Braineack
Been spending a lot of time on here!
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@Peeb asked for my thoughts on the D800 so here it is:
I've been shooting with my D600 then 610 for just over 4 years now (I got it in Dec of 2013). I bought it refurbished, after all the oil spatter issue started bringing prices down. After about a year, I started getting oil splatter, had the shutter replaced, and almost a year to the date later, I had it replaced for a D610.
I'm still blown away by the image sensor when I view photos at 100%. And I LOVE the amount of file recovery there is in a RAW file -- it's truly amazing what it can do.
In the (4) years of ownership I've had little complaints about the camera -- it was spades better than all my previous bodies: A bunch of PNS digital cameras (Coolpix, etc), the first Canon Rebel, Nikon D40, D3100 and D5100.
I've shot sports, wildlife, portraits, pretty much everything with it, without any real issues and I've always recommended it as a great cheap simple FX camera to get your foot in the door.
But after I shot a wedding in Oct, I really started finding faults; mainly in the focus module.
The AF module was taken out of the D7000 and stuffed into the D600 body. It was never really a great AF module in the D7000 and it was never really meant for an FX sensor to being with. While I've never really had focus issues with it, the AF area is a touch small, and it's never been a rapid at a snap focuser. It's fast, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't snappy, if that makes sense.
The more I've needed it in faster situations, the more I struggled with it because it didn't acquire focus quite fast enough and I wasn't able to get the moment.
At the wedding, the party had a very limited budget and did not have any supplemental lighting at the reception. I actually started having trouble acquiring focus in the low-light. On as the night progressed, they actually cut off the lights over the dance floor where it was nearly impossible to use AF and it was incredibly frustrating.
I had been toying with the idea of picking up a backup body and that event sealed the deal for me. I wanted something more "pro" and actually started looking at the D3x and D4. They are top-of-the-line cameras that are designed for shooters. and I liked the idea of the same 24MP sensor in the D3x with the pro body and better AF, but the prices were still higher than I liked and its more of a studio camera with a limit iso range and continuous shutter speed. The D4 is still priced high, but I liked the idea of the 20MP sensor.
But then the D850 was released. The used market is FLOODED with D800 and D810s.
I really didn't want to move up to 36MP, as I wanted the large pixel size of the D610, and to keep the overall file size smaller. but the more I read and saw comparisons, the D800 IQ is pretty much on par with the D610 with all the advantage of the extra resolution.
The BF sale on the D750 almost got me ($1490 new with a Nikon Grip & extra battery), but there are a lot of things about the body that I wasn't sold on -- despite the amazing IQ and extra features.
So I ended up with a used D800, $875 shipped, 9,100 clicks.
So some actual review:
It was quick to prefer the D800 over the D610 in just handling it alone:
So now with the prices where they are, and after handling it for a bit now, the D800 is my new recommendation for people who want a budget FX. If you can still find a D600 for less than $600 I'd still say get it, and hopefully they replace the D610 soon enough and you can get the newer model once the shutter fails. But the D800: Big Thumbs Up.
I've been shooting with my D600 then 610 for just over 4 years now (I got it in Dec of 2013). I bought it refurbished, after all the oil spatter issue started bringing prices down. After about a year, I started getting oil splatter, had the shutter replaced, and almost a year to the date later, I had it replaced for a D610.
I'm still blown away by the image sensor when I view photos at 100%. And I LOVE the amount of file recovery there is in a RAW file -- it's truly amazing what it can do.
In the (4) years of ownership I've had little complaints about the camera -- it was spades better than all my previous bodies: A bunch of PNS digital cameras (Coolpix, etc), the first Canon Rebel, Nikon D40, D3100 and D5100.
I've shot sports, wildlife, portraits, pretty much everything with it, without any real issues and I've always recommended it as a great cheap simple FX camera to get your foot in the door.
But after I shot a wedding in Oct, I really started finding faults; mainly in the focus module.
The AF module was taken out of the D7000 and stuffed into the D600 body. It was never really a great AF module in the D7000 and it was never really meant for an FX sensor to being with. While I've never really had focus issues with it, the AF area is a touch small, and it's never been a rapid at a snap focuser. It's fast, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't snappy, if that makes sense.
The more I've needed it in faster situations, the more I struggled with it because it didn't acquire focus quite fast enough and I wasn't able to get the moment.
At the wedding, the party had a very limited budget and did not have any supplemental lighting at the reception. I actually started having trouble acquiring focus in the low-light. On as the night progressed, they actually cut off the lights over the dance floor where it was nearly impossible to use AF and it was incredibly frustrating.
