Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: hassiman on October 03, 2012, 09:15:22 pm

Title: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: hassiman on October 03, 2012, 09:15:22 pm
New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Heard the 24-85mm wasn't too bad an optic....

The D800 is just too heavy for me.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: ErikKaffehr on October 03, 2012, 11:41:19 pm
Hi,

Yes, it's a good camera for sure.

Best regards
Erik


New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Heard the 24-85mm wasn't too bad an optic....

The D800 is just too heavy for me.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: BernardLanguillier on October 04, 2012, 02:34:22 am
Yes, it is about 600 times better than the D1.  ;)

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: ErikKaffehr on October 04, 2012, 02:42:35 am
So,

D3X is 30 times better than D1? D800 is 27 times better than D3X. What about D7000?

Best regards
Erik

Yes, it is about 600 times better than the D1.  ;)

Cheers,
Bernard

Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Rob C on October 04, 2012, 03:27:06 am
You guys should just learn to make yourselves a nice cup of tea!

I'm enjoying one - well, a mug of it - right now; it's very calming.

Rob C
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: mac_paolo on October 04, 2012, 03:34:23 am
New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Heard the 24-85mm wasn't too bad an optic....

The D800 is just too heavy for me.
Both of the cameras + battery + lens are almost identical in weight, unless you think it's fair to put a cheap plastic on a D600 vs super heavy all-metal lenses for the D800.
Except for marketing terms, they are pretty much the same overall. :)
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Ellis Vener on October 05, 2012, 01:30:05 pm
D600 camera body only weight ( no external battery/vertical grip or lens): 26.8 oz.
D800 camera body only weight ( no external battery/vertical grip or lens): 31.7 oz

so there is a nearly 5 oz. weight savings. At the end of a long day, that's not nothing.

Not knowing anything about the OP (does he hike or climb a lot? Is he getting ready to go on a tour of the Himalayas? Is he older? Is he infirm? Or does he just want to reduce how much weight he lugs around?) saving weight and bulk may be a sufficient reason for wanting to add a D600 to his kit.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Chairman Bill on October 05, 2012, 01:45:45 pm
I got to fondle a D600 earlier today. Significantly lighter than my D700. No in-built shutter for the viewfinder - bit of a issue if you use a tripod & maybe longish exposures (and the supplied cover is just going to get lost). Not sure about the weather proofing, and not impressed by the lack of support for CF cards. Otherwise, not too bad & I could be tempted.


Edit: 'cos 'findle' isn't a proper word. I think ...
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: kers on October 05, 2012, 03:00:32 pm
I got to findle a D600 earlier today. Significantly lighter than my D700. No in-built shutter for the viewfinder - bit of a issue if you use a tripod & maybe longish exposures (and the supplied cover is just going to get lost). Not sure about the weather proofing, and not impressed by the lack of support for CF cards. Otherwise, not too bad & I could be tempted.
in Holland the price difference is (only) 500€
So if you spend all that money better buy a d800-
also because- it is not nice to buy a camera that is deliberately crippled by Nikon...
Nikon put all their best effort in the d800 ...
And for sure in a few months time the price of the d600 will go down a lot...
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Chairman Bill on October 05, 2012, 03:08:45 pm
Price difference here is less than £400 (so pretty much as in the Netherlands), and personally, whilst that's a considerable sum of money, I'd rather save-up the extra & get a D800.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: joneil on October 05, 2012, 03:59:49 pm
Got to use and handle one today for the first time.   There is a good reason why your D800 is heavier - it has the magnesium frame, whereas I found out the D600 is all plastic.   Yes, it is lighter - I think  it is lighter than my D7000 even, or at least it felt that way to me.

My major concern with the D600 is how light weight  and "delicate" it feels to me.   I think some people will love it for just that reason, but for me, I can be rough on my gear.  I go into rough places.  I once broke a part off my 4x5 sliding down a cliff into a river.  Got a cut on my head too.  :)   Point is, I sometimes go deep and hard into the bush and many other rough places, and not always nice weather either, and I would be constantly worried about the D600 is those enviroments. 

 So for a guy like me, the D600 would not stand up and take the punishment.    Your mileage may vary.   Bear in mind  I think the image quality of the D600 is superb, so this is not the point.  It is the physical durability of the camera that is to me, potentially lacking. 

