Nikon D600 vs D800 DSLR Comparison

We compare the Nikon D600 Full Frame DSLR vs the Nikon D800 Full Frame DSLR.

13 Sep 2012 11:15AM by Peter Bargh | Nikon D600 in Digital SLRs

BUY NOW NIKON D600

When rumours broke about the Nikon D600 photographers who were about to buy the professionally specified D800 held back to see what the fuss was about. And now the camera has been officially announced we can see what this top-end consumer model offers.

The D600 has a full frame 24.3-megapixel FX-format sensor in a weatherproof body, like the D800, but the camera is smaller and 150g lighter. This will be welcomed by those who would prefer full frame but cannot be doing with the heavy weight.

There's no CF card option, but that's less of a disadvantage for most these days.

The top shutter speed is 1/4000sec so the D800 has the edge with a 1/8000sec speed, but in reality how often do you shoot at that speed?

The key difference is resolution. The sensor on the D800 is a whopping 36 megapixels whereas this one is 24 megapixels. For the pro shooting billboards those extra pixels will make all the difference, but for most photographers 24mp is more than enough.

Pros shooting action may also find the 51 focus points of the D800 allows them more accurate focusing.

At the time of writing the D600 is about £400 less than the D800 so if you're up for saving your cash most of you won't be disappointed.

Nikon D600 vs D800 DSLR Comparison: Nikon D600 Vs Nikon D800 Size Comparison Top

Top view of Nikon D600 (left) and Nikon D800 (right), photos to scale.

Nikon D600 vs D800 DSLR Comparison: Nikon D600 Vs Nikon D800 Rear Size Comparison To Scale

Rear view of Nikon D600 (left) and Nikon D800 (right), photos to scale.

Comparison Table

		Nikon D600	Nikon D800
Manufacturer		Nikon	Nikon
Lens
	Effective Magnification	1x	1x
Image Sensor
	Pixels	24.3Mp (Megapixels)	36.3Mp (Megapixels)
	Pixels (W)	6016	7360
	Pixels (H)	4016	4912
	Sensor Type	CMOS	CMOS
	Sensor Size	Full Frame	Full Frame
	Sensor Size (width)	35.9mm	36.5mm
	Sensor Size (height)	24mm	24mm
	Aspect Ratio	3:2	3:2 16:9
LCD Monitor
	LCD Monitor	3.2in	3.2in
	Screen resolution	921,000 dots	910,000 dots
	Touch Screen	No	No
Focusing
	Focusing modes	Autofocus Manual Face Detection AF Tracking Multi AF Fine Tuning (Micro Adjustment)	Autofocus Face Detection AF Tracking Manual AF Fine Tuning (Micro Adjustment)
Exposure Control
	Shutter speeds shortest	1/4000sec	1/8000sec
	Shutter speeds longest	30sec	30sec
	Bulb mode	Yes	Yes
	Exp modes	Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual Scene modes	Program Aperture-Priority Shutter-Priority Manual
	Metering	Centre-weighted - Average Spot Multi Pattern	Multi Pattern Centre-weighted - Average Spot
	ISO sensitivity	50 - 25600	50 - 25600
	White balance	Auto Manual Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Shade Flash Bracket	Auto Manual Bracket Outdoors/Daylight Cloudy Incandescent Fluorescent Shade Flash
	Exposure Comp	+/-5	+/-5
Viewfinder
	Magnification	No Data	No Data
Shooting Options
	Continuous shooting	5.5fps	4fps
Video
	Movie mode	Yes	Yes
	Video Resolution	1920x1080 FullHD 1280x720 HD 720p	1920x1080 FullHD 1280x720 HD 720p
	Video FPS	60, 30p, 25p and 24p	50,30,24
	Stereo Sound	No	Yes
	Optical Zoom with Video	Yes	Yes
Other Features
	Image Stabilisation	No	No
Interface
	HDMI	Yes	Yes
	USB	USB 2	USB 3
	Wi-Fi	No	No Data
Storage
	Card Type	SD SDHC SDXC	CF1 CF2 SD SDHC CF SDXC
	File Type	RAW JPG RAW + JPG	RAW JPG TIFF RAW + JPG
Power Source
	Battery Type	EN-EL15	AA, EN-EL15, EN-EL18 and EP-B5
	Battery Life (CIPA rating)	900shots	900shots
Box Contents
	Box Contents	EN-EL15 rechargeable Li-ion battery (with terminal cover), MH-25 battery charger, BS-1 accessory shoe cover, DK-21 rubber eyecup, BM-14 monitor cover, BF-1B body cap, DK-5 eyepiece cap, AN-DC8 strap, UC-E15 USB cable, ViewNX 2 CD	EN-EL15 rechargeable Li-ion battery with terminal cover, MH-25 battery charger (AC wall adapter supplied only in countries or regions where required), Strap (AN-DC6 for D800, AN-DC6E for D800E), UC-E14 USB cable, USB cable clip, BF-1B body cap, BS-1 Captu
Dimensions
	Weight	850g	1000g
	Width	141mm	146mm
	Height	113mm	123mm
	Depth	82mm	81.5mm
		View Full Details	View Full Details

