Just Posted: Hands-on Nikon D600 preview

Nikon Creates D600 and tempts other users to switch systems.
Canon creates 6D to prevent their own users from switching.

That sums up this party, and who's at the center?

Hey Nikon where is my 16 to 18 mp DX D400 with the build quality of my D300???

Canon "leaked" today their contender...

Canon 6D

To be announced any day now... (for sale by Christmas)

Below $1999

.

i like the body, but the price is too high, i'll wait for the d600X
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/507/d600x.jpg/

So Nikon are leaving their legion of loyal DX users out to dry?

Re. PRICE:

The d600 is -- alas -- still not listed in amazon.de, here in Germany. (The boat from Japan (or China?) must be late).

However, the d800 price here (GER) is (after a drop down of 8% since 1st listing on 2nd Feb 2012, <7 months ago) ca EUR 2 660 (or ca. 3 489 US dollars, if i convert via google) -- so i will be very keen to see how it is priced here. I see an ad (embedded here in dp) showing the Amazon price in US at 2 097 usd (or ca. 1 585 eur -- which is just a wee tick above the old d700 price -- so basically in line with what can be expected, esp with the jump up in spec.).

But let's see what the NIKON price politics actually decide -- then wait 7 months before buying? Will keep u posted.

PS: remember the saying: “you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.”

That plastic front panel bothers me. The lens mount is anchored directly to the plastic, and it must withstand a lot of force from a lens that is mounted. Over time, I worry this part of the camera may be weakened, especially if long and heavy lenses are used often. This camera is therefore not good for people who shoot a lot of sports or birds with a fast and heavy telephoto on the camera.

The D800 already has a great reputation among fine-art photographers for its dynamic range and colour, which I've heard is "as good as a Pentax D645" by someone that owns both. He further claims that you need to make the print 20x30 or so to see a considerable difference.

If the tonal range of the D600 matches the D800, Nikon has a winner. As a salesman, literally all I have to do is say, "The images are just as good as a medium-format digital unless you make them massive, AND you can have long lenses, VR, high ISO, decent autofocus, and a movie mode. Oh, and you can also buy a really nice used car with the extra money."

Obviously only a small segment of the market is even interested in a medium format digital camera. But if you are, and you can afford a D600, and the sensor lives up to the 800's, then you've just bought a D600.

I look forward to at least a year for a Nikon that I imagine will be built.
Was waiting for the D600 had a lower price at least 400 USD
And if this is asking too much, then create a new APS-C with ergonomics and build quality of the D300, but with a sensor at least to the level of a D7000.
I feel that my long wait for a Nikon, was again in vain. D600 is not a good example in terms of construction and ergonomics of FX segment, and is too expensive for a APS-C segment entusiast.
Do not know what they want with this new model D600, but will not convince many buyers. Not at this price.

I am a little hesitant about reading this, considering it is labeled a "PREVIEW."

Is it as chock full of errors as the recent Sony Alpha 99 "PREVIEW" was, I wonder?

Nikon D800 now US2400 in Denmark without sales tax,so no reason to get the D600 here???!! which is US 2100 ex sales tax...

Difficult to justify buying the D600 at launch at least here in the UK, especially as the D800 are going for £2,099.

I wonder how many 'pros' who comment here are really 'pros', I think not many as the real ones will be out taking photos on assignments using their 'pro' kit. They're not making these crass comments about how they need this & that (basically gizmos).

I am an amateur and proud of it and to my amateur mind the D600 is a cracking camera, a bit more expensive than i'd like but it's certainly on my Xmas wish list.

It's nice and compact as will complement my FX lenses well, they'll all be wider which for me using a DX sensor at the mo. will be brilliant.

I think they should change the Photokina title to PhotoKidding...

Com'on... instead of focusing on the results we focusing on widgets. A camera is a camera is a camera. It's almost like the old wild west, the guy with the biggest gun wasn't necessary the best shooter...

I say, improve the glass and make it more affordable instead of adding idiotic features that most people will never use or know they exist.

But, ye, way to go Nikon. FF camera when the world is shrinking.

Just another misstep by Nikon. When will they learn not to build $4000 cameras when people aching for $1,854 cameras only have $600 in their domkes, no? When they learn to honor their market, I will await for a $721 camera with a 18-500mm f1.8 lens and a medium format sensor in a small body I can put in my kimono without obvious bulging and enter museums. I am crazy for pictures of beautiful light effects and brick walls. Nikon Picture Controls do this for me. Canon is way better, but I may sell it for this now.

I shoot Canon - too many lenses to think about another make, but wow - Nikon is really giving them a run lately. A Canon version of this would make for a nice compact and affordable backup for a 5D3.

Gotta envy Nikon shooters lately - some really great camera choices.

Seems like a great camera except for 1 thing: USB 2. I already wait forever for my D7000 photos & videos to transfer and the 600 takes even larger files. Why in the world wouldn't Nikon go with USB 3 which has been a standard for nearly 2 yrs already (and which probably only saves them pennies per unit)!?

