Tag Archives: D7000

The Nikon D7000 vs. The D600: Should You Upgrade?

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The brand new Nikon D600 hits the stores today. In fact, B&H Photo is offering free shipping on D600 bodies to US customers who don’t happen to live in the remote, cold frontier town known as Alaska, or the faraway tropical paradise of Hawaii. If you’ve been dreaming and waiting with baited breath for this camera, order today and you might even have it by the weekend.

There’s no question that the D600 is an awesome camera. With a 24MP full frame sensor and Nikon’s EXPEED 3 Image Processor, which is the same found on both the D4 and D800, the new D600 will produce fantastic image files that have excellent quality and rich tonal depth.

However, for the price of a D600, you could buy a pair of D7000 bodies ($996 right now), and still have change left over for an extra battery and memory card, or the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX. (Effectively a nifty fifty on the DX bodies.)

Or, you could buy just one D7000 and have enough money left over for, oh, I don’t know… how about a thousand dollar lens? “I’ll take the 105 f/2.8G ED-IF VR for $900, Alex.” Or a round trip plane ticket to Alaska? Mmmmm…. glaciers and bush planes…!” How about a huge stack of promo cards that you can send out to prospective clients. “Sure, we’ll hire you, Mr. Bailey, we LOVE your work!!”

So, getting down to the meat of the issue, you want to know if the D600 is worth the big jump in price and if you should upgrade. Should you buy the shiny new D600 or stick with the less expensive, but older D7000. Let’s review features and compare both cameras.

Full frame vs. DX?

This largely boils down to the issue of whether you want a full frame FX sensor or a DX sensor. What’s the difference? Generally, FX sensors are much more expensive to produce, but they give you higher quality images than DX sensors. Much of this has to do with pixel size. FX sensors are bigger, and in order to spread the same number of pixels across a larger surface area, pixel size is increased.

Larger pixels have better light gathering ability, and thus have much more sensitivity in lower light conditions. This means that FX sensors can produce higher dynamic range imagery that has lower noise at higher ISO settings. Result: FX gives you much better high ISO performance.

However, you have to use good lenses with FX sensors or you’ll see a noticeable drop in sharpness and possible vignetting at the edges. DX cameras let you get away with less expensive budget lenses, but FX cameras let you use your older Nikon lenses with no change in the angle of view.

Image Quality

Along with the differences in sensor and pixel size, the D600 (24.3MP) uses Nikon’s newest EXPEED 3 Image Processor. The D7000 (16.2MP) uses the older EXPEED 2 processor (same on the D700), and although it produces excellent quality images that have wide tonal range and depth, the D600 is simply better.

Is it night and day? Yes. The D600 has been scored WAY higher than the D7000 in DxO image evaluation tests. Will it make all the difference in your photography? No, probably not, unless you like to shoot in low light. There’s no question that the D7000 shoots great looking photos, but if you want the maximum quality from your imagery, you’ll get better performance with the D600 than you will with the D7000.

Lenses

This will be biggest concern for many photographers. If you’re going from DX to FX, you may need to upgrade your lenses. DX lenses simply won’t give you the quality that you need to take advantage of an FX sensor, and if you get a full frame body, you’ll want full frame lenses. Besides, you should never skimp on lenses anyway. No matter what camera you use, good lenses on a cheap body will ALWAYS give you better images than a cheap lens on a good body. Remember that mantra. Forever.

If you’re coming from film and still have some older Nikon glass, rest assured, you can use them all on the D600, especially those wide angles! In fact, the “D” series lenses work great on full frame sensor cameras.

Flash

Niether the D600 nor the D7000 have a PC socket for flash sync cords. (You can use the $20 Nikon AS-15 adaptor, which turns your hot shoe into a PC socket.) They both have pop-up flashes that can act as commanders and control up to two groups of Speedlights, but whereas the D600 only syncs to 1/200 sec, the D7000 syncs to 1/250. No one is sure why Nikon didn’t do this on the D600, but in comparison, the just announced Canon 6D only syncs to 1/180 sec.

If you shoot sports or outside in bright sun a lot with flash, the D7000 will perform just a little better in this department, but keep in mind that with its vastly improved dynamic range and larger sensor, much of this can be compensated for in post production, so in my mind, it’s a moot point.

Autofocus

Both cameras use a 39-point AF system that has 9 cross type sensors. The difference is, however, that since the D600 has a larger sensor, the AF sensors are more densely packed into the center of the frame. They’re more widely spread out on the D7000.

That said, Nikon made some internal improvements to sensitivity of the module in varying light. If you shoot people, landscapes and things that don’t move very much, you’ll probably find that the D600 will perform just fine. Most people tend to focus on subjects that are near the center anyway, so this will probably be a non-issue.