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Photographs taken using the Nikon D600

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Comments

Britman 17 1.7k

13 Sep 2012 11:49AM

Like 0

Just flagged on twitter, neither camera is waterproof. Weather sealed yes. Waterproof implies in can go underwater.

Pete 22 18.8k 97

13 Sep 2012 12:33PM

Like 0

Quote:neither camera is waterproof. Weather sealed yes.

Thanks yes good point - changed

Nick_Hilton 18 599 2

13 Sep 2012 12:48PM

Like 0

Quote:Pros shooting action may also find the 51 focus points of the D00 allows them more accurate focusing.

Should that be D800?

Coleslaw 18 13.4k 28

13 Sep 2012 1:07PM

Like 0

A bit confused on the specs.

Quote:Effective Magnification 0.7x

what does that mean?

StuartAt 18 1.1k 8

13 Sep 2012 3:35PM

Like 0

Surprised to see that the D600 does not accept CF cards.

deegeephoto 11

14 Sep 2012 9:56AM

Like 0

With such an important side-by-side comparison it is surprising and disappointing that this review doesn't show these two cameras accurately scaled for size. viz "top view of D600 (left) and D800 (right) not to scale."
It seems strange that with all the technology on hand today that the two cameras could not be scaled the same? The result is that if the reader doesn't understand the quoted text, that they may think the D600 is actually larger than the D800!

joshwa Plus

13 927 1

15 Sep 2012 7:46AM

Like 0

Hi, we have now added images showing the cameras to scale, thanks Josh

ClevaTreva 11

16 Sep 2012 3:25PM

Like 0

So, at a £400 price saving, the D600 is worth the saving. BUT, you can pick up a D800 UK stock model for under £2100 now, and the D600 is still £1955. Would YOU buy the D600? Only 1/200 x-sync speed compared to 1/320 on the D800? That makes a heck of difference when using studio and flash lights. True, the D600 has got some welcome changes, that we could hope appear on future Nikons, but I cannot be convinced a saving of less than £150 is worth it. So I picked up a D800, which after a bit of haggling, I got for under £2000 for cash. Tell me I was wrong.

josa 11 25

16 Sep 2012 6:41PM

Like 0

Looks like D800 JUNIOR....I give up a full frame hype because of the price, we have new Sigma or an "old"Fuji X100 and that's fine with me.

pw21 12

19 Sep 2012 6:02PM

Like 0

Very disappointed with the price of the D600. After all the hype of the past few months about the D600 being a cheap intro into the FX market - the price of €2299 (euros in Ireland) for body only is far from cheap. I have a good old reliable D90 should I wait for the D400? Does anybody know when the D400 is being launched and what the spec is? or is there going to be a D400 at all?