Thanks Hark. The money is not an issue with me. It's how much I am willing to spend since we are all quickly realizing how much lower we can buy the new cameras if we just wait within 12 months just like what happened to the D800 and D600. If my D800E does not get fixed, then, I'll go from there. Not an easy decision to make.
BTW, how do you like your D610? To be specific, is it hand-holdable? The D800 is more of a tripod camera if you like pixel peeping.
I use a tripod more frequently than most people because I have tendonitis in both forearms; however, there are times when I've handheld the D610 (and my previous D600) and used my 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 VR--pixel peeping wasn't a problem at all. For me, the key is using the VR in
Active instead of
Normal. I was still getting a little blur using the
Normal VR so I experimented with the
Active mode while hand holding the camera. Nikon says
Active is for gross movement, and with my tendonitis, it has made a world of difference. If you were to see me hand holding my camera, you wouldn't notice the slight shakiness from my tendonitis--so I wouldn't classify my shakiness as
gross motor movement. However, I've found the
Active VR corrects the little bit of blur that I was getting while using
Normal VR. Too bad you don't have your D800 to see how the
Active VR would compare to the
Normal. I know
Active VR is supposed to be used when you are on a moving object (boat, car, dock, etc), but if pixel peeping is an issue with that camera, I wish people would give it a try especially if they are using a slower shutter speed than what they'd use for
Normal VR. An extra photo here and there as a comparison will only cost people a few extra seconds of their time.
As for the weight of the camera, it is slightly heavier than my D90--so it isn't bad in that respect. Since you have a D7000, it wouldn't be that much heavier at all. I think the difference in weight is just a few ounces between the D7000 and the D610.