Just Posted: Nikon D600 In-depth Review

If your allergic to soot, don't get near it. I'll go ahead and like my own comment so Bamboojail won't go bananas!

I'm sure you mean ISO 6,400. ;)

Just look at the raw iso @25600. Its even better than the 5D mk3 and D800.

Point Taken Have you taken your camera to a Nikon service center for cleaning?
It sounds like you have a chamber with a lot of dust floating around, dust would be attracted statically back to the sensor. When cleaning the sensor firstly blow out the front chamber before you lock up the mirror to clean the sensor. Also before you start any cleaning could you turn off the sensor auto cleaning function in the menu and live it off for a couple of weeks then check to see if there is dust on the sensor. If you have no dust on the sensor turn the sensor auto cleaning back on and use the camera for a few days and then check for dust, if you find dust I think I know what's happening but let's hope I'm wrong. I gave my camera a really good blow out and I'm up to 4,500 shots and no dust has come back. I know it's upsetting especially on your new camera and it should not have happened. I am sure DPREVIEW knocked points off for the dust issue because the D600 should have scrod in the high 90's.

Rusticus does not have one, does not plan on having one. He is he as a shill, having fun jabbing Nikon.

Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit is not digital camera software.

We have here an opto-mechatronics product using complex systems integrating mechanical work, sensors, actors, bus systems, embedded electronics and wiring with case and buttons. It is not a calculator.

I always had to clean my FF sensor when I used Canon Mark II products. I don't care because dust is there and cannot been eliminated at a 100% rate.

As one wrote in this forum, get out and make better pictures instead of counting dust particles.

My opinion is that this Nikon D600 is an excellent value/technology proposition, and I use many different brands.

It could be a very annoying issue, Nikon has to monitor that.
When the 5D Mark III was released it had problem with light getting into the sensor, and Canon reacted promptly. I hope Nikon will look into the dust sensor problem in the same way.

Totally agree with Nicolai. The D600 dust complaint (often from people who don't even own one and are just speculating) is the new Left AF Issue. When the D800 came out almost EVERY forum posts referenced the Left AF point (So ONE AF point out of 51 essentially ruined the D800 launch, even for people who didn't have any problems). In contrast, the Canon 5D3 had the light leak, but you didn't see months of 5D3 Light Leak posts destroying the 5D3 launch like the Nikon forum did for the D800.

All the AF points on my D800 work the same, but visiting the Nikon forum 2 months ago and you'd would think Nikon just released the biggest dog of a DSLR ever by the way people were carrying on. Now history is repeating itself. Early adopters almost always run into issues, but I guess some users like to rant and rave, some prefer to simply contact Nikon and get the matter resolved.

Bamboojail,
I'll thumb up my reply again to excite you......so pathic, sad.....blah blah blah. Hey, did the Nikon came with a blow drier or an eye patch, btw, how's your $2100 + LEMONADE?

@Sad Joe: take a look at the 5D MkIII autofocus. It's being called one of the most accurate and fasts in DSRL territory, straight from the 1Dx model.

I got my 5D Third this week and I'm still going through the user' s manual to learn all its AF possiblities. You need to check your facts.

Can I suggest you only join this petition if:
A- you actually suffer from this "problem."
B- you actually own a D600

The K30 is an excellent APS-C camera for sure but the K-5 II is even better. Why did you choose to buy a K-30 which is two notches under the D600 instead of buying a camera that is just one notch under ?

Just shut up with the ricoh cameras allready. nobody cares. what lenses are you using on that camera, and how does it focus ? give us a break.

I work in low-light allmost constantly and I could do with nothing less than a D700 and fast lenses. I couldn't even imagine working with a crop Ricoh, because in low light usually STUFF MOVES and stabilisation becomes USELESS. You need good details in the higher ISO's and fast apertures in low light, so that you can freeze the action. good luck using that ricoh though.

agreed. Small body and bigger af area would be great.

It may be, that the manufacturers don't see a market for such camera, since so many people are buying mirrorles.

The whole "affordable" FF camera segment is developing much slower, than I thought, when 5D mkI came out 7 years ago.

Nikon dumbed down d600 for marketing reason..
For AF yes it's not top of the class but it's fast and accurate..
So if you say that D600 AF isn't good I bet u don't have it and maybe u even never held one.. U just read forums from someone that is incapable or got a lemon and then u are complaining..
Just my 0.02

"And I want a rangefinder style FF camera with interchangeable lenses for everything else. Seriously, is that too much to ask?"

