ray manclark

Ya, I too have had a D610 for over a year, moving on up from a D7000. Got some great shots of Stone Henge in Summer and the 3 Queens [ships] on The Mersey River. I would recommend the D610, Especially for the price!! BELLWOP

mickmates

Check out the Ken Rockwell review of the 610, it helped me make up my mind.

wingclui44 Loc: CT USA

If you had been using Nikon for the last 48 years, you should have a collection of old Nikon lenses, if so, get a Df. that can use all of your Nikon lenses.

wdfbpf Loc: Huntsville, AL

This post has produced some great discussion and input and is accomplishing what I really needed. It is making me think about a hundred things that I had not considered before.

Yesterday, I was just about convinced to go with a 7100 or 7200 because of the lens issue. At this time, I am leaning back toward the 610, 750 or 800 series. Although, my 17-55 (I initially said 18-55) is an excellent lens and is DX, it will still be useful. I also have a sigma 10-20 which is DX. I think I have a couple more older lens that are FX, but I have given some away and sold some as I sold off older cameras. I gave my D1 and a zoom to an aspiring young photographer at my church, and she has made great use of it for the past three years.

As someone pointed out, my Nikon 60mm is FX so that means I have at least four FX lens at this time with the Nikon 70-210, Sigma 150-600 and the Nikon 80-400 VR. I sold my 70-200 2.8 Nikon a few months ago, but I think it was DX also. Until yesterday, I hadn't realized that my 80-400 VR Ed lens is also FX. At least, I assume it is since it doesn't say DX on it.

So at this time, I am back to FX format. Not sure if I want to deal with the huge files of the 800 series since I send many of my shots via the web? Not sure that I don't want to give the large mp a try? Don't know if there would be any benefit in having an 800 and using it on a lower mp setting?

My initial thoughts on the 610 were to migrate to FX at a relatively cheap price and then see if I want to invest more. At age 68, I do realize that every iteration of technology may be the last for me. At least, I know I am much closer than when I purchased my first Nikon so many years ago.

b2bjacks Loc: Sequim, Washington

The rental idea is nice, if you live close to the big city, I don't.
If you like detail, you'll love the switch to a full sensor. If you want great snaps, stay with the crop.
I got a refurbished d610 and a refurbished 24-85 for about 1500 total from Cameta last year. Now that I see the extra detail I get with a full sensor, I'm never going back.

CEJ Loc: Cresson,Pa

When I up graded to a Df, I still use my DX lenes I'm in the prosess of up grading the glass as the money becomes avalibale

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

The D610 is a great body, and a super value at the current pricing. If you look at the DXOMark sensor ratings, the Sony A7R series are rated tops, next are the Nikon D8xx series, then the D6xx series. They rate Nikon D750 right behind the D610. Every other camera in the world, well actually every other of the 395 or so DXOMark has rated falls behind the Sony and Nikon models listed (FYI, the D7200 comes in at 21st place, the top crop sensor camera).

And DXOMark does not agree with shutterbob's "except in low light" remark, they rate the D610 and D750 almost equal in low light performance. In fact, they rate both the D610 and D750 BETTER in low light than the D810! The D610 will pretty much do all the D750 will but lacks the bells and whistles (tilt screen, Wi-Fi, extra AF focus points, 1080p video at 60 fps vs 1080p @ 30 fps, et al) of the D750. If the extra bells and whistles are of value to you get the D750, if not save $400 and get the D610.