I had been toying with the idea of picking up a backup body and that event sealed the deal for me. I wanted something more "pro" and actually started looking at the D3x and D4. They are top-of-the-line cameras that are designed for shooters. and I liked the idea of the same 24MP sensor in the D3x with the pro body and better AF, but the prices were still higher than I liked and its more of a studio camera with a limit iso range and continuous shutter speed. The D4 is still priced high, but I liked the idea of the 20MP sensor.
But then the D850 was released. The used market is FLOODED with D800 and D810s.
I really didn't want to move up to 36MP, as I wanted the large pixel size of the D610, and to keep the overall file size smaller. but the more I read and saw comparisons, the D800 IQ is pretty much on par with the D610 with all the advantage of the extra resolution.
The BF sale on the D750 almost got me ($1490 new with a Nikon Grip & extra battery), but there are a lot of things about the body that I wasn't sold on -- despite the amazing IQ and extra features.
So I ended up with a used D800, $875 shipped, 9,100 clicks.
So some actual review:
It was quick to prefer the D800 over the D610 in just handling it alone:
- Right off the bat I love the ergonomics. I hated holding the D600 without a grip, and I see now why: The D800 has a tiny little edge that your pinky can rest against without sliding off the bottom edge, the D610 lacks that and it's completely straight to the edge, so your pinky has nothing to rest against and get a good grip. Adding the grip fixed the problem, but the D800 grip fits my hand MUCH better without one.
- Some of the buttons feel nicer, like the thumb D-pad, even the on switch. It's noticeable so I mention it.
- LOVE the viewfinder. I can FINALLY see a complete image area and the data on the bottom without struggling. This is the biggest improvement -- it's seriously great.
- The AF-ON button in a much better place than using the AE-L on the D610. I use BBF so this is good for me. It helps you hold the camera better without needing to extend your thumb so much.
- I like the placement of the two front programmable buttons much better two, I can hit the bottom one easily now, it was impossible on the D610. I still need to figure out what I'll use them for, but my middle and ring fingers pretty much land right on the buttons which is really nice.
- The metering mode switch is easier to do instead of pressing a button and turning the thumb wheel. And just knowing where to set it, means I can set it without thinking/looking.
- AF module is working great testing in a dim room -- way better than the D610. It's just snappier overall; acquires focus faster with the same lenses.
- I love having the extra AF area -- even though it's not that much more technically -- you can really see the difference in the viewfinder. One thing I always struggled with on the D610 is framing vertically -- I would set the focus point to the very top edge, focus on the eyes and take a picture. Problem is, that still left your subject VERY low in the frame. I got better at it, but sometimes when youre quickly shooting and don't have time to reframe it wasn't ideal. The D800 has a slightly larger AF area, so I except this to be a bit better.
- love the speed of the CF card (but hate the prices compared to SD). I'm not a huge fan of two different types of cards. I wish it was either two CF or two SD.
- I like the ISO button on the top and getting rid of all the modes I'd never use like auto and U1 and U2, I like switching via the thumb wheel much better. Changing ISO on the D610 was kinda of a PITA. I got used to it, but this is better.
- Love the sound of the shutter and ability to shoot at 1/8000.
- I will actually make use of the sync ports on the body.
- One thing that's annoying me is the OK button position. I like just clicking the d-pad to confirm, not hitting that and I'm used to the (-) button being there so I'm zooming in and out funky on previews. Did notice there's a lot more information on the preview screens -- even the focus point. I'll get used to this, but I do it EVERY time.
- IQ is on par. Shooting the same scene with the same lens, the rendered scene is nearly identical, but you're capturing much better detail. You can crop a heck of a lot and still end up around 20MP without any real compromise on the low-light ability. I have noticed the image is richer and warmer overall -- not by much, but it seems to have better color rendering and the WB a touch warmer which I really like. I almost always add 1000K to all my shots with the D610, I may not have to adjust much in post with the D810. I can post better side-by-side comparisons later -- when I was doing this I discovered a focusing issue with the first D800 I picked up and had to return it, so I want to redo them with the subject actually in focus
So now with the prices where they are, and after handling it for a bit now, the D800 is my new recommendation for people who want a budget FX. If you can still find a D600 for less than $600 I'd still say get it, and hopefully they replace the D610 soon enough and you can get the newer model once the shutter fails. But the D800: Big Thumbs Up.
