Nikon D610 Wedding Photography

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Tom
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Hi all,

Just looking for some opinions from those who have experience with Nikon DSLR's for wedding photography.

I've been photographing seriously for around 7 years, and in the last few months I have decided to try my hand at wedding photography, armed with a Nikon D800 and a D610 as my main and back-up camera bodies. This weekend I shot my first wedding as the primary shooter. I had a Nikon 24-70 2.8e VR lens on the d800, with an 85mm 1.4G on the d610. Looking back at my shots from the day, I realise that in good light all shots were fine, beautiful and sharp. But as soon as the light got challenging (i.e. indoors in poor light), the d610 in particular struggled to hit focus at all. I was using the af-c mode coupled with back-button focus, which I now regret as I think AF-s would have got me more keepers. Luckily I happened to be using the d800 for the critical shots, such as first kiss, cake cutting, signing the register etc. which are fine, but its still been a massively frustrating experience, and I realise I might not be so lucky next time.

I had a second shooter (shooting with Sony A7 III's), along with me who did a fantastic job, so I will have to lean on his indoors shots heavily, which consistently nailed focus.

My question is, do others who own the d610, have similar issues?? I'm starting to think that its just not up to the demanding task of being suitable for weddings, where fast AF in fast-paced low light environments is critical, so I'm tempted to cut my losses and sell the D610, and get something like a secondhand d750 or d810 to replace it. I realise the d850 is probably the best wedding camera for Nikon at the moment, but I can't justify the cost.

Would appreciate any input. Thanks.
 
I've never used the D610 for weddings - I HATE shooting weddings - so can't comment pecisely. Some people find the auto-focus on the D600/610 to be a bit hit and miss in poor light but I can't say I've noticed it.

For sure the D750 or D810 will have better AF but then they're better than the D610 at everything except the price :)
 
The D610 is well known for being poor in low light so not exactly a surprise.
 
Have to say well done for having a go at taking your first wedding. One thing in your post you say you use the nikon D800 as the main camera and the Nikon D610 as the backup . I don't have the D610 but I do have the d800 and D810. If I were you I would get rid of the D610 and use the D800 as the backup camera. Go get the D810 while you can get them new (just) and use that as the main camera instead. AS soon as you use the D810 you will see why I suggested it the D800 is ok but the D810 without the AA filter is a different beast entirely.

Just my thoughts for what little they are worth
 
I found the d610 centre point okay. But anything away from that was a real struggle in low light. I don’t honestly find the d800 much better though to be honest.
 
I've used the D600 for low light events and it was a bit difficult. Okay,but nothing to write home about.
I changed to a D750 and the difference is like night and day (sic) :)
 
The Nikon you want for weddings is the D750, based on the number of wedding toggers round here (TP) still using them.

I had a D610 until March this year. The sensor is great, but AF sucks in low-light and and I had to focus manually in dim conditions using AF assist to get reliable focussing. The D750 fixes all that, and I'd recommend it over a D8XX series because the sensor should have a bit more dynamic range and lower noise at higher ISO settings, plus the images will be a bit quicker to process being smaller and the rear screen flips out for non-eye level pictures.

I'm not a wedding photographer, but I moved over to a Sony A7III in March: the AF is very much better under almost all conditions and the sensor is better too.
 
The Nikon you want for weddings is the D750, based on the number of wedding toggers round here (TP) still using them.

I had a D610 until March this year. The sensor is great, but AF sucks in low-light and and I had to focus manually in dim conditions using AF assist to get reliable focussing. The D750 fixes all that, and I'd recommend it over a D8XX series because the sensor should have a bit more dynamic range and lower noise at higher ISO settings, plus the images will be a bit quicker to process being smaller and the rear screen flips out for non-eye level pictures.

I'm not a wedding photographer, but I moved over to a Sony A7III in March: the AF is very much better under almost all conditions and the sensor is better too.
Absolutely get the D750 for weddings and I own a D810!

Don’t get me wrong the D810 can and does do an amazing job but the D750 af is better.

