Would you buy a D610?

A/Ox4 · Mar 12, 2015

Currently I have a D5300 and am thinking about moving up to FX. The D750 is my preferred choice, but is too expensive. Would you buy/recommend a D610?

Other options?

pixmedic · Mar 12, 2015

A/Ox4 · Mar 12, 2015

I've heard a lot of the dust/oil issues carried over and customer service was lacking.

pixmedic · Mar 12, 2015

A/Ox4 said:
I've heard a lot of the dust/oil issues carried over and customer service was lacking.

well, unless you go away from nikon, your stuck with their customer service.
I have two D600's and love them. I got both of mine used, but for the price of one new D610 you can get a low clicky used D800. maybe something to consider.
you can always find a used D600 on ebay thats already had the shutter replaced, or get a D600/610 from somewhere like KEH or Adorama where you have a 90 day warranty.

Derrel · Mar 12, 2015

Like pixmedic mentioned--used D800's are starting to turn up in what USED TO BE the D600/D610's initial new price zone, depending on the seller's motivation level. The top Nikon has always attracted a certain percentage of buyers who feel they absolutely MUST own the latest and greatest...and so since the D810 is out, that makes a D800 déclassé for those kinds of guys...and many of them are willing to sell fairly cheaply.

Look around at different places...D610 right now is coming with a free battery grip from Nikon, like a $229 value, so that's an inducement. D610 is a nice small FX body....sure, why not? Used bodies are a pretty smart way to go, in my opinion.

table1349 · Mar 12, 2015

No! None of my Canon L glass would work. :laugh2:

astroNikon · Mar 12, 2015

I certainly would
I paid $1400 for my Refurb'd d600 which has worked spectaculously since I bought it.
But a NEW d610 kit which includes a bag and the BATTERY GRIP is only $1497 ==> Nikon D610 Digital SLR Camera Body - USA Warranty 1540

ruifo · Mar 12, 2015

The D610 is an excellent DSLR. A great option.

ByronBrant · Mar 12, 2015

I have 2 D600's. One sent in for shutter replacement for free & the other will be sent in.
1650.00 refurbished on the 1st one. 840.00 like new used for the other. They are both extremely good cameras. That 24MP FX sensor is a real gem. You won't be disappointed. If you get one with spot issues. You send it in for free repair with free shipping. So no risk there.

goodguy · Mar 12, 2015

As a user of a D750 I can tell you if I didn't have the money for a D750 I would get the D610!!!
Lets start with the weakness of the D610, I start with that because from this it pretty much gets only better.
Only weakness of the D610 and that's a relative weakness is its AF system, the 39 focus point is not as good as the one on the D7100 or D750 but that's not to say its a bad system, not at all just not as good as the 51 auto focus system.
Ok now for the good stuff, the sensor on it is same as the one on the D750 which means excellent low light performance and wonderful dynamic range.
Its got a nice FPS and reasonable buffer size.

Bottom line you are getting a lot of camera for the money!!!
Forget the D600 oil/dust issues, these were resolved when Nikon moved from the D600 to the D610, from what I know and heard the D610 are very good, reliable and robust cameras.
Good luck

Solarflare · Mar 16, 2015

You also need FX glass if you want a FX camera.

So if you dont have the money for the D750 ... you probably dont have the money for the D610 either. At least not with glass.

When I bought my D600, I spend ~2000€ on the camera, but ~3000€ on the lenses.

Of course you can limit yourself to just a 50mm f1.8, which is really cheap - but you need to be aware thats what you'll be limited to.

A/Ox4 · Mar 16, 2015

Solarflare said:
You also need FX glass if you want a FX camera.

So if you dont have the money for the D750 ... you probably dont have the money for the D610 either. At least not with glass.

When I bought my D600, I spend ~2000€ on the camera, but ~3000€ on the lenses.

Of course you can limit yourself to just a 50mm f1.8, which is really cheap - but you need to be aware thats what you'll be limited to.

Like any smart photographer I invested in glass first and only own FX lenses.

MOREGONE · Mar 16, 2015

Absolutely yes.

Started with the D600 and just this weekend got to use my new D610 for the first time. Amazing image quality. Unless you have specific reasons needing the higher end FF Nikon's (FPS, weather sealing, tilting screen), I cannot see why the D610 wouldn't be an excellent choice.

astroNikon · Mar 16, 2015

When I bought my d7000 I only bought AF-D lenses after that.
So the switch to a d600 FF camera required no add'l purchases.
All the accessoriese worked between the two too. Made me a happy camper. Another reason I didn't go with the d700 - different accessories connectors, batteries, etc.

Solarflare · Mar 28, 2015

A/Ox4 said:
Like any smart photographer I invested in glass first and only own FX lenses.

astroNikon said:
When I bought my d7000 I only bought AF-D lenses after that.

I'm not unhappy at all I got me a couple DX lenses for my D5100; they are smaller lighter and a lot cheaper, have more "natural" focal length ranges for DX, have any actual wideangle options at all (short of the 14-24mm f2.8 or 16-35mm f4 VR on DX lolz), and I would have had the option to switch to any other company when I would switch to full frame.

Besides, back then I wasnt sure if I actually would ever feel the need to switch in the first place.