Yes, that is too much to ask...from Nikon, for a low price, that is. I'm sorry to tell you, but rangefinders are an old technology. It's like wanting to ride a horse on the highway. If you only want rangefinder style, but not a rangefinder, go with Fuji. If you want a small full-frame, then go with the RX1, or wait for a Sony full-frame NEX. A true full-frame rangefinder will not sell as well as a D600, so the price would obviously be more. It doesn't make any sense for Nikon to make such a thing. If you want to pay thousands of dollars more for poorer sensor quality, then go with Leica.

Why doesn't Nikon make a camera JUST FOR MY EXACT NEEDS?

Why doesn't Nikon sell it to me FOR A LOSS IN PROFIT??

> Staub ist ein sehr kleines Problem, das betrifft nur Menschen schießen bei sehr schmalen Öffnungen<

utter nonsense. even with HDR processing and f5.6 you will clearly see the dust - the dust problem with the camera is virtually useless for serious photographers

and - who wants to clean every day

We think it is can be of benefit to show how a manufacturer's image stabilization performs in video mode, particularly on a camera priced at a point where users may be likely to grab video while out shooting stills handheld, as opposed to going out on a dedicated video shoot.

On the D800, which offers very similar video quality, we shot all but one of the video samples with tripods in addition to providing uncompressed video output. So hopefully there's something of more interest for you there.

That makes no sense. So you want medium format quality and since you can't have it, you rather pick a camera that is further away from it than one that is closer to your goal?

I also disagree with the statement it would outperform lenses. My D800 doesn't outperform my lenses, so how can the D600?

I agree with Octane. I don't have top pro glass with my D800 - I use the Tokina 16-28 2.8, Nikon 50 1.8G, 85 1.8G and Sigma 105 Macro, and they all provide outstanding IQ even in the corners.

The idea that Nikkors, some of the finest glass made, aren't able to resolve higher resolution sensors is pure urban legend.

I have a hard time believing this statement too. I use a Nikon 105mm 2.5 and 180mm 2.8 on my GH2, and the lenses outresolve the sensor.

800 and 600 perform almost the same. Both are not quite there yet. 800`s Expeed3 is a tad slow with the filesize So I wait it out tilll a "D900" with a fast "Expeed4" and 50mb pics starts to scratch on middle format. Usability/price - 600 wins.

Inadequate lenses: Zooms, Teles, Kiitlenses. Lack sharpness depth and contrast. It is like you fotograph the glass. Everything above 1: 1.4 lenses. Pics look dull. Clearly shows.

Nikkor makes good lenses but I am sure they will have to come up with some new lenses that adress the issues. Look at middleformat lenses.

@ marike6 the 85 and 50mm 1.8 g are insanely sharp. the 85 is sharper than the 1,4 version

A "bug"? Trust me, it took much more programming than doing the thing right in the first place. To illustrate, what takes more effort in Photoshop: displaying an image exactly as it is or downscaling it by an appropriate factor and adding a neat 5% black border around it?
Since the result is aesthetically pleasing, it is very unlikely it happened by chance.

By default, the D800 actually outputs the same 95% image area via HDMI. But on the D800 there's a menu option for 100% output. So it's not as if Nikon had to do anything new to get 95% output.

We're awaiting a definitive answer from Nikon as to the nature of the issue and whether there will be a fix for it. We'll let you all know as soon as we get an official response.

There's a rumor that Nikon is going to fix the Live View Aperture Bug. My guess is the HDMI output scaling issue will also be adressed shortly after. This camera is becoming quite popular with indie filmakers so Nikon has every incentive to fix it.

http://nofilmschool.com/2012/11/nikon-d600-firmware-update-full-frame-dslr/

The 6D also doesn't even have a 100% VF, or more than one cross type AF sensor. Not to mention the fact that Canon sensors haven't kept pace with what's currently available in Nikon bodies.

Who needs lots of cross-type points, with mud (or oil, as some say) on sensor?

Canon AF would still be the best, no matter how points, besides.

@Superka.....Stop being such a fan boi! Come on now...Ever new release has its problems...Ive been rooting for canon forever now....but they have just been simply following the pack for the last 4 years. no innovation at all. (same with nikon)

Of course, the 6D is vaporware, so it's real easy to avoid any and all manufacturing glitches.

