mm for portraiture. But the 70-200mm focuses faster and often a little more reliable in low-light situations. Not sure about the 80-200mm in that regard. If I were you, I would just wait and get the 70-200mm when you can afford it, instead of buying other lenses you potentially might not need now.
Nasim Mansurov since D600 is announced iam visiting your site every single day to read reviews of D600.
I really appreciate your hard work and honest reviews. I booked D800 all i have to collect it but only thing stopping me to buy D600 is i like to use most of the time 70-200 f/2.8 vrII lens and i think for long time using heavy lens Camera lens mount might be bend, and here in Uk its only £300 difference between D800 and D600.
Mosin, who told you that the mount will bend? There is no such thing! Look up the physical quality of plastic vs magnesium alloy and you will quickly understand that tough plastic is not going to bend that easily. On another note, don’t let your 70-200mm hang on ANY camera – there is a reason why the 70-200mm has a tripod mount, so handle it properly :)
I’ve had my D600 for about two weeks now. Mine does not have any ‘dust issues”. I just did a commercial shoot on Friday last week…various scenes in a warehouse with very poor lighting and the D600 was steller with high quality shots at ISO3200. Obviously there was some noise but it was very well controlled and it didn’t hurt the shots at all.
I also did some video footage with both FX and DX lenses and found it to be sharp with less moire than I’ve been getting on my D7000. While shooting stills in DX mode the D600 shows a crop factor box….when you shoot video with a DX lens you get full screen in live view…..this is very helpful when composing scenes and makes shifting from DX to FX lenses in video absolutely painless. I bought the D600 mainly to shoot corporate video work as my D7000 lacks some key functionality in terms of 30 fps in 1080 and 50/60 fps in 720. My inital experience with the D600 is that it will do the job in spades for me. If you’re like me and plan to use the D600 for a lot of video work there is no reason to get rid of your DX lenses in order to shoot good quality video with this camera.
I do some macro work and bought the Nikkor Micro 105VR last week. The results with the D600 are simply jaw dropping! Needless to say my Micro 85 VR DX lens is in the process of being sold.
Overall I’ve been extemely impressed with the image quality and functionality of the D600. It is marginally heavier than my D7000 so I did not have to change my fluid video head, tripod, pistol grip etc. I love its compact size as the camera is very easy to handle.
The smaller AF spread does take some getting used to and the ‘focus and recompose’ issue that Nasim mentions in his review is a skill I’m trying to develop….with some initial success, but it will take more practice before I feel proficient at it. At the moment I can’t use my Zacuto as it mounts with my iDC follow focus baseplate for my D7000. I contacted iDC and I know they are looking at adding a D600 base plate to their system. Once the iDC base plate is available for the D600 the tight AF focus will be a non issue for video as manual focusing is preferred for video shooting anyway.
Grimbot, thank you for your nice D600 mini-review :)
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for your kind comment…very much appreciated. I have become a regular reader of your site and have recommended it to many other people. I really appreciate the time and attention that you put into your equipment reviews and many of your other articles are very instructive and helpful!
One of the main reasons that I purchased my D600 rather than waiting for the long-rumored D400 were the various articles that you have written here….including the potential future of the DX model line.
As soon as I saw the DXOMark sensor test on the D600 I knew the D600 would be a knock-out and I was able to get one the first week it was launched. I certainly have not regretted that decision for even 1 second. Having never owned an FX body before I was amazed at the difference in shooting with it over my D7000 (which I still think is the best DX body Nikon currently has in its line-up). I’m still amazed how much functionality that Nikon could get into the D600 and make it almost the size of my D7000.
I shoot primarily stills for clients but I have been finding more and more of them are interested in leveraging the time of a photo shoot into some video as well. The D600 is a great camera for both jobs. Sure…there are a few limitations in terms of not being able to change aperture or the 95% issue with straight out HDMI….but these are not ‘deal breakers’ in any sense of the word.
Thanks for great review and superb sample images! With so beautiful places you can’t go wrong even with compact camera :)
I like your style and explanation of things, but somehow I feel that you are a real Nikon fan-boy and that means you push out maximum from yourself to do the best exactly with Nikon camera, while other brands is just for comparison. It’s not a rebuke, not at all, I just wanted to say, that for me, for perspicacious reader, moment of trustfulness is lost. You my say that I’m a critic, but I’ll better say that I’m realist.
But, somehow, it’s even better for readers, who enjoys same brand too, they can see what can be done with their favourite camera if it is in right hands!
Anyway, your web page is my favourite for reading about Nikon cameras and Nikon lenses!
Carl
Carl, you are absolutely right about not going wrong even with a compact camera. The place is indeed beautiful and I have some nice photos from my iPhone as well :)
As for your Nikon fanboy comment, you have to keep in mind that I am a long time Nikon shooter, so it is natural for me to talk and cover more about Nikon than any other camera. I get to play with Nikon all the time, while other brands I only get to keep for 30 days before I must return them. In a limited amount of time, I do whatever I can to cover as much as I can, but realistically 30 days is often not enough to fully get a grasp of another camera system. That’s why my reviews of other brands might not be as comprehensive in comparison. Except maybe for the Canon 5D Mark III, which the review I believe was also pretty complete. But that’s because I had it for 3 months versus 30 days :)
Thank you so much for your time to write this! I have a question. Why do you choose to compare to the D3s and not the D4? Although I love my D4, my concern is “Is it work $4,000 MORE than the D600? My main reason for the D4 is indoor low-ligh capabilities. Thank you in advance for your answer.
Maegan, two reasons: because the D4 is not much better than the D3s when it comes to low-light performance (see my Nikon D3s vs D4 article) and because I decided to keep my D3s instead of buying the D4.
What do you photograph? I am assuming weddings and portraiture. For indoor shots like that, I do not think you need the speed of the D4. The Nikon D4 is excellent, but it is a specialized camera for fast action like sports and wildlife photography. If you are into portraiture and weddings, you do not really need the D4 and the D600 would do just as fine in my opinion. Keep in mind, however, that the image quality in low-light/high ISO is comparable ONLY when both are down-sampled to the same resolution (as covered in the review).
You are amazing!!! Yes, indoor weddings, portraiture and birth photography. I’ve been thinking about selling my D4 (loosing some money) since I’ve only had it a few weeks and getting the D600, a speedlight, reflector and stand. Still saving at least $2,000. I don’t like the D800 file size(s). I’ll refer back to your down-sampling article and see if it’s something manageable to do.
Maegan, down-sampling is included in Lightroom when you export your files. Don’t give the largest files to your clients and export at something like 1600 pixels wide. When you do that, Lightroom automatically down-samples images, reduces noise and sharpens the image. If you only had the D4 for a few weeks, why not return it? If you had it for more than 30 days, then you can still sell it for really good money (those sports and wildlife photographers will certainly want it). If it is in mint condition, try selling it for $500 less and go from there…
Because I’m over 200 images. B&H says that’s too much on their website. I literally have only had it 2 wks. I am new to Lightroom, I’ll have to see if I can find a friend who can show me what you mean. Thanks again!!
Maegan, there is no such thing as 200 images. They won’t even be able to tell how many images you have taken with it – they won’t bother. Just return the D4 and tell them that you are not happy. Or give another reason. Anything can be returned to B&H within 30 days – that’s why I buy my gear from them and recommend them! With $6K back in your pocket, get the tools you truly need for your photography business. Let me know if you need any help!
I am new to your site, great info and great images, I am sure I am going to learn a lot. I love professionals that give back………Keep up the good work
Thank you for your feedback Joseph!
Nasim,
another great, and very thorough review. in the review you mention that metering on the d600 is not as good as the d800. is it consistent though? in other words, when you adjust exposure, have you found that it’s consistently over or under? or is it sometimes just OFF, with no strong predictability?
one other thing . . . in your review you ask the hot question of which to choose: the d600 or the d800. but you raise it in an interesting way. for one thing, you say that a d600 with a good lens is better that a d800 with a crappy lens. but let’s say we already know that and are planning to get good lenses in any case. for instance, the 85mm 1.8 and the 24mm 1.4 will be standard for me for portrait and landscape in either case.
the question i have is: which camera do you see as your go-to camera? people have called the d800 specialized, and yet i have been reading the experience of some photographers who find themselves using the d800 so much that it is becoming their go-to camera—even more than the d4, for instance. they just like the images better. at this point, do you find yourself preferring the d800 for most of your work? would the d800 be your preferred portrait camera? how about low-light?
it seems that both of these cameras are demanding in their own way. the d600 may be slightly more forgiving in some respects, but then again the d800 may be a great camera to grow into (assuming in either case that one is not just a mindless shooter). just trying to get a sense of whether or not you see one of these as clearly preferable, all else equal.
If you carefully read the WHOLE review you would under 34) Summary have found the answer to your question:
“As an owner of the superb Nikon D800E, I already purchased the D600 for myself, which I am planning to use as a backup camera for my everyday and commercial photography needs. ”
Clearly D800/E is the preferable camera for users who really NEED 36 MP and a Semi-Pro body and have good enough technique to make use of it. For others shopping for a full-frame camera D600 is more than good enough.
For me D600 is the camera I have been waiting for since the release of D7000!
i appreciate the sentiment here. thanks for looking at my question and attempting to answer based on the review itself. i did read the full review, including the bit you cited. but i sensed some ambiguity, and i was trying to get specific. if we consider the bit you cite along with what Nasim had to say in the d6oo vs d800 segment, you get a sense of the ambiguity. of course, that ambiguity also comes from what other people are saying about these two cameras, and i was opening up the conversation to include that as well. you mention a “need” for 36pm . . . that becomes a debatable issue, and i won’t try to go into it.
another way to think about it: i am getting at what a photographer starts to prefer, especially in various situations. in part i tried to get at this by asking about low light and portraiture. i also mentioned the fact that some photographers had gotten the d800 as a back-up for their d4, and then started to prefer it over the d4, for various reasons.
so, when Nasim said he was going to be getting one of these as a back-up, that still leaves open the question of just how often, and under what circumstances, he feels he would grab for it. someone might think, “i will be grabbing that d600 a heck of a lot, and keeping the d800 for very specialized and specific circumstances,” which might include landscape work or work to please a client who demands large files. alternatively, someone might think, “the d800 is it for me, and that’s what i prefer to shoot with, but in those cases when i want a quieter, faster shutter, or a lighter camera for a day’s walk, i will go with the d600.”
if i had both, would i be shooting more frames with the d600 or more with the d800? and why? if, all else equal, the files from the d800 are just clearly better, that’s an interesting evaluation. are we just getting pulled in by sharpness, detail? is it that compelling? anyway, it’s still a strange thing to have a 36mp camera out there. but in a good way.
in any case, times are good for digital photography. one can’t really go way wrong with either of these cameras. i am glad you are excited about the d600, and i share that excitement. it will either be that camera for me as well, or possibly the d800. either way, i am sure you and i will be enjoying our work very much.
Aiden, this is exactly what I am planning to do with the D600: “I will be grabbing that d600 a heck of a lot, and keeping the d800 for very specialized and specific circumstances”. So when I say the D600 is a backup for the D800, that depends on what I photograph. For landscape photography, the D600 will be the backup. For everything else, the D800E simply will not be used…
Aiden, metering typically does not bother me, because if the camera is confused, the exposure compensation button can quickly fix it. I just noticed that with the D800, I get a little more consistent metering when photographing in challenging light (I rarely have to dial exposure compensation on the D800). The Nikon D600 does not overexpose the same way the D7000 does though, so it is still better. But it is not as good as the D800 and it is hard to quantify this difference. It is not so much the consistency of exposure in the same lighting – that does not seem to vary much. It is more about the exposure to start with.
As for the question on the D600 vs D800/D800E – I feel the latter is a very fine tool that is certainly my preference for landscape photography. However, for portraits and weddings (my wife’s business), I would prefer the D600 instead. I assist my wife in photographing weddings, but she does all the post-processing. She does not like editing those massive D800 RAW files! I have a fast PC, but the response time between D700/D3s and D800 images is very different. She can go through the D700/D3s images very quickly, while the D800 images make her wait and she does not like that. For those situations, the D600 is better in my opinion, because it is somewhere in between :)
So it really depends on what you photograph. If landscapes is what you mostly do, then go with the D800. For everything else, the D600 seems to be a better choice…
Dear Nasim.
Great review as usual and as expected. Removes lots of doubts regarding D600. my D7000 will be upgraded definitely, mostly to D600. I am bit worried about the buffer sizes of both the cameras. At present, i am seriously restricted by the buffer of D7000. I miss lot of shots of because of this. WIll D600 buffer be better than D7000. I normally use the sandisk Extremepro cards. Or is it a problem with my D7000. I request you to mention couple of lines on the buffer of D600 with some dedicated coninuous shootings. Thanks again.
Regad Rana
See section : 14) Shooting Speed (FPS) and Battery Life
I can confirm Nassin’s measurements with my own testing. Thom Hogan also posted similar numbers. The D600 speed of 5.5 fps is virtually the same as my D7000 but it shoots almost twice as long, almost twice as many total frames. Its much better at catching longer action sequences despite the larger files. Thom Hogan has some suggestions on how to maximize it here: http://www.bythom.com/d600.htm Scroll down to Sept 14th. I use U2 for high speed shooting. Before with the D7000 I would miss the best action unless I carefully tomed things. With the D600 its much better.
Rana, as Chris pointed out below, see the review and you will find the answer :)
Hi
Thanks for the review. I find it truly useful; so many reviews are simply a greatly expanded version of the spec sheet. I need to hear from a working photography who expresses views on the things that will help or hinder in making the photograph I have in my mind. Your reviews are balanced, practical, and truly useful. I appreciate the effort that goes in to them.
Stephen
Stephen, thank you for your feedback, I really appreciate it!
Hello Nasim!
