The Nikon D610 (minor upgrade to the cursed D600) is my third DSLR, and my first experience with
digital photography. Up until now, I’ve been shooting APS-C, but preparing for the inevitability of moving to full-frame photography by purchasing mostly non-DX lenses.
Moving to full-frame from APS-C is all about the subtleties associated with working at a shorter focal length. The reduced depth of field, the decreased magnification, the reduced effects of diffraction. But moving to the D610 is also about moving to the next generation of DSLR over it predecessors; for me, those are the Nikon D90 and Nikon D50. While both are very capable cameras, their layout of controls is not optimum for a photographer who was weened on the film SLRs of the 70’s.
If you’re like me, and enjoy casual shooting one moment and hunkering down for some serious photography the next, the D610 is for you, because it has the perfect combination of professional features and automation.
The D610 has a feature set which includes those important but perhaps not essential functions missing from the D90, and not even under consideration in the D50
What’s missing
- 5:4 crop mode, but you can crop in camera with the trim function
- PC (Pronto-Compur) flash terminal, but you can use a hot shoe adapter
- AF-ON button, but you can program the AF-E/AF-L button to perform this function
Bracketing No changes here. Still 3 frames, still up to 3 stops differential. Button still located on the left below the flash button, where it should be.
Construction Professional-grade magnesium alloy body, with weather sealing. Not as robust as the professional D800, but well-built nonetheless. Traditional strap lugs.
Controls More dedicated and better placed controls make this camera a pleasure to use, even for those accustomed to a previous layouts. All the shutter-release related functions are now on a dial concentric with the Mode Selector. The AF button has been placed in the center of the AF/MF lever, which is a much more logical grouping. The Picture Control setting now has its own dedicated button, so no more diving into menus for this essential function. You can even set the camera to use the aperture ring instead of the command dial on CPU lenses (Non-CPU lenses must use this feature).
Country of Origin Thailand.
Dual SD Cards This feature brings the D610 one step closer to being a professional camera. But the real payoff is never having to worry about not having a card in your camera after you’ve offloaded images. Ironically, the “Professional” D800 has two slots also, but one is Compact Flash; that gives the impression that this is still a “transitional” camera. The days of CF cards are limited, even for professional applications. Controls in which the + and - are reversed (according to usability best practices) have finally been corrected.
Exposure If there is a lot of black in your images, the meter tends to overexpose. Use an exposure compensation of about -0.7, and you should be fine. Digital photography favors underexposure, so it’s always a good idea to shoot a little on the low side, and open up afterwards. I aways shoot at -0.3 regardless.
Finder With 100% coverage in FX and 97% in DX, this camera finally feels like a real SLR. Compared with the professional F3, the experience (except for the comprehensive finder information display) is the same. Also features a glass pentaprism with a 0.7X magnification (50mm lens) and has a 21mm eye point.
Flash Built-in flash now includes repeating mode for strobe effects and modeling flash. Both built-in and external flash tends to overexpose, so use use it with -0.7 exposure compensation and you’ll be fine.
Fn Buttons Two of them, one dedicated and the other via the reprogramming of the DOF Preview button. I usually keep the DOF, but switch up the dedicated button as needed, which is easy to do using the menu launched by two presses of the Info button. I tend toward using it to access “My Menu” which lets me call up my customized menu immediately. I also often set it to Spot Metering, as it’s so easy to use my pinky to temporarily jump into this mode to take spot readings.
HDR (High Dyanamic Range) A simple and elegant way of extending the dynamic range of photography in a single step, and a must-have for today’s cameras. Nikon has chosen to implement it only for JPEG images, which eliminates the redundancy of combining it with RAW, which already gives you the means to optimize dynamic range at your disposal. With three levels of effectiveness plus auto, It is well-implemented and designed for hand-held use in any of the PSAM modes. It’s not available in full auto mode, but you can use RAW or RAW+JPEG. Also, you can’t crop HDR images in the camera using the trim feature.
Image Area Selection You now have have a choice of two image areas, FX (full-frame) and DX (APS-C), or you can set the camera to switch automatically to DX when you have a DX lens mounted. At the DX setting, the D610 produces wonderfully uncongested 10MP image files. With FX lenses, you can use the DX setting as a built-in 1.5x teleconverter. Some DX lenses such as the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8 G can be used in FX mode and cropped slightly to produce the equivalent of a 40mm lens, or left as is for a Holga “Black Corner” effect.
ISO Finally, ISO is exactly where it should be, with a native range of 100-6400. But, you can also set it outside of this range as low as ISO 50 or as high as ISO 25,600. Honestly, this is as high as it needs to be, because you can actually use the images shot at ISO 25,600 due to its uncongested sensor. Nikon could have rated it at 51,200 or even 102,400, but the images wouldn’t have been as usable. Auto ISO performance remains the best in the industry.
Mode Dial The mode dial now has a central button to lock it into place to avoid accidental changes, just like my professional F3.
