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Archive 2012 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?

  
 
StevenPA
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I'm probably moving over to Nikon from Canon 5D. My sights are firmly set on the D600, but I think I should consider the D800 too, if only for a moment. When I run down the specs on both cameras, I don't see the D800 offering me anything *for my purposes* that the D600 doesn't. But I've never used Nikon (always been with the Canon 5D), so I don't really know. So...

What does the D800 offer *you* that the D600 doesn't?

The cost, size, and weight of the D600 are attractive points. I do a lot of hiking. Worst I've put my 5D though has been extreme cold (winter hiking), and it has held up fine, never a problem other than battery life (obviously). AF isn't a big deal for me; mostly manual focus here.

Most aspects of the D600/D800 seem to be a wash for me. Image quality looks stellar from both cameras from what I've seen. But how about you? Maybe viewfinder? Maybe ergonomics? Maybe video? Please share your thoughts.

Also, I never post in the Nikon forum (might change soon? ), so feel free to groan if you've seen this question a hundred times before.



Dec 22, 2012 at 12:36 AM
dj dunzie
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


Well, I don't own the D800 but I've used it a bit. I do own the D600 though, along with a host of other Nikon bodies. The D600 is an incredible little imaging tool, with outstanding IQ in almost all conditions.

But if you're asking what would make someone consider the D800 over the D600, I think a lot of people will point to the slightly more rugged and heavy build being one thing. The D600 is not going to be confused for an entry-level consumer cam, but at the same time, it IS lighter and more plastic-feeling than the D800. The controls are also very different, and especially for people used to the previous few generations of Nikon pro bodies (D2, D3, D4, etc)... instead of the "triple crown" button placement on the top of the camera, they've gone with the push-button-release type dials up there on the D600. Some might also point out CF vs SD cards as being a difference they care about. There's also the argument of 36MP vs 24MP. For me, 36 would be overkill for my needs, and also an unwanted drain on my computing resources and storage space. 24 was pushing things for me even, but my primary body is 12MP (D3S).

But I think you hit the nail on the head... "FOR MY PURPOSES". That's the beauty... nice to have choices and you'll never get a unanimous winner for all. The D600 suits my needs better than the D800, but if I was a different shooter, it might not.



Dec 22, 2012 at 12:46 AM
StevenPA
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


dj, awesome. Thanks for the reply. Build quality is a balance between weight and toughness. I'm choosing weight. The lower MP count is also attractive to me. But, dj, from an ergonomic standpoint, having used a couple Nikon bodies, do you find the D600 any less comfortable or intuitive?


Dec 22, 2012 at 01:10 AM
Thorsten
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I went to a store and handled both. It was day and night - the D800 fits my hand like a glove. The D600 was awkward to hold. This may be different for you of course.


Dec 22, 2012 at 01:22 AM
StevenPA
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


Thorsten, yeah, gotta get myself down to a store and actually handle these cameras. What was awkward about the D600?


Dec 22, 2012 at 01:41 AM
BryanSwan
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I can't offer any insight to the D800 specifically, but I just switched to a D600 from a Canon 40D and I would agree that the D600 is a little more awkward to hold just because its heavier and doesn't have as large or deep of a grip as the Canon bodies do. As a result, my fairly large hands feel a little cramped when holding the D600, and my fingers will rub up against the side of the attached lenses. That and the fact that there is no live view preview for the exposure settings the camera is currently set to are my two biggest gripes about the 600. However the jawdroppingly good IQ and high ISO performance makes those two nit picks quite easy to overlook (plus I rarely shoot hand held anyway, so the size of the grip wouldn't really be a deal breaker anyway).


Dec 22, 2012 at 01:57 AM
StevenPA
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


BryanSwan wrote:
...there is no live view preview for the exposure settings the camera is currently set to...


Bryan, thanks for the reply. What does this mean? I've never used live view. Does exposure compensation not show up on the LCD? It's always at EV 0? This would be a biggie for sunsets/sunrises when you want to compensate for extreme dynamic range in a scene on the fly.



Dec 22, 2012 at 02:09 AM
Thorsten
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


StevenPA wrote:
Thorsten, yeah, gotta get myself down to a store and actually handle these cameras. What was awkward about the D600?


It was too small mostly, and the grip didn't feel good. Also, I had to stretch or move fingers to reach buttons. The D800 felt like it was molded to fit my hand, and the fingers landed on the buttons automatically.



Dec 22, 2012 at 02:36 AM
Derek Weston
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


Believe the d800 is weather sealed. Don't think the alternative is.

1/8000
better AF
better resolution
slightly better video
bigger/heavier



Dec 22, 2012 at 02:45 AM
krickett
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


D800 has an eyepiece shutter, D600 doesn't.

Some people may gripe about the AF-ON (or lack thereof) on the D600. You can set AEL to AF-ON on the D600, but some people like to have both AEL and AF-ON near their thumb. I personally don't care that much.

The D800 AF works really well in low light... not sure about the D600.



Dec 22, 2012 at 03:19 AM
zippy_monster
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


As far as the controls gripes on the D600 go:

- No dedicated ISO or flash compensation button. Yes, there are times I'd like to adjust the ISO without needing to remember that the camera is in 'preview' mode. The ISO button doubles as zoom out in preview mode. To adjust the flash compensation you've got to raise/release it.

- The SPAM button is far more awkward (for me at least) to adjust than the "triple crown" style button.