 I am kinda disappointed that all the D600 reviews I have read,  everything from magazines to different forum posts, I've sen very little reference to this point.   One reason I went with Nikon years ago is their gear, for the most part, took punishment better than many other camera brands.

    So I think it depend on when and what kind of enviroments you plan on using it for.    My best advice is get to a camera store, take you D800 with you, and compare the two directly side by side and see for yourself what you think.

good luck
joe

Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Ellis Vener on October 05, 2012, 05:17:46 pm
Got to use and handle one today for the first time.   There is a good reason why your D800 is heavier - it has the magnesium frame, whereas I found out the D600 is all plastic.   


Completely untrue and easily fact checked The frame is made from the same magnesium alloy as the D800.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: chex on October 05, 2012, 05:33:42 pm
Its part magnesium part polycarb.

I dunno why everyone thinks a camera needs to weigh 5kg to be durable, I personally prefer plastic to metal. It bounces back into shape, metal dents and deforms. Unless you're using your camera to bludgeon your way through the bush your argument re polycarb vs metal is redundant.

The D800 does have better weather sealing. This has nothing to do with magnesium
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: joneil on October 05, 2012, 06:47:31 pm

The D800 does have better weather sealing. This has nothing to do with magnesium

My bad, stand corrected.   
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: indusphoto on October 05, 2012, 08:17:53 pm
From all that I have heard, D600 is a great camera. It had better be as it is not cheap at $2100.

That said, D800 is just a bit more professional body for pros (pros in this case mean big burly photographers with thick fingers). I never could stand the ergonomics of D7K (slippery rubber, not enough grip space, etc..). From what I can tell, D600 is better than that and sits between D7K and D800.

D600 is quite suitable for almost everything that anyone want to do. If there was no D800, this would have been the camera to go to.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: John Camp on October 05, 2012, 09:04:08 pm

<snip>there is a nearly 5 oz. weight savings. At the end of a long day, that's not nothing.<snip>


Yes it is Ellis, or the next thing to it. Want to know how much 5 ounces is? It's one-fourth of the most-often sold size of a plastic bottle of Coca Cola. (I know, water weight and dry weights are different, but an ounce of water is very close to a dry ounce.) It's less that the weight (6.6 oz) of the cheapest plastic Nikon f1.8 50mm prime. It's less than the meat alone in a McDonald's Angus Deluxe. I would say that, if at the end of the day, that weight makes a difference, you should have stayed home and gotten some rest. There may be reasons for buying a D600 instead of a D800 -- price, for one thing -- but if somebody's doing it because of the weight, perhaps they should take up fly-tying. Flies are very light.



 
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: LesPalenik on October 06, 2012, 05:06:21 am
5 ounces is not so insignificant.
For serious backpackers and trekkers who shave off excess weight from their gear by shortening shoelaces and removing labels from their clothing , this could be a lifesaver. By switching from D800 to D600, one can do also away with those bulky CF cards and achieve even greater weight savings.
Title: Look closely: The diopter adjustment dial
Post by: purpleblues on October 06, 2012, 07:47:31 am
The viewfinder diopter adjustment dial is at an exposed place, unlockable and therefore prone to getting misadjusted while getting the camera out of or into the bag. This is a problem with all consumer and prosumer bodies from Nikon and Canon. Malicious intention or just ignorance? The D800s dial (just like the D3's, D4's and D700's) is on the side of the pentaprism housing and can be securely locked. This may be only a small indicator that the D800 models are (in doubt) the more professional ones. Or does the use of loctite preserve my warranty?

With DNG 1.4 i can produce RAW files with less than the unnecessary 36 MP. Disk space (and it does become costly when you shoot 50.000 images per year) is no longer an issue.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: MrSmith on October 06, 2012, 09:37:05 am
You could probably shave a bit of weight off a D800 by removing the flash sync caps and shaving the rubber grips off with a craft blade. The black finish must weigh a few grams and the screen protector.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: atlnq9 on October 06, 2012, 10:57:09 am
If you are worried about weight and still want fantastic image quality I would seriously consider a Pentax K5IIs when it becomes available.  Compact, no AA filter, 16MP with class leading low noise in APS C, fully sealed mag body, and quite a selection of compact high quality primes.  But since it is a Pentax product with the non existent Pentax marketing nobody has heard of it
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Chairman Bill on October 06, 2012, 12:52:17 pm
Pentax glass was always good, and the MX & LX were excellent cameras. I had an ME Super - which was a heap of junk & I traded in for a second hand Nikon FM, which was (& is) superb.

