Nikon D610 thoughts?

[benhasajeep]

Don't know if your willing to do Ebay. But D800's are down to around $1,000 to $1,200. Low shutter count one on there now for less than $1,000. 18k clicks on it.

Isn't eBay a little bit of gamble?

I have had good luck so far.

Was just going to post there is a D610 ending in about an hour from now 8:28 eastern. $799 right now. 12k clicks on it. Seller says bought from Keh rated as EX. If it really came from KEH. It's a good camera.

 

[benhasajeep]

Brand new D610 USA with warranty for $1,029! Ebay!

 

[DreamCatcher]

Don't know if your willing to do Ebay. But D800's are down to around $1,000 to $1,200. Low shutter count one on there now for less than $1,000. 18k clicks on it.

Isn't eBay a little bit of gamble?

I have had good luck so far.

Was just going to post there is a D610 ending in about an hour from now 8:28 eastern. $799 right now. 12k clicks on it. Seller says bought from Keh rated as EX. If it really came from KEH. It's a good camera.

I'm going to have to look into that then. Thanks for the info I was always told to be careful with eBay stuff.

 

[benhasajeep]

Don't know if your willing to do Ebay. But D800's are down to around $1,000 to $1,200. Low shutter count one on there now for less than $1,000. 18k clicks on it.

Isn't eBay a little bit of gamble?

I have had good luck so far.

Was just going to post there is a D610 ending in about an hour from now 8:28 eastern. $799 right now. 12k clicks on it. Seller says bought from Keh rated as EX. If it really came from KEH. It's a good camera.

I'm going to have to look into that then. Thanks for the info I was always told to be careful with eBay stuff.

Yea, I don't go in blind. I check the feedback. Not just to see it's high number of positive, but actually check what they had been selling. I had to file once on a person, for a drywall lift of all things. Was never shipped. I got my money back.

 

[Derrel]

I bought my D610 used with the MBD-14 battery grip, th5ree Nikon batteries, a body cap, and 4,812 actuations, all for $849 at my loal store, so my negative impressions of it were not influenced by having payed a high price for the camera and grip; I bought it at a fantastic price, in great condition, but the number of failures to focus that I get with it during the course of a day spoils multiple shot opportunities every single day, and the need for a blinding white-light AF assist when a 12-year-old Nikon like the D2x can LOCK focus in 1/4 second with the same, old, slow lenses...shows me that the D610 is built around a crap AF module.

As braineack says, I'm spoiled by "real cameras" that can LOCK focus in an instant, 99.9 percent of the time.

AF-I for example on the D610...wow...what a useless "feature". Screws up a lot. A Mom and Dad camera feature.

In all fairness, the D610 is a "mom and dad" camera...I'm coming from pro-level Nikons that date back to 1998...the AF performance is really,really WEAK in this camera with consumer of slow-f/stop zooms, and is only marginally better with the 85,50,and 180mm primes, which are f/1.8, f/1.8, and f/2.8 lenses.

Failures to focus on OBVIOUS targets like seagulls in flight at 5,8,10,12,15 meters with a 70-300 in BRIGHT mbeach sunlight...failure to achieve focus on aircraft in plain, blue skies...failures to focus fast and reliably on all sorts of subjects...just crappy AF performance. In even moderate light with a 50mm or 85mm prime Nikkor lens, I constantly find the D610 to be BLASTING a white beam of light in order to achiev a focus lock! Unacceptable to me when a 2005 or 2009 Nikon body can LOCK focus with the SAME, exact lenses I have had for years...with no annoying white flashlight beam!

Gotta keep in mind, the D610 **is** an entry-level full frame, and was derived from the D600, which was built on the APS-C D7000 body; a amra that was plagued with focusing issues, the D7000 was. If this is the first AF d-slr you've had, you might feel that it's a solid camera, but I have to rate it as just acceptable...it's wayyyyyy less-reliable than a higher-end Nikon with a powerful AF module.

Again: the white AF assit light Nikon put into the D610: that is the mark of an older camera, something like a 2003 Fuji S2 Pro or something like that, meaning a $389-level consumer body...

 

[Peeb]

I bought my D610 used with the MBD-14 battery grip, th5ree Nikon batteries, a body cap, and 4,812 actuations, all for $849 at my loal store, so my negative impressions of it were not influenced by having payed a high price for the camera and grip; I bought it at a fantastic price, in great condition, but the number of failures to focus that I get with it during the course of a day spoils multiple shot opportunities every single day, and the need for a blinding white-light AF assist when a 12-year-old Nikon like the D2x can LOCK focus in 1/4 second with the same, old, slow lenses...shows me that the D610 is built around a crap AF module.

As braineack says, I'm spoiled by "real cameras" that can LOCK focus in an instant, 99.9 percent of the time.

AF-I for example on the D610...wow...what a useless "feature". Screws up a lot. A Mom and Dad camera feature.

In all fairness, the D610 is a "mom and dad" camera...I'm coming from pro-level Nikons that date back to 1998...the AF performance is really,really WEAK in this camera with consumer of slow-f/stop zooms, and is only marginally better with the 85,50,and 180mm primes, which are f/1.8, f/1.8, and f/2.8 lenses.

