Which Camera to Go for Nikon D600/610 or Nikon D800? Area of focus is Travel, portraits & Weddings.?

Question

Hi, I am looking to upgrade my camera. I am more into travel, Portraits & Weddings but a little confused between Nikon D600/610 & Nikon D800. I am thinking to go for Nikon D600/610 and invest the amount in good lenses like 24-70mm f2.8 and 50 mm F1.4 G apart from going for Nikon D800. Can someone help me with this? Will I get the Pro result with Nikon D600/610 or should I go for D 800?
I found this review interesting -
http://snapsort.com/compare/Nikon-D610-vs-Nikon-D800

Answer 1

Yes, the specs are very close. And if you really needed the extra resolution, the D800 has it.

http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=nikon_d600&products=nikon_d800



dpreview.com does list some spec differences, D600 stated first, (D800 stated in parentheses):



24.3MP Full-frame CMOS sensor (compared to 36.3MP CMOS)

10.5MP DX-format crop mode (compared to 15.3MP)

39-point AF system with 9 cross-type AF points (compared to 51-points, with 15 cross-type)

Autofocus sensitivity down to -1EV (compared to -2EV)

Maximum 5.5fps continuous shooting in FX mode (compared to 4fps in FX mode)

2,016-pixel RGB TTL exposure metering sensor (compared to 91,000 pixels)

2x SD slots (compared to CF+SD)

No 'Power Aperture' aperture control during movie shooting (offered by D800 using Fn + Preview buttons)

Shutter rated to 150,000 cycles (compared to 200,000 cycles)

Magnesium-alloy top and rear covers only (D800 has full mag-alloy chassis except flash housing)

USB 2.0 interface (compared to USB 3.0)



I suggest reading the D600 review on dpreview.com as it contrasts the D600 with the D800 at various points throughout.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d600/

Answer 2

The D610 is basically a fixed D600 without the oil drop problem. Forget the D600 unless you see a *really* good bargain. There's no point in taking the risk of getting a D600 with oil spot problem now that the D800 is out.



The D800 is higher resolution, but do you really need that extra resolution? I would have thought a D610 with better lenses was the better option. Do wedding photographers really need to show off every skin blemish in the highest possible resolution?

Answer 3

For weddings and portraiture, the D800 is going to be the best; especially the D800E (without the anti-aliasing filter)... assuming you also buy the best lenses, such as the Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.4 (for group shots), Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4 (for full body shots), and Nikon AF-S 85m f/1.4 (for close up portraiture). There is just no matching the high quality of the D800 with these three premium prime lenses.



You can also get great results with the D610 and the three lenses mentioned.



Of course, these are primes, and mostly suitable for portraiture and weddings. If you are considering travel, then a zoom lens may be more flexible.



One caveat about snapsort - they are full of errors, so much so that you really cannot rely on any of their data. And some of their "recommendations" are kind of dumb.



Thing is, I believe snapsort simply uses a web-crawler to find the information, which is probably one reason they are so error prone.

Answer 4

Here are some things you may have not realized yet. You can use any dSLR to shoot anything. The 18-55mm kit lens that comes very cheap with the camera is a great wedding lens. That pro result you are after is all about you. Picture quality depends mostly on user skill. The camera and lenses are only tools.



If you already know exactly why you want one model over another and one lens instead of that then very good. Follow your heart and good luck with your shooting!

Answer 5

Good photographers get pro results with 30 year old equipment. So just get the equipment you want and play around with it. Try getting pro results on your phone camera, because if you can do that you can get pro results dslr easily.