Nikon D600 or D800

355858

355858

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Name
Ben
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Hi All,


I'm sure this has been asked before but i'm really stuck for ideas.

D600

-cheaper
-smaller (possible disadvantage)
-fewer megapixels
-dust oil issues

D800

-more expensive
-bigger
-larger files (possible disadvantage)
-AF issues

I'm currently using a D90 and need an upgrade, all my lenses are fx lenses and shoot a large range of this from portraits and weddings to products, at the weekends landscapes and zoo photos.

I need to be able to crop my photos a bit more so both should be ok with this. What does anyone suggest?

Can you shoot good quality photos on the d800 at a lower file size??

Thanks
 
Obviously i'm used to dealing with d90 size raw files , i use a lenovo x220 i5 with 16gb of ram to edit my photos or my imac -i5 8gb ram. I don't know if the d800 file size will be overkill but it maybe advantageous to me when shooting animals in zoo or wildlife..
 
I'm using a Dell XPS i5 with 16GB RAM and I have no issues with processing the D800 files, which average out around 40/45MB RAW and 25MB when converted to finished jpegs.
 
The D800 is a better camera so if you do not mind the extra cash you have to spare then just get it. If you decide to go with the D600 then you won't regret it either.
 
Did you choose the d800 over the D600 or was the D600 not even considered? I want to make sure i choose the right one even if i have to fork out more for d800. With many of the camera shops going under i find it hard to get a display model to have a go with..
 
In my case I originally went for a D7100 but it had serious AF issues so it went back.
I wasn't happy with the experience of some others with the handling and build of the D600 so the D800 was the obvious choice.
I am very happy with it as an alternative to my D3S but it can't do everything the D3S can :)
 
I think I can speak from recent experience, I got myself the D600 after lots of thinking and I did enjoyed the camera , but when the oil issue arrived I was almost happy because I found an excuse to get the D800.
And now I have the D800 I just love it and I will always have ad the lust for it if I kept the D600.
D600 good camera with huge oil and dust problem and the body felt like the D7000 and not like you upgraded to full frame.
D800 build lie a tank ,huge and chunky but feel very good in your hand and make you feel like you bought something special and not a d7000 with a big sensor..
 
I have both, they are both good cameras but the sensor dirt on my 600 was so bad that it completely ruined the fun for me, although I was willing to put up with quite a bit of sensor cleaning. But it was really bad. I am happy now with the 800 and still don't know what I will do with the 600. It's a great camera, but the dirt issues were of inacceptable magnitude on my 600
 
Ok, so everyone seems to point towards the D800 rather than the D600. I have read the D800 struggle with AF on the left side, has anyone noticed this?
 
355858 said:
Ok, so everyone seems to point towards the D800 rather than the D600. I have read the D800 struggle with AF on the left side, has anyone noticed this?
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The issue is still there which sad really. It doesn't mean that yours will have it though
 
I hear Nikon a working on a fix, if you reciece a camera with thi fault do you have the right to return it?
 
If cost is a concern you may want to look at D700. I have a D700 and D800 and use the D700 for 95% of my work. The only time I use the D800 is if the client wants to print larger than A2.
 
I was faced with exactly this dilemma recently and was all set to stick with my D700 until I had a play with a mate's D800 and the images it gave me with my lenses. The ability to crop quite heavily into images and still be able to print large is what sold me on the D800 - the D600's pixel count just isn't high enough to allow such cropping.

If you don't want to crop so heavily and/or are happy with A4 as the largest print from heavyish crops, the D600 should be plenty camera enough for you but the D800 does give a fair bit more in almost every way (including weight!)
 
I think the D800 is sounding more promising, can anyone tell me if you can take raw photos in smaller file sizes?

Also does having two cards have the ability to have one to be a backup ?
 
355858 said:
I think the D800 is sounding more promising, can anyone tell me if you can take raw photos in smaller file sizes?

Also does having two cards have the ability to have one to be a backup ?
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you have some options as to bit size and how to compress the raw files which affect file size. However you can't reduce number of pixels.

2. Yes
 
No, RAW is RAW.

Yes you can. (different cards though. CF & SD)
 
Ok, thats what i thought but i guess you can shoot in jpeg to reduce the file size dramatically if needed. Thats a good feature! :)
 
Pretty sure you can save NEFs to one card and JPEGs to the other so you have small files to look at quickly and large files to process if necessary.
 
Good point Matt, i'm worried that with a camera like the d800 any form of mis-focusing could cause me issues would this be the case?

Thanks
 
matty D said:
Do the smaller pixels of the D800 produce more noise?
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Not in themselves from my experience of shooting RAW, however noise can be introduced in processing if you are not careful, especially with too much sharpening.
The D800 is best used by getting it right with the camera, it is harder to rescue a poor image IMO but get it right (or very nearly right) and you can get a great image quality.
 
boyfalldown said:
Yes, they fix it very quickly, but its been solved for the last 9 months or so
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I wouldnt say thats true on either part. My last D800 would be 5 months old now and that had the issue. Nikon also managed to Royal ***** it up so that the whole AF was worse.
I would make sure you test it properly and return it if it does have the issue.


