I've got d600 (540 shots) + 50mm 1.8g for couple of months and want to buy additional 2-3 lenses. The thing is my d600 suffers from oil spots problem (just got back from nikon service to clean the sensor and shortly after oil came back again wrr..!) therefore I've dilemma wheter I should upgrade to d800 and get medium class 2-3 nikkor lenses (18-35 D + ...) or stay with d600 fighting and hoping that oil spots will eventually disappear + get 2-3 first class (14-24mm + ...) lenses?
Upgrade to D800 or stay with D600
- Thread starter hulk2012
- Start date
What I did with my D600 was, I set it to small image size and jpg, and the shortest shutter time possible, and then I clicked away some 3000 exposures. It only takes a few minutes. After that, the oil problem was greatly reduced.
I still got the D800 after that, because I didn't want to have to clean the sensor during my vacation. In the end I was glad about it - the D800 has several nice things the D600 does not have. For example better AF. Also the preview DOF in the viewfinder works better (due to the viewfinder actually being coarser, I've been told, go figure), and it has a lot of nice features and button that make you faster in changing settings on location etc.
I don't need the 36MP, but now that I have them, I'm not unhappy about them. The detail this camera produces with good lenses (and your 50mm is such a lens) is indeed incredible.
I have the Nikon 50mm f1.8 G, the Nikon 85mm f1.8 G, and they are both phantastic lenses. For 35mm I got the Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM which takes beautiful pictures too (although you should buy it in a shop because not all copies seem to work well with all cameras, series variation maybe).
By using primes, you'd get top IQ for less money, and could get the D800 without spending too much more money than you'd spend for top-notch zooms for the D600.
I still got the D800 after that, because I didn't want to have to clean the sensor during my vacation. In the end I was glad about it - the D800 has several nice things the D600 does not have. For example better AF. Also the preview DOF in the viewfinder works better (due to the viewfinder actually being coarser, I've been told, go figure), and it has a lot of nice features and button that make you faster in changing settings on location etc.
I don't need the 36MP, but now that I have them, I'm not unhappy about them. The detail this camera produces with good lenses (and your 50mm is such a lens) is indeed incredible.
I have the Nikon 50mm f1.8 G, the Nikon 85mm f1.8 G, and they are both phantastic lenses. For 35mm I got the Sigma 35mm f1.4 DG HSM which takes beautiful pictures too (although you should buy it in a shop because not all copies seem to work well with all cameras, series variation maybe).
By using primes, you'd get top IQ for less money, and could get the D800 without spending too much more money than you'd spend for top-notch zooms for the D600.
Great advise thanks. What about wide angle one? Are you considering any?
Hi hulk2012. You should contact Nikon and have your camera serviced again. The same thing happened to BackDoorHippie, and after having his D600 serviced a 2nd time, the oil issue hasn't returned. Did you ship yours to one of Nikon's service centers? Are you here in the US or located elsewhere?
Hi. I'm in the uk and yes I sent it previously to the nikon center. But I'm seriously thinking of part exchange with d800 + some cash towards it at the store I got my d600 from.
I'm currently looking at rokinon 14mm 2.8 and must say its amazing sharp on d600/800
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Everyone has to make up their own minds about just how much of a personal issue the spots are with the D600. As was mentioned, mine took 2 trips to Nikon before the problem cleared up, but it has been remedied.
To your question, I will say only this: I have a D600 and a D800, which I purchased prior to sending the 600 to Nikon the first time. Since getting my D600 back I would say that it gets 85-90% of the clicks. Why? I find the images to just be "better" from the D600. Larger pixels allow for more light information and I just seem to prefer the images I get from the D600. Not to say the D800 doesn't take superb photos. For me, though, the file sizes I get at 36MP's are bigger than I want in most cases, and I find I only use it when I'm shooting wildlife and know that I'll likely be cropping (and possibly shooting in DX mode).
Trading in one for the other doesn't make sense to me if the only reason for changing cameras is the spots. If the D800 has other functions that you wish the D600 had and find it hard to live without, then that's a different story. They're both great cameras with their pros and cons.
As for lenses, my "unholy trinity" consists of the 16-35mm f4, the 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 and the 70-200mm f4. I love the kit lens and have no "need" for the f2.8 from an IQ perspective (though that could change if I used one). I purchased the 16-35mm over the 14-24mm because it allows me to use filters (I love using ND's with the ultrawide around water). I bought the 70-200mm f4 to save weight, and I am extremely happy with the images I'm getting from it.
To your question, I will say only this: I have a D600 and a D800, which I purchased prior to sending the 600 to Nikon the first time. Since getting my D600 back I would say that it gets 85-90% of the clicks. Why? I find the images to just be "better" from the D600. Larger pixels allow for more light information and I just seem to prefer the images I get from the D600. Not to say the D800 doesn't take superb photos. For me, though, the file sizes I get at 36MP's are bigger than I want in most cases, and I find I only use it when I'm shooting wildlife and know that I'll likely be cropping (and possibly shooting in DX mode).
Trading in one for the other doesn't make sense to me if the only reason for changing cameras is the spots. If the D800 has other functions that you wish the D600 had and find it hard to live without, then that's a different story. They're both great cameras with their pros and cons.
As for lenses, my "unholy trinity" consists of the 16-35mm f4, the 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 and the 70-200mm f4. I love the kit lens and have no "need" for the f2.8 from an IQ perspective (though that could change if I used one). I purchased the 16-35mm over the 14-24mm because it allows me to use filters (I love using ND's with the ultrawide around water). I bought the 70-200mm f4 to save weight, and I am extremely happy with the images I'm getting from it.
That's a nice kit. I might just stick to
D600 then and invest in better lens. Is IQ of zooms comparable to the primes?
As I've been told many many times, lenses are an investment where a body is an expense. Camera models are always getting better and better and just keeping up with the constant technological advancements can get more expensive than one could afford unless you are using the camera as a main tool to get your daily bread.
Zooms are very good, but also expensive AND heavier. I recently went on a trip with the D600, 16-35 f4, 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 and I found that for a 10-15 km hike, they got heavy. Heavy enough that I'm seriously considering getting the 70-200 f4 and selling my both my 2.8s. But I still love the IQ of the 2.8...
Who said that life had to be perfect?
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
I have a trio of f1.8 primes, as you can see in my signature, that get very little use. Is the IQ "better" on the primes? Probably, but not to the extent that I would lug them around instead of using my 24-85mm, which covers the full scope of the 3 lenses - and that's the "lesser" of the 3 zooms I've mentioned. If I want real sharp DoF and perfect bokeh for something specific then I might put a prime on, but that's actually a rarity.
As for weight, I've got no issue with this trio. I can only imagine lugging the heavier counterparts along. And if IQ on the 4's is lacking compared to the 2.8's, I'm not losing sleep over what I'm getting.
As for weight, I've got no issue with this trio. I can only imagine lugging the heavier counterparts along. And if IQ on the 4's is lacking compared to the 2.8's, I'm not losing sleep over what I'm getting.