Nikon D600 - Hands On Impressions

The following review was written by a listener in Germany. He had some hands on time with the camera at Photokina. Below are some of his initial impressions.

Thanks, Sebastian.
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Hi Jimmy,

With red, swollen feet and a big smile on my face I retuned form my two day trip to Photokina. Usually I'm not that kind of person that will endlessly browsing catalogs or spend days at the photo section of mediamarkt (German version of compUSA etc) but Photokina is something different. I had to go.

The Nikon D600 has a body about the same size as the 6D from Canon. And my impressions are the same for both. People with bigger hands (like myself) will have the same problem handling it. A battery grip will almost be required for those like me, although I am sure the ladies will love it. However, adding a larger lens, will make this camera feel unbalanced at first.

The camera comes with a very nice 3 inch display. It is bright with good contrast.

In my taste the design of the Nikon stands back a bit, compared with the Canon. While Canon has all the buttons close together, Nikon has spread them all over the backside of the camera. For my taste, it was harder to keep track of them all. 

Instead of built in WiFi and GPS, the Nikon comes with a popup flash. This is a standard practice for Nikon in this level of camera, and is in keeping with the trend that they have been doing forever.

The D600 has two two SD card slots. Consumers can choose between multiple options on how to use them. For example one card can be used as storage for photos, and the other for HD videos. Alternatively, you can use the second card as soon as the first is full, or put in a WiFi card. 

The Nikon has a slightly higher resolution with about 25M pixels while the Canon "only" has just above 20M pixels. Probably not even noticeable except to extreme pixel peepers. 

The camera has up to 39 AF points (in comparison Canon´s &D has 16).

Unlike the Cano 6D, only parts (top and back) of the camera are made of magnesium alloy. The camera is very light anyway. 

The Camera cost about the same as the Canon 6D (About $2200), and is considered a beginner full sensor camera. 

Best regards,

Sebastian Walbe