D600 or D7100 Purchase

I think I have made up my mind and will be going for the D600. I know I eventually will move to full frame so why get the D7100? Might as well just jump in with two feet. I know all about the great features but being able to use a DX lens and the camera automatically moving to that format kind of makes up my mind for me.

There is also a $100 instant rebate going on. Where I intend to buy it they are giving away a nice Lowpro 170 bag, a 16 GB (10) card and an extra battery (Pearstone).

The only thing that concers me is the dust/oil issue. Is it difficult to do a wet cleaning of the sensor? Does this problem show itself with ALL D600's?

I think I will take a ride into Manhattan in a few hours to pick one up.

Sometimes I think I am nuts.

Sensor wet cleaning is not that difficult to do at all. The filter in front of the actual sensor is quite hard and if you don't use excess fluid, it's very very hard to damage. I've only wet cleaned mine twice so far for about 6000 shots. It's due now but since I rarely shoot around f16 nothing shows in my pictures. So I'll wait a bit more.

You will just love it, but I see you'll need some money for lenses as well… It's a never ending thing.

I think Nikon are offering the first sensor clean for free so maybe ask about that when you are at the store.

It's a great camera if you are not afraid to clean the sensor. You might test a few in store first and see if they will clean it before you buy.

Wet cleaning is not difficult, but given the acknowledgement of the issue see what the store will do for you. Quick test on a new one would be to rattle off a bunch of shots in Ch mode. I had spots show up on a new D600 in a couple hundred frames, so if it's oily it's going to start throwing quickly. I was happy cleaning mine, but with the knowledge that Nikon was replacing effected shutter mechanisms I sent mine back this week. If it's recent production I would hope that it's been dealt with at the factory. Given the acknowledgement by Nikon, the folks at the shop should have no problem speaking to it.

BackdoorHippie said:

Wet cleaning is not difficult, but given the acknowledgement of the issue see what the store will do for you. Quick test on a new one would be to rattle off a bunch of shots in Ch mode. I had spots show up on a new D600 in a couple hundred frames, so if it's oily it's going to start throwing quickly. I was happy cleaning mine, but with the knowledge that Nikon was replacing effected shutter mechanisms I sent mine back this week. If it's recent production I would hope that it's been dealt with at the factory. Given the acknowledgement by Nikon, the folks at the shop should have no problem speaking to it.

Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see what they say/do.

Do you know of an estimate of recent serial numbers to look for in a new D600?

thanks,

Ok. I bought it and have been playing and setting it up for the past 3 hours. Not too much of a learning curve and my first impression is how well it handles high ISO. A few things I need to explore but I have about 90% of it down.

My biggest disapointment is that my fave Tamron 18-270 lens will only work as a DX lens. Looks like I need to do some shopping for a similar FX lens. My Nikon 50mm 1.8 prime works fine in FX so I guess I will be using that for a while. Any recomendations on a decent "all-in-one" walk around lens that is FX compatible?

I did ask the salesman about the dust/oil issue and he stated that the early production of this model had a problem but that the newer ones do not. He told me that it would show itself right away and that I can return it within their 30 day policy as long as there is 200 or less activations (B&H in NYC). He told me how many have been produced and that a small number of the early ones demonstrated that behaviour. He could only guess why it happened at all. Anything to too much oil applied and shipping problems (heat). I rolled the dice and so far 69 shots and nothing to see.

I'll update this thread as I take more photo's. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Serial # 3061695 but I do not have a clue as to when it was manufactured except for the salesmans statement that it is recent. B&H sells a lot of them so there is no way it can be an older production model. This store is HUGE and crowded but I was still waited on in a quick and courteous manner. Excellent experience and would not hesitate to buy from them again.

The Nikon 28-300 VR would probably fit your needs Paul. I've read great reviews about this lens.

Marcel said:

The Nikon 28-300 VR would probably fit your needs Paul. I've read great reviews about this lens.

Click to expand...

And, it's on sale until the end of the month. If you really like that Tamron, the 28-300 is about the only thing out there that will come close. I don't have it myself, but have read of others who really like it (and a few who don't).

Hi there. I have just read a review from SLRGear on this lens. You might want to have a look at that before you buy this lens. Here's the link:

Nikon Lens: Zooms - Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor (Tested) - SLRgear.com!

It has some definite compromises in quality at both ends of the scale.

PhotoEnth47 said:

Hi there. I have just read a review from SLRGear on this lens. You might want to have a look at that before you buy this lens. Here's the link:

Nikon Lens: Zooms - Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor (Tested) - SLRgear.com!

It has some definite compromises in quality at both ends of the scale.

Click to expand...

I am really tapped out so I am looking at a few Sigma lenses. They are not as wide as I would like but the price is right. I was considering;
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS Lens for Nikon Digital Cameras

They make similar models with the same focal range. One of them is only $150.

Thse may give me something to play with till I can afford something better. Still they get pretty good reviews and may work for me in the short run.

The one I have linked above has the same thread size so my $135.00 variable ND filter will not go to waste.

I have not bought many lenses, only 3-4 so far, but I have read many lens reviews, and the problem is that sometimes one site will say a lens is very good, but another site will criticize the same lens. It might be a good idea to rent the lens you are considering, to try it out first before committing big bucks to it. Choosing a lens is always a bit of a worry, as you don't want to end up disappointed, or even with a lemon.

Asking other people can be a good idea, but at the end of the day you have to be happy with it. This is what I found with my 55-200mm AFS zoom. Some people hate it, others love it. For me, it does what I am looking for, which is more important that what others may or may not think.

PhotoEnth47 said:

I have not bought many lenses, only 3-4 so far, but I have read many lens reviews, and the problem is that sometimes one site will say a lens is very good, but another site will criticize the same lens. It might be a good idea to rent the lens you are considering, to try it out first before committing big bucks to it. Choosing a lens is always a bit of a worry, as you don't want to end up disappointed, or even with a lemon.

Asking other people can be a good idea, but at the end of the day you have to be happy with it. This is what I found with my 55-200mm AFS zoom. Some people hate it, others love it. For me, it does what I am looking for, which is more important that what others may or may not think.

Click to expand...

The 55-200 is a DX lens though. The OP was looking for a full frame (FX) lens.

Paul, if money is tight, you can try to get a Tamron 28-200 or 28-300 on the bay. I got one for 125 $ when I first got my D700 and to this day it's still one of my go to lens for walkabouts. It's very light and sharp enough for an all around lens. Since then I got the better Nikon 2.8 zooms, but when I went on vacations and didn't want to carry all the weight, this is the lens I took. If you want to see what it can do, have a look at my Vietnam 2012 album in my gallery.

There are also some Nikons 28-135 or 28-200 both older models that can be brought pre-owned that can do the job for you.

Best of luck getting "THE BARGAIN LENS".

One note on B&H's return policy, 200 activations is likely right on the border of what I would consider "showing up right away" as mine came in right around there. I hate the idea of burning in a shutter, but if that's all you get then I would spend most of them taking test shots in CH mode to give the shutter a workout. Maybe shoot a bunch of bracketed HDR type images. Make sure you leave the corners and edges bright (most of mine appeared along the top edge in the left corner). Might as well use them wisely.