I got my Nikon D600 today (more to come on the camera once I have tested it against my D3).
Below is just a quick video showing that the Nikon D600 is working with the Promote Control. However, using USB only as a connection is very slow, so I have the Promote Control shutter release for the D600 on the way which will increase capture time significantly (it has for other cameras in the past at least).
The D600 does 5.5 Frames Per Second in high speed capture. After attaching the Promote Control shutter release from the promote control to D600 it should increase the FPS capture rate significantly. In the past my experience has been that the FPS is just under the camera’s top FPS when using it attached to the promote control. I’ll report back with a new video clip once I have tested that out.
If you go to YouTube to watch, you can change the settings to 1280 x 720.
P.S.
I know I have not posted here in months. But starting in a few weeks I will be posting far more often and more regularly. It will start off with me posting info about the HDR Training for Architectural Photography which has been a piece meal beta program since September 2010. I will finally have those updated workflow videos completed.
Those who signed up already will get access to those new workflow videos first via an email announcing how to download them. They will also get information how to access a private facebook group I’ll announce at that time for them to be able to communicate and share information back and forth with others that are in my training program.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad to have you back! I really appreciate that you share your knowledge and look forward to the video on architectural photography. Thanks.
You got a D600 instead of the D800E?!? Please enlighten us! How does it compare to the Sigma SD1 Merrill? Does it capture as much dynamic range, in your opinion? Do the photos seem as sharp as the photos from the SD1 Merrill? Do you plan to get that camera modified? (to remove the anti-aliasing filter, like you did with the D3) I am looking forward to learning more about your new machine Michael.
Hey Scott. Yes. I skipped the D800e. My D3 has the blur filter removed and is sharper than a D3/D3s at 12mp.
The D600 is 24mp versus the D800/D600e of 36mp. I can tell you that the D600 at 24mp is already out resolving my Nikon D3 with the blur filter removed. It is that good.
However…
I am really upset with the color pallete. The D800 and D600 has a strong slant towards green. Very mich like the Sigma SD14 natively.
That sucks.
As far as dynamic range….
The D600 far exceeds the dynamic range of the D3, Sigma SD1 Merrill, and Nikon D3.
Period.
It isn’t even close.
And the D600 has 97% of the dynamic range of the D800 and shoots faster at 5.5 FPS.
Nikon’s limited the brackets to 3 shots on the D600, correct? Magic Lantern transformed my Canon into a fantastic bracketing machine. Too bad nobody’s been able to hack Nikons and fix them too.
Compared to the D800, the D600′s faster FPS is advantageous if you’re shooting brackets outdoors when things are moving. Not such a big deal when you’re doing interiors where the exposures are long-ish to begin with. And presumably the D600 has smaller RAW sizes than the D800. My 5D2′s RAW files are around 25mb…how big are the D600′s?
Greenish color bias? Can you create a custom color profile for your D600? What raw converter are you using?
I’m seriously considering a D600 or 800 – their Sony sensors are ahead of Canon’s if you believe DxO. That and their superior 14-24 lens. Canon has nothing that can touch it.
I have had the Promote Control since summer 2009. It works with the D600 so I can bracket anything I want with it. Unlimited control for AEB.
The greencast is annoying to work with in post, but fixable as long as you shoot raw.
The dynamic range of the D600 is far better than my D3. And the D3 which is a 2007 camera is still more dynamic range than any Canon camera released ever… yes… ever. Canon sucks for dynamic range…. including the 5DM3 and 1DX.
Thanks for that info. Michael. I am surprised that the D600 shoots faster than the D800, but I guess Nikon justifies that with the number of pixels the D800 captures. I think I will still plan to get a D800E, but I will probably get the Sigma SD1 Merrill and a few Sigma lenses first, and get just a D800E body to use with my Nikon 28mm f2 AIS lens to start, when I can finally afford to get that expensive beast. I will probably have a 50mm f1.8 AIS by that time too. Then the first new Nikon lens I will get will probably be the 14-24mm f2.8 G (after a few more months of saving). It will probably be at least a year though, and who knows what will happen by then.
As far as resolution goes, how does the D600 compare with the SD1 Merrill? Is the 14-24mm f2.8 G lens good enough to make the difference, and give the edge to the Nikon combination (D600 with 14-24mm) rather than the Sigma combo (Sigma SD1 Merrill with 8-16mm), or does the Sigma combo capture more detail than the Nikon combo?
Nikon made a 28mm f/2? I did not know that. I have a 28mm f/2.8 Ai-s that I love fyi.
Scott, the dynamic range of the SD1 Merrill sucks ass compared to a D600/D800/D800e …. seriously. I don’t know what your obsession is with the SD1 Merrill. I have one and barely use it now that I have a D600. The SD1M files are far larger and lack the dynamic range.
I just love the look of my SD14 images Michael, compared to what I get from my Sony A55. I love the A55 for its speed and fold-out screen (and video), but the SD14 images just seem to have a film look to me, which maybe I can create with a filter or something, but I am also concerned with resolution. The only reason I would get a different camera from a Sony A77 (which I am now considering, because of the weather seals, but Sony only makes like two lenses that are sealed right now, unfortunately) is because I can maybe get higher resolution images. If the SD1 Merrill produces almost the same image detail as the D600, then I will just forget about Sigma all together, and start building my Nikon collection, which I really am planning to shoot with in the future anyway, some day, when I can buy a D800. The dynamic range of the Nikons really is attracting me, and I am wondering if I shouldn’t just start saving for a Nikon D5200 now, since it will probably cost less than a Sony A77, produce the same resolution, and with that camera I will be able to immediately continue building my Nikon lens collection AND get the advantage of a fold-out screen. Then eventually, I can get an A600, so I can take full advantage of the 14-24mm f2.8 G, when I can afford one. First I’ll just get a Tokina 10-17mm zooming fisheye though. I LOVE that lens! I wish I could get one for my Sony.
Anyway, the detail is the thing. It’s really the primary reason I want a new camera. My Sony A55 is great, but the A65 captures 24 megapixels. Like you said before, the Sigma SD1 Merrill has about the same dynamic range as the SD14, so the primary advantage with that camera is the detail it can capture. Knowing that eventually I want a Nikon D800, I guess I should just plan to go straight to Nikon now I guess. I’m sure the D5200 will be out soon, and for now I can just shoot with my Sony A55. Maybe I’ll even keep that thing, so I have a back-up for the Nikon, until I can get a D600.
Well, I guess you didn’t need to know ALL that. It’s just that my experience with the SD14 made me think that Sigma’s claims of 14 megapixels are actually legitimate, given the detail I have seen my camera capable of capturing (maybe not against the latest 14 megapixel cameras, but certainly any 14 megapixel camera of its day – my SD14 captures as much detail as my Canon 5 D). If the SD1 Merrill can capture even close to 46 megapixels worth of detail, meaning that it would produce sharper images than the D600, I may go ahead and get one. They cost the same as the D600, and they can shoot just as fast (6 fps), though the buffer is much smaller (as far as the number of raw frames it can handle).
Thanks for the heads-up about not using your SD1 Merrill, since you got your D600. That’s interesting. With that comment, I am now leaning more toward getting the Nikon D5200 and just giving up on Sigma cameras. I do hesitate to do that though, because years ago I did that, and then when I finally bought an SD14 I was disappointed that I didn’t get one back when I was originally considering one (that’s when I made the decision to get the Canon 5 D rather than the Sigma SD14).