Even better switch to Sony and get the best af system this side of a flappy mirror!
 
The Nikon you want for weddings is the D750, based on the number of wedding toggers round here (TP) still using them.
Not just wedding toggers that use them Toni ....... lots of us on here shoot anything and everything with the D750, great colours no noise great at low light handles great.... the best bang for buck Nikon even today :banana:
 
Not just wedding toggers that use them Toni ....... lots of us on here shoot anything and everything with the D750, great colours no noise great at low light handles great.... the best bang for buck Nikon even today :banana:

Absolutely. But in the context....

I was very close to upgrading to a D750, but I just didn't have much financial committment in the lenses and fancied the eye-AF to try to keep track of a small grandson.
 
D750= 24 mp
D810= 36mp

No contest the D810 wins hands down with 12 more mp to play with
 
I bought a D610 as a backup for weddings when it came out. It was absolutely terrible and I couldn't wait to ditch it. While the sensor is good, the camera is practically unusable in low-light and not that great in daylight either. Wedding photography requires a camera that you can trust to nail focus for once-in-a-lifetime moments. The first time I used it for backlit sunlight shots I couldn't believe how bad it was - I'd take a D700 over it any day. You couldn't pay me to shoot with one again.

I also wasn't a fan of the D800 - I kept it for less than 4 months - and for me the D850 had too many mp. The D750 is streets ahead and perfect for weddings. It has great AF, it's small and relatively light, and the sensor, all these years after release, is still amazing. It justifies the price difference and then some. If you can stretch further, I find the A7III to be, pound for pound, the best camera I've ever used for wedding work.
 
Thanks so much everyone for your comments. You've convinced me to give the d750 a go. I hadn't realised how much the price has come down, but I just checked, and at just £1060 brand new, it seems like a no brainer. :) I would definitely like to upgrade the d800 to a d810 too in the not to distant future, but I can only justify the one upgrade currently. I'll let you know how I get on!
 
D750= 24 mp
D810= 36mp

No contest the D810 wins hands down with 12 more mp to play with

I'd agree with this - particularly if you fluff a composition and need to crop.

I was of the understanding the D810 and D750 share the same AF.

I had a D610 - af was woeful. The D800 is good and the D810 is insanely good. I've tried D750's on workshops - just not a fan.
 
The D610 is a fine camera for static subjects in my opinion, but having shot a wedding with it I wouldn't do it again.

If money is tight, I'd be selling it for a D750 every day of the week and twice on Sundays. An MUCH better camera all round.
 
I'd agree with this - particularly if you fluff a composition and need to crop.

I was of the understanding the D810 and D750 share the same AF.

I had a D610 - af was woeful. The D800 is good and the D810 is insanely good. I've tried D750's on workshops - just not a fan.

For weddings, where you shoot high volume, I've found more mp to be a curse. Never once have felt I needed more than 24mp.
 
For weddings, where you shoot high volume, I've found more mp to be a curse. Never once have felt I needed more than 24mp.

I never found it a curse, just unneeded and I used to downsize on export so a bit of a waste
 
I remember back in 2003 when I bought a 6MP Nikon D100. There was an interview with a prominent wedding photographer in Amateur Photographer who stated that the D100 was the perfect camera for weddings. How things have changed!!

Steve.
 
As stated, the D750 is far superior to the 600/610 when it comes to acquiring focus quickly and especially in low light.

If the lights good and the subject isn't moving fast then its capable of producing stunning pictures, I had one for 3 years and got used to the focus, it wasn't until i got a D750 and shot a wedding with both bodies that it became apparent that the D600 was much slower in most situations.
 
I never found it a curse, just unneeded and I used to downsize on export so a bit of a waste

For me, the increased filesize was a problem. I had to buy bigger cards (than I used in my D4 at the time) and spent longer importing and loading pics. And like you, I resized for export. Could probably count on one hand the number of times it was essential for a crop. Same issue with D850. It's a great camera but not the best tool for a high-volume wedding shooter.
 
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