Nikon D600 Mini Review

I preordered my Nikon D600 on Monday, and was amazed to find that Nikon actually shipped the camera on time, and I was able to pick it up on Tuesday night! I was very impressed with this, especially considering that a lot of D800 preorders are only now being filled...

I thought that it would be worth it for me to post my thoughts on the camera so far along with a few sample images. I realise that the camera's been out for almost a week now, so the hype is probably starting to die down, but I wanted to give myself a few days to familiarise myself with the camera before posting anything about it...

This is not a comprehensive or empirical review, I'll leave that to DP Review, so feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt.

Here is the D600 (right) beside the D7000 (left) for a direct size comparison (I apologise for the mobile phone shots):

And the Nikon D600 mirror (the sensor being the same size) compared with the D7000 mirror, to give an idea of the difference between DX and FX if you are unfamiliar:

Build Quality & Ergonomics

As you can see, I was upgrading from the D7000, and I was expecting the build quality to be practically the same. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the camera does feel a little bit more substantial and well built than the D7000 (which was already quite well built) while still being small enough to be quite portable. While it's not a D800 or a D4, it still definitely feels very nice.

Ergonomically, the button placement and dials are very similar to the D7000. One of the biggest things that I thoroughly appreciate compared with the D7000, however, is that the mode dial now has a lock button (see the top view below). I've heard that some people don't like this, but the number of times I've accidentally nudged the D7000 into the wrong mode is just ridiculous. This is a small but great new feature for me.

Like the D7000, there are fewer external controls compared with the higher end D800 and D4, such as physical selectors for focus and metering modes. Instead there is the Exposure mode button (as can be seen in the above photo next to the record button), and the focus select button as shown below, both of which require a button hold + dial turn. No big deal (unless you're working super fast or wearing gloves, I guess...).

The rear of the camera is very similar to the D7000, with buttons for White Balance, Quality, ISO as well as the standard menu, playback, delete buttons, an 8-way selector, focus lock switch, AE-L/AF-L button (sadly no AF-On button, but I just set my AE-L/AF-L button to be used for focus in the menus).

The only real difference over the D7000 is that there is now a Live View selector now has a switch to switch between stills and video, and the record button is now on the top next to the shutter.

There is a DoF Preview button and a Function button on the front, both of which are programmable and useful.

The camera also has a pop-up flash, which I'll never use, and a lovely FX badge to make all of your friends jealous and show off how professional you are.

The only real issue that I have with the design is that the hinge for the door covering the card slots (dual card slots, though, which is nice...) is very flimsy. I feel like it could easily snap off if someone bumped into it while it was open...

Shooting with the camera

The camera is fast, responsive and pleasant to shoot with, especially as an upgrade from DX. It's a pleasant experience to finally be able to get the most out of my FX lenses.

The focus is fast and accurate with both my 50mm f/1.4 G and my 85mm f/1.4 G, although the focus points are all concentrated in the middle of the frame. In fact, everything about the camera feels very swift and responsive.

I haven't tried any of the scene modes, but I have been shooting a bit on Aperture Priority, and I've found the metering to be pretty spot on on the full scene metering modes. In fact, in the short time I've had with it, I've found the metering to be more accurate than most cameras I've used in the past. This might just be my perception, though...

There's also a surprisingly useful DX crop mode, which still spits out 10.5 megapixel images. I've got a couple of DX lenses that I haven't replaced yet, so this is nice to have, but it's also useful to get a bit of extra reach out of FX lenses, AND it can be assigned to a function button.

The ISO range also goes all the way down to ISO 50, which is great if you ever shoot in the studio like I do! (It also goes up to 6400 in the recommended range, and to 25,600 as a High 2 option)

Overall, I'm thoroughly enjoying shooting with the camera so far. With the D7000, I was always acutely aware that it was a crop frame whenever I picked it up, and it ultimately became quite annoying. I feel like the D600, though, is going to be a camera that I will enjoy using for a long while.

Image Quality

With its 24 megapixels, the D600 is certainly not a low-end medium format killer like the D800/E, though it is on par with all other DSLR's currently on the market as far as resolution, and it's definitely no slouch, especially at its price point.

I haven't had a chance to shoot in the studio with the camera yet, but I've been taking it around with me, so here are some sample images, alongside some 100% crops for the pixel peepers.