This is the best review I found on the net about the Nikon D600. The photos included are superb. The Nikon D600 is a huge temptation for me. I will however wait a little longer to see if it appears a D400 (I continue to shootiing with a D200). To photograph wild might be better … and not so expensive!
Any new rumors about D400?
Paulo-
Just wanted to say that I got a chance to look through your photo website. You are very talented, especially your portraits section. Keep it up and great work!
Thanks!
Paulo, thank you for your feedback. I have not heard of any rumors on the D400 lately…I think we will see it in Q1/Q2 of 2013.
Hi Nasim,
I hope you are right about a D400 in the 1st or 2nd quarter next year….that was the camera I was waiting for….and jumped on the D600 instead when I read about the outstanding DXOMark sensor scores. Unfortunately that was an ill-advised move on my part.
After two sensor cleanings at my Nikon dealer and a warranty service by Nikon after that my D600 still had oil on sensor issues. Since I was planning that the D600 would be my primary DSLR for corporate video work I could not put up with that kind of issue. It is easy to work around dustoil spots on stills…but it is a killer on video….so I no longer have the D600. Unfortunately Nikon indicated that there is no fix in the immediate term (likely nothing until the spring of next year at the earliest) and an exchange would also likely not fix the issue either as the Nikon rep indicated that it was very likely that all of the units that they currently have in stock have the same problem.
I had the option to ‘upgrade’ to a D800 and considered it….but since the D800 has well known and serious moire issues in video there wasn’t much point spending even more money on that particular model either since I’d then have to buy the Mosaic Engineering filter (another $400) to have video performance at an acceptable level. Then I’d have the hassle of installing and removing the filter every time I switched between video and still photography….it just wasn’t worth the hassle.
So…I now have a store credit at my Nikon dealer and I’ll wait to see what Nikon introduces in the new year. I won’t be buying an early copy of anything from Nikon that’s for sure! The last two Nikon introductions (D800 and D600) have been very bad from a quality standpoint (left focus issue on D800 and oil on sensor with the D600).
I loved the photo image quality of the D600 but the oil spot issue was a deal-breaker for me in terms of shooting video.
I am very relieved at this point to be rid of my D600 and very pleased that I still have my D7000. I’ve been investigating other options and if there is no permanent fix for the D600 early in the new year, or if Nikon does not introduce a D400…..I will likely switch to the Panasonic GH3 as my main inter-changeable lens video camera. At this point its video capabilities is better than anything that is offered by either Nikon or Canon.
Anyway….I thoroughly enjoy your articles, tips and reviews. You do an amazing job with your blog and I have recommended it to many photographer friends.
If you have a chance to review the Panasonic GH3 it would be greatly appreciated….as it is Panasonic’s first ‘pro grade’ interchangeable lens camera (I shouldn’t call it a DSLR since it is a mirrorless camera)
Hi Nasim
Thanks so much for your great web-site and your review on D600. Your efforts in maintaining such an informative and useful site are much appreciated.
I have a D3, a 24-70mm/2.8G, a 70-200mm/2.8 G VRII, and, thanks for your review on 300mm/4 AF-S, I am planning to get myself one plus a 1.4x for photographing birds.
I’ve been thinking of replacing my D3 with the D600. My question is, fps aside, do you think the D600 will be a worthwhile replacement of the D3? I shoot a mix of portraiture, birds, and landscape. Thanks in advance for your advice.
Simon
Simon, for landscape and portraiture – absolutely. However, you will surely be disappointed with the fps on the D600 when compared to the D3. Last weekend I photographed birds with a friend who had a D4 and his camera sounded like a machine gun in comparison :) So it all depends on what you photograph the most. If you are more into landscapes and people, then the D600 is superb. But for serious birding, I would say the D3 would still be a better fit…
Thanks Nasim. And what do you think regarding the ISO performance between D3 and D600? Coz when I travel and go out at night to take pics of cities somtimes I would be required to push it to 6400. Do you think the D600 would be a better performer? Thanks again Nasim!
Simon, see the comparison in this review between D700 and D600. The D3 has exactly the same sensor as the D700.
Thanks again Nasim! Just wondering if your photos shown in this D600 review here-in-above (ie. the boy, the birds and landscape) are direct from RAW? or have you retouched any of them with Lightroom and/or that Nik software.
I asked this because in some of your reviews you mentioned that the photos were untouched, but in one of your answers to a reader here you seem to be saying most of the photos were LR’d and Nic’d. Or are you referring to your other photos in other gear reviews?
Thanks again!
Hi Nasim:
Thank you very much for your great review. This review is a great help for me as I am trying to decide between buying the D600 or the D800. I have two specific questions for you:
(1) If you take identical photos carefully handheld with same lenses using the D600 and the D800 and downsample the D800 photo to match D600 resolution, will there be any difference in sharpness between the two photos (maybe, because of difference in nature of mirror slap between the two cameras, etc…)?
(2) You mention that it is harder to focus precisely on a point using Live-view on the D800 because of the interpolated LCD image in shooting mode. Is it only because it is harder to locate the focus point precisely on the intended subject or is it also because the camera does not fcus precisely on the selected focus point (assuming the focus point selected is at the precise location intended)?
Thanks again,
Subhasis
Hi Nasim:
I wanted to clarifiy my question (1) above – I am particularly interested in the impromptu case where it is not practical to use “exposure delay” mode. I understand that effect of mirror slap can be pretty much eliminated using exposure delay.
Thanks,
Subhasis
Mirror slap only matters at very slow shutter speeds. And for those situations, you put your camera on a tripod and you use a remote/exposure delay. Your camera shake will impact your photos more than mirror slap will. As for down-sampling two identically shot images, it depends on what you down-sample to. If you down-sample the D800 image to D600 resolution, then the D800 image will be sharper. If you down-sample both to something like 12 MP, then both will be about the same.
The focus is precise on the D800. It is the view that is not, due to interpolation. For most situations, this will not matter for 99% of people out there. I photograph test charts for lens tests, so the interpolation in live view is problematic for me…
Hi Nasim:
Thank you very much for your thoughtful reply. It is simply amazing how you take the time to reply carefully to each question in the thread.
Subhasis
I shoot outdoor sports and indoor studio portraits with my D700 and a huge array of film cameras. Despite swearing up and down that I will run my D700 into the ground before acquiring a new camera, your review has got me very excited about the D600. My priority at the moment is lens upgrades, with the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII and 24-120 f/4 VRII at the top of the list, but if I can unload some lenses and other gear I will be looking to pick up a D600 as soon as possible for the extra resolution and fine skin tones as long as I’m sufficiently convinced the focusing is quick and accurate enough for sports.
I know exactly what you mean! I decided to keep the D700 as a second backup, but now that I have the D600, I think it will be sitting and collecting dust on the shelf…
Excellent review… Very very informative… Thank you very much for your valuable efforts Nasim…
You are most welcome Cenk!
Great review. Thanks to my purchase of the 85mm f/1.8G I decided to upgrade from the D5100 to the D600 (sold the DX lenses too, so the 85mm is all I’ve got). The D600 is fun to shoot with, and I don’t regret the upgrade at all. I’m definitely finding out the meaning of a camera “getting out of the way.” Viewfinder is AMAZING and moving between settings is so much easier to do.
I do have some dust spots on my sensor that I can’t get off with a blower, so I’m waiting for a cleaning kit to arrive. I tend to shoot more wide open with more details, so it doesn’t matter as much…just have to convince my anal-retentive perfectionist side of that.
Thanks again for the review.
Photography Life is at the top of favorites and I consider it daily required reading. Thanks to all who contribute.
Thank you for your feedback James! Cleaning a sensor is easy, but be careful when you do it and follow my guides for detailed info on the process. I always clean my sensors myself, I cannot afford sending all of my cameras periodically to Nikon for cleaning :)
Hi Nasim,
Your landscape shots look awesome. That’s certainly the direction I’d like to be heading.
What lens where you using for these shots? Filters? How much post processing?
Thanks,
Eric
Eric, thank you for your feedback. Lenses I used were mostly Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G. I heavily rely on ND filters and I rarely ever do bracketing/HDR. These cameras have so much dynamic range, that I believe there is really no need for HDR. As for post-processing, 95% of it is done in Lightroom and then I used Nik Software Viveza to bring out the clouds and darken the sky a little.
Dear Nasim,
My only complaint with the D600, but a terminal one, is the reduced area that the autofocus points cover. That’s really annoying for my shooting style. Even with the D700 I’m frequently wishing to have the autofocus points covering a wider area. The D700 had a legion of followers that now is a little bit in the air. Nikon created us and now abandoned us; that’s not so nice.
If Nikon wants to have an affordable FX camera they could take away the video and let at least the autofocus system of the D700 (that was also an affordable camera). If you are doing action reportages and you need two bodies, now must you buy two D4, and then a D800 for other kind of photos + a new computer system ? We are not millioners !! : )
Jorge, true, even the D700 did not have a good spread of the AF points compared to the D300/D300s. The limitation is obviously the size of the AF sensor and the amount of light that comes through lenses. Nikon could develop a better/larger AF system with a boatload of AF points, but they would not be as accurate as the ones in the center.
I agree, I wish the D600 had no video features and had the same AF system as the D800. Then it would be a truly awesome camera! But then you would have all the video guys complain about it…I guess there is no sweet middle, not in the current Nikon marketing world :)
Hi Nasim,
With YouTube being the second most popular search engine behind Goggle I think you can take it to the bank that video capability in DSLR’s is here to stay and will only increase in the future. :)
Whiie my background is from still photography I’ve found that adding video to my work has actually helped me become a better still photographer.
Shooting video, especially with a camera slider (which I use extensively), forces me to consider how I want to move the camera during the scene when I’m composing a video clip. That movement of the camera can create added drama, involvement and emphasis in many interesting ways that shooting from a fixed point does not allow. Also the use of foreground to increase these camera movement effects heightens the impact of video. All of this was completely foreign to me when only shooting stills. I find that whenever I have a camera in hand now, I think concurrently about still and video. That dual thought process has led me to consider many different angles and perspectives that I did not notice as a still shooter….and I think has led to more creativity with my still shooting.
I don’t see video as ‘the dark side’….its just another beautiful way to express oneself with imagery…only this imaginery moves.
You are right, we are living in a video age. Having video surely does not hurt, I can see how it would be useful for occasional videos. In fact, I am planning to start doing some video with the D600. However, if I had the choice between a D600 with the current AF + video and a D600 with the same AF as on the D800 but no video, I would go for the latter :)
Video is not a dark side, it just depends on a person’s needs. For me, video is currently not very important, for others it is the reason they buy a DSLR…
Hello Nasim,
I had some doubts on D600 before reading your thorough and detailed review, but they all disappeared after seeing your wildlife photos. For your careful work I want to really thank you!
The beauty of your photos and the details in the Steller’s Jay plumage let me understood how great was the D600 sensor and how much detail and dynamic it can provide.
Your wildlife session also solved my doubts about the D600 AF system capabilities, I was afraid about due to the “smaller AF area”, expecially when randomly moving subjects are in you viewfinder.
I’m an enthusiast and now I own D70s (old technology nowadays :) + Nikon 28-105 IF + Nikon 18-35 IF-ED, and a poor 80-200 I must upgrade.
So I think my upgrade to D600 will be an huge step.
I make different kind of photos: landscape, people in the street, some portraits and still some flower and foliage macros.
I would like to keep my 28-105, becouse I find it very versatile so that is my most used lens, but I’m seariusly asking how would be the AF performance with it.
Just a week after the 13th Sept :) I had the opportunity for a quick try of a D600 + my 28-105, in the dim light of one shop. I found the AF quick enough and not less quicker than when I tried it on a D300.
I read many people still use this zoom, on D700, and that they are satisfied of the results. They say this old F5 kit lens gets a “new life” on D700/D3.
But what do you think about? I read in your revies those FX cameras are demanding on very good quality lenses. Will mine be on the level with D600?
My last question, then, is about my poor 80-200. I had planned to upgrade with an used 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S but I read you suggest the 70-200 VRII on these new FX cameras. Why? I have no budget for the latter but I don’t want to buy something not good for.
Thanks so much in advance, Sebastiano
Dear Nasim
This is truly the most informative of all of the D600 reviews I have read. One question that I think many people may have: For those like me who cannot justify the cost of a D4, would you say the D600 or D800 would be the better choice for fast action, specifically birds and sports like indoor volleyball. I am particularly interested in which camera has the better autofocus to capture these difficult subjects.
Thanks!
Peter
I saw on Flickr some sports photos captured with D600, volleyball and American football, go to search and type “D600″ in the search box. Also you can see full exif data for the shot.
Peter, I updated the review with sample wildlife images…
Thank you for your great review and teaching. I had an unusual finding today when testing my D600 and wonder if you have received any similiar reports and would appreciate your input. I ran the test you recommended for testing the AF sensor points in a previous post which was written when the D800 issues started to arise. I tested the D600 mounted with a Nikkor 50 mm f1.4D lens on a tripod, 72 inches from the wall. I placed 3, 8x11inch siemens focus targets next to each other on the wall to test left outermost, center and right outermost sensor points. I used a lens align to first make sure cameral parallel to the wall.
Each sensor point was equally sharp when compared in phase contrast and live view. However, while taking the shots I noted that when using the right focus point in phase contrast that the camera kept hunting even though the focus point was aimed directly on the Siemens test target. When I opened NX2 I was surprised by what I found on the images taken through the viewfinder with phase contrast. The left and right sensors on the recorded images are not where the camera showed them to be in the viewfinder. Left outermost sensor: the red box seen in NX2 is 6 inches to the left from what I saw through the viewfinder and on the LCD playback screen. The right outermost sensor: the red box seen in NX2 is off the target, 6 inches to the right from what I saw through the viewfinder and on the LCD playback screen. I went back and put marks on the Siemens chart to identify the sensor location I was seeing through the viewfinder, retook the pictures and looked in NX2 and again verified that right and left sensors were each 6 inches lateral from where the viewfinder showed them to be in the viewfinder when focusing the shots and when reviewed on the LCD screen for playback.
