Nikon D600 -- Massive Price Drop

[Amin]

Do you guys really use whole-frame coverage? My OMD is set to 3x3 center and I've never wanted it to use the outer areas.

I often use it for areas outside of where my DSLRs have covered. Not the very edge, but not the central region.

 

[jloden]

Do you guys really use whole-frame coverage? My OMD is set to 3x3 center and I've never wanted it to use the outer areas.

Pretty much what Amin said. So far it hasn't been a huge deal with the D600 as the central focus points offer decent coverage for what I've been doing with it (portraits and general photos). However, I have definitely found myself wishing for a few more outside that central area, especially at the two ends when doing portrait orientation shots.

 

[RT_Panther]

Today I was shocked to learn a DSLR camera reviewer I've been listening to for the past couple years very recently published a video about why he has dumped all his big APC and full frame Canikons for m4/3 gear

What exactly is so shocking?
In the last year quite a few DSLR shooters have made the transition to some type of mirrorless system.

 

[M4/3]

What exactly is so shocking?
In the last year quite a few DSLR shooters have made the transition to some type of mirrorless system.

Because for years this (artoftheimage) camera reviewer, like many others (e.g. Dave Dugdale) completely ignored m4/3 as if they were totally unaware that m4/3 cameras could offer image quality comparable to big DSLR's. And since they never mentioned, let alone reviewed, m4/3, the public (including me 2 years ago) was not aware that m4/3 could be serious cameras either.

I only became aware of m4/3 inadvertently - I was reviewing sample images of all makes and model cameras at imaging-resource.com and stumbled upon the superior image sharpness and detail resolution of the Olympus E-PL1's images. So then I bought a E-PL1 and was instantly blown away by how much sharper it was at resolving fine landscape details as compared to my T3i Rebel, plus it delivered richer, Kodacolor film like colors.

 

[pxpaulx]

Gonna give this thread a bump - this is a great camera to work with, I've been enjoying it for a few days now - this deal is only on until 12-29 so get in while you can! There are also refurbished body only deals going on (including $1,669 at adorama).

 

[loko12345]

Gonna give this thread a bump - this is a great camera to work with, I've been enjoying it for a few days now - this deal is only on until 12-29 so get in while you can! There are also refurbished body only deals going on (including $1,669 at adorama).

Thanks for the bump. I have the OMD with a couple of primes, together which add up near or around the price of the D600 + kit lens, and even more so at the Adorama price that you quoted.

Based on your sig, it looks like you have the OMD as well as the D600. I wish I could be in a position to have both, but I can't.

I'm at a point where I can still get the $ back for the OMD, and can sell the primes here or on Ebay. I am really tempted to make the move, especially since my wife and I recently had our first baby and these next couple years are going to be very important in terms of capturing pictures.

Since you have both cameras, could you tell me what I am missing out on by not having the D600 and using the OMD instead (with the 25mm 1.5 Leica)?

I am also a little concerned about the oil/dust stop fiasco I've been reading about.

I am really torn. Some days I'm ready to make the jump to the D600 (and get a compact later for portability when I need it, like the RX100), but other days I tell myself, "Do I really need a full frame camera; will I know what to do with it?" I am fairly new to photography, but I do know the basics and almost never shoot in auto mode.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[alans]

Note that the $700 Nikon Instant savings is ending 12/29/12. From 12/30 until 2/2 it will be back to $200 making the effective price $2499.95.

 

[pxpaulx]

Thanks for the bump. I have the OMD with a couple of primes, together which add up near or around the price of the D600 + kit lens, and even more so at the Adorama price that you quoted.

Based on your sig, it looks like you have the OMD as well as the D600. I wish I could be in a position to have both, but I can't.

I'm at a point where I can still get the $ back for the OMD, and can sell the primes here or on Ebay. I am really tempted to make the move, especially since my wife and I recently had our first baby and these next couple years are going to be very important in terms of capturing pictures.

Since you have both cameras, could you tell me what I am missing out on by not having the D600 and using the OMD instead (with the 25mm 1.5 Leica)?

I am also a little concerned about the oil/dust stop fiasco I've been reading about.

I am really torn. Some days I'm ready to make the jump to the D600 (and get a compact later for portability when I need it, like the RX100), but other days I tell myself, "Do I really need a full frame camera; will I know what to do with it?" I am fairly new to photography, but I do know the basics and almost never shoot in auto mode.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here are the pros for the D600 that I'd give it over the E-m5:

- clean low light shots (iso 6400 looks absolutely useable, I'd give it a clear 1 stop advantage over the e-m5).

- easier to use ergonomics - instead of having a multitude of configurable buttons that half the time I forget how I've programmed, there are external controls for just about everything (at least 3 are configurable as well), and they are laid out for easy access (with the exception of the ISO button which is strangely placed). It is as well laid out (if different than) my pentax K-5, which I enjoy immensely in the handling/ergonomics dept - the D600 is slightly larger, but not pushing into the gigantic realm.