Shoot Happens

I cannot speak to the D610 but I had a D3s and I changed to the D750. The D750 is as good or better than the D3s, it is much lighter and the articulated screen is a god send for us old people who have a hard time getting up when I am down on the ground taking photos. This way I don't have to go all the way down. The low light capabilities of the D750 are also as good and I think better than the D3s. The D3s had some features and the tank construction that I missed but I got over it soon enough.
The biggest difference in the added pixel count between the two cameras you are considering is that the extra pixels in the D610 actually add another lens equivalent to your camera in that you can crop much closer without losing the detail.
My recommendation of the two cameras you are considering is the D610 and I suggest the D750 if its added features have value to you.

wdfbpf Loc: Huntsville, AL

Out of the differences you quoted on the 750, the video might be the most attractive to me, but I'm not sure, because I have not used video on an SLR. Don't care about the WiFi and have mixed feelings about the flexible display screen. I see value in the moveable screen, but it looks like it would be the first think to break. Here again, I haven't handled one, so I don't know for sure.

shutterbob Loc: Tucson

Just my personnal experience. I had a 600 and a 610, along with a 800. I currently have a 750, and under nearly identical conditions the 750 has the best low light auto focus, by a considerable margin, of them all. Under daylight conditions they all seemed pretty equal to me.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I have a D800 as well as several other bodies including a D700. I just like the way the D700's buttons are arranged almost the same as the 800. I find myself using the D700 as much or more than the 800. I like the smaller file size that downloads to my computer much faster, and I like the way the 700 handles noise. The receptors are larger and farther apart than those on a crop camera at 17 or 24 mpx and I feel this helps control noise better. The D3, D300, and D700 all came out within about a six month period and all have really good sensors and similar features. I think the 700 will be a useful tool for me until there is a complete change in photography which I predict will occur in the next 5 to 10 years. This new H4 is just the beginning of making single shot cameras obsolete. I think the generations of cameras in the future will shoot bursts rather than single shot photos. You will be able to set the camera for 4, 12, or 20 shots and boom you will have a mini-video from which you can choose the best shot and the quality will be exactly the same as a single shot you take today.

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

Not what DXOMark is measuring. DXOMark does not measure focus performance, they measure only the sensor performance. Here is how they define sensor low light ISO performance:

"When shooting a moving scene such as a sports event, action photographers’ primary objective is to freeze the motion, giving priority to short exposure time. To compensate for the lack of exposure, they have to increase the ISO setting, which means the SNR will decrease. How far can they go while keeping decent quality? Our low-light ISO metric will tell them.

The SNR indicates how much noise is present in an image compared to the actual information (signal). The higher the SNR value, the better the image looks, because details aren't drowned by noise. SNR strength is given in dB, which is a logarithmic scale: an increase of 6 dB corresponds to doubling the SNR, which equates to half the noise for the same signal.

An SNR value of 30dB means excellent image quality. Thus low-light ISO is the highest ISO setting for a camera that allows it to achieve an SNR of 30dB while keeping a good dynamic range of 9 EVs and a color depth of 18 bits. A difference in low-light ISO of 25% represents 1/3 EV and is only slightly noticeable. As cameras improve, low-light ISO will continuously increase, making this scale open."

DXOMark rates the D610 at 2925 ISO, the D750 at 2956 ISO and the D810 at 2853 ISO.

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Executive summary: Those three cameras have identical ISO performance.

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

Agreed. But some here like to split pennies ten ways, so I gave them the raw data to keep such folks happy.

N4646W

I currently have the D610 and D800E. I really enjoy them both. I went from film to the 610. I don't own any newer lenses, mine are all AI, and I have a bunch, and they work wonderfully on both cameras and my Wife's 810. As far as the low light problem with the 610, I've shot pictures for a band in less than club lighting without flash. Not a lost shot in the bunch. My only complaint about the 610 was that it was smaller and lighter than my liking, so I stuck a battery pack on it. Fits much better for me, so I did the same for my 800E. I really like the weight on the 800E and the grip the battery pack gives it.

As far as 24 or 36 mp, well I printed out the same shot taken with both cameras and the same lens, and 95% of folks cannot tell the difference. Unless you want to pixel peep, it is hard to tell. My opinion is the 610 does slightly better. The only thing that beats them both is the 810, but it also has the expeed 4 processor.

Just rent one of the cameras, see if it is a good fit and does what you want. The 610 has an abbreviated menu, but coming from film, it should be easier to use. I only shoot manual, raw, and use only spot metering. The 800E is set up the same way.

Ron