I then tested the D700 with 3 Siemens targets on the wall to test left outermost, center and right outermost sensor points and the 3 sensor locations in viewfinder perfectly matched images in NX2.
Have you heard from anyone else about sensor location on the D600? How will this affect the function when AF-C, S, center point is used for action shots? Is this within manufacturer tolerances or considered a defective camera?
Thank you.
Nasim – if you have time to get to all these questions, may I add one more? I have struggled with the AF system on the D600 photographing fast eratically moving animals. I got a D800 to compare to the D600 in hopes of deciding which has the better AF system for me and whether the potential motion blur from higher resolution on the D800 might take away any benefit I may gain in AF performance. I tested the new D800 for the left autofocus issue and found that the outermost left AF sensor requires a -3 adjustment as compared to the center and right sensor points. Is this a left AF sensor problem? Will it affect IQ? If I shoot mainly center point or center 9 or 21 points for fast action shots will this issue affect image quality?
I have been left very confused by my time with the D600. I have thought that maybe the AF system is just not robust enough for my needs, but I am also having trouble aligning all my lenses on it as well getting widely varying results during alignment testing. I am wondering if I possibly have a defective D600 or not, but it seems unlikely since no one is reporting this trouble. I have not experienced anything like this before and not sure how to sort this out.
Kim, this sounds like an issue with NX2 than an issue with the AF system on the D600. I have just tried to focus on a subject with the left and right outer points and the camera was able to obtain focus. So what you are seeing in NX2 is not a representation of what was happening in the camera…
As for photographing fast moving subjects, perhaps you need to solidify your camera technique? I updated the review with image samples photographing birds and wildlife – take a look and see if perhaps you need to change the way you shoot. For very fast action (birds in flight), where it can get extremely tough to keep them in frame, I found 3D (not Auto 3D) to work the best. Give it a try. As for the D800, you probably have the same problem as everyone else with the left AF points. You might need to send it to Nikon to get it repaired…
I’m playing now with D600 and 50/1.4G in Dixons at Gatwick Airport! Like for me – perfect camera!
Great job Nasim!
How much was the body at the airport?
1599 GBP for body only!
But at this moment the best price for D600 in UK is 1425 GBP (http://slrhut.co.uk) O_o
Thank you for your feedback Michael!
Dear Nasim, I am planning to buy Nikon D600. But i confused about standard zoom lenses. 1) 24-120 f/4 VR and 2) 24-70 f/2.8. 24-70mm have better optics but no VR. Is it really a big issue If yes i will go for 24-120mm. Please help me. Thank You.
I needed the auto-focus speed and optics quality, so went for the 24-70 over the plasticky 24-120. VR might help if you don’t have a steady hand and the longer range is also a plus. But I think 24-70 wins on IQ.
Hi Sandeep,
I think the 24-70 is a better lens. I did low light photos, hand held with it, and I didn’t miss VR. Also if you do portraits at the 70mm focal lenght, and the background is far away, you can have a nice bokeh. The 24-70 is a very reliable, solid lens.
Sandeep, this is covered in detail in my Nikon 24-120mm review. See the review and you will find the answer.
Thank you a lot! I was undecided from d600 and d7000 but now I know what I need. Thank you
I’ve also pin yout review!
Thank you for your feedback Roberto!
Nasim,
Thanks for the fantastic review.
So when are you adding D600 to the “DSLR Camera Purchase Guide” questionnaire?
Already done! :)
Just to share some recent /October/ experience with Nikon d600/800.
Sold my old d300 and wanted to move to full frame having all my lenses already
in FX . Bought d600 and after few tests at home found dirty sensor cover with oil spots,
not dust but oil. Went to my trusted camera supplier hoping to exchange for a better one.
Guess what, after testing two more bodies right in the store, found the same if not even worse
oil and dust all over the sensor. Well I thought since d600 is made in Thailand so it must be
a quality control issue there. I decided to pay extra and get d800. Checked in store for AF issues
and it was perfect, what a relief….until again I checked the sensor and here we are, oil spots.
I don’t know what would you do but I decided never again rush and buy brand new Nikon.
When I bought d300 it was already on the market second year.
Yup, just like I pointed out in my review, two out of the three units I had were not clean…
Dear Nasim,
Thanks for the excellent review. I have Nikon D700 and looking for a 2nd camera. The camera is usually worn around the neck. The D600 is constructed with magnesium alloy for the it’s top and back panels, the front panel is made of plastic.
Is the front panel of D600 strong enough to bear AFD 80-200/2,8 (1300gram) or AFD 135/2 DC (815gram) ?
Thanks,
Paul
Paul, if you read the review, I already posted the answer to your question.
Thank you
Hi Nazim,
Congratulations with the very nice review article. However, there are discussions on the web regarding
a green shift in D600 (as well as in D800 & D4) . On the other hand, you never mentioned any issues/probems with color rendition in your final images from D600. Can you comment on that specific point, i.e. do you think this is “the beauty in the eye of the beholder” issue or it is more smth, which requires some firmware updates etc.?
Thanks a lot!
Maxim, the green tint issue is only visible on JPEG images. I really don’t care about that, since I always shoot RAW.
hello Nasim. Thanks for a great blog!!
will you help me with some good advice? I take most pictures of people and nature. With a budget of 3000 usd, would you choose: a) nikon D600, 28 1.8g, 85 1.8g or
b) used nikon d700, used nikon 24-70 G
Best regards
Lasse
Lasse, I would go for option A.
For the benefit of the undecideds, reviewers and critics are doing a great job making thorough and detailed comparisons with the D800 as a standard. So rather than stew too long about compromising your photography, and missing some great fall shots, just get the best and be done with it. I bought my D800 with a 24-70 lens for my trip to Canada and the Chateau Lake Louise, and enjoyed comparing notes with the considerable worldly crowd of D800s along the spectacular shoreline. With every pull of the trigger, poster quality shots were in range, with some spectacular hits, on perfect days as storm clouds came and left. In pitch blackness, a perfectly exposed speeding freight doing 60 mph was stopped in its tracks as it rocketed past West Glacier. Whatever bizarre or difficult situation I imagined, the D800 came through. For those who may be second guessing about the additional 900 bucks, give your old stuff to the kids, get another charge card, and don’t let equipment stifle your creativity. – Hei Lung
Hei, it depends on what a person photographs. For landscape/fashion/architecture, the D800 is absolutely the way to go. But for everything else, why pay the extra money? That $900 difference can buy a couple of nice primes.
P.S. The 24-70 f2.8 is as good as it gets. It’s big, heavy, and FAST. The 2.8 is worth every pile of cents, and greatly expands the difficult opportunities.
Hei Lung
Hi Nasim, I’m an avid follower of your site and love your reviews!
I shoot weddings and currently use D800 & D700. I don’t have a problem with file size from D800 but do find I need to keep shutter speeds higher than D700.
Q1. Do you think there is any real benefit in trading my D700 for a D600.
Q2. I plan to buy 24mm F1.4 lens to use on my D800. From your experience what is the lowest shutter speeds can you shoot this lens on D800 (Hand held). Without having to worrying about images being sharp.
Thanks in advance
Andrew
Andrew, the D700 is a phenomenal camera, but its value is going to drop rapidly, now that the D600 and D800 are out. So if you can get good money for your D700, I would sell it now. Otherwise, don’t bother swapping the cameras. I am keeping mine, because I won’t be able to sell it in its current condition (pretty worn out). As for the 24mm f/1.4, that lens gets so much light that you often do not have to worry about the shutter speed. I would say just keep it above 1/30 of a second and you should be good…
Glad I read the article. My 600 will be delivered on Wednesday. I will go from a D80 to the 600. I have the 50mm 1.8 and a 70-200 2.8 Looking forward to retirement and taking pictures. Hopefully I’ll be able to make some pocket money. Thanks for the information.
Hi Nasim! First of all I like to thank you for the article and for the work that you have done towards this review. I am planing to get a new camera for Wildlife that has to be faster then my D800 and higher resolution then my D700. I am a hobbyist photographer and spending 10K for the 500 mm lens it’s absolute “NO” and “NO”! I have AF-S 300mm F/2.8 VRII, 2X III and I am planning on getting D600. Also my friend told me that D600 can shoot with 8 fps with the Power Grip Nikon MB-D14 and new Nikon EN-EL18 is that right? If it is, than would you recommend this setup? Thanks in advance.
Vladimir Naumoff
You cannot get 8 fps on the D600, with or without grip. The camera is limited to 5.5 fps…
Hi Nasim,
Very impressed with such thorough review of D600. I found your articles are highly credible and totally enjoy reading them.
I just upgraded my D5000 to D600. Would you mind sharing with us your recommended Picture Control settings for both Landscape and Portrait (i.e. In terms of Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation, Hue etc.).
Thank you and really look forward to following your articles and photos.
Best regards,
Adrian
Hi Nasim.
I have the D600 now for around one week. And what i have taken with it, i’m very impressed. Still waitin for aperture update for the raw file support, i think i will take a look into lightroom to deal with the files now ;-)
i also have the D300 and the only thing on the first look where the af-points. but for my most use, macro and Nature photography the limitation is very small. I found out, when i use the live view (which i prefer,cause i can focus easier) the focus points are spread all over the field of view, it’s funny, when i look through the viewfinder, the focus point is the farest left position in the red area. When i switch to live view i can move the point much farer to the left and it focuses the object tac on. so, i think for macro, still live and nature shots you should really use the live view, cause the af-points are not limited. it seems nikon used for the contrast af-module a wider coverage. or am i missunderstanding something?
ah, almost forgot, superb review, and for now a can only say: D600 is a great body.
Thanks for your articles and responses.
regard gerald
and something more (just sharing my experiences ;-))
i have the tokina 11-16mm F2,8 Lens for DX. And I tried to use it in FX-Mode, and on 16mm there is more or less no vignetting and the picture is really sharp, even wide open, at F5.6 there is absolute nothing. even autofocus works fine and takes the object good in focus.
So maybe there are more DX Lenses that work fine on FX mode in the D600. You should try..
thanks and best regards
gerald
Hi Nasim,
I hope the prices of the D700 will come down, but still it is not the case. Check this Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-12-1MP-FX-Format-Digital-3-0-Inch/dp/B001BTCSI6/ref=sr_1_13?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1349882849&sr=1-13
I think that the D700 is now expensier than some months ago. In Austria they are selling it for 2475 euros, that is 480 euros expensier that in the moment I bought it.
Jorge, the D700 is discontinued, so it is close to impossible to find a new camera body (hence the price).
Hi, i have been following your website for a long time, i bought d600, i used to use d80 and had 70-300, 50mm and 10-24 lens, but now for d600 i just have 50mm . i am thinking to buy 20 or 24 mm 2.8 lens ( do they ahve 1.8 ) and 85 or 105 mm. i am confused i want atleast one tele like 70-300 , is 80-200 f2.8 better choice? i am not goign to buy them all now , may be in 1 or 2 yrs time :P. SO just suggest me one good tele lens because i want to get aleast upto 300. how much difference is in 200 and 300 mm ? sometime i think about 28-300 but ……. have no good knowledge about lens so want some suggestion. I love to take pictures of festivals carnivals and landscape ( wildlife and sports i want but lens restriction )
Насим, здравствуйте! Подскажите пожалуйста, не могу понять, у меня что-то с d600 или так и должно быть. Для чистоты эксперимента сбросила все настройки в заводские, поставила только авто исо и съемка в рав. Фотографирую быстро серию из 20-30 кадров, потом начинаю их просматривать, быстро листая назад. Так вот примерно на 6-ом кадре быстрой промотки назад, аппарат начинает долго тупить и горит зеленый свет(думает примерно по 3-4 секунды). Потом вроде восстанавливается, хоть и не сразу, и проматывать можно быстрее. Я так понимаю, что общается с картой памяти, но почему-то как-то непривычно долго. Пробовала на двух отформатированных SD картах sdhc class 10 16 gb. Шустрее вроде нет, не знаю что делать. На d7000 все работало без проблем, таких тугодумий не было. Не сложно ли вам повторить этот эксперимент на своей d600?
Кстати если снимаю в джипег, то ничего не тупит.
You wrote that you us “14bit depth” when shooting Landscapes. I have now had two D600s. I replaced the first one as the “14bit depth” did not work. I just received the second copy and it too will not shoot in “14bit depth” RAW. In the manual it states that “14bit depth” is the default setting.
Question, how were you able to set the D600 to “14bit depth”? I have followed the manual with no luck.
Thanks for your help.
Hi I have been shooting for a few weeks with my d600 in 14 bit raw + jpeg without issue. What exactly are you setting and what is not happening? I have not heard this complaint on the forums before.
Chris:
I took the camera out of the box and put in a fully charged battery and clicked off several shots. With no adjustments, other than selecting “RAW”, made to the camera it should have captured the image in it’s default setting, which is “14bit Depth”. I have tried shooting in all modes and RAW and RAW + JPEG. I have also followed all the steps in the manual regarding this feature.
I am viewing metadata with Capture NX2 V: 2.3.4 and ViewNX 2 v: 2.5.0 64bit.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Nasim,
Thanks for the excellent review. I appreciate how much time these things take to write and am grateful for the information to be learned from reading them.
I am axiously awaiting the time I can purchase a D600 to go with the 24-120mm f/4 VR lens I am using on my D7000 as the full frame sensor will open up the wide end of this superb lens.
Best Regards,
Jason
Hi,
Stunning review!
I was already decided to do the jump to the D600 from my D7000.
This review just confirmed that I did the right choice. Also, the photos are great!
I’ll take on specific points:
1- Dynamic range is a very important thing for me as I sometimes like to shoot landscapes and as much information I can pack on a file, the better so I can recover these on post-production. Very happy to see that the D600 is in a high standard here.
