$700 Price Drop on Nikon D600 and 24-85mm Kit Lens!

Amin

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Okay, not exactly a compact but one of the most compact "full frame" bodies around, the Nikon D600 and 24-85mm lens kit just had a huge price drop via instant rebate, which brings the combo down to $1996.95 at online retailers. The lens alone sells for $600.

Some direct links:
Adorama: Nikon D600 Digital Camera with 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR Lens
B&H Photo: Nikon D600 Digital Camera with 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR Lens
Amazon: Nikon D600 with 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR AF-S Nikkor LensView attachment 63209

If enough people use those links to buy, it'll offset the extra $$ I paid for my D600 not long ago :).

Each of those sites has it's own free bundle included for that price. The B&H one looks the best to me since it includes a SanDisk Class 10 32GB card (Amazon and Adorama give you a Transcend card), extra 3rd party battery, and a monopod. All three sites give you a free bag.
 
This wasn't a camera that I expected to see heavily discounted so early in it's life cycle, but it does however address a lot of the disconnect between the phrase "affordable full-frame DSLR" and the $2000 body-only price tag. It was less expensive for sure, but affordable really wasn't the right word for it.
 
Nice price. I'm not wild about the kit lens but for the price it's OK. Sadly this deal is not available here in Canada. While there are significant discounts, they are not at this level. Usually B&H et el will ship here, but not with his deal. If they did, I would go for it.
:(
 
I think the camera was always planned at about 2000$ with a kit lens (and the lens made no sense to anyone when it was launched, since there were no entry level full frame cameras around). Nikon were just trying to sell the body at a premium for the last few months and now it's at its right price.
 
I'm not surprised on this one. I have a D700 which is a really great camera. The problem with the D600 is the maximum shutter speed. Nikon really chintzed on this one and set it at 1/4000 which means if you are shooting in daylight you are stuck above F2.8. That sort defeats some of the purpose of FF sensor. I don't know maybe it's selling well, but that would keep me from buying it.

Added: If you are going to spend $2000 on a camera body chances are you can spend $3000 so I'm guessing a lot of folks who want a FF sensor (and it does have it's advantages, some of them overstated) why not get the better built D800 which I believe has a 1/8000. I do think the 36MP is a bit of overkill though. :)
 
I saw that deal, and it is a good one, but for my part I went with the Sony A99 for my new full frame. More money, but I like its features better even though I have been a Nikon user for many years. In fact my use of compacts has hooked me on the value of an articulating live view screen, which is a key feature in the A99 and something Nikon is not providing.
 
I'm not surprised on this one. I have a D700 which is a really great camera. The problem with the D600 is the maximum shutter speed. Nikon really chintzed on this one and set it at 1/4000 which means if you are shooting in daylight you are stuck above F2.8. That sort defeats some of the purpose of FF sensor. I don't know maybe it's selling well, but that would keep me from buying it.

The base ISO for D700 is ISO 200, whereas base ISO for D600 is ISO 100, so your ability to use faster glass wide open in daylight is the same for both cameras - if anything greater with D600 because of the newer sensor design. It's true that the D800 also has base ISO 100 and therefore takes things a step further, but I haven't found the 1/4000s limiting at all and didn't find the high-ish base ISO on the D700 or OMD to be a problem either.
 
The base ISO for D700 is ISO 200, whereas base ISO for D600 is ISO 100, so your ability to use faster glass wide open in daylight is the same for both cameras - if anything greater with D600 because of the newer sensor design. It's true that the D800 also has base ISO 100 and therefore takes things a step further, but I haven't found the 1/4000s limiting at all and didn't find the high-ish base ISO on the D700 or OMD to be a problem either.

