Nikon D600 24.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Kit with 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor Lens (OLD MODEL)

Despite all the negative remarks about this camera (not professional, oil and dust a on the light sensor, Nikon has dropped the ball), I bought this camera anyway.Why?1. I have known many "professional" photographers over the last 45 years and many of them showed me photographs that were incredible AND, they were taken with simple point and shoot cameras. Thus, demonstrating it isn't always the camera, but what you can do with it that makes the difference.This camera is sharp, clear, and takes great photographs. As I progress through the learning curve of operating this camera to it's maximum ability, I have seen a big difference in my photos. I am enjoying the challenges this camera poses, and doing my best to get the full potential from myself.2. I don't care about the oil and dust issues. Things get dirty. I have to wash my car, too. But, cleaning a light sensor is a lot easier and faster than washing the car. So, I bought a sensor cleaning kit. I haven't noticed any problems with the camera, yet. But, I'm ready to take care of business if the sensor shows signs of needing a good cleaning.I find the capability of this camera to be right up there with the best of all 35mm DSLRs. The focus is super fast, I have fast memory cards in place so, the images are stored at lightening speed, and vibrant color are outstanding. As I hinted at earlier, there is a bit of a learning curve that goes with owning one. Don't let this deter you from considering this camera. Buy a good book that is dedicated to this camera and you will be good to go in no time. And, of course, practice with actual photo taking. If you are in no hurry the slope of the learning curve just flattens out.Who would I recommend this camera to? Everyone!! Everyone who has a real interest in using DSLR, that is. Owning and using this camera has been a lot of fun. I always thought I took pretty good photographs (don't we all?) but, this camera has reminded me that I can be much better than I though I was. In oder to get the most from this camera I have to get the most from myself. I love the challenge.March 13, 2013I wanted to add a few bits of information that I didn't include before.I have a limited budget so, I had to research exactly which lenses I would need the most for now. I finally decided to purchase two zoom lenses.1. Wide angle zoom: AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm 1:4G ED VRI really love this lens. It has been called the sharpest lens, and in myopinion it is really sharp. Noted to have several types of distortion but,this distortion can be controlled with good handling and softwareprocessing.2. Tele zoom: AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 ED VRThis lenses was highly recommended and I felt this would fit my budget.The lens is sharp, little to no distortion, and has been avery reliable lens. It is heavy but manageable. I can hand hold it alrightbut, I'm not as rock steady as I was years ago. On a tripod,this lens yields very clear images.The light sensor kit I bought (in case I need it) is made by Eclipse. I purchased a kit that contained a few #3 brushes, a couple o pads, and a small bottle of liquid sensor cleaner. The kit comes in a handy nylon, zippered bag which is easily carried in my backpack.As for the D600, I am going out photographing birds and flowers at this time, and I really like the results I'm getting. The detail of the flowers is incredible. The birds are harder to get but, the camera has come through with its great response. The 24mp sensor makes the difference when photographing the birds. I can't always get close enough to fill the view finder, but I can crop these photos and still have clear and crisp image.***UPDATE 3/31/2013I did notice something on my image sensor the other day. So, I took the camera outside and took pictures of a clear sky under the same conditions recommended to search for oil splotches and dust. And, I found them showing up.No problem. I had already purchased the Eclipse cleaning system and, spent 10 minutes cleaning the sensor in the recommended fashion. After testing I found my cleaning had removed the splotches and dust. Thus, I am still happy with my D600 purchase, it still takes incredible pictures, and I have no fear of oil or dust while I travel. Cleaning is simple and quick. I know Nikon should have resolved this issue long ago. However, they didn't! But, I don't really care. I believe we all should learn to do basic things to take care of minor problems like this ourselves. I won't lose a moment of picture taking, nor will I have to search for someone to clean my camera for me. And, I'm glad I made this purchase.

