Nikon D600

A full-frame SLR is something most amateur photographers quietly dream about. With massive viewfinders, professional-grade controls and sumptuous image quality, it’s easy to see why they cost four times as much as consumer SLRs. However, there aren’t many amateur photographers who can blow over £2,000 on a camera.

The dream becomes a little more real with the arrival of the D600. Currently available for £1,500, it’s the cheapest full-frame digital SLR to date. However, the similar Canon EOS 6D is arriving imminently and the more upmarket D800 has already been discounted to £1,920 at Amazon. This is an exciting time to be on the market for a full-frame SLR, but choosing one won’t be easy.

Inevitably, there are some downgrades in comparison to the D800, but very few that we’re upset about. For us, the biggest is the move from a 51-point to a 39-point autofocus system, nine of which are cross-type. That’s still a lot of points, but they’re packed together a little more tightly than on the D800 and don’t stretch across the frame quite as much as we’d like. It’s still a sophisticated autofocus system, though, with options to expand the active area to a group of nine or 21 points, plus a 3D tracking mode that follows subjects around the frame.

The D800’s AF On button for invoking autofocus separately from shutter release is absent here, but the AE Lock button can be reassigned to this task. So too can a front-mounted Function button that falls below the little finger (this is in addition to the depth-of-field preview button). The metering mode is on a button and is adjusted in conjunction with a command dial rather than a dedicated switch.

There are a few other changes, including a conventional mode dial with scene modes and an Auto mode. This gives the D600 a more consumer-oriented feel, but there’s nothing missing in terms of controls, and the viewfinder is just as big. Our one gripe is that buttons for ISO speed, white balance, picture control and quality have alternate roles during image playback. If image review is enabled then pressing the buttons directly after shooting adjusts playback parameters and not shooting parameters. Still, it isn’t too much of a chore to half-press the shutter button again to cancel image review before adjusting settings.

Other downgrades will bother some people more than others. The 1/4,000s maximum shutter speed is half the speed of the D800’s, and flash sync is at 1/200s rather than 1/250s. There are some online complaints about this, but it only affects people who use off-camera flash to fill in the shadows of action shots taken in direct sunlight, and that’s a fairly niche group. There’s no PC sync socket for triggering strobes, but a suitable hot-shoe adaptor only costs a few pounds.

The slightly smaller size and lower weight, down from 1kg to 850g, will be seen by many as an improvement, although it’s still big enough to be extremely comfortable. Wedding photographers and others who need a camera that looks like it means business can add the battery grip for £250 including VAT. A Wi-Fi adaptor (WU-1B) is also available, and at £65 it’s much more affordable than the WT-4 for the D800, which costs over £500. Those upgrading from a consumer SLR will appreciate the dual SDXC slots more than the D800’s SDXC and CompactFlash slots. The second slot can be used for overflow, backup or to split RAW and JPEG files for faster performance.

The resolution is down from 36.3 megapixels to 24.3 megapixels, but for us this is yet another improvement. The D800 was capable of taking incredibly detailed photos, but we found it was hard to take full advantage of its resolution except in carefully controlled conditions.

Automatic exposures are well judged to avoid clipped highlights, and there’s plenty of detail in shadows too (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Sure enough, the D600’s photos displayed very little noise at fast ISO speeds, but comparing our studio scene with the D800 and the Canon 5D Mark III output initially left us disappointed. While the D600 and 5D Mark III performed similarly on detail, the D600 displayed significantly more noise at fast ISO speeds. It seemed to have the D800’s higher noise without its extra detail. However, comparing raw files processed in Lightroom, the D600 made a dramatic comeback and matched the 5D Mark III for both detail and noise levels.

There’s a hint of noise reduction in these features, but image quality is still fit for critical use at ISO 1800 (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The D600’s comparatively lower resolution means it’s faster, too. The D800 managed 4fps for 18 frames before slowing to 1.2fps, but the D600 ran at 5.5fps for 15 frames before slowing to 2.2fps. With lens-distortion correction switched off, it lasted for 68 frames and then slowed to 3.4fps. Continuous raw mode started at 5.5fps and slowed to 1.9fps after 16 frames. These speeds snap at the heels of the 5D Mark III, and allay one of our biggest concerns with the D800.

The top ISO 25600 speed is quite noisy but it’s fine for casual use. We’re impressed at the accuracy of the focus and exposure in this extremely dark scene, especially considering that we suppressed the AF assist lamp (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Video is recorded at 1080p at a choice of 24, 25 or 30fps, with clips up to 20 minutes long at the highest quality settings, and 30 minutes at a reduced bit rate. Picture quality was excellent, with the same flattering colours as in JPEGs and crisper details than in the 5D Mark III’s videos. Autofocus spoiled the soundtrack, but otherwise it worked reasonably well, especially after we’d assigned the front Function button to trigger it. The ability to give the button different functions for photo and video capture is a nice touch. There are minijack sockets for both a stereo microphone and headphones, and proper volume control and metering, so using an external microphone is much more feasible than on cheaper SLRs. We’re sorry to see that shutter- and aperture-priority modes aren’t allowed for videos, though. Manual exposure is available but the aperture can’t be adjusted while recording.

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At ISO 12800, the D600’s JPEGs are noisier than the 5D Mark III’s and closer to the D800. However, its raw output (processed at identical settings in Lightroom) is much better, and at least as good as the 5D Mark III for noise (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

The D800 and 5D Mark III are tough acts to follow, and although the D600 is cheaper, the price difference isn’t huge. However, it’s extremely competitive regardless of price. The simpler autofocus and the lack of priority modes for video are the only issues that would tempt us to spend more. We’d like to see better JPEG output at fast ISO speeds, but by any sensible measure its JPEGs are stunning. Besides, there can’t be many people who are willing to spend this much on a camera but unwilling to shoot in raw mode. We await the EOS 6D with interest, but for now, this is the full frame camera to get.