100% crop:

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100% crop:

Now mind you, the above image was shot at ISO 3200. I'll get back to ISO performance later...

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100% crop:

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As you can see, the 24 megapixel files are quite nice and detailed, and probably equivalent to most other full frame DSLR's on the market around the 20ish megapixel mark. 

Frustratingly, there's no third party camera raw support yet, so the only options are to either shoot JPEG, or to use Nikon's ViewNX software (which is bundled with the camera, and is admittedly not too bad). Of course, this will come soon in software updates...

ISO Performance

I've taken some sample shots throughout the ISO range and uploaded them to flickr at original size, if you're interested. Otherwise, just take a look through the slideshows, and then the 100% crops below.

I'm very impressed with the ISO performance of this camera. Unless I was shooting in the studio, I would be quite happy to shoot at ISO 3200 or even 6400 on this camera, as it gives surprisingly good results. In fact, I had a look at some Nikon D4 samples at similar ISO speeds earlier, and I had a hard time picking the difference.

The High modes are a bit too noisy for my liking, but at least they're there if you need them.

ISO performance wasn't really a deciding factor for me in buying the camera, but I've been very impressed, to the point that it makes me want to shoot in natural light more! haha

Video

For me, the video modes are a bit hit and miss, unfortunately. The footage at 1080p is nice and sharp, with only very slight moire and very minimal rolling shutter, and this is a big positive. The footage also holds up well at higher ISO's.

The footage also has a fairly good amount of dynamic range when shot on a Neutral picture profile with contrast turned down. I would guess that Canon probably still has a bit of an edge since they have the Cinestyle log format, but I don't have a 5D MkIII to test (If anyone would like to see that comparison, I know a few people who have MkIII's; post a comment and I'll ask see if I can get my hands on one)...

Unfortunately, there are some nuances, and in my mind also a few missed opportunities.

Nikon have greatly improved their video modes since the D90 was released, but it seems almost like they've stopped trying to push the envelope since the D800 was released.

Admittedly, this is a lower end camera than the D800, but on the other hand, this camera could have been a big opportunity for Nikon to win cinematographers back from Canon.

Unlike Canon, Nikon does not have to worry about making its video functions in its DSLR's better than the video functions in its cinema cameras, because it doesn't make cinema cameras..! If Nikon had really gone all out on the video modes of this camera, then they could easily have won a lot of market share back from Canon.

Unfortunately, cinematographers already shooting Canon are likely to be disappointed with this camera. Yes, there are manual levels and headphone monitoring, but it is not possible to change levels while recording. Unlike the D800 and D4, it's also impossible to change aperture while in live view. 

Lack of variable aperture is a huge disappointment for anyone hoping to really get into shooting video. It's also something that can't be fixed through a firmware update. Really, the only way to get around this would be to either buy older manual focus Nikon lenses and modify them to have a smooth aperture, or to buy Zeiss Compact Primes (although the new Samyang cinema lenses look promising...).

I haven't yet been able to test the HDMI output, so I can't confirm whether uncompressed video is available, but I'm slightly worried about this, as the highest quality HDMI output option that I could find in the menu was 1080i (see below).

I don't have a D800 to compare this to, but I think that if you set this to Auto, it should default to 1080p... If anyone knows what options the D800 has for HDMI output, and if this is even the setting to be looking at for uncompressed HDMI recording, please let me know in a comment. Or if anyone wants to send me an HDMI recorder, I can test this...! *hint hint*

The camera can do 60fps at 720p, and that's nice, but no longer groundbreaking, either.

Conclusion

So far, I'm very impressed with the image quality and ISO performance of this camera, especially for its price point. It's definitely great value, and a great upgrade to the D7000 or any DX body.

I would also imagine that this would also be a nice upgrade for anyone shooting with an older FX body.

The camera has good video functionality, but is let down by some quirks and missed opportunities, such as the inability to change audio levels while recording, and the inability to change the aperture at all while in live view. If you are seriously interested in shooting video, you would be better of with a D800 if you can afford it (or a Canon, as sad as I am to say......).

This is an excellent (and excellent value) still camera, and despite a few missed opportunities and annoying quirks when it comes to video, I feel like this is a camera that I will enjoy using and one that I would very easily recommend to others.