Is adding a D800 to my D600 the right thing to do?

My experience with shooting my D600 side by side with my D7000 over the past few months has me thinking that abandoning DX for a complete move to FX may be the right thing for me to do. Not that the D7000 is a slouch, but the IQ on the D600 is that much better, and with the D800 I believe I'd be getting the same number of "MP's per bird" when I stick a 150-500mm on there as opposed to the D7000 (i.e. D800 at 500mm and cropped would be roughly equivalent to a full D7000 frame with the same lens). It's a healthy investment, and to sell the D7000 now, with the current price drop and the promise of a replacement will cost me some,

I don't "need" two cameras, and could shoot the D600 and lose some MP's per bird while still getting a crisper photo. But I may have just struck a deal to sell off some music gear which would cover the camera and still put money in the bank, so it's become an emotional decision that I need to reduce down to a logical one.

So I know I can count on all of you to lead me through this without playing on the "it's a great camera, you know you want one!!" angle.

Yeah, right. LOL

Seriously, though, does it make sense? I'm selling off all but one DX lens as it is. What do you think?

It's a great camera, you know you want one!!!


Do you think the FPS will hamper your bird photos at all? Will you invest in CF cards since the 800 uses one CF and one SD? With 36MP you'll need some really fast cards to keep the buffer from overflowing.

I personally think the MP loss from a full frame shot is minimal at most when cropping in to achieve the vaunted "DX crop". And I like having the bigger sensor to track my birds. Of course the way I track them I'd need a Hubble sized sensor. haha

Its not a bad idea, I find that my D7000 mostly gathers dust,, and use my D800 the most,, great camera.

Ironically, I am using the firesale 5100 as my throw in backpack, so light. I do think you are splitting hairs with quality between 800 and 600 in FX mode.. and like you say,, you have
the DX mode covered in the 7000.. so,, is it woth the 2200 dollars delta?

OR you could sell the 600 and 7000 and go to the one camera - D800e..

say 1600 for 600
650 for 7000

buy d800e on sale for say 3100,, so,,, 800 or so dollar delta.. mmm is it worth it... One camera, does all maybe. but then you don't have a backup camera when one goes into the shop. Notice I pick
the 800e, not the 800, I have the 800 because I was worried about the e,, and would have had to wait a few more months, but seems like the moire effect was not much of a factor, so might as well
pick the sharpest. Although the difference between the 800 and 800e is so minute should would not upgrade from a 800 to a 800e.

laughs, I am not being helpful, I guess, I would personally keep the 7000/600 combo and buy another lens .


interesting,, as far as the FX versus DX sensor, I found I like my D700 images better than the D7000 images on average. I have taken both on the same trips.
taken the exact same shot,, and well, my 700 just had a nicer look..

which I can't quite figure out, since I do like my 800 pictures better than my 700, and well, the underlying sensors between the 7000 and 800 are supposed to be the same.

I still think you get slightly different looks depending on which batch your sensor is from. After all, wafers vary from lot to lot, and well, where the process is centered must effect the sensor. I had two D700s purchased about 8 months apart, and yes, slight differences. Ironically, I sold the one that I liked the most. but they were both awesome anyway.

so far, I have only sold my 6 Meg sensor cameras (D50/D70),, and my 12 Meg D300, but have kept the 10Meg, 16 Meg DX, and 12 Meg FX, and now 36 Meg FX.

every sensor was different, I really liked the old 6 Meg Sensor, but not enough to keep, and while the D300 sensor was nice, it never really stood out for me.

the D80 sensor,, awesome,, keeping that one.
12 Meg FX another awesome... never getting rid of this one
16 Meg Sensor -> it is growing on me,, getting really nice shots out of the 5100, and decent ones out of my 7000,
36 Meg FX -> another awesome..

so,, see,, I am in the variety is the spice of life camp..

I kept my D5100 (along with my D800). It replaces my P/S cameras.

The DX is much lighter and 16MP is plenty. Also, using my 70-300VR lens on the D5100 gives me a 450mm reach for sports, etc.

For the return I'd get for the D5100, and the DX lenses, it's not worth the effort.

The lighter weight will come in handy for hikes, sketchy neighborhoods, and overall family events.

If you really want a D800, I'd sell the D600. An FX and DX makes more sense to me than an FX and an FX.

Buy another lens

I noticed a series of for sale ads Jake, wondered what you were buying... I like haveing "2's" for a backup.. I have 2 motorcycles, if one is in the shop I can still ride...

I only have 1 camera now, would I consider a 2nd, likely yes.. BUT, (and I know so little) I imagine I would upgrade to a higher end DX

In your case, with 1 dx and 1 fx, I think I would consider how bad:
1. you like having 2 bodies
2. whether you would prefer both the same genre (FX) It sounds like you might as your comparison of the 600 to the 7000 indicates the edge with the 600..

I would think under that case, (and cash available) you either get a 2nd 600 or the 800...

