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Is Nikon worth it?

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gronholt

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I have for years planned to upgrade my D80. I wished for a D400, but I think the D400 is never going to be produced.

What I was hoping for was:
  • Pro house
  • Very good ISO
  • About 6+ fps.
  • Fast and accurate AF.
I looked at the D600 it would fit my needs (except for the small af area) but I do not dare to buy one because of the dust issue. I do not want to wet-clean my sensor repeatedly. (On My D80, a rocket blower is all I need)

Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.

How is ISO in real-life compared to D80/200/300?

The D800 has a pro house and a pro price, but does it also have a pro quality?

Alternative I could wait some years for a new camera to occur, but if Nikons standard is the same these cameras will also have some issues.
 
Based on the four criteria you listed, the D700 would do nicely. It's still possible to find used D700 bodies in excellent condition with low shutter cycles. But I'd hurry - I think more and more people are snapping them up these days.

And yes, despite some quality control issues of late, I think Nikon is still worth it.

Good luck with your descision!
 
you are right, I have also been thinking of that. But the har a bit hard to find and also quite expensive.
 
gronholt said:
gronholt wrote:

I have for years planned to upgrade my D80. I wished for a D400, but I think the D400 is never going to be produced.

What I was hoping for was:
  • Pro house
  • Very good ISO
  • About 6+ fps.
  • Fast and accurate AF.
I looked at the D600 it would fit my needs (except for the small af area) but I do not dare to buy one because of the dust issue. I do not want to wet-clean my sensor repeatedly. (On My D80, a rocket blower is all I need)

Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.

How is ISO in real-life compared to D80/200/300?

The D800 has a pro house and a pro price, but does it also have a pro quality?

Alternative I could wait some years for a new camera to occur, but if Nikons standard is the same these cameras will also have some issues.
Click to expand...
i know I am giving Nikon to the end of the year to decide my path forward. The QC issues on D600 and D800 are unacceptable, and imperative to be fixed with new DX Pro and new FX D700-type bodies for the life of the company.
 
gronholt said:
gronholt wrote:

I have for years planned to upgrade my D80. I wished for a D400, but I think the D400 is never going to be produced.

What I was hoping for was:
  • Pro house
  • Very good ISO
  • About 6+ fps.
  • Fast and accurate AF.
I looked at the D600 it would fit my needs (except for the small af area) but I do not dare to buy one because of the dust issue. I do not want to wet-clean my sensor repeatedly. (On My D80, a rocket blower is all I need)

Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.

How is ISO in real-life compared to D80/200/300?

The D800 has a pro house and a pro price, but does it also have a pro quality?

Alternative I could wait some years for a new camera to occur, but if Nikons standard is the same these cameras will also have some issues.
Click to expand...
I have both the D200 and D800

I would not use the D200 on a higher ISO-setting than 400.

The D800 can be used at 3200 ISO and make a cleaner picture.

It has an AF that is much faster an accurate than the D200's

The build quality is as good as the D200 (except for the the memory card door)

You only get 4 frames/s compared with D200s 5/s, but I for one don't need a higher frame rate.

You get a FF camera and a very good DX camera in one package.

The D800 is a great camera.
 
Yes! D800 is amazing and worth $3000 to me.

I am keeping my D700 for now, but it hasn't really been used much since I got the much better one.
 
Last edited:
gronholt said:
gronholt wrote:

I have for years planned to upgrade my D80. I wished for a D400, but I think the D400 is never going to be produced.

What I was hoping for was:
  • Pro house
  • Very good ISO
  • About 6+ fps.
  • Fast and accurate AF.
I looked at the D600 it would fit my needs (except for the small af area) but I do not dare to buy one because of the dust issue. I do not want to wet-clean my sensor repeatedly. (On My D80, a rocket blower is all I need)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't characterize the D600 as a "pro" camera. While any camera can be used professionally, the D600 lacks a couple of things I would find important to have when using my camera professionally.

All the FX DSLRs have relatively small AF areas compared to the DX DSLRs; if that is an issue either shoot with a DX camera, shoot using the central portion of the frame and crop your composition afterwards, or use the FX camera in DX mode.

I'm not sure what to make of the dust/oil issue with the D600. My D200 was a relative dust-magnet compared to my D300 and A850, and I found it a bit annoying to need to clean it every time I went out to use it, so if that is the case with the D600 then it would be one more reason for me to avoid the camera. I'm pretty sure I would have had the same dust problem with the D80 as I had with my D200 cameras.
gronholt said:
Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.
Click to expand...
It is my understanding that this issue was an early production issue and has been resolved.
gronholt said:
How is ISO in real-life compared to D80/200/300?
Click to expand...
Even the D7000 is better, so you might want to consider it or the D7100.
gronholt said:
The D800 has a pro house and a pro price, but does it also have a pro quality?
Click to expand...
I have to wonder what happened to all of the glowing reviews of the D800. One issue came up, and a lot of people lost sight of the fact that the D800 is an otherwise magnificent camera. Personally, I'm planning on getting one when my finances allow it.
gronholt said:
Alternative I could wait some years for a new camera to occur, but if Nikons standard is the same these cameras will also have some issues.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would never have been happy with a D80. The D200, D300, D7000, D7100, and D700 are all substantial upgrades to the D80. The D600 and D800 are even more substantial upgrades to the D80. If you are waiting for the perfect camera, you will be waiting forever.
 