Non-CPU Lens Data The D610 behaves like a traditional SLR with respect to manual focus lenses. You can set the focal length and maximum aperture for up to nine lenses, and if you need to work with more it’s easy to fine-tune existing settings. Works will all lenses manufactured after 1977, and earlier lenses if they have been converted to AI. Works with uncoupled lenses of different makes (with adapters) through the use of stopped-down metering.
Release Button to Use Dial This little feature makes a huge difference in terms of usability. It allows you to change settings by simply pressing a control button once and not having to hold it down while you rotate the appropriate command dial. Once you’ve made the selection and engage either the same button, a different button or the shutter release, the setting is saved and you can take your shot. No more finger contortions to destabilize your grip. Especially helpful for dialing in an ISO to achieve a specific exposure without taking your eye off the viewfinder.
RoHS Compliance Not indicated
Scene Modes More scene modes are included than ever before, and individual scenes have been moved off the mode dial and now appear as menu selections, with thumbnail examples. The combination of these and the U1 and U2 modes was the deciding factor for me between the D610 and the D800. You can use these modes as needed to temporarily jump out of your currently set PASM modes when you need to without messing up your settings.
Shutter With a frame rate of 6 FPS, the D610 is now amongst the fastest cameras on the market, with a level of performance enjoyed by professionals. It also features a quiet mode in both single release and continuous modes at 3 FPS. Tested to 150,00 cycles, it has a flash sync speed of 1/200 s (1/250 in FP mode). The days of 1/500 flash sync are over since sensors became more dense than 10MP.
Size Slightly larger that the average APS-C DSLR, but not unwieldy.
Three-Stage Focus Confirmation Finally, a DSLR that plays well with manual focus lenses. The three-stage focus confirmation light makes manual focusing much easier, and you can train yourself to see it with your peripheral vision as you compose your shot. The focusing screen is very easy to replace, but I have not yet encountered a quality split prism / micro prism replacement that I would recommend. Manufactures of quality screens state that there are technical limitations on both the D600 and D800 models that make these screens impractical. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Trim Part of the retouch menu, two new trim settings have been added; 1:1 and 16:9. Along with the existing 3:2, 4:3 and 5:4 aspect ratios, this allows even more creative, in-camera processing, especially helpful when shooting with DX lenses in FX mode.
U1 and U2 Modes These allow you to recall everything from exposure to ISO and Autofocus settings, and are sadly missing from the D800.
Weight About 30 ounces (just slightly less that two pounds). Due to is slightly larger size, it seems almost lightweight, and with a pancake lens attached, you can carry it around comfortably all day.
Build Quality ★★★★
Optical Quality ★★★★★
Value ★★★★
I fought with myself for a long time between the purchase of this or the D800(E). The amount of usable features in this camera over the D800 eventually clinched it. I never particularly cared for Nikon’s implementation of mode selection in the pro bodies, and didn’t care to lose the automatic and scene modes I had come to appreciate even if I rarely use them. With image quality 90% of the D800 (and an actual edge in terms of ISO performance) the feature set, reduced size and weight, and the ability to use more of my existing accessories (such as my DR-6 right angle finder) it quickly became a no-brainer.
My original thinking was that the 36MP sensor of the D800 would produce awesome APS-C images in DX mode. But this was a poor justification for spending an extra $800.00, just to say I had a professional body and deal with truly enormous file sizes. I do enjoy shooting DX on the D610, and the 10MP images that it produces are outstanding. In fact, I no longer shoot at the “L” resolution in FX mode, as the 13MP images that the “M” resolution produces are more than enough for general photography. I use the L resolution as necessary depending upon the shooting circumstances, and always with DX lenses.
Compared to the Leica M Typ 240
I have a colleague who recently purchased a Leica M type 240. An independent test has revealed that the D610 with the AF 35mm f.2.0 D lens is actually sharper that the M typ 240 with the Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH. It also has considerably less noise. Both cameras use a 24MP full-frame sensor and top out at ISO 6400, although the D610 permits 2 additional stops to ISO 25,600. I rarely shoot beyond the “native” upper limit of ISO on any camera, and am in favor of the rather odd way in which Nikon implements extended ISO.
Other than the fact that one is an SLR and the other a Rangefinder, these two cameras are amazingly similar in terms of image quality. The Leica M’s chunky body is not exactly svelte, and the D610’s body is a reasonable size and weight for a full-frame DSLR. Used with a compact, moderately wide manual focus lens like the Voigtländer Ultron 40mm f/2.0 SL II, the experience is just as fulfilling to me as shooting with the Leica. This is not to say that the experience would be as fulfilling to those who enjoy people openly bowing to them for holding a Leica, whos status and retail value are exemplary. But hey, I just want to take pictures, and it’s good to know the D610 is in such good company.
Is this test valid? Who knows. Lenses vary from sample to sample and perhaps this was working in Nikon’s favor. But perhaps my colleague and I will put these two cameras head to head and see what we come up with.
The D600 incident was unfortunate and blown out of all proportion by fear, uncertainty and doubt. But the upside is that it produced this camera, which although only a slight improvement over the now infamous D600, is one outstanding way for the amateur photographers to enjoy the benefits of full-frame photography.
Highly recommended!