I've been shooting with my d600 for 6 weeks now. How's your 6D been treating ya?

I guess I should have gone to superka.com to get the real skinny on the d600. What was i thinking? Thanks for that in depth assessment.

You're right fierlingd, Nikon MUST fix it for good or change it ! Nobody wants to buy a car that has any part of it to be fixed every 50km !!!

Exactly William J..

If this is whining Anthony John, it costs $2000. Anyone with this problem shouldn't have to put up with poor quality production considering the purpose of the D600 is to take great photos.. and yet the photos themselves are seriously comprimised. It's not like a minor cosmetic thing like the colour of the camera body or something.

Do you own the D600?

If it's a manufacturing issue, of course it will be fixed. It's not unusual for early adopters of any camera to run into issues, but most of the good vendors listen to customers and rectify such problems.

what about the D800 left side focus issue? That sounds to me like a firmware issue, and hopefully it will be fixed, but it's still pending. (not sure if Nikon has acknoledged that yet)

But in the case of the D600 sensor.. I really hope so!. I mean Nikon should at least say "yes we know of the issue, and we are looking into it" instead of aggrivating loyal customers who early adopted it by telling them it's "normal, live with it" .

I checked, and Nikon apparently (correctly me if i'm wrong) but has never done a camera recall - which is likely what would be required to correct this problem. So i'm really not sure if it will be fixed. I'm feeling doubtful.

Sandy B - are you refering to me? I didn't join DPREVIEW to complain at all. I'm a serious hobbiest ,and wouldnt' have bought the D600 (or other cameras) if i wasn't.

What i'm discussing is a REAL issue that people are experiencing that is causing a great camera to fail to operate the way it was sold to do. The fact that you can't take photos above f8 without dust and oil showing up in your photos is huge deal. think about it. Did you even buy the camera? I'm trying to stand up and support other people who are just as outraged as me.

Surely i want Nikon to auctally acknoledge this issue. I've contacted them a number of times as well about this. It's just not right. Otherwise what will happen? We will get very possibly ignored.

The best thing to do if you don't want Nikon to ignore you is start returning cameras that have this issue. Or at the very least send them in while it is still under warranty. Even if Nikon just sends it back and tells you it's normal they know it isn't and maybe if enough people send in or return D600s they will take notice and fix the issue.

Sandy B - sorry, i thought it was better, and it is a little better than when i first got it.. but the problem still persisted later.. This has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster of expectation and hopes for me too.. (i'm a nikon fan) ..

I jumped the gun basically in my review.. I should update it. Cool that you actually looked into me though credability wise.

"Milliner"! That's an awesome word you don't see in photography forums much these days. Thanks for that. Seriously. Very cool.

@mike604 Because 90% of the posters on this site are camera collectors and not actual photographers

Lot's of people share images on this site. There are weekly challenges that get tons of entries, different forums that focus on photography technique, and even gear forums have daily image posts pertinent to new cameras or lenses. Every user has a Gallery from which they can post images seeking C&C or start new threads featuring images from a new lens or body. And if that's not enough just click on a give user's Screen Name > Gallery.

But ultimately this is a Camera Review site with users all supporting their favorite brands but I know very few camera collectors on DPR. Not sure what the problem is.

from superpro medium format user's perspective - FX? WHAT?! stop using toys and medium format is tomorrow

No offense, but the D600 is far from just a D7000 with an FX sensor.
First of all it has a larger, more expensive prism . And aside from all the still photography improvements including weather sealing, class leading image quality from the new FX sensor, it is absolutely loaded with HDSLR video goodness: uncompressed HDMI out, headphone jack, audio levels, etc. Besides the D7000 is a superb, award winning camera to begin with, so the implication that an FX D7000 at this price is a rip-off is puzzling.

I'm not sure of your expertise in manufacturing, but I'm quite sure you have no idea what it costs to produce such a camera, and still make a profit.

OK, I want this camera, (I'm a current m43 shooter), but the future is NOT FX. Are you kidding? The future is teeny-tiny itty-biity compact camera and cell-phone sensors, which are probably used at least 100 to 1 over FX sensors.

@bobbarber

Because the masses use cell-phone cameras doesn't mean professionals and amateur photographers will want them. The majority of pros and enthusiasts aren't going to suddenly adopt junky little cell-phone cameras instead of a proper camera just because some think everything needs to be miniaturized and dumbed down.