If you shoot sports and erratically moving subjects that go all over the frame, the D7000 might have a slight edge here, simply because it has a wider effective profile. That said, I’ve tried the D600 autofocus, and I can report that it’s very fast and highly accurate.

Video

D800-style cinema qualty video, larger FX sensor, uncompressed HDMI output, headphone jack- The D600 wins out big time here.

Bottom Line

Like I said, if you’re serious about photography and want the maximum quality from your imagery, especially if you shoot in varying and low light conditions, or if you shoot video, then the D600 is a very worth upgrade, or purchase, if you’re coming from an even older body like the D90 or D60. It’s a whole lot of camera for the price. Sure, it’s expensive, but two grand is not out of the question for an entry level pro quality body, which the D600 is in many respects, minus a couple of features that most users won’t miss anyway, and which keep it a thousand dollars less than the D800.

That said, the D7000 is still also a whole lot of camera for the price, and if you’re on a budget, if you and your clients are happy with your imagery, or if you already have a slew of DX lenses, then maybe you’re not ready to upgrade yet. I’d start saving money, though, because you’ll probably want to go full frame sooner or later.

Note: Nikon has just announced the brand new D7100, which is a very capable upgrade to the D7000. Read about it here.

Support this site: Give your virtual thumbs up for the time, energy and research that it takes me to bring you reviews like this one by purchasing gear through these links. Thanks! -Dan

Comparing Nikon DSLRs: The D600 vs. The D800

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If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your Nikon DSLR, at long last, the waiting game is over. Now it’s time to choose. D800 bodies are finally showing up in regular stock at many camera stores, and the D600, which is already on shelves.

So, which camera should you get- the D600 or the D800? Let’s review the main features and see how the two cameras compare. Hopefully this will help you decide which body is right for you.

Image Quality

The biggest difference in this department is the number of pixels involved. Both cameras use the same size 24mm x 35.9mm FX-format full frame CMOS sensor and shoot 14-bit RAW, but whereas the D600 has 24.3 million pixels on its sensor, the D800 has a groundbreaking 36.3 million pixels packed onto the same area.

Essentially, this gives the D800 a big edge on resolution, simply because the pixels are packed more densely on the sensor. However, resolution alone is not the only factor that’s involved when were dealing with image quality.

That said, the sensor on the D600 has been given the second highest DxOMark score in overall image evaluation tests for available full-frame cameras. Also, software and image processing plays a huge part in how good your images look and how well the camera is able to reproduce tones across the entire spectrum of light and dark. Both the D800 and the D600 (as well as the D4) use Nikon’s new EXPEED 3 image processing brain, so even though the D800 will shoot higher resolution images, the D600 will produce comparable quality images, even in low light conditions.

When it comes to metering, the D800 has a brand new 91,000 pixel RGB sensor matrix meter, while the D600 uses the older 2,016 pixel matrix meter that’s found on the D7000. While this will not make or break your exposures, the D800 obviously has an edge when it comes to metering in tricky lighting situations and scene analysis.

Frames Per Second

This is where the D600 edges out the D800. CMOS sensors are able to process images at remarkable speed, but since the D600 has fewer pixels to crunch during each exposure, it’s able to fire at a faster rate.  Whereas the D800‘s top speed is only 4 frames per second at full resolution, the D600 can fire at 5.5 fps.

However the D800 can fire faster when it’s not shooting full res files. If you’re shooting a scene and absolutely need that extra speed, you can always switch to DX mode or 1:2 aspect ratio mode and shoot at 5 fps, or slap on the battery grip and shoot DX mode at 6 fps.

Autofocus

The D800 uses the new Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus system, which is the same one that’s found on the top of the line D4. It has 51-point detection with 15 cross-type sensors and 3D tracking. Cross type sensors are autofocus points that are oriented in both the vertical and horizontal axis. They’re more sensitive to variations in light across multiple planes and thus offer improved accuracy when detecting and locking on certain subjects.

The D600 uses the new Multi-CAM 4800DX autofocus system, which is similar to the one found on the D7000. It only has 39-point detection with 9 cross type sensors. In effect, when compared to the speed and accuracy of the D800, the D600 has a slightly stepped down system. That said, I’ve tried the D600 and can report that it indeed has a very fast, accurate autofocus system, especially when used with AF-S lenses.

Also, since it’s been adapted from the D7000, which is a DX body, the AF matrix is more densely packed into the center of the frame. Some photographers who frequently position moving subjects closer to the edges of the frame might find this arrangement somewhat limiting.

Flash Capabilities

Both the D600 and the D800 have pop-up flashes can function as wireless commanders, and can control up to two groups of remote Speedlights. For most off camera flash work, both cameras will offer just about the same level of creativity.

I say “just about,” because there are differences. While the D800 flash sync speed is 1/250 sec. the D600 only syncs at 1/200. Strobist David Hobby has said that this is a major limiting factor. However, while I can understand his math and methods, and while I wish the D600 synced at 1/250, I just don’t think the difference between 1/250 and 1/200 will be the end of the world for many photographers. In fact, Canon’s new 5D MK III also syncs at 1/200.