2- ISO performance also is another important point. I usually shoot concerts and live performances when the stage lighting, although adequate to the scene, is awful for photographers. So, to keep up with speeds of 1/125 or so, I need good ISO – I still feel that my D7000 is a bit behind to my needs. In extreme cases I have to shoot at ISO 6400 with the D7000 – achieving a proper exposure can make this ISO 6400 shot looks good with less grain (noise) than expected, but still lacking dynamic range and color depth, depending on the scene. Does the D600 sensor keeps a good color depth and dynamic range on ISOs above 3200 or so compared to D7000 (or D800/D4)? I see that you did a ISO 3200 shot of the running female elk, it looks like a ISO 2000 or so from a D7000. :)
3- Glad to see that you’re going to start “measuring” dynamic range to compare with DxO scores – that will probably help to put down the silly arguments of DxO staff being nikonians – or you’ll became one of these infamous nikonians too. ;P
4- I missed the AF-ON button on the D600 but like on the D7000, I’ll set the AE/AF-lock button to this. My D7000 settings will be replicated on my future D600. :)
5- Do you plan to later on add a segment to this review commenting on the grip MD-D14?
All in all, I really appreciate the review and as soon as I have the opportunity I’ll sell my D7000 (actually a superb camera I’m in love with, even with some quirks) to get this D600. Full frame all the way. :)
Regards,
Rafael
Hello Nasim,
Thank you for excellent review of D600. I bought D600 when you opened link to BH photo and reading your reviews last several month dayly. I bought body only and using it with manual Nikkors 28mm 2.8, 55mm 2.8 micro and 75-150mm f3.5, 70-210mm f4. I like results so far. I am not sure are there any advantages in photo IQ in modern zooms 24-85mm vr or 24-120mm f4 vr over old manual Nikkors?
Can you please put out in your review couple of your landscape photos taken with D600 and pro lens in full resolutions? Thank you.
Hi Nasim,
Thank you for the, as always, very informative review. The only complaint i have about the D700′s IQ is pretty bad banding at high ISOs in very low light situations. Do you have a feel on whether the D600 improves on that or not?
Regards,
Tony
this is a fantastic review! thanks very much – i havent come across this site before but i’ll definitely be checking back. im thinking of upgrading to a full-frame DSLR and the D600 seems more my thing than the 6D (out of the affordable FFs) only decision to be made for me is the lens to pair it with – the higher end zooms are a bit out of my budget at the moment!
Hello Nasim, Thank you for the excellent and honest feedback of the D600 camera.
When i read these reviews i get a bit more confused. and was wondering if you could help me. I have a D7000 camera for around 2 years now. Over the last 10 months i had made a conscious effort to save for lenses. I exchanged my 18-105 with a 50mm 1.4d and I got a fantastic deal ( almost free 400$ for a month old 135mm DC) I used the lens on the D7000 and pictures were awesome – Except that i could not use it indoors. Outdoors it was great- A friend then suggested i try his D700 with the same lens. and It literally opened my eyes to the space i had gained and it was beautiful. I have been saving for a full frame ever since and the D700 was close to achieving in a months time- Well the D600 was announced and the price of the D7000 has slumped. So it looks like i have to save a few months more.
Ok enough of my long essay. My question is should i now buy the D700 in a month or two or should i save some more and buy the D600. ( may set me back by another 6months) The picture that I like taking are Street, Portraits, and the Occasional landscape once in a year on a holiday. I have never shot video nor do i intend to.) All the pictures I take are for personal use so no commercial printing etc.
Would appreciate a little assistance.
Thanks,
Ryan
Hello Nasim,
I live in the Philippines, almost literally on the other side of the world from you. I’ve been pouring through review after review of the D600 as I am deciding whether to just stick to my D700 or sell it and get the D600 (I’m an enthusiast who can only afford 1 camera). I just have to say that you have the best review I’ve read on the D600 with more info I haven’t come across in all the other reviews I’ve read. Thank you for all your hard work on this. What a help you’ve been!
I’m ordering my D600. :)
Robbie
Hi, Nasim, Your reviews are all excellent!
I loved the landscape pictures in this review, and I’d like to know which lenses have you used on them. Could you tell me which one is it?
PS: I live in central Brazil, and my main theme is nature.
I’m learning with a D3100, but upgrading to a D600, maybe a D800, or even a D800e.
Your reviews were the most helpful I have found – congratulations.
PS(2): I apologize for some basic gramar mistakes in my first post.
hi nasim
thanks for your great site.i want to buy my first dslr next year summer,wich one do you prefer,d600 or d800??
Hi Nasim,
I have been using a D700 for the last two years for weddings, celebrations and beginning with portrait work, I also like to take landscapes when I have the time, and have been thinking seriously of buying a second camera. I would like it as a backup but more so to use a 24-70mm lens on one camera and a 70-200mm on the other. I recently had the opportunity to use two D700′s at a wedding which was great. I not only avoided having to change lenses during the ceremony but I could also change between the cameras quickly and get some shots that I would not have been able to do before.
So, I would like to buy another camera, the problem is which one. Having read your comparisons between various cameras, I feel that either the D600 or the D3s would be best. I’m not sure if I want to have to deal with huge file sizes using a D800. Furthermore, I would be carrying both cameras by my side, using a Sun Sniper strap or the like, with flashes attached. The D600 would be welcome for it’s lighter weight and the higher pixel count would be good for cropping, but I’m not sure if it would be all right to attach say the 24-70mm 2.8 lens and have it on a sling/strap as mentioned. Would the slower flash sinc, speed be an issue?
As your wife shoots weddings too, what would be your collective advice be please?
Many thanks in advance,
Yours Bernard.
Bernard, since you shoot weddings, you do not need the speed of the top of the line DSLRs like D4/D3s. The Nikon D600 is a perfect wedding photography camera and I bought two of them, specifically for use in weddings (our wedding season is over, so it is for weddings next year). My wife loves the D800 images, but she hates post-processing them. The Nikon D600 is a good balance of resolution and file size in that regard. Once she saw images out of the D600, she immediately fell in love with it and gave me the go ahead to buy another unit. Don’t worry about the heft of the 24-70mm or 70-200mm – I used both lenses on the D600 and there is no problem. Just as I stated in the review, be careful when letting heavy lenses like 70-200mm dangle off your camera. If you use third party straps, make sure to mount the strap on the lens’ tripod collar, not the camera’s.
Hi Nasim,
Many thanks for your reply and advice. I really value it and all your efforts to supply us photographers with clear understandable recommendations. Keep up the stelar work.
Regards, Bernard.
Hello Nasim,
While I was reading your review on the D600, time went in a flash. I was caught at the end being sorry it was over.
Great article and nice pictures!
Thank you for your feedback Francois, I really appreciate it :)
For people who are concerned with AF performance in low-light and AF point clustering/location, here’s an interesting article. Sounds like D600 does very well. I prefer ‘Focus and Recompose’ but this method doesn’t work in every situation (think taking pictures of kids running around), and the writer offers very useful alternatives:
http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2012/10/nikon-d600-autofocus-speed-accuracy-low.html
Hello Mikhail,
I read your AF review and I’m curious to know some more on your tests. Reading Nasim’s review about his experience at photographing birds I undestood that AF settings are important.
I haven’t a so sophisticated camera, so I’m not used to the AF effects to changes at Focus Tracking, like Lock-On or similar (i.e. Nasim initially set to 3 – normal – and then he switched to 3D AF mode, with Focus Tracking set to 1 -short), but I’m curious to know if you did similar tests “tracking” your kids.
As you stated, the photos your wife made hadn’t the eyes in the 39 AF area coverage and, even if some of them are stil sharp enough, if it was me to take them, I would have preferred to have the eyes and the lips perfectly in focus, like in the first photos you have shown at the beginning of your article.
To miss a beautiful composition like in ones of your kids would be very annoying for me. Expecially because I feel with people you don’t always have the opportunity to frame the same atmosphere again. Sometimes every single photo is unique.
Moreover, since the type of framing I sometimes more like is the one your wife used, where the subject is closer to the frame edges (like here http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z4BajTWtZgU/UGsG5GMCqdI/AAAAAAAAbfE/u0FNF7g-djY/s1600/_MIC1011.JPG) I was wondering if the D600 accuracy is really enough in such conditions.
I don’t mind too much if the AF hunts a little bit in low light (like 1-2 EV), because I’m aware it can happen, but would be more important if the camera missed to follow the in focus points when the subject moves.
Still now I don’t completely understand why Nikon has missed to use the improved 51 points AF it is using on D800/D4 also on D600. All of them are three different types of camera and they would have been also with an improved AF on D600. IMHO it doesn’t make great sense building a Ferrari (D600 sensor and Expeed) but downgrading its tyres(its AF) to the smaller city car size, only to have the D800 more desiderable.
D800 is “the big picture” camera, as still Nikon claimed, not the D700 evolution.
I don’t think you always have time to recompose and I suspect the alternatives you proposed could expose you to miss some nice shoots, expecially the ones where you want to capture people naturalness, that often require you to shoot burts.
Even if through Nasim’s review I could see the D600 AF can track well moving subjects I couldn’t yet solve my issue if they are off the center, so you want to compose differently as I told you before.
This is one BIG issue for me.
Thanks, Sebastiano
Sebastiano,
I did NOT write that review :) In fact, I don’t have a D600, but am considering getting it soon. Nasim or someone else may have suggested a possible explanation for the AF point spread – cost control: port from D7000 and less new parts to produce.
I probably wouldn’t call D600 a Ferrari… Hasselblad – probably, D600… not quite.
I had the D600 today in my hands for a couple of minutes and I found the viewfinder not as bright as I had expected. Can it be that the viewfinder of the D600 is somewhat darker than the viewfinder of the D300? Can anyone confirm that? Or am I wrong?
Thanks.
Nope, I didn`t feel that
Nasim I’m about to buy D600 (I’m prosumer not pro) as I am thinking that the U1 and U2 buttons will give me easier shooting experience than delving into the options buried in shooting menu, even tho it misses out on all those megapizels on D800.
Nasim here’s the big question that will seal the deal. Is the D600 faster and smoother/easier to use than D800? Conversely is the lack of u1 and u2 on D800 slow it down in use?
And when you mention D800 is preferred for landscape is that because it gives potential larger blowup print size or becvause it is intrinsically sharper???
Nasim I’m about to buy D600 not D800 (I’m prosumer not pro) as I am thinking that the U1 and U2 buttons will give me easier shooting experience than delving into the options buried in shooting menu, even tho it misses out on all those megapizels on D800.
Nasim here’s the big question that will seal the deal. Is the D600 faster and smoother/easier to use than D800? Conversely is the lack of u1 and u2 on D800 slow it down in use?
And when you mention D800 is preferred for landscape is that because it gives potential larger blowup print size or because it is intrinsically sharper???
Hello
Reading your great in-depth review has help be decide to go with the D600 over the D700
I like it compact and the fact that is brand new over the D700
As I am still shooting and happy with a D200 and still will just looking forward to the FX and low light over mine
Hi Nasim— the pictures you posted from the Fall workshop in Ridgeway Colorado are truly beautiful and so sharp, Wow!
I was there but my photos don’t quite compare… maybe it’s time for a D600… once I learn composition. :-)
Mark and Emily
Does anyone already have a “long term”-experience with the AF system? I am still sceptical since the AF sensor points are so close together in the middle of the viewfinder. Is it really a drawback compared to the D800? Thanks!
dear Nasim
i read that one of the famous photographer stated in his blog that D600 would be the body he would recommend to folks over the D800. one of this reasons is it has the same “e4″ flash custom setting like the D4, can you help me to understand what that custom do ? and how is it really important, and if it lacks in D800?
one more thing how the technique of (focus and recompose) will affect your speed to acquire focus especially in macro when u are shooting insects… i think i going to miss a lot of shots for active insects when relying on the technique ..what to u think , is not that a real limitations because of those cluster focus points?
Egami, just looked at the D600 menu. E4 is “Flash Exposure Compensation” for flash and it is not something unique to the D600. Maybe the photographer meant that there is a dedicated button for this on the camera? But then even the D800 has it on the front too, so I have no idea what he means.
As for focus and recompose, take a look at the D600 vs D800 viewfinder – you will see that the D600 is NOT that much smaller, only by one AF point on each side. So it is really not that big of a deal. I do focus and recompose on the D800 as well and I do not have a problem with it :)
Hi Nasim, One of the reasons I bought the D600 was because of the E4 function. Before on previous Nikon bodies (I own a D300s), EC affected both ambient and flash exposure. So if you had an image with flash and you wanted to add -EC to only the background, you had to add +EC to the flash output but it wasn’t an exact ratio. You kind of had to guess how much flash EC to add. Now you can decouple the two ECs with the E4 function. This is similar to how the Canon system works and is much better in my opinion.
An opinion is an opinion but not having to face consequences makes some people think they can be rude and obnoxious.
I find both your reviews and tutorials really well written and inspiring as do many people on this site. So I hope people like this don’t put you or the rest of the team off. I think I would be seething!
but yes I agree ignore him
Thank you Mark, I appreciate your feedback. I would like to keep the site positive, as it has always been. So some moderation is sometimes needed, otherwise it can quickly get out of hand…
Hi Nasim,
I will appreciate your opinion on using D600 with my 28-105 IF Nikon.
Thank you, Sebastiano
I am currently considering upgrading my d7000 to the d600. However, I cannot afford to upgrade all my lenses at the same time. Will I lose that much quality by using dx lenses on the d600? or will my images still be better than the d7000? Keep in mind, I will upgrade to fx lenses as funds become available.