Now, if you really have no need for two... I would evaluate what I gain with the 800 over the 600 and determine if that edge is worth the bucks...

Just thought food Jake... I only know enough to be dangerous...

Pat in NH (5100 and learning..)

RockyNH said:

I noticed a series of for sale ads Jake, wondered what you were buying... I like haveing "2's" for a backup.. I have 2 motorcycles, if one is in the shop I can still ride...

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I wanted to do that when I was married, but my wife thought the other woman would be one too many. We're not married anymore.

Of course you need a D800, so you can give me your useless D7000

RockyNH said:

I noticed a series of for sale ads Jake, wondered what you were buying... I like haveing "2's" for a backup.. I have 2 motorcycles, if one is in the shop I can still ride...

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haha, exactly. I used to have two cars, but my wife quickly ended that idea shortly after we got married. It's okay though, one of them was a money pit.

What you might find is that the D800 is a completely different camera. I'm thinking more of the controls and settings. The 600 is so similar to the 7000 except the + and minus keys on playback (ARRGH!). And both are smaller sized. How big do you print? This could be your deciding factor. In the meantime, why don't you go birding one day with 7000, next with 600 for two weeks. Then you can have a look at actual "prints" because pixel peeping on our monitors can be very deceptive at times.

What's the rush anyway? But hey, I'm not blaming you at all. When I get the buying rush, it has to end… and the only thing to put an end to it is the actual buying, usually followed unfortunately by buyer's remorse.

A Nikon rep once told me to invest in lenses… Bodies usually loose much more value over a short period of time. Now what about that new 800mm 5.6?

Its those shiny Gold boxes! Studies have shown, that humans like opening the boxes almost more then the product within!

I thought I'd still use my D7000 after I got my D800 but it didn't work out that way. You quickly get used to that big view of a full frame so that when you look through the DX viewfinder everything looks tight and squeezed in. Having two cameras is a great idea - one on the tripod with a UW and the other in-hand with a telephoto. Seems like as soon as I set up my UW on the tripod I see something I'd like to shoot with a zoom. I'm very tempted to buy another D800 and this latest round of price discounts aren't helping my restraint very much, either

Thanks guys. Dave has hit on a large part of it. The rest has to do with Pat's question of how often do I use 2 bodies - the answer to which is almost always.

I love doing landscapes, and I love shooting birds, and the two often occupy the exact same space and time. I spent a week in Florida carrying both the D600 and the D7000 around, trading functions as was suggested, with one holding the 150-500mm for bird patrol and one free to do whatever other type of photography I wanted. I found that regardless of what I used the D7000 for I was missing the bump in IQ I get with the D600. Everything was just a tick sharper, and for birds the relative noise I got at 1000-1600 ISO was noticably lower with the FX, even when cropped to a DX frame. This is what got me to thinking, and while I know it's really a luxury more than an iminent need, it's something I'm seriously considering as I consider making more out of this hobby down the road. I do not print that large at the moment, but have plans to as we are redecorating some rooms and want to use my photos as the centerpieces in some. I know you don't need 36MP's for posting to the internet, but it sure would give me more pixels per bird down the road.

Marcel raises a good point about a D800 vs. a second D600, and I'm definitely better off making a trip to a shop and playing with one for a while to consider the difference in form and function. I like the idea of something a little bigger and more rugged (like me ) but hadn't considered the lunacy of trying to remember what's where on a different body. Good advice indeed.

As for the D7000, as much as I'd like to donate it to someone, I suspect that if the lenses don't sell on their own I may just package them up with the D90 that's been sitting around waiting for my wife to pick it up and keep the D7000 around for her instead. It makes more sense given the common battery format. I'm truly not that concerned with resale and body replacement down the road. Lenses are indeed a better investment and if another sale goes through I have my eye on a couple, but nothing to break the bank - though a used prime 300+ would be something to keep my eyes open for.

Disappointed Jake!! I was under the impression if I bought you 18-105 it came with a d7000 attached!!! :smiley_simmons:
(My meds must have kicked in huh??)

Pat in NH

nikonpup said:

if your 150-500mm is dx what is it going to cost to replace it with a fx lens @ 750mm for that extra nsa.

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It's an FX lens, but for birding the idea of a 225-750mm at 16mps on the D7000 is nice. It's still a great lens on the D600, but the effective "pixels per bird" is slightly less - but only slightly. So unless I'm doing 100% crops just to get the bird to fill the screen it's a non-issue - and actually a bonus with the added IQ of the FX camera.

I also need to consider 12 add'l focus points and the 9 exposure bracketing. Not going to jump fast, but I suspect I'll jump.

D800 for Birds (pixels), D600 for landscape (less pixel density for lower sensor diffraction when using high f stop (water falls)). Plus all of your lenses are interchangable!

jdeg said:

Of course you need a D800, so you can give me your useless D7000

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Jake, John would be doing you a big favor . He can properly dispose of that useless D7000