- No easy way to zoom to 100%

- Viewfinder virtual horizon only shows the horizontal axis

- No indication of which mode you've currently selected

- No indication of the currently selected AF point in the top LCD



Dec 22, 2012 at 05:11 AM
Mark_L
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


More resolution
Better af system
1/250 flash sync
Better in the hand (but still worse than the D700)



Dec 22, 2012 at 05:29 AM
buckeyeguy1
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I have been trying to decide which one I want to go with myself. I took a look at both at my local camera shop and think I'm leaning more toward the D800 for the following reasons (in no particular order):

- Feels better in my hands.
- More rugged build quality.
- PC Sync port (I fell into a situation where I had to use mine on my D700 before)
- 1/250 flash sync
- AF points cover more of the frame.
- Better AF performance (per reviews).
- Uses CF cards. I own a lot of them, but only one 8GB SD card.

The only things that are keeping this from making it a no brainer is the price and the resolution. For roughly $1000 more, I've been thinking A LOT about how much the pros mean to me. Also, I really don't need that much resolution. I like to print big, but I won't be printing billboards.



Dec 22, 2012 at 08:46 AM
chip_master
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I am shooting D4 and D600

Some things I don't like about D600:
Size: when I shoot for 3-4 hours and 2K shots it is a bit small. Will likely get the grip to help
AFON: No dedicated button, I really like the pro button arrangement, not a deal killer.
Focus: No D4/D800 it struggles, or I'm still learning how it works, but not as fast as my D3s or D4 ( when it works )
File size: When you shoot 1-2k shots 3 straight days and then have to go process the files that is a lot of megbytes. I can't imagine the overload with 36Meg.
Spots: Yes I got them spots, showed up somewhere between 0 and 2K when I starting reading about that noise on the internet. At 5K is worst, not sure I want to do a sky shot at 7K. But it hasn't ruined a shot yet, but really Nikon needs to get a handle on this and deal with it in a public and smart way

Some things I like:
Shutter: Its so quiet that its the first choice now for almost all my shots. Serously thinking of selling the D4 and going with two D600s if not for focus and FPS
IQ: I didn't think I needed more than 12 when I shot my D3s, but 16 was nice and 24 was WOW.
Size: Sometimes too small when I hang any of the holy trinity on it, but so nice with the 24-85. If I every go back to primes it would be very nice, two D600 and a 24 1.4 and say 85 1.8 or something
Build: Right amount of weight/durability, I am not why some say it isn't very hardy. If already shoot it twice with 70-200 in very wet weather and has held up like my D4/D3s has. I agree probably can't handle the shock type abuse the D*s do.

Both are great cameras, comes downs if the 1K, large size, more convenient settings, focus and ergo are critical for your needs.

Since shooting almost 10K on D600 I have no feeling of missing anything except getting a grip.



Dec 22, 2012 at 09:58 AM
richuwo11
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I was thinking about the same thing... I ended up buying the D800, bit will be returning it as the D600 kit deal has come to Canada and I don't think the $1000+ price difference is worth it for my needs. I can buy a bunch of nice primes for the $1000+ I'm saving.

I actually like the D600 ergonomics better as I came from a D7000. The triple button crown feels awkward to me. I don't mind the buttons beside the screen on the D600. The only thing I would miss is the AF on button. But it's not a deal breaker.

One big con for the D800 is the file sizes when processing in Lightroom. I initially didn't think this would be a big deal since I have a very powerful system with plenty of hard drive space. But the files themselves take 5-10 seconds to render when flipping through the files in Lightroom. For me this is a major pain. FYI, I do have an SSD (Vertex 4) and an overclocked i5 with 16GB of RAM. My two cents.



Dec 22, 2012 at 10:25 AM
pbraymond
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


(caveat - have not handled a D600)

Pro-D800
I've always preferred the circular Nikon VF's
Easy 100% image magnification review
Wider AF point coverage of the frame
Almost 16MP DX crop mode
Alternate crop ratios in RAW
AF-on AND AF/AE buttons

I'm sure there are others but these I the one I could think of right now.

Pro-D600
Smaller size/bulk (but the weight difference of 3oz does not make much difference for me)
Quick user mode settings on the dial





Dec 22, 2012 at 10:34 AM
lxdesign
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I love my D800. I agree with comments on the D600 and its hand grip is tighter, thus feels different, wheras the D800 has a nice ergonomic feel, and buttons are well layed out. Its a pro body without the verticle grip, which you can add on.




Dec 22, 2012 at 10:43 AM
Joseph.
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


What I like on the D800 that the D600 doesn't have:

- VF shutter
- meter bar on the top LCD

what I like on the D600 that the D800 doesn't have:

-U1/U2 modes
-24MP (don't need 36)
-Dual SD

The D800 ergonomics might be slightly better at first, but I got used to the D600's ergonomics really quick, and now it feels good in my hand.




Dec 22, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Hardcore
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


D800
Better grip
Better control layout using gloves
Slightly faster and more accurate AF especially in low light
Doubles as a usable DX camera with 6fps
Dedicated AF-ON
Live View can change aperture in movie mode
36 Megapixels is nice to have in extreme cropping or large prints
Slow to edit
One touch zoom

D600
Smaller files that are faster to edit
Still lots of detail
Controls are impossible to operate with gloves. Little push button lock is what I'm talking about on the mode select.
Smaller
5fps in full frame mode compared to d800's 4fps.


Overall, they are both excellent cameras. D800 is my favorite, but the d600 holds it's own on many many features which is pretty impressive for a camera that is a $1000 cheaper.



Dec 22, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Tete
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · What does D800 offer *you* that D600 doesn't?


I know the biggest difference for me when holding a d600 is the controls. I played with one the other day and to be frank, the controls are the same as other consumer cameras. In manual mode it's very difficult to be fast. I guess after using it for a bit I would get more use to it but my initial impressions it it felt clumsy when trying to run through the controls. Image quality was awesome tho.


Dec 22, 2012 at 12:48 PM
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