I am about to buy another camera, and wondering how much better the D800 AF is than the D610/600 in terms of accuracy. Anyone have both of these cameras??
AF speed is not a real concern of mine. Nor do I need the massive file size of the D800 - thus I am considering the smaller camera.
From my Understanding, there are distinct differences in the autofocus. the 600's uses the multicam 4800 AF sensor(39pt) with color matrix metering II, the 800 uses the Multicam 3500 (51 point) Same as the D4, and color matrix metering III. so its not just more MP between the two models. the 800 focuses accurately in near dark with NO AF assist illuminator. I've owned the D3X, D800, 2-D7000, D90 and D60. the Focus is very fast and very accurate on the d800. can't speak for the D600,
I switched from the D600 to the D800 primarily for the better low-light AF. During good/normal lighting conditions, I don't think there's much difference in accuracy between them. In poor lighting, the D800 can focus where the D600 simply can't.
Yep, I have used the D600, D700, and D800 quite extensively for wedding photography, which is quite possibly the ultimate test of low-light autofocus accuracy and reliability. The D600 definitely drops the ball much more noticeably than either the D700 or the D800, when light gets truly abysmal.
That, and the focus points aren't as spread out and the FX cameras all already have slightly restrictive coverage.
All in all, while I don't think it would be an issue at all for travel, landscape, or general photography, anyone who demands reliable accuracy in tough conditions will want to step up ton any camera with Nikon's FX 51 pt AF system...
The D800 has had and still has reports of AF inaccuracies for far left or right focus points (primarily for wider focal lengths). The D600 never has AFAIK.
Let me be clear, I do not have a D800 and have never used one. This past Monday, I did a tourism shoot with my D600 under very trying conditions. Such as shooting boat to boat cruising along at 30 mph a half-hour before sunrise. Or shooting boat to boat off shore at speed on very choppy seas that were so rough none of the big tourist boats went out that day. I thought I was going to get pitched overboard some times. I also shot low light restaurant shots. Low light bar shots. And I shot families, couples, etc on the beach at sunset. My instructions were to “take a lot of photographs” and I did. I took over 3100 photographs, all together. I culled through them today. I had 48 total “rejects”. The rejects were photos with absolutely no redeeming value what so ever or photos that were out of focus. I would guess that out of the 48 rejects, less than 30 of the photos were culled because they were out of focus. Actually, some of the OOF shots were due to motion blurring from low shutter speeds. I think that is pretty remarkable under the circumstances. And I was using a lot of selective focus with shallow DOF. I’m pretty happy with my D600.
AF accuracy will depend on 2 things: Getting a camera that focuses properly and operator skill. Having owned both the D600 and D800, I can say that both have VERY accurate focusing as long as you know what you're doing and your lenses are properly calibrated. One is NOT more accurate than the other.
OccAeon wrote:
I had the D7100 and the D600, and I understand that the D7100 shares the D800's AF module.
I didn't notice any difference in accuracy between the two.
The D7100 shares the D800's AF module, but that physical part only. (Like the D300 and the D700)
Having shot extensively with ALL of those cameras, I can definitely say that indeed the D7100 / D600 / D300 seem to be slightly less capable than the D700 / D800. Shooting wedding reception dance floors, I trust nothing less than the D700 / D800, and even then I wind up with at best a 90-95% perfect focus rate.
I don't know if it's possible to shoot over 3,000 images and have less than 30 of them be mis-focused, not in some conditions. Having edited easily 1 million images for various photographers using all manner of cameras and lenses, I have never seen such a keeper rate in my entire career. But neither do I have time to act as the internet "fact police" and inspect a few thousand images. ;-)
My main gig is shooting motorsports and have done so with both the D700, D7000 and now the D800. The 700 was good the D7000 so so but the 800 amazes me. A sprint boat coming directly at or away from me at over 100mph poses no problems for the D800 locking on or tracking. If a focus is blown I blew it not the equipment.
Can't say anything about the 600 or 610 because I rejected the 600 as a replacement for my dunked D700.
I wound up only using a couple of lenses during the day due to the fast pace. By far, the largest majority of the shots were with the 28-300 super zoom. It is a pretty amazing lens for situations like this.
matthewsaville wrote:
I don't know if it's possible to shoot over 3,000 images and have less than 30 of them be mis-focused, not in some conditions. Having edited easily 1 million images for various photographers using all manner of cameras and lenses, I have never seen such a keeper rate in my entire career. But neither do I have time to act as the internet "fact police" and inspect a few thousand images. ;-)
=Matt=
You don't have to believe me Matt. But it is the truth. I know that my keeper rate with the D600 is much lower on HS football under the lights. I am not sure it is even equal to my D7000. But I was pretty surprised how many good images were there. Especially the boat to boat shots taken before sunrise. I thought if I got 1 or 2 good sharp pics, I would be lucky.
Peter Bui wrote:
The D800 has had and still has reports of AF inaccuracies for far left or right focus points (primarily for wider focal lengths). The D600 never has AFAIK.
The D600 has the sensor gunk issue though.
I bought a new d800e a few months ago. At 24mm using the 24-70 2.8 far left, center, and far right focus points tested perfectly accurate wth no discrepancies at 2.8 using the Thom Hogan protocol. I believe Nikon resolved the focus issue sometime last year.
The D800 AF also rules TC use. Stupid fast AND accurate...with any of them (mounted on quality glass)
Can't imagine an entry level body being able to keep up with things that move, regardless of the light.
I know my D7K (similar AF) can't touch the old in the tooth D3/D700 let alone the D800 AF's mastery, especially
when TC's are employed. Naked fast glass the MutiCAM4800 does well enough, but let's not kid ourselves.
If your forte is static on sticks, you'll be just fine with the D600/D610. Stopped down landscapes? NOT a test of AF.
