Nikon D800 or D610?

Stuart Mc

Stuart Mc

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Hi,

I'm currently using a Nikon D3300 and looking to upgrade my equipment in a few months once I have the necessary funds. The two I have my eye on are at the budget end of full frame as I probably can't spend any more on one. My brother-in-law has a D610 and loves it although mainly shoots candid family stuff where as I pretty much only do Landscapes/Cityscape stuff with the occasional night and astro.

My reasoning for upgrading is I'm already coming across some limiting issues with my budget crop such as having to faff constantly with the menu instead of having dedicated buttons, low light performance isn't great and having had a go with his D610 it's just so much better. I just can't see much reason to invest in a slightly better crop when I'm probably going to end up full frame further down the line anyway.

I'm looking at either a used D800 which seems to have slightly higher specs etc. than the 610 although I gather the 610 is a little more compact (it certainly feels quite compact for full frame).

Any owners out there could possibly advise? My father in law has already given me a Nikon 70-300mm VR which will work with a full frame, I figure a 17-85 (or there about's) should cover me really.

Any help would be great thanks.
 
•

I would suggest the D750 and peace for a few years.
The D800 has a heavy file draw back (if you don't ab-
solely need it!) and the D750 is in the middle of it all!
 
Stuart Mc said:
I figure a 17-85 (or there about's) should cover me really.
Click to expand...

Any lens that starts with 16, 17 or 18mm and goes over 35mm at the other end won't be a FF lens.

The 'normal zoom' full frame lenses will start at 24 or 28mm, a good option would be a 24-120 f/4 VR.
 
Last edited:
Stuart Mc said:
Hi,

I'm currently using a Nikon D3300 and looking to upgrade my equipment in a few months once I have the necessary funds. The two I have my eye on are at the budget end of full frame as I probably can't spend any more on one. My brother-in-law has a D610 and loves it although mainly shoots candid family stuff where as I pretty much only do Landscapes/Cityscape stuff with the occasional night and astro.

My reasoning for upgrading is I'm already coming across some limiting issues with my budget crop such as having to faff constantly with the menu instead of having dedicated buttons, low light performance isn't great and having had a go with his D610 it's just so much better. I just can't see much reason to invest in a slightly better crop when I'm probably going to end up full frame further down the line anyway.

I'm looking at either a used D800 which seems to have slightly higher specs etc. than the 610 although I gather the 610 is a little more compact (it certainly feels quite compact for full frame).

Any owners out there could possibly advise? My father in law has already given me a Nikon 70-300mm VR which will work with a full frame, I figure a 17-85 (or there about's) should cover me really.

Any help would be great thanks.
Click to expand...

Stuart,
I went from a D610 to a D800E - absolutely no regrets - the functionality and IQ are vastly superior on the D800 especially for a landscape logger. In my eyes there's no comparison - get the D800, id have it every day of the week.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•

I would suggest the D750 and peace for a few years.
The D800 has a heavy file draw back (if you don't ab-
solely need it!) and the D750 is in the middle of it all!
Click to expand...
Thanks Kodiak, so I'm assuming image quality is negligable between the two? I hear what you're saying with big files as i'm not going to be printing anything huge.

Nawty said:
Any lens that starts with 16, 17 or 18mm and goes over 35mm at the other end won't be a FF lens.

The 'normal zoom' full frame lenses will start at 24 or 28mm, a good option would be a 24-120 f/4 VR.
Click to expand...
Ah cheers, I carry a 10-20mm on my crop (is this about 14mm equivalent on FF??) which I like, just wondering if 24 would be wide enough?
 
NeilA1975 said:
Stuart,
I went from a D610 to a D800E - absolutely no regrets - the functionality and IQ are vastly superior on the D800 especially for a landscape logger. In my eyes there's no comparison - get the D800, id have it every day of the week.
Click to expand...
Thanks Neil, is there much difference between the 750 and the 800?
 
Stuart Mc said:
Thanks Kodiak, so I'm assuming image quality is negligable between the two? I hear what you're saying with big files as i'm not going to be printing anything huge.


Ah cheers, I carry a 10-20mm on my crop (is this about 14mm equivalent on FF??) which I like, just wondering if 24 would be wide enough?
Click to expand...


