Nikon D600 vs D7100

BFiggy

TPF Noob!
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
55
Reaction score
17
Can others edit my Photos
Photos OK to edit
I know this has been asked before but I'm still a little unsure about some things.

I currently have a D7100 and would like to go FF for the low light performance and because I don't want to keep sinking money in DX glass. I'm going to keep the D7100 and use it with my Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 OS lens because I love the way this combo performs.

My question is about the focusing systems between the two. It's my understanding that the focus system on the D7100 is better... is that just because it has more focus points? Does the D7100 focus faster as well? What are the focus system advantages over the D600? I'm not too concerned about the amount of focus points so I want to know if there's anything else I'm missing.

My concern is that if I decide to update to a FF zoom lens I want to make sure it performs as well as the D7100/Sigma 50-150 combo.

Any other thoughts or things I should know about going from a D7100 to D600?
 
The D600/D610 has the same focusing system as the D7000 so its a tad outdated and yes it doesn't perform so well in extreme low light like your D7100 or D7200 will. But with that being said, I haven't had really any focusing problems but then again I've only used D60, D7000 and D610. If I were to get a newer camera like a D750 or D810, I would probably notice the AF differences, haha. But for what I do, its perfect fine for me. The full frame sensor was far more important to me as I tend to shoot in lower light.

The only other thing you should know is that the D600/D610 focus points are bunched up a little bit more in the center than other full frame cameras, its not a HUGE deal like some make it out to be. I got use to it very fast and actually, I didn't even notice it much when I first got the D610.

Here's an example.

Nikon-D7100-vs-D600-Viewfinder.png


But then again, not THAT much smaller than other fx af points.

AF-area-comparison-between-Nikon-D610-D750-and-D810-cameras.jpg


This then again...I feel this is more worth it. Haha

sensor-Nikon-D7100-Nikon-D610.png


I really enjoy shooting with my D610, I can say that the autofocus system is better than my D7000 but that may not be the case for everyone. The image quality and dynamic range, ISO performance, it's very good. Also, full frame sensors produce finer grain, so even extreme high iso, you can get a usable image..I did at ISO 25,600 in b&w of course.

Also one thing to mention is that the sensor is double the size of APS-C, so say when you doing portraits and using a 85 1.8, you can stand a little closer to your subject and you'll have greater background separation than you would on smaller sensors because you'd have to stand further back. The other advantage is the wider angle lenses. Now the downside is that you lose the crop factor so a 300mm lens is no longer equivalent of a 450mm lens so you lose that extra reach..but you can also put the camera into crop mode..but it isn't the same.

I hope this helps!
 
Shoot in DX mode and it's essentailly the same size as the D7100 AF area... moot point is moot.

You will notice a difference between having the 51pt AF module vs the 39pt (keyword the module, not the focus points)--there is a degrade there. Otherwise there's not much difference between the two other than the sensor size and insane IQ.
 
Last edited:
Shoot in DX mode and it's essentailly the same size as the D7100 AF area... moot point is moot.............

Not moot. D600 shot in DX mode is an anemic 10MP. You get a whole lot more pixels with a D7100.
 
having owned a D7000, D7100, and now a D600....i can honestly say that while I definitely liked the 51pt AF system the D7100 had, the 39pt AF system works just fine for me and the slight downgrade in AF systems was well worth the upgrade in ISO performance
 
Shoot in DX mode and it's essentailly the same size as the D7100 AF area... moot point is moot.............

Not moot. D600 shot in DX mode is an anemic 10MP. You get a whole lot more pixels with a D7100.

all I'm saying is the actual AF area is physically the ~same size, but relative to the frame it's smaller.

A lot of people complain that the AF area is a lot smaller, but it's not--the frame is just so much larger.
 
The biggest issue I had with the d600's af was that it wasn't that good in low light. The d7100 focuses substantially faster, regardless of mode or number of focal points used, in low light. It negated a lot of the d600's low light advantage to me, because I can deal with a little noise if everything is sharply in focus. This was a big deal for me because the only reason I still even own a dslr is for focusing speed in low light.

For some people this may not be a problem. For me it was. With fast action it made my f/4 lenses unusable (regular f/4 or f/2.8 with a teleconverter). No point in owning a 300mm f/4 if you have to manual focus it for a football game.

Now, I also realize that this was sort of personal. If you don't need quick, accurate low light autofocus it's probably not a big deal. For some people being able to shoot at higher ISO is more important.

I also don't even know what people mean when they say the d600's has "higher image quality" unless they're just repeating the high ISO performance again.

I view the two cameras as mostly equivalents, but with different strengths. The D610 has cleaner files in low light, the D7100 focuses faster.

What I did was simply get a f/1.8 zoom lens, which completely negates the low light advantage the d610 has since the fastest normal zoom lens you can use on the d610 is f/2.8. So a d7100 with f/1.8 actually has a mild advantage in low light and depth of field vs a d610 with a f/2.8. Anyway, just my thoughts as somebody who owned both. Ymmv
 
I view the two cameras as mostly equivalents, but with different strengths. The D610 has cleaner files in low light, the D7100 focuses faster.
And thats why you got the D750, it takes the best of D7100/7200 and best of D600/610 add slightly better low light performance and few more goodies and "Voila" you got a killer camera :)
 
I view the two cameras as mostly equivalents, but with different strengths. The D610 has cleaner files in low light, the D7100 focuses faster.
And thats why you got the D750, it takes the best of D7100/7200 and best of D600/610 add slightly better low light performance and few more goodies and "Voila" you got a killer camera :)
Sure, the D750 is a great camera. We are now no longer addressing the OP's question though.
 