- AF is very fast - much faster than any of my past or current pentax dslrs, and perhaps only a hair behind the faster kit lenses (don't know how the 25mm f1.4 performs for AF though).

- nice bright viewfinder - much better than a second smaller lcd screen!

- from what I've read the 50mm f1.8 is going to be a very nice fast prime (I will be picking up the G version) - samples out there show very high quality for just over $200. also, 50mm = 50mm for the first time in my camera ownership history - kind of nice! You're also likely going to get more shallow DOF at f1.8 on the 50mm over f1.4 on the 25mm (ok I just looked it up and confirmed this to be true - at 10ft DOF would be 1.29ft vs 2.07ft)

- dual SD slots - I have a 64gb card in slot #1 holding raw and video files, and an 8gb eye-fi card holding the jpegs for instant upload/storage.

To be completely honest, I'm probably going to be putting up my e-m5 for sale shortly while I can still get some reasonable money back - as beautiful a camera as it is (not to mention significantly upgraded in the IQ area), I've just never really fallen for it. I'm probably just going to wait and pick up an e-pm2 or e-pl5 with the 16mp sensor in 6 months for a couple hundred dollars and use the money now to buy a nice wide angle for the d600.

 

[RT_Panther]

Scary thing for me is that I've got 85 & 50 mm primes that I use on my Nikon film bodies that I could easily bolt on the 600...

Nope, not going there though....

 

[loko12345]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. One more thing if you don't mind. Do you miss the IBIS at all? Perhaps it doesn't come into play as much given the high iso performance of D600 which may offset otherwise lower shutter speed requirements. I ask because I often shoot in low light and pretty much never use a tripod.

Thanks again. Still have a couple of days to decide! :smile:

 

[pxpaulx]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. One more thing if you don't mind. Do you miss the IBIS at all? Perhaps it doesn't come into play as much given the high iso performance of D600 which may offset otherwise lower shutter speed requirements. I ask because I often shoot in low light and pretty much never use a tripod.

Thanks again. Still have a couple of days to decide! :smile:

I've used a few panasonic cameras with the 20mm and will say that yes I've missed IBIS in those cases. I don't mind using a tripod either though, and to be honest with the resolution of the d600 I think I'll be using it much more often - IBIS, VR, or nothing the camera needs to be stable! The 24-85mm kit lens is pretty decent and is VR so that gives you at least a few stops extra (perhaps not as good as the e-m5 IBIS though, which is great). Deciding on a wide angle is proving to be a tough decision as the nikon 16-35mm f4 VR is very tempting owing to the VR, however I could also save $400-500 getting a tokina 16-28mm f2.8 - a very well reviewed lens with a 1 stop faster aperture as well.

I suppose it would come down to how valuable IBIS is for you, and how often you find it useful. I can hold fairly steady and generally use the 1/focal length for my shutter speeds, but if you know you're not as steady that might be more of a factor.

 

[pxpaulx]

Scary thing for me is that I've got 85 & 50 mm primes that I use on my Nikon film bodies that I could easily bolt on the 600...

Nope, not going there though....

Yeah I got my camera on thursday night...first opportunity I could find I went to the local camera shop (a fairly big chain here with 5 stores called national camera) and picked myself up an adaptall mount for my tamron 300mm f2.8 (well, the adapter camera with a lens too, the adaptall 28mm f2.5 for $50, not bad!), and a tamron 1.4x TC for another $50 (the same one I have for K mount...which is worth 4x as much in the Pentax mount...meaning some more $ to put towards a new wide angle!).

 

[ajamils]

I picked up the camera with the 24-85 kit lens from Bestbuy and after a day of use, I am still not sold on this camera. It takes good pictures but compared to GH3 and I have not been able to find a significant improvement that justify the cost (price, weight, bulk). Though for the price, I am still very tempted

 

[RT_Panther]

I don't even need an adapter since they're Nikons
(I'm still not going there though)

Yeah I got my camera on thursday night...first opportunity I could find I went to the local camera shop (a fairly big chain here with 5 stores called national camera) and picked myself up an adaptall mount for my tamron 300mm f2.8 (well, the adapter camera with a lens too, the adaptall 28mm f2.5 for $50, not bad!), and a tamron 1.4x TC for another $50 (the same one I have for K mount...which is worth 4x as much in the Pentax mount...meaning some more $ to put towards a new wide angle!).

 

[metalmania]

Friendly reminder: Anyone who jumped the D600 deal, please check the possible oil spots problem. Several people from other forums confirmed that oil spots are developing. 10, 15, starts at f/11. Shutter count is less than 2000.