24mm is equivalent to 16mm on your current camera so not as wide as your 10-20. Most FF ultrawide (but not all) are expensive and BIG, especially if you want them to perform well on a high resolution sensor.
 
minnnt said:
The Siggy will be equivalent to 15mm.

A good used D800 would be my choice if you're just into landscapes.
Click to expand...
Yeah just landscapes really with living in the lakes, it's all just right there - I love cityscape stuff and some street stuff but I'm a bit far from city's and the street stuff would literally be shooting cash for gold and greggs pie shops, it's not the most culturally diverse area! All the reviews I've read seem to say the 800 is a good landscapers choice.

Nawty said:
24mm is equivalent to 16mm on your current camera so not as wide as your 10-20. Most FF ultrawide (but not all) are expensive and BIG, especially if you want them to perform well on a high resolution sensor.
Click to expand...
24mm is it then! I could live with 16mm
 
My landscape shots are generally in the telephoto region but I've also found that since getting 24mm equivalent on my standard zoom I barely ever use my UWA.
 
I also have the D800 which suits me, what I would say is you need quality glass as well. Save up and and go for what is called the holy trinity of Nikon lenses . the 14-24mm, 24-70mm and the 70-200mm, expensive yes very much so but worth saving for

My main walkabout is the AFS 24-70 f2.8G which is on the camera most of the time and covers most things which i would suggest to go for first
I see in you post
you hit the same hurdles as I did with the camera limitations, I had the Nikon D70s then the D200 next D300 still got and now D800.

You will certainly notice a huge difference between your present camera and a D800 so I too would recommend it
The DF800 menu takes some getting used to.

Check out the retouch menu you can have some fun with that.



 
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If it's solely a choice between D610 and D800 then it would be D800 for me any day of the week. There are some good prices 2nd hand now on D750 which I would also consider as well as the D800.

(D610 is a fab little camera with great IQ, but annoyingly missing a few features that makes it non considerable for me now.)
 
realspeed said:
I also have the D800 which suits me, what I would say is you need quality glass as well. Save up and and go for what is called the holy trinity of Nikon lenses . the 14-24mm, 24-70mm and the 70-200mm, expensive yes very much so but worth saving for

My main walkabout is the AFS 24-70 f2.8G which is on the camera most of the time and covers most things which i would suggest to go for first
I see in you post
you hit the same hurdles as I did with the camera limitations, I had the Nikon D70s then the D200 next D300 still got and now D800.

You will certainly notice a huge difference between your present camera and a D800 so I too would recommend it
The DF800 menu takes some getting used to.

Check out the retouch menu you can have some fun with that.



Click to expand...
Must say I'm quite looking forward to getting one of these, I think initially the 24-70 is going to be the one I'll need go give me a little flexibility, I'm covered for telephoto so further down the line I may go UW, although I suspect given my 15mm equivalent on my crop seems wide enough I might not need one given the 24 is about 16mm on what I've got now.
 
Stu Meech said:
If it's solely a choice between D610 and D800 then it would be D800 for me any day of the week. There are some good prices 2nd hand now on D750 which I would also consider as well as the D800.

(D610 is a fab little camera with great IQ, but annoyingly missing a few features that makes it non considerable for me now.)
Click to expand...
Thanks Stu, the advice here has reaffirmed what I thought which is good given the cost. Just read through that article you done on Amateur Photographer to do with portrait landscapes, very helpful (y)
 
Quick update on this - in the end I chose the D610 (I know!!), I'd have really liked the D800 but 2 main issues prevented this: firstly budget, I couldn't stretch the extra £250 at the moment that was needed for the 800 as I'm already pushing it a bit at the moment as it is, and also the issue of the file sizes associated with the 800, which ultimately would have led me down the path of upgrading my PC equipment at even greater cost. When it was all weighed up I'm unlikely to need the giant files and extra pixels at this stage of my photography journey and the 610 should meet all my needs currently.

The one I picked up was used condition for £800 off Wex (only 500 odd actuations) I figured the extra money I saved would be better invested in good glass so I got second hand 16-35mm f/4 VR for £600. After trawling though all my images a lot of them are in the wide angle region so this seemed a good option. Coupled with the 70-300VR I've already got I'm going to see how I get on and in time will probably try and pick up a 24-70mm when I'm not skint! Thanks for the advice on this thread though, much appreciated.
 
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