355858 said:
Good point Matt, i'm worried that with a camera like the d800 any form of mis-focusing could cause me issues would this be the case?

Thanks
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The camera does need better technique ive found compared to my D700. I generally need slightly higher shutter speeds also which sort of nullifies any iso advantage you may get.
On the upside you can miss focus slightly i find and still get away with a good/sharp enough picture as long as your not pixel peeping.

I know I will probably get flamed regarding this, but have you considered the 5dmk3. By alot of accounts its a better all round camera, it may not have a sensor as good as the d800 for MP or DR but iso is on par and AF is better.. how many actualy use or need all the DR.
I know some on here swear by there d800 and think its best thing ever, but reading other forums where users have both systems they tend to use the d800 more for set up or landscape photography and the 5d for everything else.

You say all your glass is FX, but you don't say how much you have.. I have considered the switch but would loose a lot of money selling my d800E as they haven't kept price well at all and i don't have the spare cash just now.

I coulsnt go back down to the build and lay out of the d600 i don't think, hopefully nikon will answer with an in between model.
 
Thanks for all your comments, i certainly couldnt be dealing with moving to Canon. Canons not really for me. I think the D800 will make me become a better photographer if the above is true. Ill hang onto the d90 for a while too. Just gotta save up now. :(
 
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As the other thread have you considered the d700.

I moved from the d90 to d700 and its a world of difference. It's still a very capable camera even though the new ones are out it may not have the mp but ISO and AF are similar.

It's also more forgiving on technique and lens.

You could pick up a good used copy for a grand or less.
 
Hi PC before i decied to move to an FX camera the D700 was the camera for me but having the extra megapixels is really going to help as i quite often crop wildlife photos, also i think the less forgiving d800 is what i need as i'm probably at the stage with the D90 where I'm lazy maybe the d800 will give me a bit of a kick up the ass i need.. Lol
 
I bought a d800e to replace my d7000 (but kept the d7000 in the end)

I am delighted with my d800 - I have been after this model ever since it was on nikon rumours - i've not had any problems with it and other that the initial firmware upgrade it's not been tinkered with.

with my AF-S 28-300 and grip it's a nicely balanced camera. Dont' worry too much about the price of the grip £290, because you should get nikon vouchers to get it 1/2 price. £140's a bit better.

the body is well designed and functional... my d800e is a keeper... i'm sure you will be delighted with one too (either 800 or 800e) the 800e comes with Nikon NX software license too.
 
Hi Rolland what do you mean about Nikon vouchers?
 
Ben, when I bought my D800 I got a load of special offer discount vouchers (well, the shop has me registered for the discounts - the vouchers don't exist in my hands!) off assorted accessories - grip, a few lenses; things like that. I'm pretty sure these offers are only available if you buy from an independent dealer (mine came from Devon Camera Centre) and I'm equally sure that you have to buy the accessories from the same dealer. While you may pay a few quid more in the smaller dealerships, the final savings can mean that you actually end up with a better deal.
 
I bought the d600 in February 2013 from a dealer who should have a good throughput, and my camera has the dirt issues really bad. I doubt my camera was from one of the first batches.
 
pmac said:
I wouldnt say thats true on either part. My last D800 would be 5 months old now and that had the issue. Nikon also managed to Royal ***** it up so that the whole AF was worse.
I would make sure you test it properly and return it if it does have the issue.
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Thats really bad luck. Occasionally someone buys a lemon ;( (which isn't saying anything else but occasionally all goods are faulty), but the reports of left AF are confined generally to the first batch. My second (also about 5 months old) has no issues, and the first I had they fixed the AF issue easily in less then a day
 
355858 said:
Hi Rolland what do you mean about Nikon vouchers?
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I looked online at the Nikon shop, it directed me to Castle Cameras in Salisbury, and when I purchased the camera, Nikon emailed me some vouchers, they are time limited and can only be used at the shop you purchased the camera from but some good savings on specific lenses, grips, flash units etc
 
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rowland said:
I looked online at the Nikon shop, it directed me to Castle Cameras in Salisbury, and when I purchased the camera, Nikon emailed me some vouchers, they are time limited and can only be used at the shop you purchased the camera from but some good savings on specific lenses, grips, flash units etc
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Parkcameras offer them as well.
 
Infinite said:
When i went into john lewis yesterday to check out the d600 i asked about the dust problem with the d600 and the nikon lady said that it was just the first batch and that the new batch has that problem solved. Dunno how true this is?
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Got my d600 last week from John Lewis and i ad to return it, the dust and oil was so bad.
I was told at the counter that due to there volume of sale it will be a very late edition one.
 
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