What I did was simply get a f/1.8 zoom lens, which completely negates the low light advantage the d610 has since the fastest normal zoom lens you can use on the d610 is f/2.8. So a d7100 with f/1.8 actually has a mild advantage in low light and depth of field vs a d610 with a f/2.8. Anyway, just my thoughts as somebody who owned both. Ymmv

the speed of glass is not what gives the D600 its low-light advantage--its the DR.
the dof of your crop at f/1.8 will pretty much equal a FX camera shooting f/2.8.
what happens when you want to shoot longer than 35mm?

I personally havent had issues with the D600 in tricky lighting, but I'm sure the 51pt module is better here.
 
What I did was simply get a f/1.8 zoom lens, which completely negates the low light advantage the d610 has since the fastest normal zoom lens you can use on the d610 is f/2.8. So a d7100 with f/1.8 actually has a mild advantage in low light and depth of field vs a d610 with a f/2.8. Anyway, just my thoughts as somebody who owned both. Ymmv

the speed of glass is not what gives the D600 its low-light advantage--its the DR.
the dof of your crop at f/1.8 will pretty much equal a FX camera shooting f/2.8.
what happens when you want to shoot longer than 35mm?
Then we're talking telephoto, and we are back to shooting things where the D600/D610's autofcus speed can't keep up in low light, ie wildlife and sports. In the time I owned it, the D600 produced great image quality of low light action or fast moving subjects, but it just had a danged of a time focusing. For me that was a bigger deal breaker. I simply don't shoot non action telephoto in low light. And as far as DoF goes, I pretty much never want less DoF on a telephoto. the 105 f/2 DC produces as small of DoF as I'd ever possibly want for portraits, and f/2.8 on APS-C as about as thin of DoF as I'd want for action. On FF I often shoot at F/4 because I want the extra DoF.

My point with low light is that at f/1.8, I can use a stop + a third lower ISO, which produces, to my eyes, as clean files as the D610 at a stop higher ISO (or a stop recovered in post).

and again, I am simply speaking to how I shot, the thoughts I have had with both cameras, both of which I owned.
 
Last edited:
... and because I don't want to keep sinking money in DX glass.
I hope you realize that you do not have to buy DX lenses for a DX camera.
FF lenses work just fine on DX cameras. I initially bought a d7000 I only bought the kit lens.
Because of the in-body focus motor I was able to buy AF-D lenses to get good glass at a discount compared to the more expensive AF-S/G variants.
Thus when I bought a d600 body I was all set with nothing else needed.
The connectors were the same too so I was set in accessories too.
 
I view the two cameras as mostly equivalents, but with different strengths. The D610 has cleaner files in low light, the D7100 focuses faster.
And thats why you got the D750, it takes the best of D7100/7200 and best of D600/610 add slightly better low light performance and few more goodies and "Voila" you got a killer camera :)
Sure, the D750 is a great camera. We are now no longer addressing the OP's question though.
No we don't, I couldn't help it, you know equipment bragging....................I am weak :( LOL
 
... and because I don't want to keep sinking money in DX glass.
I hope you realize that you do not have to buy DX lenses for a DX camera.
FF lenses work just fine on DX cameras. I initially bought a d7000 I only bought the kit lens.
Because of the in-body focus motor I was able to buy AF-D lenses to get good glass at a discount compared to the more expensive AF-S/G variants.
Thus when I bought a d600 body I was all set with nothing else needed.
The connectors were the same too so I was set in accessories too.

I love my 35 f/2D, it's just awesome. My smallest lens and yet produces big results.
 
What I did was simply get a f/1.8 zoom lens, which completely negates the low light advantage the d610 has since the fastest normal zoom lens you can use on the d610 is f/2.8. So a d7100 with f/1.8 actually has a mild advantage in low light and depth of field vs a d610 with a f/2.8. Anyway, just my thoughts as somebody who owned both. Ymmv

the speed of glass is not what gives the D600 its low-light advantage--its the DR.
the dof of your crop at f/1.8 will pretty much equal a FX camera shooting f/2.8.
what happens when you want to shoot longer than 35mm?
Then we're talking telephoto, and we are back to shooting things where the D600/D610's autofcus speed can't keep up in low light, ie wildlife and sports. In the time I owned it, the D600 produced great image quality of low light action or fast moving subjects, but it just had a danged of a time focusing. For me that was a bigger deal breaker. I simply don't shoot non action telephoto in low light. And as far as DoF goes, I pretty much never want less DoF on a telephoto. the 105 f/2 DC produces as small of DoF as I'd ever possibly want for portraits, and f/2.8 on APS-C as about as thin of DoF as I'd want for action. On FF I often shoot at F/4 because I want the extra DoF.

My point with low light is that at f/1.8, I can use a stop + a third lower ISO, which produces, to my eyes, as clean files as the D610 at a stop higher ISO (or a stop recovered in post).

and again, I am simply speaking to how I shot, the thoughts I have had with both cameras, both of which I owned.


so what happens when you put a f/1.8 lens on the D600? I can just use a longer focal length/move back to get the extra DOF. then I get the advantage of ISO performance of the FF sensor AND the extra stop of aperture of a f/1.8 lens.

OR...just do what I have been doing for a while now. put a radio trigger on the hot shoe and use it for the IR focus assist. worked great on the D7000, D7100, and D600.

I dont shoot sports, so it might be an entirely different animal but....autofocus has never really been a huge issue for me.
ive owned the D100, D200, D300, D90, D7000, D7100, and D600 and none of them have ever given me much grief autofocusing for portraits or weddings.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top