I was shooting yesterday at 11 AM with no clouds at F1.4. I can't do that with the X Pro. The 1/4000 kept me at 3.2. Anything less that that I got the little red warning with the shutter speed indicator. I think in FF terms is really something like F3.5 or 4.0 for DOF. I probably need to adjust my thinking but that's how I see DOF, based on the D700. So if I'm looking at something and deciding how much or how little I want in focus, inevitably (perhaps unfortunately) that's what I see. Maybe you can do that with the D600 because of the ISO 100 since I haven't tried. I sure wish the Fuji had ISO 100 or even ISO 50. I do shoot at F8 a lot too so it just depends. At some point if I decided to replace the D700 I would get the D800 probably because of the build. My understanding is the D600 isn't quite as robust as the D700. Again, I'm not sure since I'm not shopping for a replacement any time soon. When you are wandering through the woods with 3 dogs it helps. I haven't looked into it (and I don't really know much about computers) but it just seems that 36 megapixels would require a lot of storage, ect. I'm pretty sold on the Fuji so any money I get next year is going for the new lenses. Maybe in 2014 I'll look at a D800 if it doesn't require me to buy a new computer. I like the one I have. That said, the D700 really is a better camera than I am a photographer. I'm still learning how to use it. Once I get that part down I plan on learning about how to actually take a good photograph.
 
I absolutely would buy this camera were it not for all the negative comments about the poor QC issues, e.g., oil and dust showing up on the sensor. Regardless, Nikon have broken the $2000 price point on a "new" entry level full frame unit. I can hardly wait to see what the next few years may bring. Until then, film is still alive and when I need a full frame fix, there are plenty of old slrs and 135 compacts in my collection. All the same, this camera is giving me GAS!
 
Maybe you can do that with the D600 because of the ISO 100 since I haven't tried.

I don't know about the Fuji - how sensitive the sensor is or how much highlight headroom is in the files, but a D600 at 1/4000s, f/1.4, and ISO 100 isn't going to clip or give warning any more than a D700 at 1/8000s, f/1.4, and ISO 200.

I absolutely would buy this camera were it not for all the negative comments about the poor QC issues...

I bought it for more than $2k and was well aware of the oil issue (which is the only QC issue I know of) when I plunked for it. Supposedly it stops after a couple thousand frames, so I'll clean the sensor after 2-3k shots. No big deal to me, but that's pretty much my way - never cared a bit about Fuji orbs, DP1 red dots, the EFS 17-55 dust pump, etc etc.
 
Hi Armando - So far so good! I did have the oil spots on the sensor, but swabbing with one of these seems to have done the trick. Will probably have to repeat that after at some point, but they say the issue stops after a couple thousand shots, and cleaning the sensor was a cinch.

I bought the 50mm f/1.8G to go with it, and it's rapidly becoming one of my favorite 50s. Hard to believe it only costs $220.

A few family snaps with that lens:

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DSC_1052 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr

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DSC_1357 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr

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DSC_1221 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr

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DSC_1414 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr
 
I bought the 50mm f/1.8G to go with it, and it's rapidly becoming one of my favorite 50s. Hard to believe it only costs $220.

Very nice photos. Nikon has some very good lenses that don't cost an arm and a leg. Some of the D Series lenses are also very good. I have the 85mm D. It's really sharp. I know I can use almost all the Nikon manual focus lenses on the D700 so it's probably the same on the D600. I'm jealous.....but I have to wait one more year before upgrading.
 
Beautiful shots Amin. I'm gonna have to stop looking at this thread - I've never had any interest in a full frame DSLR and I damn sure don't want to start to develop any at this point!

You didn't really get your son a drum kit for Christmas did you? You know that's the end of any peace or quiet right!? :D

-Ray
 
Thanks, Steve and Ray.

Steve, I agree with you - some great D lenses as well, and the ones which have been replaced by G lenses are some great value for money. I've also used some really excellent AI/AIS lenses, although manual focus really isn't something I enjoy all that much.

Ray, I hear you - I don't know how much this Nikon is going to get used. It's night and day bigger and heavier than anything I've carried around in the past 5 years. The drum kit was actually a present for my son last Christmas, so I know very well that it was the end of peace and quiet :D. His playing style is basically Animal from the Muppets :D:D. My older one is going to take up guitar and I play a little bass, so I look forward to some fun times :).
 
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