A MX-like FF Pentax would be a great move by Pentax/Ricoh
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: David S on October 06, 2012, 02:14:29 pm
Totally agree that both the MX and LX were excellent cameras. Of course, those were the days of manual photography - no auto-focus, set the f stop and shutter speed. As a result, the camera and lens combinations weighed a lot less too.

I still miss both of those cameras and would love a digital equivalent. (weight too)

Dave S

Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: BernardLanguillier on October 06, 2012, 06:11:00 pm
Image quality may not be that important anymore (?), but our friend Lloyd Chambers is calling the image quality of the D600 "sensational", adding that it is probably superior to that of the D3x.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Rob C on October 07, 2012, 04:34:49 am
Pentax glass was always good, and the MX & LX were excellent cameras. I had an ME Super - which was a heap of junk & I traded in for a second hand Nikon FM, which was (& is) superb.A MX-like FF Pentax would be a great move by Pentax/Ricoh




Slipping slightly off-topic, but I bought a new FM and, later, replaced that with a new FM2n to complement my F and F2 workhorses. The only reason for buying the cheap cameras was the higher flash synch for those times when it mattered. Frankly, the two cheapos weren't even in the same stud as the F and F2: I could spot the lower tranny quality very easily - mostly because of a slight vibration and because I suspect the film wasn't held as flat by the plate. As for the feel of the cameras themselves - oh dear, give yourself a treat and feel the old top dogs! (Not much point now, I do appreciate!) I still own an almost unused F3 and it's locked away in a safe... To be fair, Nikon never touted the FM or FM2n as top graders.

Rob C
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Keith Reeder on October 07, 2012, 08:02:31 am
5 ounces is not so insignificant.
Of course it is, outside of very specific circumstances and requirements.
Quote
For serious backpackers and trekkers who shave off excess weight from their gear by shortening shoelaces and removing labels from their clothing , this could be a lifesaver.
I really don't see the relevance of that situation to pottering around taking pictures. Astronauts aren't allowed to take much weight up to the ISS either, but that's hardly significant to the discussion.
Quote
By switching from D800 to D600, one can do also away with those bulky CF cards and achieve even greater weight savings.
"Bulky CF cards"? Seriously? If the heft of a CF card is a problem, I think knitting might be a better distraction - you can get carbon fibre knitting needles (http://www.myfavoritethimble.com/Blackthornneedles.htm) if the old-fashioned ones are just too much...

Just for a sense of perspective, I've just weighed my (empty of cash) wallet and it came in at just under 5 ounces - can't recall the last time I felt that the weight of my wallet was an unacceptable burden.

I'm a fifty two year old man, healthy but not remotely obsessive about keeping fit, and I have no problem with spending hours (and I mean hours) in the field with a gripped 7D, Siggy 120-300mm f/2.8 OS and (usually) 2x TC plus everything else I might need for the day (I don't spend my time within a few minutes of the car, I walk for miles - double figures are not unusual): the Siggy replaced a much (pounds) lighter 100-400mm at the beginning of the year, and I simply don't notice the extra weight. Using (as I do) a neoprene sling-type camera strap (http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-optech-utility-strap-sling-version-black/p1521108?cm_mmc=googlebase-_-camera-accessories-_-camera-straps-_-optech-utility-strap-sling-version-black_1521108&utm_source=googlebase) will easily and completely neutralise a 5 ounce weight difference between a D600 and a D800.

Sorry, but to suggest that such a difference will be a deal-breaker except in extremely specific circumstances (none of which we know to apply to the OP's situation), is just daft.

To use an apposite Americanism here, some of you need to man up!