Michael,
It’s not about ‘quality’, really. It’s more about the image circle. DX lenses produce smaller image (because DX sensor is smaller), so you’ll end up with giant vignette. It’s probably a bad idea to post a link to ‘the other review guy’ :) but he has a good example of what I’m talking about (Sorry, Nasim):
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/dx-lenses.htm
I got my hands on my D600 just yesterday and I started shooting constantly :) I upgraded from D7000 and sold all my DX lenses and I have only my beloved Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8. I have to tell you, from DX to FX, 70-200mm has huge differences. Here is one of my first shots.
http://500px.com/photo/16229403
For the people who reads about AF points concern, I can tell you don`t even think about it. It didn`t bother me AT ALL. All of my shots dead on focus so far. I was in love with my D7000, literally I meant :) But D600 already made me forget about it :)
Hello again Nasim,
As regards my post Nº 187, I was wondering if you could give me some advice about buying a second camera to use alongside my current D700. It would be used for weddings, portrait sessions etc,. In your opinion, would a D600 be fine or would the slower flash sinc speed be an issue? I have also being looking at the D800 but am reluctant because of the size of the photos MB. The D3s and D4 are another possibility but are twice the price.
Many thanks,
Bernard.
Nasim,
Any idea if you can shoot a smaller RAW file with the D600.
Like 12 or 16 MB???
Hi Nasim,
Thanks to your review I have now ordered the D600 to replace my D700 (though I wish I could afford to keep both). It is your review that finally made me decide after pouring through so many. You have info that I have not seen in the other reviews. Btw, have you used the Nikon Wireless Mobile Adapter for the D600? If yes,
1) What are your experiences with it?
2) Would you recommend its purchase.
3) would you know where to find the Nikon app for the iPad (I can’t find it in the App store search).
Thanks for the all the hard and helpful work you’ve been doing!
Robbie
Supposedly Nikon USA will no longer sell any parts to users. Cameras/lenses must be shipped back to a Nikon Service center, even for replacement of knobs/covers that are easily end-user installed. Does this new policy change the level of recommendation you can give to the D600 (and other) Nikon cameras?
Thanks,
Jim
Question for anyone:
Has anyone shot the 70-200 VR II + TC-17 combo on the D600? I am interested in focus speed and accuracy on that setup. Especially on sports.
While I like the range of the 300 f/4, I need the ability to zoom (using two cameras to cover the range is a pain, and results in missed shots). I am aware of the f-stop effect of the above combo (can shoot this combo at f/5.6 without a problem in most cases, so is not an issue for me).
Thanks,
WEJ
Hi Nasim, I have recently purchased a D600/24-120F4 combo. I did an event shoot (mostly portraits) and I also took it to Yosemite NP and Yellowstone NP recently. I was impressed with the portrait shots but I found the landscape/wildshot shots lacking, specifically the sharpness. I shot handheld mainly and tried to keep my shutter speed (>1/500s) up as high as possible but when looking at 100% (pixel peeping) everything just seemed a bit soft to me. My thinking is that my technique just needs work with the larger sensor size compared to the D300s (DX). Do you find the larger sensor of the D600 needs more careful technique. I know you say that the 24-120 is a sharp lens so it shouldn’t be the lens that is the problem. Any thoughts?
thanks,
Rick Jensen
Hello everyone. Well, I wish I had one of those three D600′s Nasim! I am on my 2nd one in as many weeks. I am extremely frustrated and disappointed. I held off for 4 months from buying a D3/3s, after hearing the rumors of this camera. I have gotten not one, but two bad copies!!!
The D600 is fantastic, but my first one had definite focus issues. I ended up taking 1,270 images on the D600 and several dozen more with a D40, D300 and D700 – to compare. Also, I used my 50/1.8, 24-70/2.8, 70-200 Vr1/2.8 and my neighbors new 24-70/2.8 lens. Only 2% of those 1,270 images were in focus!!!! I am very put off. All images were taken of the same subjects and the camera mounted on a tripod.
The D600 was “off” by a minor amount, but noticeable – especially when taking head shots. The images quite similar to the D7000 (had it for a week), with factory settings – soft. However, the D600 did and still does not really respond to the “sharpness” settings. The factory default is -8 – lol. I thought that setting this to +3 or so would fix it, but no. Even setting the ‘sharpness’ to +9 has no effect.
I just received my 2nd copy yesterday. To my shock – it’s the same!
I can’t quite believe that I would be so unlucky to get two bad copies ….. could I be “missing” something? I hope that I am, but I have been through these cameras with a toothpick …. there is no denying that both of these bodies produce soft/unusable images.
I have talked to Nikon Canada, but they are not willing to give me any priority in their repair line. I am not waiting 3 weeks to have them to possibly say that there is nothing wrong! I only have 10 days to return it.
Any ideas?
Hi,
Have you tried tuning the AF adjustments (Micro-adjustments)?
ANyway, first of all: the sharpness settings you mentioned does NOT matter much for focus. It just sharpens (post-production) the JPG’s converted from RAW inside the camera. Nothing else.
If you’re getting inconsistent focus issues by a little margin, I highly recommend a calibration of the focus system. It is much likely a matter of body/lens combination.
Check Google for “Nikon AF microadjustment”. You’ll find a myriad of instructions and focus charts to print and do the test yourself. It is cheap, you’ll only need to print some test charts if you go basic.
Also, you can buy Lens Align II to get accurate and dead-on focus adjustments charts.
Another option is to do it “automatically”, via software: Reikan FoCal and FocusTune (from the same creator of LensAlign II).
All in all, there are a lot of options – all of them looks better than waiting 3 weeks “for repairs” (which, IMHO, is not needed if the focus is off by little margin – making possible to fix via the AF adjustments in-camera to each lens (the camera is able to store the settings for each lens).
Best,
Thanks Rafael.
Yes I know about the AF Fine Tune. However, I have always considered that as something to be used in rare, out of warranty , cases. If my lenses work perfectly on a D40, D300, D3 and D700, but not on a new camera …. then the fault must lie with the new body. Perhaps I am expecting too much, but when all those other cameras have no issue and my new $2370 camera body does … it’s a tough pill to swallow.
Nevertheless, I’ll give the Fine Tune a try today. I’ll post my (hopefully good) results.
Michael,
Those cameras you mentioned are of (much) lower resolution than the D800, so ANY slight focus issue will be much more evident on the 36 MP D800. Especially on 100% view – that’s the “downside” of working with high resolution cameras.
Also, the lens working “100%” on other bodies doesn’t mean that it will be “100%” on your D800. That’s why the manufacturers enabled the AF micro-adjustments. ;)
Don’t worry and be happy. It is a common thing and does not mean that your camera has problems. Just do (a good) AF-microadjustments and you’re set.
Oh, sorry, I re-read and see that we’re talking about the D600, but the observations are still valid, since it has a 24 MP sensor, which is still a lot, just not as much as D800′s. :)
Well, I performed the lens test and then the fine-tune. The 50 & 70-200 past the lens test; the 24-70 failed the test (on the D600) – not sharp anywhere on the scale. I tried my neighbours new 24-70 …. same result.
The fine-tune DID correct the image softness … almost perfect anyways. I had to adjust to -10 to correct the back-focusing. I guess I may have to replace the 24-70 with the new 24-85.
Tomorrow I’ll test the 24-70 on my D300.
Nice it worked. :)
Strange on the 24-70 though. Have you tried on different focal lengths? Is it back- or front-focusing? Or no sharpness at ALL?
No sharpness at all. I will test again today.
Return your camera and order a third one.
Quick video samples D600…
Here is a link to a very quick sampling of some D600 video taken at Zion National Park. Just a few river scenes straight out of the camera without any editing….1080 HD @ 30 fps. YouTube compression kills the detail if you try and watch it full screen but I thought some folks may like to see some footage.
I first thought that my D600 did not have the ‘dirty sensor’ problem mentioned in Nasim’s blog….but discovered problems when in Utah (clear bright blue skies!). At any rate the Nikon dealer that I purchased my camera from will be doing a no-charge sensor cleaning for me rather than having to send my camera back to Nikon.
I took my D7000 and D600 to Utah and found them to be a very useful pairing….had my 10-24 Nikkor on the D7000 and used the Nikkor 24-85 VR on the D600.
High ISO D600 Video sample
This link will take you to a high ISO video sample shot using Nikon D600 with Nikkor 24-85 VR lens. Shot in 1080 HD @ 30 fps. 1/60 shutter speed, F3.5, ISO5000.
High ISO D600 video sample
The YouTube link will take you to some hand-held video footage taken with my Nikon D600 with Nikkor 24-85 VR lens. Video is 1080 HD @ 30 fps. Shot at 1/60 shutter, F3.5, ISO5000.
Hi Nasim
To start i just want to say that I love your website. I am gearing up to buy my first DSLR (Nikon D600) and am essentially new to the world of photography. Yours was the only site out of dozens that really worked for me.
The site and your way of teaching is very intuitive. It was easy to sit down knowing nothing and in a few surfing sessions, be able to have intelligent conversations at the camera store that did not leave me embarrassed or feeling overwhelmed.
Now back to the D600. There is a lot of talk the last few days about dust issues with the D600 and how it could be more than just typical dust from shipping. Some posts are pointing to over sized shutter curtains and things that make it sound like there is a engineering issue. Other people take it further, complaining that Nikon is slow to acknowledge and or repair these types of issues.
Its unnerving for some one new to the realm, especially when the camera in question is over $2,000. Any suggestions or feedback on all the talk about continuos accumulation of sensor dust?
The link will take you to a YouTube video showing various ‘quick grab’ video clips taken with the D600. The indoor clips were all shot between ISO3200 and ISO6400. All clips are 1080 @ 30 fps shot with 1/60 shutter speed. A range of apertures were used based on available lighting. All clips were done with a Nikkor 24-85 VR lens.
You’ll see some noise and a bit of moire but there appears to be quite a bit LESS moire than with the D800. These were all just short clips taken on a recent holiday and I did not have any of my video gear with me (fluid head, tripod, slider, z-finder etc.) so all of the clips are just quickly-done, hand-held scenes. Hopefully they will give you some idea of the video capabilty and quality of the D600. I think Nikon has a real winner with this camera in terms of video….and as Nasim’s review detailed…the still images are outstanding.
Once you click to start the video watch for the “Change Quality” button to appear in the YouTube basebar….click on it to view the video in 1080.
I just upgraded from a d40 and i am having issues with getting images to be tack sharp and in focus. I don’t think it is the camera I think I am having a hard time controlling the many points of focus and the different selections for auto-focusing. I get many images that are in focus, but it seems random. I am still using dx lenses. I don’t have a business and upgrading is a process for me. Do you know where I can find more detailed descriptions of how to control the auto focus settings and when to select them. A,S,C – 5,9,39 points, etc. I am well accustomed to focus and reframe I did that all the time with the d40. I would get every strand of hair on my kids head, and now it just seems to be a blur of hair most the time. Thanks.
Hi Sheena. Download the D600 manual, or look in your D600 book that’s in the camera box. Look at pages 97-101.
http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/17980/~/user%27s-manual—d600—user%27s-manual
I have/am. I suppose I just need to practice it more.
Nasim, I am eagerly looking forward to upgrade from my D90 to the D600. However given the increased chatter surrounding the dust/oil issue do you think it is worth waiting for a few weeks to see how this unfold or its not worth waiting as the problem is sufficiently minor in your view. Thanks
The link will take you to a YouTube video that shows a range of ‘walk-around’ shots taken with the D600 with 24-85 VR lens. All quick hand-held shots in available light. There are over 2 dozen high ISO shots included. Each is noted in the video. Watch for the ‘frog’ shot at ISO6400. Most of the high ISO images are in the second half of the video.
I should have mentioned to click on the quality button at the bottom of the YouTube window to view the video in 1080 HD which will give you a much better idea on the quality of the original images (all are jpegs straight out of the camera).
Thanks for posting your videos Thomas. I have not shot any video yet but your examples are inspirational.
Dear Nasim,
Thank you very much for your blog, it’s a great source of inspiration and technological guidance for me. I am about to spend a lot of money on new equipment and I was wondering whether you could help me in finding the right gear for my purposes.
I currently use a Nikon D700 and the 24-70/2.8 zoom lens, and after carrying it on a six-week backpacking trip in the Spanish Pyrenees, I definitely know it’s much too heavy (weighing 2.1 kilogramms). So I decided to sell this gear and go for something else. The new equipment has to be lightweight, but also–unfortunately–I’m quite a perfectionist when it comes to picture quality. So, my new camera system has to be a compromise between these two features in the first place.
I’ve been thinking about this purchase for a long time already. And for long I was convinced that I would buy a Fujifilm X-Pro 1 along with the three Fuji lenses, which is ultralight equipment and offers–as you pointed out in your review–a very good picture quality. And now that Nikon released it’s lighter D600 and Canon is about to release the 6D, I started rethinking the whole issue.
So, as far as I can see, there are four options on the table:
Fuji X-Pro 1 with lenses Fuji XF 18/2.0, Fuji XF 35/1.4, Fuji XF 60/2.4 (970g, 16 MP, 3100 Euros)
Nikon D600 with Nikon 24-85/3.5-4.5 (1315g, 24 MP, 2500 Euros)
Canon EOS 6D with Canon EF 24-105/4 (1440g, 20 MP, 2800 Euros)
Nikon D600 with Nikon 24-120/4 (1560g, 20 MP, 2900 Euros)
The Fuji ist very lightweight and surely nice to carry. However, there’s a long list of shortcomings:
- Poor AF performance and other annoying issues, as you’ve shown in your review
- I would be locked into a pretty small system with very few lenses available (18mm with crop factor isn’t that wide an angle, and there’s no fully fledged tele lens also)
- So I might need an additional SLR for shooting moving objects/wildlife
- Very expensive and more expensive than both competing full format cameras
- Lowest resolution of all cameras considered
- No zoom lens (yet), so I would have to change prime lenses even in severe weather conditions
The Nikon has the highest resolution, so even cropping in postproduction would be rather unproblematic. However, would the 24-85 lens satisfy my demand for quality? I’m not sure about that even after I’v read many reviews. Lowered down a few stops, shouldn’t it be fine for landscapes at least, even at 24mm?