'$2100/£1955/€2149' - I don't understand, at current exchange rate £1955 = €2439 or $3149USD. Are they honestly selling for $1000USD more in the UK?

I sincerely hope that this Nikon D600 preview on DP Review is not going to be a hack job like what we were given with the Alpha 99 preview 2 days ago. I am still trying to figure out what that camera (A99) can in fact do, what sort of interfaces it has, and what type of memory cards it takes.

We do not really need images from the D600 at this juncture -- just the hard, undisputed facts of its main features and specs.

Nikon can read the market, and satisfy its consumers and previous owners.
Wonderful.

D600 - unfortunately not the answer for replacement of the D300/s -D7000.

- Too low fps 5,5 isn't good enough!
- Too low resolution for DX - only 24mp/2,25, not more than 10mp in the DX area.

Nearly useless for bird photos.

Maybe I should buy an old D2X - with 8 fps.

Why on earth isn't Nikon listening to its customers? I refuse to buy D600!

And where is an update of the 80-400mm? And a 300 f4 with stabilizer. And I could use a 500 f5,6. Come on NIKON!!

I hoped for a handsome FX-body with a far less heavy sensor than the magnificent D800. The rate of 24 Mp is much but not to much I guess. The light sensibility goes up to ISO 6400 as the D700 already does, but the D3s and D4 are the light champions up to ISO 12.800. The images of the D600 will certainly be very good but for what reason did Nikon mount such an unpractical menu-button/dial on the left side of the body?! This will slow down the work-speed changing ISO values as I continuously do while photographing. Why does this D600 have only 2 SD slots in stead of a CF and a SD as the D300s has?

In the UK there's only a £250 difference in price between a D600 body and a D800 body at present... differential is not big enough IMHO.

I think part of the strategy is to have more cameras at healthy price points, albeit many of the Nikon DLSRs are undoubtedly excellent/outstanding cameras. As other formats advance, I don't see as much interest competing with entry-level DSLRs. I consider the Pentax K-30, Canon T4i and Nikon D3200 all expensive.

Ok, now where is the D700 replacement and the D400 DX ?

In Denmark D600 16.995 D800 18.995 2.000kr difference about $300..who will buy the D600 then????

Assuming this is made in Thailand and the lens is from China, it doesn't seem like that much of a price breakthrough.

Wakey-wakey Barney,

"A lot has changed since the 1Ds went on sale though (at an eye-watering $7999)"

I remember the price being around $14K, then the 1DsII came out around an
eyelash under $10K :o

Cheers,

Jack

dpreview has done a disservice to readers by not clearly pointing out that the D600 is a total fail as a serious video tool - even though Nikon is trying to sell it as one.

Why?
1) Audio gain (& headphone level) cannot be adjusted while shooting (source: Nikon USA website)
2) Aperture (and hence exposure) cannot be adjusted while shooting (source: the preview above)
3) As if that wasn't enough, the Nikon website also says that the HDMI output 'may' not have the same pixel dimensions as those that you chose -- in other words, the 1080x1920 output will be what? All sorts of post-production stupidity might result from this.

I would have loved to have listened to the stream of expletives that must have been flowing from the lips of the poor suckers who had to shoot Nikon's doc-style promo videos with these. No wonder so many shots look wooden and set up.

What could have been a nice stills and video camera is actually just a nice stills camera with useless video buttons on it.

I was hoping the price would have come in within 500 dollars of the D7000 but now its over twice the current price.
WTH Sony has embedded phase detect on their 24mpFF sensor but the new Nikon does not?
It seems Nikon has been very skimpy with the features to protect the D800's position.
Looks like I will be sticking with the D90 a little longer.
Pete

Park Cameras
D800 £2249
D600 £1956
If you can afford £1956 you can afford an extra £293. I can't see many people rushing to buy D600 now D800 price is dropping and it is available of the shelf.
Nikon have not timed this at all well D600 street price will drop quickly to something under £1700.

Take the ultra cheap D600, add a $700 Zeiss lens and you have the price of the ultra expensive Sony RX1 ($2800). Problem, there ain't any $700 35mm f/2.0 Zeiss lens. This tells me two things: 1. The D600 ain't very cheap. 2. The RX1 ain't very expensive. It's all relative I think. But for sure I would like to see FF cameras much under $2000, don't know if that is possible.

Long Live to the D700. No need to replace it against this ;)

I've been on Nikonusa listening to the tid bits... honestly I like this way better than the D800! as as long as there are no left focus issues, green cast on the display screen... hands down I'd buy the D600! now I just need to win the lotto

Nikon improved the bracketing to 2EV steps, but capped bracketing at 3 frames. Nikon, please give us 2EV steps on the D800 in the next firmware update!

Im going to wait till market saturats and price drops on it

This is a pretty exciting camera. $1000 less than the D800 but still packing a great feature set.