I think in the days before the internet the vast majority of people would never even have found the left focus issue, and if they did they would have simply focused using the center point, which is always the best anyway, and recomposed. So while it makes for something to complain about, I just don't see it as being that big of an issue, certainly not something that would affect a buying decision.

Now the D600 oil/dust issue could definitely be a problem, especially on wide angle lenses where everything is in focus. I wouldn't want to have to clean the sensor on a regular basis.
 
SergioSpain said:
SergioSpain wrote:

I think in the days before the internet the vast majority of people would never even have found the left focus issue, and if they did they would have simply focused using the center point, which is always the best anyway, and recomposed. So while it makes for something to complain about, I just don't see it as being that big of an issue, certainly not something that would affect a buying decision.

Now the D600 oil/dust issue could definitely be a problem, especially on wide angle lenses where everything is in focus. I wouldn't want to have to clean the sensor on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
>I think in the days before the internet the vast majority of people would never even have found the left focus issue, and if they did they would have simply focused using the center point, which is always the best anyway, and recomposed.

That method is not the optimum way to obtain the best high speed pre-focused action sports. while the D800 is not fast enough FPS-wise to use for this, if this is your focus method, why buy a camera with 51 focus points for 3K USD?
 
I'm not given Nikon the benefit of anything. They've jumped the shark. While I have no plans to switch off of Nikon - too heavily invested in lenses and I've got all my kit working well - I don't recommend the company to anyone.

There are simply too many other excellent choices out there to deal with Nikon's customer unfriendly stance. It's not worth it. Nikon's not that special.
 
you'll have to explain to me what "pre-focus action sports" means, but even then it's not like the left focus point issue is widespread, so I maintain that the vast majority of people would never encounter this. And I seriously doubt that people buy a camera because it has 51 focus points. That's just one of many features and it's certainly not why I bought the D700. I have never taken a shot where the left focus issue would have been a problem had it existed on the D700. I think the OP needs to seriously think about how big a deal this potential problem would actually be, especially now that Nikon seems to have quietly solved the problem.
 
rgolub said:
rgolub wrote:

I'm not given Nikon the benefit of anything. They've jumped the shark. While I have no plans to switch off of Nikon - too heavily invested in lenses and I've got all my kit working well - I don't recommend the company to anyone.

There are simply too many other excellent choices out there to deal with Nikon's customer unfriendly stance. It's not worth it. Nikon's not that special.
Click to expand...
 
I thought the jump from the D80 to the D7000 was so dramatic that I couldn't even use the D80 anymore. The jump from the D7000 to the D600 wasn't as dramatic but still worth it.
 
tripod. It was out of focus and soft when it should have been reasonably sharp. If you do need to use those sensors then they need to work up to specifications; simple as that.
 
I have three Nikon cameras and yes, they are "worth it" to me


I have none of the issues listed here and I do not go looking for them. When I find dust on my sensor I clean it.
 
good iso comparison. I was hoping to have some think like D80 on iso 400 in a new camera on iso 1600
 
gronholt said:
gronholt wrote:

Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.
Click to expand...
If Thom Hogan's estimate is correct on the left AF issue, you had a 70% to 80% chance of getting a camera without the problem. That was before the problem was fixed. There have been indications that new cameras do not have the problem.

I bought my D800E in the middle of the problem period. It does not have the left AF problem.
 
SergioSpain said:
SergioSpain wrote:

I think in the days before the internet the vast majority of people would never even have found the left focus issue, and if they did they would have simply focused using the center point, which is always the best anyway, and recomposed. So while it makes for something to complain about, I just don't see it as being that big of an issue, certainly not something that would affect a buying decision.

Now the D600 oil/dust issue could definitely be a problem, especially on wide angle lenses where everything is in focus. I wouldn't want to have to clean the sensor on a regular basis.
Click to expand...
you are right.
 
Robin Casady said:
Robin Casady wrote:
Robin Casady said:
gronholt wrote:

Then I looked at the D800, but here we have the “left focus issue” Is there other problems with this camera.
Click to expand...
If Thom Hogan's estimate is correct on the left AF issue, you had a 70% to 80% chance of getting a camera without the problem. That was before the problem was fixed. There have been indications that new cameras do not have the problem.

I bought my D800E in the middle of the problem period. It does not have the left AF problem.
Click to expand...
 
The D600 dust issue is the most overblown thing I've seen on these forums. At worst case you get more dust than other cameras and have to clean it more often. Really?

I bought a D600. Don't see anything yet. If I do, I'll spend $50 on a cleaning kit and 5 minutes time to fix the issue.
 
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