D day. 600 of them. The anticipated Nikon D600

snap of the D600 at today’s launch event

I call this a tea post. The kettle is on and I’m going to write this before it boils.

Just home from the official Nikon announcement of the D600. The much anticipated addition to the Nikon ‘full frame’ range of DSLR cameras.
At a listed entry price of 2000 Euro for the body, the camera is undoubtedly going to score. The cameras are going to hit the market quickly and in plentiful numbers.

I’ve heard many D700 users saying they want a replacement for the D700. The D800 was ‘overkill’ for some and without a doubt the D600 will be looked down on by some as falling short of what the D700 offered. Realistically though, a professional photographer now has the choice of 3 very capable weapons, D600, D800 or D4. We’re spoiled for choice.
To me, one detail that puts the D600 way above the D700 is the better dynamic range that the new sensor offers. I noticed this in the D800 compared to my D3 and this is pretty much the same in the D600. Better skin tones, faster image processing. 2 more advantages with the D600.

I had a quick test of the D600 and of course, put it onto the highest native ISO setting of 6400. The image is cleaner than the skin on a baby’s forehead. Way better than the D700.
Lower pixel density than the D800 will make grabbing shots bit easier, faster handling is important for some. It’s here.

Holding the D600 it feels pretty much the same as the D7000, the crop-sensored sibling. I assure you, the build quality is better, it’s heavier and feels a lot more robust. The D7000 shakes when you take a photo, the D600 feels reassuringly stable. This is also backed up with the possibility that NPS members will get NPS support on a D600. That’s saying something.

For me, the D600 body just isn’t quite tall enough for comfy daily use. I had the same problem when using the D7000 for any periods of time. I tried the optional grip on the D600 and it felt a lot more usable and compliant in my hand. The opposite of the D800 with grip, that is even larger than the D4 and feels very bulky. So if you’re large hands, I’d strongly suggest trying a grip on the D600, for comfort.

<kettle boiled, water poured into teapot>

Nikon sowed the seed of the incredibly popular and cheap D3xxx and D5xxx series and are now luring those people into fullframe photography with the D600. With the aggressive market presence of the popular mirrorless systems Nikon clearly saw a gap and went for it. I think the D600 will make people think, go mirrorless or go compact DSLR with full frame sensor.. I already mentioned that pros are spoiled for choices, the amateur market is not just spoiled, they are lured and tempted by so many options and right now the D600 is sitting there at the end of the amateur trail, leaning on the fence of the professionals.

The D600 will be disliked by some, but I am sure it will be liked by more.

I’ll have one soon for a proper field test and report.

<Tea is brewed, and then I’m back to work! Thank you for reading>