If I went for the better Nikon 24-120/4, though, this system would be heavier than the Canon and not so much less heavy than the D700. In addition, as far as I interpret the stats correctly, the Nikon 24-120/4 performs worse in the DxO lab than the Canon EF 24-105/4, especially when it comes to resolution, which–other than chromatic aberration or distortion–cannot be corrected in Lightroom. (Unfortunately, the Nikon 24-85 hasn’t been tested yet.) Nikon’s advantage over Canon would be four more MP to play with.
I’d be very happy, if you could find time to share your thoughts on this decision with me.
Greetings from Germany!
Stefan
Hi, I’m not Nasim, that for sure will have a very good answer for you.
I think that if you want to travel light perhaps you must buy Nikon primes 1.8 G that combined with a D6oo will let you travel light and have good image quality. For landscape you have the 28mm f/1.8 G. For normal photography, and also some landscape shooting, there is the 50mm f/1.8 G. Both primes are good to photograph moving people in low light. The 85mm f/1.8 G is a short tele alternative of very good quality.
If you want to have not very expensive zooms, perhaps you must explore brands like Tokina, but don’t forget that you want to travel light.
Hi,
IMHO the problem with the 1.8G AFS prime lenses is that they dont focus very fast. I have the 50 and 85, they fare better in a non moving environment. For travel I take my 24 2.8D, 50 1.4D and 24-70G. I would take the 24-70 only but while on the move the 24D makes the camera easier to retreive from the bag. The 1.4 is for night stuff. As far as light goes I find f2.8 quite sufficient with the high performance ISO of today… I know the 24-70 is quite heavy but on the colombian roads in a truck, it’s hard to beat if you dont want to fall behind lloll.
ciao
ciao
Thank you Francois for your comment. I think you are right. The only f/1.8 G that I have is the 50mm, but I red that its autofocus is not so fast as the one of the 50mm f/1.4 AF-D that also I have. Just some days ago I did some photos of my daughter riding her bike with the last light of the day with that lens, and the photos were ok. Still I never tried the 50 f/1.8 G with fast moving subjects.
However, one thing is to photograph fast moving people like my daughter riding her bike or football players, and other to photograph people walking on the street, or musicians moving while playing their instruments. Recently I saw very nice street and concert photography done with the 28mm f/1.8 G, the 50mm f/1.8 G, and the 85mm f/1.8 G. The photos were so nice that now I want to buy the 28mm f/1.8 G (I have the 85mm f/1.4).
Your 24-70mm f/2.8 is an excellent zoom. Also I have it and I like it very much. As you said, it is excellent in low light. Even I use it to photograph a jazz night concert with good results (I want to buy the 28mm f/1.8 because I’m a consumist). Greetings and best wishes, Jorge.
All the best to you too Jorge, let me (us) know about the 28 1.8G. I’m not on the move all the time and really enjoy the 85 1.8G for still stills :D.
cordialement,
Francois
I have a question concerning the role of the power switch on the D600 when it is moved beyond the “ON” position to the ” * ” position. When turned on and moved past “ON” to the ” * ” is the info display on the monitor supposed to turn on as well as the LCD top display backlight? The manual only describes turning on the back light for the top LCD and the standby timers. My D7000, when the power switch is moved to the ” * ” past “on”, turns on both the top LCD backlight as well as the info display on the rear monitor. Thanks – I just received a new D600 from Adorama, and the ” * ” position on the power switch does not turn on the rear info monitor display – I would like know if is designed this way, or is a problem with the unit I got. Thanks ahead for any info.
Dennis
Nasim good evening
Among the many things you wrote, one in particular raised my attention, when you were talking to choose this or that lens. Now – while higher MP sensor are done to retain more detail than older ones, this is true if the lenses in front of them can “resolve” at least the same level of detail, otherwise they behave somehow like a bottleneck or a matt glass, spoiling what sensors are made for.
Now, you that have much more experience than any of us “common” people, might you please explain at a very simple level how much good lenses or bad lenses effectively impact the sensor performance? I’m not willing you to go into detail of tech specs (discussing extensively MTF or so, I mean) rather it would be nice if in a very simple manner you might give us something on a daily basis to be able to judge a lens if it’s good enough or not by ourselves. How can you say “this lens is good” or “this lens is not good enough” – in a resolution wise approach? Some lenses may also have variation samples that impact their theoretical potential. While this is a more randomly thing, some manufacturers are known to have less QA controls than others. Which is your experience? Thanks.
Thanks for the review, Nasim.
I just upgraded from a D300s to a D600 and I noticed something peculiar with the autofocus behavior under different light. I’m wondering if anyone else has noticed something similar. Under daylight all of my lenses focus perfectly, but under warm tungsten light, my lenses backfocus. It seems to be more noticeable on wide lenses, my 24/1.4G being the worst offender. I took two images using a LensAlign focus target, AF-S, center point, focus priority and only changed the light between the two shots. One a daylight balanced light, the other a tungsten blub. There was certainly enough light as the AF assist light didn’t come on and the exposure was around 1/125th, f/1.4, ISO 100. I tried a few times, defocusing between tests, same time same result: the daylight shot was in focus, the tungsten shot backfocused. I pulled out my D300s to see if I had gotten similar results and just never noticed, but no, the D300s focus was the same regardless of the color temperature of the light.
I’m waiting to hear back from Nikon, but I’m curious if others are experiencing this or if it’s just me.
Here are some straight-out-of-the-camera JPEGs:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25777250/D600/Tungsten_Focus_Center.JPG
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/25777250/D600/Daylight_Focus_Center.JPG
Thanks for any insight any fellow D600 users can provide.
I’ve had my D600 about 6 weeks and am enjoying it immensely. Your aticle was very educational and I learned a great deal.
Thank you for the review!
Nasim
What lenses did you use to test the D600? Thank you.
Eric
Hello,
I was wondering if you have have noticed a real-world difference in color or dynamic range between the d600 and the d700? Thanks
Peter
Dear Nasim,
What a great website and useful source of well explained info. I enjoyed your Nikon D600 article and I have almost made up my mind to buy it. I was wondering if you can add some sample images taken in low light. My D5100 starts to weep even at ISO 400 and is not usable beyond 800 in low light.
Many thanks and wishes.
Kumar
Hi Nasim,
I have read that you shoot 14-bit for landscapes and 12-bit for portraits. I have, however, not read whether you use the “compressed” or “lossless compressed” setting. I would be grateful if you could shortly explain what information is lost when using the compressed mode.
Many thanks.
Best regards,
Christian
I don’t know what I’m doing wrong with the D600, I try to use the HDR function, but, it won’t even let me turn it on, it’s like it’s deactivated, or something.
Are there some prerequisites I have to have set, or enabled, or something to even be able to turn on the HDR option??
Hi Pedro,
When I first got my D600 I had trouble getting HDR working as well. The issue was how I had “Image Quality” set….I had it set for jpeg+RAW and the HDR function on the D600 only works in jpeg. Once I changed this setting to jpeg I had no trouble whatsoever. It may be as simple as changing your Image Quality setting to Jpeg to get HDR working on your D600.
I took a number of HDR shots while on a recent trip to Utah and it works very well…if you’re technique is good you can get some useable shots hand-held…although using a tripod would be my recommendaton.
Even though the HDR works well on the D600 I don’t think I’ll use it very much as I found the the dynamic range on the D600 is simply incredible in terms of the highlight and shadow detail that the camera captures in RAW. I’ve found using the RAW files and bringing back highlights or eliminating some shadow can have a very dramatic effect on image quality….much better than using the HDR function.
D600 dust issue!
why don’t we try to reach a significant number of people with this problem and report it to Nikon?
http://www.change.org/petitions/nikon-nikon-d600-dust-on-sensor
sign and share… please
Hi Nasim,
I’ve been following your amazing blog/site for a year and find it super helpful & informative. The amount of experience/information you share is incredible and firstly I’d like to say THANK YOU! Secondly, I currently shoot weddings with a D90 (only occasionally) and my D700 which I love. I know I need to upgrade the D90 for my 2nd camera body and I’m completely stuck! I don’t like the idea of the D600 being less professional and more amateur, but wondering if I’m getting hung up on this! I looked at the D800 but yes the file size & CF card cost is an issue for me, as I’m looking at buying the 70-200mm as well. I currently use the 50mm 1.4D and 1.8G and the superb 24mm 1.4 G, but I feel like a zoom would be useful for my photography. So I’m in a predicament! Do I buy the D800 and limit my lenses, or buy the D600 and maybe even the 85mm (which I also really want!) and/or the 70-200mm!
It’s really interesting to read that you think the D600 is up to scratch for weddings, I’m just worried I’ll regret it in a couple of years?! I wish I could get my head around the non-professional label! What would you do?!
Hi,
I’m not Nasim, but the main point to answer you directly is: you said you shoot occasionally with your D90 and says that the D600 “is” less professional and more amateur. That statement is not correct. Simply put, it is you who make one camera more or less professional and if you’re talking about appearances, the D600 looks pro as much the D90 looks.
In other words, you can replace your D90 by D600 and will be satisfied.
Best,
Thanks for your response, I suppose I’m going on what Nikon guide as their Professional range. The D90 and the D600 are not in that range, hence my statement…so it’s more a matter of what Nikon grade their cameras as! And no i’m not talking about appearance either! There is a reason Nikon chose to place it in their Consumer range and not their Professional range, and I suppose that is what I’m hung up on. Do I invest in the D800 or the D600 and want to upgrade again in a year or so. My D700 is far superior to my D90 and I suppose I’m not keen to spend £2000 on what might be a lesser camera than my D700…
I`m in love with my D600 and it is definitely a professional camera most of the situations. Of course it`s not at the level of D4 for sure but I know a couple of wedding photographers upgraded from D700 to D600 and they LOVE it too. They have no regret at all.
Thanks Beyti, and no of course I wouldn’t expect it to be D3s/ D4 level but then I don’t think for weddings you necessarily need those higher end DSLRs. My 2nd shooter shoots with the D800 and says she has no regrets but the file size and general price is putting me off a bit. It is good to hear from other togs about the D600 as a few earlier reviewers have said it’s no-where near as good! Thank you! I think I will take the plunge!
For wedding photography until now Canon`s advantage was the skin tones they create. Nikon crashed that castle with D800 and I love skin colors I get from my D800. Check out my latest pictures here. They are all with D600. And colors are amazing
http://www.facebook.com/8thRule
Your review is great. I have been looking at a number of reviews from a number of website pundits, and by far, yours is the best. I also like the way folks can ask you stuff and you answer in such a way as not to make the individual feel like a fool for asking.
I am on my 2nd D600. I had one that was rife with the dust issue. Strangely, the new camera is within 150 units of the other one based on serial number. So far, so good.
I threw a 70-300 4.5-5.6 lens on the unit in a dust-free environment. It will be interesting. So far the images are stunning. I wish I had the backdrop you have with the wildlife. Great tips and photos on your site. Thank you!
Thank you for a great review, I totally enjoyed reading it and feel that you have given us a fair and unbiased view of the camera.
I would like to ask what are your views on the multitude of stories on the web regarding dirt and oil on the D600 sensor – have you come across this in your time with the camera? I ask mainly because I am thinking about buying one (swayed mostly by your review, above others) and will be traveling abroad for a month with it, a week or so after purchase and don’t want to have issues.
Thanks again Nasim, I have had your site booked marked for a while now and thoroughly enjoy and look forward to all your articles.
Nasim,
sent you a message through the feedback channel before i saw your disclaimer there. Here is my question under the D600 reviews. Please advise.
I currently own a D7000 and looking to upgrade to D600. I have been following reviews left by users on Amazon. The problem has persisted with users even till this week.
Need your thoughts if i can go ahead with the purchase at this time or wait it out till Nikon fixes this issue. No signs of Nikon even admitting to an issue like this. My D7000 is good but not great in low light conditions.
I got my Nikon 600 and there is no oil or dust. You`re buying an electronic device, it`s a bit gamble if you ask me. Some buys a device and they replace 10 times because of problems. Some like me buys and never have any problem. There is nothing here for Nikon to fix or recall cameras. The only thing they will tell you send the camera and they will clean it up or adjust AF. I don`t know if you`re in USA but here you buy it, in 30 days if you have problem send it back, no question asked and get your money back. IF that`s not the case where you are, I understand your dilemma. But It`s up to you. I bought mine and fell in love with it.
Hi Beyti,
When I first got my D600 I did not have any issue with dust/oil on the sensor either. It wasn’t until I took it to Utah along with my D7000 and really started to use it extensively that the problem appeared. It seems that some people are experiencing dust/oil straight from the factory….and other folks like me are having trouble appear after the camera has been used for a little hile. Either way this is unacceptable quality from Nikon. I bought my first Nikon in 1974 and have been a fan of the brand for almost 40 years….and I have never had any problems until my D600. My D7000 only recently went in for a sensor cleaning as it had a few very minor specs on the sensor….but that was after almost 10,000 images…..and hundreds of lens changes. My D600 by comparison had severe splattering all over the top left corner of the sensor within 1,000 shots….these were large spots and when I say severe I mean it….over 60 spots….not tiny specs.
There seems to be two theories emerging about why the D600 is prone to dust/oil on the sensor after use…one is that there is a gap around the shutter in the upper left corner which pulls dust in…the other is that there is an issue with shutter actuations throwing oil onto the sensor. Apparently the latter was also a problem with early copies of the D7000 and Nikon supposedly changed countless shutters to fix the problem.
I love the image quality of my D600 and it is the perfect camera for what I do….I just wish Nikon did a proper job with their quality and design. My camera has been into my local dealer three times in the past 10 days for this issue and now has been sent to Nikon under warranty by my local dealer.