Just like years ago people said APS-C DSLRs would be the future, it will now be affordable FX cameras that take over. Hopefully.

@marike6

I see. "The future" is what a small group of self-described experts (including you!) want, and not what most people use. That's the part I didn't get.

Personally, I pixel-peep too much, and I like the quality advantage that m43 gives me over compacts, but there is no doubt in my mind that my old Olympus C7070 compact (not to mention what the current group of enthusiast small-sensor compacts can do) was a much better system in and of itself than m43, and more than adequate to print at 8x10 as sharp as any DSLR on the planet, current models included.

C7070 advantages over m43--flash sync at all shutter speeds, greater DOF for macro and documentary without having to stop down, more compact, cheap underwater case--I could go on and on.

The masses are not necessarily that dumb.

DSLR tech has no future, it belongs to mirrorless with EVF, with fast and reliable _software_ based defocus estimation.

Oh most definitely. It will make you a better photographer, too!

Yeah, pretty much.

I see. So great news to all D800 users too. Trade in your D800 and get a new D600 because it scores better than your D800. Note that D800 and 5D3 shares the same score.

@ChristopherKnapp - nice one~

fierlingd, I am sorry to hear about your problems.

So I thought, am I just unwilling to see any spots? I figured I ought to do like what most others seem to do, point my camera towards a blue sky and shoot at f22.

I did just that, and found a few dust specks - 6-7, in all.

Is that a problem? Don't know. As I said, my PICTURES are absolutely clean. Obviously, my sensor is not absolutely clean, though.

I have never performed this test before.
Now, with the attention on a possible dust problem with the D600, everybody seems to check their sensors for dust.

So is the problem:

A) visisble dust when we check our sensors, shooting at blue skies at f22?

B) visible dust in our pictures, or

C) too many reports about this possible problem, and too many people looking for it?

It would be interesting to hear if anybody out there can find dust on other camera models when dusthunting at f22? Please let us know!

P.S.
I didn't even bother to take my blower out to get the dust specks off.

It may not happen to every camera. You could be fortunate although it sounds like you have minor dust.

I know dust is a normal problem with sensors, but in this case it's astronomically worse for some reason. I've owned the D90, the D7000 and never experienced this.

The way i test is I shoot at something like a blank white sheet of paper at ISO 100, f16. It doesn't matter if the shutter speed is slow , and i tend to shoot out of focus so not to mistaken something on the white paper as dust.

I've tried this same test on my D7000, which i've never cleaned and owned for 2 years. There was 2 smalll dust particles.

The D600 is brand new, and splattered. Even after i wet clean the sensor it comes back after a few photos.

To anyone acutally wanting to shoot over f8 this seems to be defective product in that it's not capable of taking photos over f8 without extensive cleaning every few photos.

I don't care what Nikon says, this is not a normal dust issue.

One more thing -

fierlingd, I don't mean to sound like I don't understand your predicament. Obviously, you, like me, have bought the D600, spending a lot of money, and with high hopes and expectations.

Exploring the D600, I have certainly felt like a little boy at Christmas again (I am 60 so it's been a while). Wonderful thing is, I still feel the same thrill picking up this camera after 7 weeks!

Finding a problem like yours, I can fully understand your deep disappointment. But what I am saying is, I think you should send your D600 to Nikon for a check & clean, wait for it to come back, like new, only this time completely clean, mount a nice lens on to it and go out shooting.

Then check your pictures. You don't necessary have to check for dust (the blue sky, f22 maneouvre...) Don't try to clean the sensor. Just use your camera for a month or two. Enjoy your pictures.

Chances are you will love it

And not see any dust...

Good luck / Gabriel

Thanks Gabriel. I share your spirit about the D600 too.. It's an amazing camera otherwise.

Sorry, me again...

One more thing:

Maybe the wet cleaning you use is not clean?

It is indeed unusual for somebody to wet clean the sensor of a new camera (particularly so, since you have not had any dust problems before with your D7000 - this I find a little strange?)

I haven't seen what utensils or fluids you use for wet cleaning and know nothing about it. I do know, however, that when wet cleaning vinyl records many years ago, I managed to ruin a few of them. Impossible to listen to them, as they were full of grit.

I suggest you let Nikon do the Check & Clean.
A blower brush is all I would ever use.
Very rarely...

Best / Gabriel