Failures to focus on OBVIOUS targets like seagulls in flight at 5,8,10,12,15 meters with a 70-300 in BRIGHT mbeach sunlight...failure to achieve focus on aircraft in plain, blue skies...failures to focus fast and reliably on all sorts of subjects...just crappy AF performance. In even moderate light with a 50mm or 85mm prime Nikkor lens, I constantly find the D610 to be BLASTING a white beam of light in order to achiev a focus lock! Unacceptable to me when a 2005 or 2009 Nikon body can LOCK focus with the SAME, exact lenses I have had for years...with no annoying white flashlight beam!

Gotta keep in mind, the D610 **is** an entry-level full frame, and was derived from the D600, which was built on the APS-C D7000 body; a amra that was plagued with focusing issues, the D7000 was. If this is the first AF d-slr you've had, you might feel that it's a solid camera, but I have to rate it as just acceptable...it's wayyyyyy less-reliable than a higher-end Nikon with a powerful AF module.

Again: the white AF assit light Nikon put into the D610: that is the mark of an older camera, something like a 2003 Fuji S2 Pro or something like that, meaning a $389-level consumer body...

I wonder if you got a bad copy?

I shot my D610 with a 200-500 plus 1.4x TC and had no trouble capturing seagulls in flight at a local lake; and TRUST ME, Derrel is a much (much much) better photographer then I am.

 

[Derrel]

I don't think it's a bad copy; any camera that needs a white AF assit beam to hit focus means the AF module is weak. Compare it to a D1,D1h,D2x,or D3x and it's just clearly a Mom and Dad level camera. It's a big step down from what I expect a 24-MP camera to be. The fact that the body and grip have a gap and sloppy fit, and the viewfinder is only so-so...this is a $380-type Nikon body. This is a cheap body camera.

Compare the way this thing shoots and respoinds to the 2004 D2x or the 2009 D3x...there';s just no comparison.

Selling the D3x was the biggest photo mistake I have made in a decade and a half. It was a fantastic camera. it flubbed maybe one shot out of 1,000...this one? 15,20,25 shots out of 1,000, every day it's used.

 

[Peeb]

OK- I'll agree that if 97.5% to 98.5% capture rate is a big step down from 'better' nikons, then you probably have a representative copy of the D610.

In large part due (no doubt) to my poor technique and skill, I'd be thrilled with a 5% 'miss' rate!

 

[goodguy]

D610 is good as a basic full frame camera, the sensor on it is superb, my advise since the AF system isn't amazing maybe spend a little more and get the D750, I have this camera for 3 years, its AF system is excellent, I find the D750 has very few weaknesses.

 

[jaomul]

I don't think it's a bad copy; any camera that needs a white AF assit beam to hit focus means the AF module is weak. Compare it to a D1,D1h,D2x,or D3x and it's just clearly a Mom and Dad level camera. It's a big step down from what I expect a 24-MP camera to be. The fact that the body and grip have a gap and sloppy fit, and the viewfinder is only so-so...this is a $380-type Nikon body. This is a cheap body camera.

Compare the way this thing shoots and respoinds to the 2004 D2x or the 2009 D3x...there';s just no comparison.

Selling the D3x was the biggest photo mistake I have made in a decade and a half. It was a fantastic camera. it flubbed maybe one shot out of 1,000...this one? 15,20,25 shots out of 1,000, every day it's used.

Have you any friends with a d610 that you could try. I know of course it's never going to match the more pro spec models with its focus system, but the af you describe seems worse than a lot of users myself included are experiencing

 

[nerwin]

I'm quite happy with my D610, I don't generally have any issues with AF performance, it works good enough for me and I'm able to focus on planes and birds in flight with no problems. Is it perfect? No. But it is one heck of an affordable full frame camera with superb image quality and dynamic range.

It drives my lenses quite well, plenty of power. When I had the D7000 and the 70-300 VR, the autofocus was slow. Whereas the D610, even though it has the same AF module, the auto focus speed of the 70-300 VR was so much faster.

I do recommend the D610, I don't think you can get a better performing full frame DSLR at this price point. However, you must take my recommendation with a grain of salt because I haven't used anything better than the D610, I don't have any experience with the D750 or D8xx models..besides the few moments I've played with them in the store and had to walk away before I go in debt.

 

[DreamCatcher]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I think seeing as I don't need it right this minute I'm going to wait it out a little longer and save up for the D800 or D810

 

[nerwin]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I think seeing as I don't need it right this minute I'm going to wait it out a little longer and save up for the D800 or D810

Just curious, what lenses are you interested in getting? Because at the end of the day, glass is the most important. If you spend more money on the body and have a smaller budget for lower end glass. You pretty much defeating the purpose. I'd rather get a used D610 cheap and put more money into good glass.

Just my two cents.

 

[Peeb]

Other than a more reliable shutter, there is little difference between the D600 and the D610. In the "800" series, however, there are some significant difference between the D800 and the D810 that you should confirm before going forward.

 

[Braineack]

I don't think it's a bad copy; any camera that needs a white AF assit beam to hit focus means the AF module is weak.

The EV rating of the center point is only -1EV, whereas the 51-pt AF module of the D800 & D4 is -2EV. I do find it struggles a bit in low-light, but I use beam-assist over the worthless light bulb if needed.