While dust/oil on a camera sensor is not the end of the world since they can be removed in post it is an issue that simply should not happen with a brand new camera. I have spent well over 100 hours removing spots from images frm my recent trip….time that I could have put to much better use if Nikon had done a proper job with the D600.
Hopefully mine will be back from Nikon before the end of the month….and hopefully the issue will be fixed permanentl as I love the quality images and video that the D600 produces. If the problem persists I will likely ask for a refund and buy a Panasonic GH3 as my main video camera for my business….with a couple of Panasonic zooms it will cost about what the D600 did with the 24-85 VRII. I hope it doesn’t come to that as I really do love the images out of the D600.
Hi Beyti,
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50354207
Looks like a fix from Nikon is in the works.
Hi Nasim
Great review on D600!
I have one question-
I tried to use some lenses that I used on my D700 (nikon 1.8 AF D, and Tamron 24-135 3.5-5.6 AF), but the D600 has an error message “EE”?
Can I not use these lenses on the D600?
Please advise
Thanks
Kevin
Kevin, make sure you have aperture rings on both lenses set to smallest aperture (f/22 for the Nikkor, f/35 for the Tamron, I believe), which allows the camera to control the aperture settings. There should be a lock position, at least on the Nikkor. Whenever you get the “EE” error, this may be the reason.
Please straighten up some confusion: 1. is the d600 considered “professional”? 2. when photogs are using word “professional” are they refering to paid photography such as senior pics, family pics, weddings, etc. or magazine, fashion photog, etc….
Thanks
one thing, I dont understand is why all the D600 images have a kind of a redish or brownish cast. Otherwise looks great.
Thank you for detailed, thorough review Nasim!
Vlad
Outstanding article, very informative, thank you kindly……
Nasim,
I am going to buy the D600. I currently use the 55-300 lens on my d7000 and love it. I have been told that if I use this lens on the D600, I will cut megapixels in half. Is this accurate? Need to know soon, since I’m purchasing in the next 48 hours.thanks
Hi Mike,
I have a D7000 and a D600 (currently with Nikon for warranty issue re: spots on sensor). When shooting in DX mode the D600 produces an image of about 10.4 MP compared to 16 MP with the D7000.
The link will take you to an article that theorizes that the spots on the D600 sensor may be caused by scratches on the shutter box/curtain:
http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/22/theory-nikon-d600-sensor-spots-caused-by-scratched-shutter-curtain/
Hi Nasim,
Thank you for the great review. Would you be willing to share the details of your U1 and U2 settings?
Thanks,
Don
Check out my Facebook page for D 600 tests in the wildlife and birding arenas…http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151513171399348&set=pb.642124347.-2207520000.1354014442&type=3&theater
Dear Nasim,
I`m missing the review of the D3200, Nikons first 24 MP DX DSLR, please don`t forget the DX users :)
Thanks
Michael
Michael, thank you for your patience :) I was working on the 18-300mm review and my laptop died on me, so I have been trying to get back to business of writing lately. Sorry for the delay, I have a bunch of things that I need to do pretty soon. The D3200, D4 and many Nikkor lenses have not been reviewed yet. So much to do, so little time! On top of all this, I had a hand surgery done a couple of weeks ago, so I have not been very productive :(
Nasim, I´m patient and a little impatient (oh, that`s a rhyme, that`s fine)
but your reviews are top of the heat :)
Regarding the dust / “oil spots” issue that has been mentioned in the comments on this review (and numerous others) – clearly Nikon has a quality problem and as other have pointed out, this should not be happening right out of the box. It’s like buying a new car, driving off the lot, and having to change the oil in the first 24 hours – we should expect regular maintence, but not that soon. Especially if you aren’t switching lenses. Based on this fantastic review (thanks Nasim), I’ve decided the D600 is the right camera for my needs. But I’m not willing to take the plunge with so many consistent complaints. I called Nikon 3 times over the last 2 days (to get as many different answers as I could) – no one admitted this was an issue and denied even being aware that it existed. Not surprised – and very frustrating.
I’m a DX guy with a D90 and a few DX lenses. The D600 purchase was going to be my first step into the FX world, but I’m not comfortable doing so at this time. Even though the D600 is a good price point for me, I’m reading the D800 has the same dust / oil spot issue. Because I need to step up my equipment by end-of-year, I’m seriously considering defecting to Canon. After some checking, there are lots of good deals on the Mark II right now – and no glaring issues. I don’t want to do this, but Nikon really leaves me little choice. Most reviews suggest that Nikon is good about accepting returns, but why should I have to do that in the first place? The guy I talked to at B&H said that for D600′s sold by them, 1 in 3 D600′s have this problem. He reminded me that B&H has a very easy 30 day return policy, although I later talked to someone from Crutchfield who extended their return period to 60 days for this camera.
One final note – one review suggested the design on the camera was bad – and causing the problem:
http://nikonrumors.com/2012/10/23/nikon-d600-sensors-dust-spots-caused-by-a-gap-around-the-shutter.aspx/?
This means that even after a good cleaning, it’s going to start happening again. A few customer reviews suggest the love the camera, but spend lots of time cleaning. Ultimately, they don’t trust it to be consistently good.
I hate to say this, but I need to make a move in the next few weeks. Because Nikon doesn’t seem to consider this an issue, I’m seriously considering a Canon. If anyone knows if the problem has been resolved, please post a note here.
Hi Matt,
It is amazing that Nikon personnel claim that they are unaware of the problem. All any Nikon employee needs to do is go to their own corporate web site and look at the reviews of the D600 that are posted there by customers. They would see a litany of dust/oil sensor spot complaints right on the Nikon USA site!
My D600 has been with Nikon Canada for a couple of weeks now and still no word on when, or if, it will be fixed. The camera is truly superb were it not for this issue. I’m still hopeful that Nikon will repair the issue completely (my guess is that it is a shutter box/mechanism issue and that Nikon will need to change it out like they did on early D7000 copies to fix the issue) and I can fall back in love with my D600.
If not, I will likely try and get a full refund and move to a Panasonic GH3 as my main video camera for my business.
Luckily I kept my D7000!
Hi Matt,
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50354207
It looks like Nikon now has a fix and is gearing up to change out some parts in affected cameras.
Am about to buy a 600 but have high doubts regarding visiting dirty bits. How can I tell if the body that I purchase has had the corrections made? Can’t afford the time or funds to make a mistake!
Thanx
Also pleez advise me about conversion of my great old lenses to their new family. Been trying to get this info on this sight today (it is totally new for me), but thru this adventure, I don’t think that I have been able to get an answer to my dilemma. Any info will be appreciated.
Hi Nasim,
an excellent write up and review of the Nikon D600. I had a Nikon D200 and I moved up from DX to FX with the D600 …. and I have to say, Wow I am glad I did and what a difference. The resolution of the 24 MegaPixel sensor is stupendous! Your reviews are fantastic Nasim, and as always thourough! I mean you highlighted the potential dirty sensor issue upfront. Now just my experience on this, I have shot almost 3000 images to date and I have to say for me at least the dusty/oily sensor issue was real. Sensor was dirty from beginning, got worse over time. Got it cleaned at 2000 or so images from the reatiler I got the camera from but the dust/oil re-appeared after some 200-300 shots later (getting worse over time) and I did not change the lens in between!. I went tothe official Nikon Service centre and explained my issue. They did a sensor clean and advised that the dust/oil issue should not re-appear … so I dont know what they did to fix it? But so far all is ok. … In the meantime I am enjoying the FF fullness of some of my older film lenses, so all is as it should be now in my world of Photography! Lol
months later, i still can’t figure out the auto-focus algorithm. miss many shots for many reasons. not good in low(er) light, useless in run and gun street shootings, very often simply won’t focus at all, so no shot possible.
nice images when they happen, of course.
Oil spots on D600….update information…..
The following link will take you to a Nikon Rumors piece that has some important information regarding the Nikon D600 oil spot on sensor issue:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/post/50354207
Apparently in many cameras the issue is drastically reduced with camera use…with 3,000 shots appearing to be the point where the excess lubricant stops being thrown onto the sensor.
There is also some information indicating that Nikon Tokyo has identified the cause of the issue and is gearing up to change out parts in affected cameras.
Thank you so much Thomas Stirr. I have been not wanting this camera for this very disturbing issue… This is the first place I’ve found where I’ve seen some of that customer service that would help explain the problem, and that Nikon is even dealing with the problem. Thank You.
And of course thanks Nasim for your awesome shots and help with everything…(I live in the San Juan Mountains and have loved and longed for those adventures. You really found the spots! ) I found a guiding light in your forum which really helps a lot.
Hi Jenine,
You’re welcome.
The good news is that it appears that a fix has been identified by Nikon ….the bad news is that it is likely not going to happen until the spring of next year (based on what my commercial photography dealer has told me).
Even though I loved the D600 for its amazing quality….and I could have worked around the oil spot issue with still photography…it was a deal breaker for me in terms of shooting video (which was my main purpose for buying the D600 in the first place).
As a result I no longer own the D600. I plan to wait to see how long it takes Nikon to fix this issue at the production level and if they will be proactively repairing cameras that people already own.
Right now the D600 is the lowest rated DSLR (at 3.8/5) on Nikon USA’s website…due to the oil spot issue. If you go on the website you’ll see that most of the recent customer reviews are about the oil spot problem….the problem seems epidemic. If you want to avoid this oil spot issue on this amazing camera I would wait until late March or April next year before buying this camera.
There are some rumors beginning to surface once again that Nikon will be launching a higher end DX format camera(s) early in the new year. One of the rumors is that the D7000 and D300 will be merged into one high end DX model. With the D600 now in the mix this would seem to make sense.
My plan is to wait until March/April next year to decide what I will do with the second body I need for my business. If the D600 oil spot issue is fixed and ‘new production’ is free of the issue I may repurchase the camera as it is indeed a spectular piece of gear as Nasim has indicated with his review. If a D400 pro body is launched I will seriously consider it as well….and from a corporate video standpoint I will also be looking at the Panasonic GH3 which is an amazing camera for video…and better than anything that Nikon has at the moment regardless of price.
If I decide to go with the rumored D400 I will certainly NOT be purchasing an early copy of it since Nikon’s last two major product launches have both had major quality issues….oil spots with the D600 and left focus problems with the D800. It’s a shame that Nikon is having trouble with its Quality Control…..I’ve been a Nikon user since 1974 and have always loved their cameras.
http://nikonrumors.com/2012/11/29/the-oil-spots-on-the-nikon-d600-sensor-seems-to-disappear-after-3000-shots.aspx/
Information on D600 sensor spot issue
Excellent review. Thank you for comparing against the D700 sensor.
Supern Review. I am getting D600 tomorrow , yippie
thanks
Any chance of sharing the details of your U1 and U2 settings?
After 3,000 shots:
Edited to show dust spots. It’s kinda dissapointing. Going to wetclean from Nasim’s instructions and we’ll see how much more accumulation there is later..
http://i.imgur.com/SVnkt.jpg
This might not be the right place to ask this question – if so, I apologize.
Please advise what software I might need in order to display my D600′s Live View (in photo mode) on a Windows 7 laptop via an HDMI cable?
I know of devices like the Atomos Ninja for viewing and recording video but wondered if it was possible to use my laptop as a giant electronic viewfinder instead.
Thanks.
Well … I found out for myself! Thanks for your help. ;/
There seems to be something called Tethering, which Adobe provides via their Lightroom software, although the D600 doesn’t appear to be supported yet.
http://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/tethered-camera-support-lightroom-4.html
Hi Nasim,
the delay exposure setting is d10 :)
You could perhaps do a tutorial on post process how to remove haze from photos and keep them sharp also in the distances :)
Dear Nasim,
I had been reading your blog for more that 4 months now. I must appreciate the time you are giving to your readers in resolving their queries.
I have D5100 with SB-700 flash, 15-55mm, 55-200mm and 50mm with f1.8 lenses and am planning to upgrade to full frame. I am actually a Nikon user but some photographers suggested me to shift to Canon. Now I am confused. I need your help in deciding although I am doing my research also. I am trying to enter wedding photography.
I thought of buying canon 5D Mark-II but came to know that it has been discontinued. Then I thought of buying Canon 6D (newly launched), then thought of buying D600.
Please suggest.
Regards
Jatinder
Jatinder, not sure why anyone would suggest that you switch to Canon, when Nikon is clearly leading the game with amazing image quality and great features. See my Nikon D600 vs Canon 6D, Nikon D800 vs Canon 5D Mark III articles and you will see why I say that. Also, take a look at the individual camera reviews.
Long story short, get the D600 and don’t look back. With its current holiday price and a free 24-85mm lens, it is one heck of a camera to start your wedding career.
Sorry Nasim but I do not agree this time (first time). Why do you think Nikon are giving away their D600 combo? Specs might look good on paper but in my real life, it’s been a different story. I don’t have a D600 but the D800 vs the 5D3 is more like a “real winner”.
FrancoisR, they are giving away the free lens, because they over-produced the D600 kits, thinking they would fly off the shelves like the D800 did. They also have investors and shareholders to please, which is why this is happening at the end of the year – to push those Q4 earnings. I regularly talk to folks at B&H and the Canon gear is not selling nearly as well as the Nikon gear lately. The Canon 5D Mark III, for example, was not a huge upgrade to the 5D Mark II, so it did not sell well. Canon has been selling more of the 5D Mark II kits than III and slashing the price down to $1500 range. Does it mean that the 5D Mark II is a bad product? No, of course not – they just have too many of them lying around and they need to get rid of them. The same with the D600.