 :D

Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Chairman Bill on October 07, 2012, 08:35:34 am
In a previous life (UK Commando Forces), I'd carry a 70 - 80lbs bergen, plus belt kit amounting to about 25lbs or so, plus a weapon & ammunition (a GPMG weighed in at 24lbs, plus a 50 round belt at another 12lbs - and I'd probably have been carrying 6 of them), maybe a radio battery (sort of brick sized & twice the weight) & a LAW stuffed in the top of my bergen. I was carrying more than my own body weight for maybe thirty miles at a time.

These days I carry a lot less weight into the hills & mountains, and I make every effort to reduce what I have to carry. I'll cut the handle off my tooth brush to save weight. If I can shave a few ounces here & there, & it all adds up to a few pounds overall, so much the better.

I really don't need someone telling me to man-up & get fit enough to carry that extra weight. Been there, done that, got a multitude of t-shirts. But right now, if I was three days into a week's trek in the Cairngorms, every ounce would count.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Keith Reeder on October 07, 2012, 09:27:43 am
I really don't need someone telling me to man-up & get fit enough to carry that extra weight.
Yeah, you might wish to re-read what I wrote, Bill.

Quote
But right now, if I was three days into a week's trek in the Cairngorms, every ounce would count.
And unless that's what the OP is planning on doing too, that's utterly irrelevant.

I'll say it again: a 5 ounce difference in the weight of two camera bodies is trivial except in very specific circumstances - your past life experiences don't change that fact one little bit.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: LesPalenik on October 07, 2012, 10:40:29 am
Quote
"Bulky CF cards"? Seriously? If the heft of a CF card is a problem, I think knitting might be a better distraction - you can get carbon fibre knitting needles if the old-fashioned ones are just too much...

Yes, that's what they told me when I asked about best way to do some stitching. Bamboo needles are apparently not that heavy, and you can use them also to start the fire.

By switching from 32GB cards to 8GB variety, one can save also a good chunk of weight. Why to carry all those empty memory cells and old bits? Did you know that even deletion of badly composed images won't erase the actual image data on the card?

Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: John Camp on October 07, 2012, 01:40:02 pm
Keith,

If you re-read LesPalenik's post, I think you might detect just the slightest twinkle in his eye? Check his latest post about the extra memory cells in the denser  CF cards? Huh?
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: LesPalenik on October 07, 2012, 05:04:46 pm
John,

thank you for setting the things straight.
Actually, most of the time, I still carry too much gear on me. You just never know what you are going to run into.
See my recent post containing potentially useful neuroscience information for action and nature photographers:
http://advantica.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/neuroscience-for-photographers/ (http://advantica.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/neuroscience-for-photographers/)

About the manning up part:
When I was 52, I used to carry on many trips a 90lbs heavy, fully equipped whitewater canoe over the portages, and a few cases and bags with large format film gear. Have to admit, that the carry was done in two trips. These days, the portages take me three trips, but being older and wiser, now I choose much shorter overland routes.    
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Ellis Vener on October 07, 2012, 09:41:57 pm
Sharing that link Les! Thanks!
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: Chairman Bill on October 08, 2012, 05:31:23 am
(http://advantica.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/neuroscience-for-photographers/)

I think the moral of that account of bear attacks is simple - when photographing Grizzly Bears, always have a companion with you, preferably someone you're not emotionally close to. Make sure you have lighter footwear than them (suitable for running), and that you are fitter & faster than them. And hope you don't run into two bears.
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: BernardLanguillier on October 08, 2012, 08:19:28 am
Speaking of bears, and total out of topic... some remarkable images by Paul Nicklen.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/kermode-bear/nicklen-photography

There is a also a 40 minutes movie I just saw this weekend that tells the story of this unique shoot in the context of the fight currently taking place to protect this coastal area from an oil tanker project.

Cheers,
Bernard
Title: Re: New Niko D600: Anyone have an opinion? Good camera ?
Post by: LesPalenik on October 08, 2012, 08:33:35 am
Yes, it's an amazing picture. I happened to see also a portion of that movie, and I liked it.

here is a link to more pictures of white bears from Paul Nicklen. I think he uses Canon, but on his expedition he had 20 tons of miscellaneous equipment with him.
http://advantica.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/white-spirit-bear/ (http://advantica.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/white-spirit-bear/)