Nikon D600

[PatW]

I am considering buying the D600, and getting the housing for it later on down the road. It's ~$1000 cheaper than the D800, and there is a special right now where it comes with a 24-85mm lens, all for ~$2000. The body of the D800 alone is $2800.00. Is there a huge advantage to spending the money on the D800 for someone like me who considers this a serious hobby?

For someone that owns the D600, is there something that you hate about it, or wish you could do that the D800 can?

Thanks!
Jessica

I have not shot with either the D600 or D800. However, from the reading I have done, the D800 seems to use the focus system and basic control configuration of the D300 which I do have. The D7000 has a different focus system and control configuration.

The D7000 does not have as many focus points as the D300. The focus points don't cover as much of the field of view as the D300. Now I can focus and shift my viewpoint with the D7000 and that works just fine on stationary objects or slow moving ones. On fast moving fish, it is not as good as the D300.

Also, the D7000 has more "canned" modes, like landscape, portrait and so on, than the D300. I don't use those so they are just annoying to have. But the D7000 is a very nice camera. I would suggest taht since the D800 costs half again as much of the D600, that is quite a bit to pay. What you get is more megapixels, which I believe are of limited utility. You also get a more sophisticated focus system which takes a knowledgeable photographer to take advantage of.

I would suggest that if you are at all cash limited, the D600 is the better way to go. Putting the saved money into the housing, ports, lenses, focus lights and strobes would probably serve you better. If you have plenty of money, well go with the D800.

 

[spencerjb22]

I've had a D600 now for around 6 weeks. I've been hugely impressed with it. The DR and ISO performance are simply stunning. I am housing it at the end of Jan. I've been using it with the 16-35mm extensively and works really well.
I did the D800 VS D600 equations and for me, the D600 was the preferred choice. The extra pixels didn't matter to me and the extra focus points again, either aren't so important and i can work around that easily.

 

[Larry C]

No comments on the D600 as I haven't used one, but the lenses that typically come as kit lenses are not what most would call ideal lenses. IE: It is nice to have a wider lens than 24mm. I have a 12-24mm and many like the 10-17mm. 24-85mm is a big spread, but not an ideal one.

Remember, Peter, the 24-85 on a full frame equals 16-57 on an APS-C. Probably a nice all purpose lens. Minimum focus is 15" from the sensor, so probably about 8" from the port. It might need a diopter in a dome.