The D600 also lacks a sync cord port, which is usually used to trigger flashes and strobes inside the studio. If you shoot mainly outside, no sync port is really not an issue. If you do need one, though, you can always buy the $20 Nikon AS-15, which slides right onto your hot shot and turns it into a PC sync port.

Body Construction

Whereas the D800 is built with a full magnesium alloy chassis, the D600 has some composite materials incorporated into its design in order to save weight. It still has magnesium alloy on the top and sides, and it has the same weather sealing as the D800, so unless you’re really beating it up, the D600 should weather the elements outside just fine.

The D600 is also slightly smaller and lighter than the D800, in fact the D600 is the smallest, lightest and least expensive full frame camera to date; it’s great for going fast and light!!

Video

Although the D800 will obviously shoot quality video since it has more pixels on the sensor, both cameras will shoot Full HD and are very comparable in this area. The main limitation on the D600, though, is that you can’t adjust your aperture while you’re recording.

Storage Media and Batteries

Both cameras have a dual-memory card slot. The D800 takes one CF and one SD card, while the D600 takes two SD cards, just like the D7000. All three cameras use the same EN-EL15 battery, so if you’re upgrading from a D7000, you can swap batteries between any of the three bodies.

Other Features

The D600 has a couple of features that the D800 does not have. One is the new WU-1b Wireless Adaptor which plugs into the USB 2.0 port on the D600 and allows you to send photos directly to your smartphone or tablet. At this point, there is no wireless adaptor for the D800.

Another think the D600 has several built in “Scene Modes, as well as U1 and U2 user banks that are found on the exposure mode dial. This allows you to program specific and often used camera settings for instant recall. You might have one setting for manual flash use and one for action sports shootings, etc…

Both cameras have the same size and resolution LCD monitor, compatibility with just about all Nikon lenses, new or old, similar battery life and very similar control layout.

Price

This is the big one:

  • D600 = $2,099
  • D800 = $2,999

Final Anaysis

So, which camera should you buy? As with any camera, it comes down to how you’ll use it and what you demand from a camera. For enthusiasts, photographers who are moving up from a D7000, or one of Nikon’s other DX bodies, and even many professional users, the D600 is an excellent quality camera that will deliver excellent image quality and offer a wide selection of usable features that will allow you to fully explore your creativity and push your technical abilities.

As far as quality goes, 24.3 megapixels is more than enough resolution for most people, after all, we’re still talking still talking over 6,000 pixels on the long end, vs. 7,300+ pixels on the D800. That’s not very much, especially when you compare to what we had just a few years ago.

Unless you absolutely need (want) the largest file sizes and the highest dynamic range, the D600 will likely give you everything you need in a photographic quality. You’ll save on price as well as on storage space. D800 RAW files are considerably bigger than RAW files made on the D600.

And as I said above, the flash sync speed is definitely an issue, but I don’t see it being a huge issue for many photographers, especially for outdoor, action, and travel shooters, and photographers who like to fast with light. Sure, you may lose a tiny bit of power on your Speedlights when trying to overpower the sun, but for regular flash use, you may never run into any problems. Remember those Cyclorcoss images I shot last week with my strobe? Many of them were shot at 1/100, 1/160 and /1200 sec.

In my mind, the bigger matter to consider is the autofocus system. If you’re a demanding pro user who shoots erratically moving sports and likes to frame subjects outside the center, or shoot sports and moving subjects in lower light, you may find the AF system on the D600 somewhat limiting. The D800 has the same high end AF system as the D4, and if you’re a heavy pro user, then you can probably afford to the higher jump to the D800 anyway.

$3K is certainly a lot of money to drop on a camera unless you can justify the price, though. If you’re coming from a DX body and going full frame for the first time, the D600 is an outstanding camera. It’s simply a better camera than you’ve probably every used before and you’ll likely find it to be an excellent and usable tool. For most outdoor photographers, it’s a no brainer. Want a new camera? Get the D600.

If you’re one of those disappointed D700 users who feels somehow lost and left out of this round of the Nikon upgrade game, you have three choices:

1: Get the D600, sacrifice a tiny bit on AF and flash sync speed and still get image quality that’s better than you’ve every shot before. However, despite the two things that I would have liked to see on it, the D600 is really a fantastic, and high performing camera. Nikon did well with this one and the majority of photographers will find it that it fits their needs perfectly.

2: Go D800 and sacrifice a little bit on frames per second, concentrate on timing instead of just slamming your finger down on the shutter and wildly spraying frames, and still get a camera that’s superior in every other way. (Or go full mac daddy and get the D4)

3: Keep shooting with your D700 because it’s still an excellent and relevant camera that will still deliver great results for you and your clients, and wait to see what Nikon comes out with in six months or so. However, if you’re like most D700 users, chances are you’ll be disappointed in that too.