What's not to like this camera seems to do it all right.I was in a bit of a quandary trying to decide between the D600 and the D800. I finally decided that the D600 was more suitable to my needs. My last bone of contention was about Auto FP. I really like this feature on my D300s and did not want to give it up on a full Frame DSLR. I could not find it as a feature on the D600 Searching write up after write up and watching all the You Tube videos and others I could find. Nobody talked about Auto FP on the D600. Ok so I decided to live without it. Well guess what the D600 does have Auto FP. If you are not familiar with this feature it allows you to sync a compatible Nikon flash at any shutter speed up to like 6400/sec by pulsing the flash as the shutter curtain moves across the film plane/sensor (ever need high shutter speed and flash like at a concert at night). Well Auto FP is a great way to shoot. The 5 frames/sec is ok but bogs down a little shooting large images and or while using flash but considering the amount of information that needs to be processed plus flash recycle time it's ok. My D300s at 7frames/sec does this with no problems (so I got spoiled).Picture quality is incredible in FX mode and in DX mode matches the results close to my D300s. However, I did not buy this camera so I could shoot DX but it's a nice option to be able to use my DX lenses for some shooting situations.With the controls on the camera body, it's easy to quickly change shooting settings and you can customize pretty much every setting, color, density, contrast and sharpness. This gives you almost limitless possibilities for your picture preference.I was never much for in camera post processing; however the post process features lets you get really creative. I especially like the selective color option (I actually bought the D5100 for this feature in its effect shooting menu). Doing this post process makes this really less tedious and with the filter effects I may never have to buy another lens filter.One of the reasons for my choice of the D600 over the D800 was weight. My D300s is a fabulous machine but lugging it around all day is sometimes not fun. With the full magnesium frame on the D800 verses the combination magnesium and plastic on the D600 (lighter weight frame), I opted for the latter.I'm not a professional Photographer and will not be taking the camera into combat, so I am ok with the lighter body. It's plenty sturdy.Chasing the flight of marauding sea gulls the 3D tracking is right on (fast and accurate). That Nikon decided to use an existing DX sensor array (prolly to keep the cost down) so that all the sensors are in the center is not really an issue since I rarely want to have my focus point to be at the edge of my frame. If I do, I focus, lock and re-compose so not an issue for me.I only have 3 lenses I can use for full frame (FX) photography, none of which have a VR feature. So I was anxious to see how that would play out. Well so far I am pleasantly surprised that they offer good balance and see no bad affects from camera shake which were evident with my DX cameras. I hope that is real and not me having delusions of grandeur. I really dislike the bulk those optical stabilizers and little motors add to my lenses (hmm maybe if they could add a sandwich a cup of coffee).I am not into videography so even though the choices for video on this camera seem awesome, I don't know if I will ever use them. So, I have no comment. I wonder if Nikon would consider making the D600S without the video feature... heay just sain.Anyway, I am totally delighted with my D600.Hold the presses:My current photo edit software will not open NEF RAW files from the D600... I contacted Adobe... You will need Photoshop CS 6 or Adobe Lightroom 4.2 or newer. Adobe (to what I was able to understand) is not planning to offer a plug in to accommodate Camera RAW 7.2 or newer. View NX2 (comes with the camera) Will open the NEW NEF D600 files however not a full feature RAW editor. I found an article that says CaptureNX2 software (watch out ..( It has to be version 2.3.4 or newer I guess) to deal with these RAW files but when I look at adds for Capture NX2 they say they support Windows XP and Vista (NOT Windows 7 or 8) It may mean it does not support 64 bit systems. There is a 60day free trial on NX2 but the Adobe stuff says all sales are final.I did find a free one from NCH.. PhotoPad Image editor (has some short comings for this but kinda works). I actually checked this out cause they had the solution for my Nikon Video files, which I could not open/edit with my usual software (not free but works great). You can convert the D600 NEF RAW files to TIFF or PNG... and work from there. I guess the tools will come along eventually. I do not plan to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Anyone who would like to shed some light on this for me, I would appreciate it.A short Update...After using my D600 for a while a did start seeing the dreaded oil specks (cringe). Anyways I watched some Youtube video on how to clean a sensor. I bought a kit and cleaned it. It was easy and it worked fine. I have read about so many people sending the camera back and getting a replacement or sending it out for a pro cleaning (which if I read them right is very expensive). Seems sooner or later you will have to clean the sensor. Sending it back seems kinda like returning a new car cause you saw a little oil on the engine. Anyway, I'm still loving this camera. Bought Adobe lightroom (you need Version 4.3 or higher to handle the D600 RAW files. Not to expensive (works good) and now shoot mostly RAW with no problems :)