Overall though, having had experience with both Nikon and Canon gear during the last few years, I can say that the current Nikon offerings are superior in comparison. The sensors on both the D800 and the D600 are superior and I am not the only one to say that…
Lastly, the dust issue on the D600 is way over-exaggerated by many websites (funny, because I was among the first who reported it). I cleaned the dust once and it never came back. I clean dust on my sensors regularly, so it is not a big deal for me. But that’s the nature of the Internet…people love bad news, sometimes just to bring up another heated Nikon vs Canon debate.
Sorry but this does not convince me and I take your answer with a grain of salt Nasim. On paper yes great sensors but in real life, things are different as a whole (for me should I say?) . I’m only a hobbyist not a lobbyist.
Your site still brings a lot of knowledge to “light”!
thank’s
My humble opinion to this would be: nonsense :) I’m literally amazed by the results from D600. Colors and dynamic range is unbelievable. D600 performs better than what it gives you on paper.
I deal with the commercial sales department of a major camera retailer in Canada, as well as a few local camera shops….and they all have been saying exactly the same thing for the past 18 months or so….Nikon is kicking Canon’s ass with their latest cameras (actually starting with the D7000) and they are all selling a lot more Nikon DSLRs than they are Canon. At the professional level its currently running about 2 to 1 in favour of Nikon.
For as disappointing as Nikon’s response may be with the D600 dust/oil issue and the D800 left focus problem, the commercial sales folks I deal with tell me that they would MUCH rather deal with Nikon on warranty related issues than Canon. The quality on Canon cameras has been suspect for some time with a wide range of issues, and their warranty support is generally poor…even at the pro level.
I trust Nasim’s reviews 100%. In my opinion this is the best professional photography site on the internet and the time and attention that Nasim puts into his reviews is clear for anyone to see. Keep up the great work Nasim!
I think everyone has a right to say what he thinks if using proper language. It’s not a question of trust either. It’s my own experience at both systems. I mean a D800 since June and a 5DIII since October (with an array of equivalent lenses). I’m an amateur of digital photography not Nikon or Canon, FF or APCS, medium format, mirrorless etc. I have no agenda. For the ones who really tried both maybe I make sense, others might just be flapping their mouths. I’m not a pixel pusher for sure. I shoot pictures. I’m not biassed either. The commercial sales people I dealt with all recommended to go for a D800 and I did (I was salivating for one anyway). I finally ended up upgrading my 5D2 to a 3 also and I’m glad I did. For outside shots with good light, the D800 is great (it’s like a microscope for details) but in low light and ease of use the other one has the edge. Nikon’s management of memory card is superb, Canon’s dismal. I ended up using a single 1000x CF in the Canon (IMHO ah ah ah, even the best SD’s are much slower than decent CF’s, it’s physical). But the Canon for shooting pictures in all conditions beats the hell of the other, without the embarrassing yellowish greenish tints (hope a firmware update will eventually fix it).
Do I care whose sensor is best?
Very humanly,
adios!
I kind of agree with Francois on this. Although I am a Nikon user, and thanks to Nasim, I will most likely stay Nikonian with impending purchase of D600, I have seen beautiful pictures and great reviews of Canon MkIII all around – even Ryan Brenizer! Sales are perhaps not always proportional to quality, and to that, Amazon has different rankings compared to B&H.
Thanks Nasim once again for this review though, which seems to be the most popular on D600 on the web.
Dear Nasim, just discovered your site and find it most helpful. I am shooting with a Nikon D7000 and am generally happy with the camera. My most challenging condition is youth basketball in a gym. After much experimentation with various lenses, my best results come using the Nikkor 50mm f1.4, min shutter speed 1/320, ISO’s up to 2500; all of this programmed into the U2 setting. I do have the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 but find it too cumbersome for the speed of the action and the indoor environment. As you would expect, clarity is an issue especially with shots from the other end of the court. Can I expect to improve clarity with the D600 and its FX sensor in a significant amount to justify upgrading? Any other suggestions will also be appreciated. Thanks for making your great site available!
Whit
Whit, take a look at the Camera Comparisons page of this review and compare the D600 with the D7000. There is a noticeable amount of difference in performance, especially at high ISOs. Personally, I would get the D600, especially given that it comes with a free 24-85mm if you get it before the end of the year.
FX vs DX is explained in detail here. The difference between a crop factor sensor and a full-frame sensor is huge. You will be much happier shooting sports indoors with the D600, especially when using such high ISOs as 3200.
Hi Nasim,
Superb review.This is the best review for the D600.I m a Amateur hobbyist photographer specially interested in nature,wildlife & bird photography.Right now m using Nikon D200 with sigma 150-500, nikkor 50mm 1.8D & nikkor 18-135mm.now i wanted to upgrade my body.After reading ur review about D600 m getting interest in buying one.
I m thinking about D600 with nikkor 300mm f4 + 2.0x tc for wildlife & 24-70 f2.8 or 24-120 f4 for landscapes and everyday use.Can u help me about this combination? Should i wait for the D400 as it has cropped factor & faster fps,or the D600 is more than enough for my needs.
Please suggest.
Thanks.
Nirav, if you are in the US, the Nikon D600 is currently at an insanely low price of $1,995 with a free Nikon 24-85mm VR lens and a bunch of other free stuff. See my post right here. Don’t wait for the D400 – FX is a world better. If you buy the D600 with the 24-70mm, you get $200 off, which at $1699 is a steal! Unfortunately, the 300mm f/4 is not on sale currently, so you will have to get it at its regular price. Don’t buy the TC 2x – it will not work with the 300mm f/4. AF will be too slow and image quality will be terrible. Get the 300mm f/4 with the TC-14E II instead.
Hope this helps and happy holidays!
While this is a great camera and this price is certainly attractive, does anyone have an update to the “spots / dust / oil issue”? The camera could be half price, but if the pictures are bad and I can’t use it b/c I have to keep shipping back and forth to Nikon for cleaning, it still wouldn’t be a good deal. Have they finally owned up to this and fixed it? Maybe the “next batch” is hitting the streets and the problem has been fixed. I would buy this camera TODAY if I knew I wouldn’t be affected by the spot / dust / oil issue……
Matt, see my response to FrancoisR above – the dust issue is seriously over-exaggerated by many websites. Dust is a fact of life in DSLRs, especially when working in dusty environments. I cleaned the dust on my D600 once after a week and it did not come back. On top of that, B&H currently has a 60 day return policy (till the end of December). Play with the D600 for a month or so and if you are not happy, just send it back and they will credit you back the full amount.
Nasim – I did read your comments to FrancoisR – I realize dust is a fact of life (even though I ‘ve never had to clean my D300 sensor in the 3 years I’ve owned my camera) and to some extent is to be expected. And it sounds like your personal experience of 1 cleaning was better than most of the other reviews I’ve read. Although I’m not convinced this is an over-exaggerated issue, I called B&H at your suggestion and they fully acknowledged the issue, but their return policy (according to the guy I talked to) is only 30 days and / or 200 frames. After that, you need to deal with Nikon directly. He also admitted they aren’t being all that leinent with their return policy – you have to be fairly assertive. Ironically, this guy was a huge Nikon guy (not Canon) and was very disappointed with Nikons recourse for affected customers. His suggestion was for me to wait until March – and hopefully these issues would have passed. He also said the D800 had the exact same problem.
I would love to make this purchase today – but even if I was a professional sensor cleaner – it still seems too commonplace to make this kind of purchase – especially if there is a 20% chance it could re-occur at any time. Never in my semi-professional photography career have I had to re-shoot an event over a problem like this – I think I’d be nervous, if I bought now, upon returning home from a gig that there would be a 50/50 chance of spots.
Thanks a lot Nasim for your valuable suggestions…Unfortunately i can’t get these super holiday deals as i live in Kutch,India.Only 1 thing should i go for 24-70 f2.8 or 24-120 f4…? i already have 50mm 1.8d which is awesome.i have read your reviews on both these lenses,m a bit confused between these 2 lenses.
Thanks.
Happy Holidays to you too.
I absoluetly loved this review. very well done with great samples. I just ordered my d600 last night and cannot wait to use it. I previously had a d7000 and sold it due to the poor low light AF performance and I have been using a d5100 (which doesn’t suffer from AF issues) for over a year.
Can’t wait to be able to use iso 6400 shots!!
Just got my d600 and am totally lost. Last camera was the d40. There are so many buttons. Is there a place I can go that walks through all the options without going through fog. I just want to take good photos and videos of my grandchildren. Forgot to mention I’m 73 years old.
I went from the d40 to the d600 too. It is a wonderful switch, but it took me a month to get it down. I just read my instruction manual over and over again. Then shot photos, looked them over, read the instructions again, and shot more photos. The d40 is more point and shoot. You have to tell the d600 what to do. The learning is worth it though. Good luck!
Dear Nasim, your site is wonderful. I just got the D600 (w/24-85 kit) for Christmas. Have previously used a Canon Rebel so am just graduating to a full sensor. Thanks for the great advice on lens purchases. I understand the need for high quality glass. One question. Have you reviewed the Tamron 2.8–20/200mm? From the online reviews I have read, this seems like a good additional lens to augment the 24/85 kit.
i just got my D600 today,
i used my old 50mm f1.8 G on it, and doing some test shoot at Ch mode, holy s*** it much slower than my D7000 and 7D.
but i think IQ is much better at high ISO beside D7000.
Hello Nasim,
Very informative and appreciate all the info.
Curious about your comparative value of the D600 to the D3s ? I understand the 600/800 debate and went through much of it myself and this review/discussion has done much to clarify any indecision I may have had over the two.
However i’ve had this lingering impulse to get a used D3s after the new puppies were rolled out. Just wondering if that still makes total sense. My main interest is the noise factor and focus speed between the two. I also have a bit of concern about the somewhat yellow cast in WB and a bit of contrast difference I see from the D600.
I shoot a wide variety of subject matter from fast moving occasionally, to Landscape and low light environments on a regular basis. While I can appreciate an increase in mpx’s from the D600 for “my” landscape purposes the D3s does seem to still have a slight edge in the iSO noise factor although it looks like all cameras at this point so far start to break up at about 6400. I could use
another stop or so as some of my work does take me into somewhat extreme territory.
And no, I didn’t mean D800 in reference to additional mpx .. LOL as I’m plenty capable of working even 10mpx files up in PS to about 30×45 that are pretty damn near tack sharp. In fact I’ve never quite understood the craze for MORE mpxl’s unless you’re doing close to Billboard size. By the time I get done working with a Landscape file it’s usually between 50 -150 mpx and works just fine. But that’s another topic for another thread somewhere … LOL
Thank you for your input.
Kyle
Hi Nasim –
Great site and wonderful advice for all types of photographers. I have had my Nikon D80 for 5+ years and really loved it — got the original Nikkor 18-200 lens with it purely for convenience purposes. I take shots of my kids in all situations, including many that are sports related, and wanted the zoom capability. If I move towards the 600, I am concerned about what your wrote regarding lens recommendations — first, is my old 18-200 ‘obsolete’ by not being an FX lens (because of crop factor)? Also, while I am inclined to get a prime at this point, I’d still love the ability to get some of those long range baseball shots I’m not sure I could get without the zoom. Your thoughts?
Thanks so much and happy new year!
Pete
OIL PAINTING ART !
Have a look at some photos with lot of oil spots. I’m really angry about that !!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxphotos2/sets/72157632453459762/detail/
OK, I can buy a good cleaning kit and clean all this mess, but I cannot really accept that such a medium to high end product has such a problem.
Why Nikon is not checking their products before final delivery to the customers ?
It is very easy and I feel myself quite ripped off.
The most important task for a Reflex camera is to take good photos. The producer has to verify that each single product can do that before being sent to the “paying” customer.
It is really unpleasant to see that your new gear has such a defect.
OK, I like the new D600, but I would have been more satisfied, if it was clean and perfectly functional as everyone is expecting when buying such a camera….
Max from Italy
Dear Nasim,
thank you for a very useful review. I am thinking about buying a D600, and it looks great ( I am an amateur photographer). I would like to ask if it is possible to set it up to take tree shots on a row, where the first image is underexosed, the next is normal and the last is overexposed – and without having to manually set up each shot, which would take too long time to do in many situations.
I can’t find an answer to this question anywhere. Thank you very much.
Helen
Of course D600 has Exposure Bracketing. Can you think of an FX camera without that feature? :)
Click this link for D600 manual.
http://www.nikonsupport.eu/europe/Manuals/d600/d600_en_01.pdf
Page 153
Thank you, this was very useful :) Well, as I said, I am an amateur, and the effects using bracketing only now came to my attention :)
Thanks again
Helen,
Stavanger, Norway
As a matter of fact, I love doing HDR but never used exposure bracketing. when you shoot RAW you can do whatever you want during post processing. You can take a look at my HDR album on my facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.252459288146249.63556.206219556103556&type=3
I used exposure bracketing in none of them.
Yes, with great dynamic range of D600 you will need exposure bracketing less because you can take one exposure and create three exposures. .
Nevertheless exposure bracketing will give you better picture overall because you can capture shadows and highlights better.
Hi Nasim,
I have a D600 and am wanting to get a lens for wildlife (open plains) and birds (water, forest/bush and plains). Which would be a better choice. Nikon 600 F4 or the Nikon 400 F2.8?
Thanks for a great site. I only found it yesterday and really am enjoying all the education it provides.
Russell, South Africa.
Hi Nasim,
I am very impressed on your review & even you touched lots of basic stuff that may easy be forgotten a while ago. I saw comments from others that: The only bad thing about the D600 is that it has the same green color shift problem of the D800 and D4. And also found comment to 6D is much better than D600. Could you shed more lights on that? Please. Thanks.
Jacky
Hi Nasim,
Regarding the RAW file sizes of the D600, D700 and D800. My D700 has 12 Mpixels and the file sizes are around 12MB. I tried out a D800 and was aghast to see that the file sizes were around 72MB for it’s 36Mpixel sensor. Could anybody tell me what the file sizes are for the D600?
Many thanks, Bernard.
I have RAW files changing between 25MB and 40MB