I know, it seems like there will never be another D700, but who knows. There’s still a thousand dollar jump between the D600 and the D800, which means that there’s certainly room for something in the middle. Question is, will Nikon fill that price point with a D4 mini, which is what we all want anyway? We can only watch the Nikon Rumors site and keep our fingers crossed.

Or, like I said, you can buy one of these two awesome and capable cameras and go make some killer photographs with all that juicy new DSLR technology.

D600, D800. Red pill, blue pill. The choice is yours.

Support this site: Give your virtual thumbs up for the time, energy and research that it takes me to bring you reviews like this one by purchasing gear through these links. Thanks! -Dan

Comparing Nikon DSLRs: The D5100 vs. The D7000

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The Nikon D5100 has been out for a few months now, and its price range and list of features makes it an attractive DSLR for those photographers who are looking for a budget camera body. It’s certainly a capable offering, packing in more imaging technology that any previous Nikon camera in its class.

However, when stacked against the immensely popular Nikon D7000, how does it compare? If you’re thinking of buying a new camera, how do you decide which one you should you get? Let’s review the essential features of each model and see which one might be right for you.

The D5100

Nikon’s newest “Prothusiast” camera, the D5100 is loaded with many great features that will help you drive your photographic creativity. It’s got a 16.2 MP DX-Format CMOS sensor, which is the same one inside the D7000. It also shoots in 14 bit RAW, so, when it comes to image quality, D5100 will deliver with outstanding results.

Low light performance is good, with ISO capabilities up to 6400. Not as good as the higher end DSLR’s from Nikon, but way better than any of their other lower end models.

It also has 11 point 3D Tracking AF. However, the body doesn’t have an internal AF motor, so focusing speed is largely lens dependent. This also means that AF-S lenses are required for the autofocus to work on this camera. You can use older AF lenses on the D5100, but you’ll have to focus manually with them. You’ll find that some lenses will be “snappier” than others. Overall, the AF system will get the job done, but it’s not a pro system, so you can’t expect it to perform like it’s a higher end DSLR.

The D5100 fires at a respectable 4 fps. Not awesome, but certainly faster than many consumer bodies which top out at 2.5-3 fps.

Video: 1080p HD H.264 moves with full-time autofocus and stereo sound. One very nice feature of the D5100 is the Vari-angle LCD monitor, which opens up and rotates to your desired viewing angle. This makes shooting movies a little more convenient, especially if you’re playing around with interesting angles.

The D5100 also packs in a number of other creative software features, like EFFECTS mode and an HDR setting, plus all the exposure presets that you find on most prosumer cameras, like “Landscape, portrait, action, closeup and silhouette” mode.

It’s got a built in pop-up flash that with a sync speed of 1/200. You can use any of the modern Nikon Speedlights, (SB-700, SB-800, SB-900) but it does not have a commander mode. However, you can control other flashes with any of those compatible flashes, as well as with the SU-800 Wireless Commander.

Overall, the D5100 is a great camera for the novice photographer who wants to get into a Nikon body for under $1,000. It’s a great introduction to photography. Body only for the D5100 is $749. A $100 rebate until November 19 makes it $649. Body with an 18-55mm lens is $849. ($749 right now w/ rebate)

If you can accept the fact that it’s not a “high performance” DSLR, the D5100 is a very lightweight camera that will give you excellent, professional looking images, and it will certainly give you enough features to experiment and grow with your photography. Essentially, the D5100 gives you the exact same image sensor as the D7000, but for $400 less.

If you’re an enthusiast who loves shooting photos, but doesn’t need a pro-caliber body, then the D5100 is probably the right camera for you.

Compared to the D7000

The D7000 is an outstanding camera body. The best way to differentiate between the two is with this statement: While almost no pro shooter out there would use a D5100 as their main camera, the D7000 is the number one body for many working photographers.

Why? Because when compared to the D5100, it has better AF, it’s compatible with a much wider selection of older Nikon non AF-S lenses, it shoots at 6 fps, it has better low light/high ISO capabilities, it’s a little more rugged with better weather sealing, it has a more advanced image processing system, twin SD card slots, and it’s pop-up flash can be used as a wireless commander.

Overall, the D7000 is a lightweight pro grade, much higher performing camera body. While not as rugged as the top shelf Nikons, the D7000 is a fantastic tool that offers awesome flexibility and professional capabilities for many outdoor photography options.

My advice is this: If you can come up with $849 for a Nikon D5100, and you even think that you’re going to get serious about photography, then save your latte and scone money for two months and spring for a D7000. You’ll have a much more versatile camera and you won’t look like an amateur when you bring it out of the bag.

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Dan Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog Posted on by

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