Thursday, 13 September 2012

Nikon D800 vs D600: What to buy

I am most likely like a lot of others who is going to switch from Nikon DX format in SLR camera to Nikon FX format in SLR camera. With the introduction of the Nikon D600 there are now two choices for amateurs with a little money. My switch will be from the  Nikon D2X to either D600 or D800. I don't think that within the next year or so there will be another FX camera for me.

Why not go higher up like I did with the Nikon D2X? Well at the time I bought the Nikon D2X I was in the film world and was very eager to jump on to the digital world and as soon as the Nikon D2X was annonced I jumped on the wagon. Looking back I should have waited a year or so and bought a smaller edition, but who new at that time. The camera has served me very well, but it is time for an upgrade and I am not going to spend as much as did that time on a camera body. The price on the Nikon D800 is the upper limit and might also be a little to high above my upper limit, but I am willing to spend the money if it is the camera with the best value without giving into picture quality.

What are my demands:
- Full frame (this is the way the Nikon world is going and it would be nice with the extra wide)
- Good high iso (the major let down from the Nikon D2X has to be very good. Also my pictures is a lot more indoor than earlier)
- Good landscape pictures (I still need this feature)

So on to the advantages for buying the Nikon D600 over Nikon D800.

Advantages:
- Less price
- Can buy other camera stuff

Disadvantages:
- More MP (not a major issue as long as I get the better high iso demand)
- Worse autofocus
- Worse metering
- Worse DX mode

All in all I think is going to come down to the Dxomarks on the camera. The values for color depth, dynamic range and low issue. These values have to be close to the Nikon D800. They don't need to be exactly the same, but close. Otherwise I will be in a real dilema.

So what can you use the difference (currently about 900 us dollar on):

- Nikon 105mm Macro VR (fantastic lens. Already got that one)
- Nikon 70-300mm VR (should be a good lens and then you still have money in your hand)
- Nikon 24-85mm VR (don't know much about this lens, but anyone who is going to go from DX to FX is going to need a standard zoom lens)

And if you spend a little bit more you can get the following:

- Nikon 28-300mm VR
- Nikon 24-120mm VR

If I were to upgrade to the D600 it will most like be money that I can spend on a standard zoom (24-85, 28-300 or the 24-120. Have to do some research about which one it is going to be)

Random posts:

No comments: