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The IMAGING RESOURCE DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWSLETTER
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Volume 14, Number 25 14 December 2012
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Copyright 2012, The Imaging Resource. All rights reserved.
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Welcome to the 347th edition of the Imaging Resource Newsletter. Frequent contributor and photo historian Steve Meltzer shares a story about The King (and Queen) of Photography, while we dive into a professional shooter's report from our in-depth review of the Nikon D600.
TOPICS
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Changing of the Guard
Feature: The King (and Queen) of Photography
Feature: Shooting with the Nikon D600
Imaging Resource's Holiday Giveaway: Win a Sony RX1!
New on the Site
We Have Mail
Next Issue
Signoff
SPONSORS
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This issue is sponsored in part by the following companies. Please show your appreciation by visiting their links below. And now a word from our sponsors:
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Are you in the digital photo business? This newsletter is read by 41,000 direct subscribers, plus those they pass it along to, all with a passion for digital photography. For information on how you can reach them, contact us at editor@imaging-resource.com.
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Changing of the Guard
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After a 13-year run, Mike Pasini has stepped down as the editor of this newsletter, departing to pursue other interests. We appreciate his many years of service, and certainly wish him well in whatever the future holds for him.
Given that the newsletter format has changed hardly an iota in the last decade, this seems an appropriate time to ask you, our readers, what you'd like to see going forward. On our end, we're planning more integration with our sites and a bit more streamlined approach, but we very much want to hear from our thousands of loyal readers about what you'd most like to see in the newsletter in the future.
To that end, we've put together a quick survey to take the pulse of our readership. There are only a few questions for those with limited time, but we've also included opportunities for those of you who'd like to respond in greater detail to provide open-ended answers and feedback.
This issue is a very rough first draft of a new approach, to see how you might like some of the ideas we're considering. There's a feature article by Steve Meltzer, a very popular writer on our news blog who's made a bit of a specialty of writing about photographic history. We'll eventually post this on the site as well, but you're able to enjoy it here about a week ahead of the rest of the world. We've also included more in the way of links to recently posted reviews and articles on the site. They'll serve as quick digest to what's been going on at IR over the last couple of weeks, and to hopefully lead you to interesting content that you might have missed otherwise. We don't have a lot of reader email in this issue, but we do plan to continue this feature. Letters sent to web@imaging-resource.com will be answered by me or Managing Editor Roger Slavens (or another staff member as appropriate), and a selection of them will be published in the next issue.
Please click over to our survey at the link below and let us know what you think of this issue's content, as well as what else you'd like to see moving forward. (Along with some practical things, such as line formatting, line-wrapped URLs, etc.)
IR newsletter survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5M2QQ8K
Thanks!
- Dave Etchells, Publisher
Imaging Resource's Holiday Giveaway: Win a Sony RX1!
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The Sony RX1 (www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx1/sony-rx1A.HTM), the world’s first full-frame compact digital camera, ranks high on Imaging Resource’s holiday wish list. But instead of being greedy, we’re going to give one away to one lucky winner (US value $2,800) -- courtesy of our trusted affiliate partner, Adorama.
All you have to do is go to our Imaging Resource Sony RX1 Holiday Giveaway (http://woobox.com/dmyxa7), and enter for a chance to win. It's totally free to enter.
Feature: The King (and Queen) of Photography
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By Steve Meltzer
As a working photographer, I have met the King of Rock and Roll, the King of Norway, and other royalty. Yet I never imagined that there was a King of Photography. Certainly, no one ever called Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon or even Anne Leibovitz that. So who was this King of image making?
It turns out he is a real King -- Bhumidol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand.
I had come upon him quite by accident while doing some Google searches of cameras of the aristocracy. He is also the subject of a short video (https://vimeo.com/25549133) and self-published book by Thai artist and photographer Tiane Doan Na Champassak.
Adulyadej, amazingly, has ruled Thailand since June of 1946, making him the longest ruling monarch on Earth, surpassing even Elizabeth II's 60-year reign. A true monarch, despite Thailand having a constitution and a democratic government, offenses against the King's dignity may get you tossed into jail, post haste.
Adulyadej is a King obsessed with photography and he is hardly ever seen without a camera. There are dozens and dozens of photographs of him with every conceivable type of camera in his hand or held poised at his eye. Yet despite the ever-present cameras, I could not find a single photograph he has taken -- anywhere.
His reign has been long and has had its difficult moments. At 85, he is seen by many as distant and out of touch with his people. However, since you can't openly say things like that about the King, artist/photographer Champassak took a different tack. He illustrated this "distancing" by compiling a score or so of public domain images of the camera-toting ruler. (You can see them at http://thephotobook.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/tiane-doan-na-champassak-the-king-of-photography/)
ANOTHER ROYAL SHUTTERBUG
I couldn't help but be reminded me of another royal with a passion for photography and the strange encounter I had with her. I'm talking about none other than Queen Elizabeth II.
It was the 1980s and she was visiting Vancouver and Seattle from the royal yacht, Britannica. I was shooting for the City of Seattle at that time and was assigned to photograph the Queen's walkabout of Seattle Center and the Space Needle. The morning of the event I arrived at the Center, where I was given a spot to stand on between two large British Secret Service types.
After three hours of waiting in that small spot, the Queen's entourage finally arrived. Led by the Queen and the Mayor of Seattle, the group included Prince Phillip and several ladies-in-waiting, who solemnly walked several paces behind her Majesty. As they passed us, the Queen glanced at me, paused and started to walk in my direction. The entire entourage turned in unison, following her like a flock of geese. As she neared, the men beside me stiffened to attention while I froze.
When she was just a few feet away, I realized that she was not looking at me but rather the shiny black enamel Leica M-4 dangling from my neck. After a moment of inspection, she looked up, smiled, said "Lovely" and then immediately moved on.
The Queen of England, like the King of Thailand, is an avid shutterbug, but she was known for her penchant for Leicas. My black enamel M-4 was a bit of a rarity because only a few were ever made -- it was just before Leica switched to the longer-lasting black chrome finish -- and she noticed it.
KEEPING A RULING DISTANCE
In creating "The King of Photography" Tiane Doan Na Champassak makes a point about how a ruler may use his or her camera.
Here's what he said about Bhumidol Adulyadej: "The monarch actually keeps a camera between himself and his subjects, that his is monolithic, similar to the lens of his camera, which he views his subjects from a distance and like the film his subjects are captured on, his people become only representative of real people."
When I thought about it, I felt sympathy for the old King. After all, he isn't the only one who has put a camera between themselves and the world. Haven't you ever gone somewhere, taken hundreds of photographs, never putting your camera down long enough to actually experience where you were and the people around you?
I know I have, and I'm not even a Prince of Photography.
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You can read more of Steve's fascinating takes on the history of photography on the IR website. Here are a few to get you started:
The Birth of Travel Photography: Du Camp and Flaubert's 1849 trip to Egypt.(http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/10/30/the-birth-of-travel-photography-du-camp-and-flauberts-1849-trip-to-egypt)
Ghosts of World War II: Haunting, manipulated photos merge the past with the present. (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/11/06/ghosts-of-world-war-ii-haunting-photos-merge-the-past-with-the-present)
Film is dead. Long live film! A look at the future of the past. (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/11/02/film-is-dead-long-live-film-a-look-at-the-future-of-the-past-video)
Before Photoshop: How photographers have been manipulating images for more than 150 years. (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/09/28/before-photoshop-how-photographers-have-been-manipulating-images-for-years)
Feature: Shooting with the Nikon D600
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By Andrew Alexander
(Excerpted from the full review posted at http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d600/nikon-d600A.HTM on the IR website.)
I had the opportunity to shoot with the Nikon D600 for just over a week in a combination of casual and professional shooting. The D600 is Nikon's entry-level FX (full-frame) digital camera. As such it has many features that attempt to make shooting simpler for the average user. At its most basic level, the D600 offers a basic Auto mode, which lets the camera take care of absolutely everything. For the more discriminating user, there are 19 scene modes: everything from basic Portrait and Landscape modes, to Autumn Colors, Food and Party mode, allowing the user to tailor the D600's settings to a particular event. More advanced users will be accustomed to Nikon's professional shootings modes (Program / Aperture Priority / Shutter Priority / Manual).
DESIGN
The Nikon D600 takes some of its design features from the Nikon D800 and others from the Nikon D7000, with a few alterations. Nikon is still making up its mind regarding the placement of buttons, and this lack of consistency may confuse people who use different camera bodies on a shoot.
The function buttons mounted on the front of the camera are useful in theory, but it's a challenge for me to stretch my pinky finger to consistently hit the lower one. The D3 and D4 series have this secondary function button placed within perfect reach of my ring finger; why can't the D600? The mode selector dial was apparently a problem on the D7000 (nothing would stop it from accidentally rotating), so while the D600 has borrowed the same design, it's improved upon it by adding a release button which you must depress to turn the dial. This design works well, and otherwise, the layout is the same as the D7000.
One unfortunate omission is that the OK button in the center of the multi-selector is not user-configurable in playback mode. (In shooting mode, it selects the center focus mode by default, but can be programmed to highlight the active focus point, or do nothing at all.) In more expensive models, you can choose what happens in image review mode when you press this button: for example, the button can be set to give me 100% magnification, so one can quickly review focus (or lack thereof). In the D600, it helpfully brings me to the Image Retouching mode, and there is no option to change it to do anything else.
Despite these criticisms, I really enjoyed the feel of the D600: it's light and rests easily in my hand. When I used the camera, a battery grip wasn't yet available, and I would certainly welcome one, both for the extra battery life and the vertical grip.
LIVE VIEW - THE STORY CONTINUES
Nikon continues to change its mind on how it implements Live view. Live view was first introduced on the shooting mode dial of the D3. The function was then given its own dedicated button press in the D3s; the D90 changed this function to use a twist-to-activate design, which has been present in every model up to the D7000. The Nikon D600 changes it back again: a small switch lets you select between Movie Live View mode and Live View photography mode, and the button surrounded by this switch puts the camera into Live View mode.
Live view implementation on the Nikon D600 is still a bit clunky. Try taking a photo in Movie mode, for example, and the camera will exit Live view, focus, take the photo, and re-enter movie mode. Once you do it a few times you figure it out. I especially like the dedicated movie shooting button near the regular shutter release, as it feels a bit more intuitive there.
SPEEDY AND RESPONSIVE
In general, I was very impressed with the performance of the D600. I use a Nikon D3 for my day-to-day shooting, and have also shot with D3s, D3x and D700 camera bodies. The D600 represents something of a panacea for many Nikon shooters: 24 megapixels in an affordable D700-style body. All Nikon bodies in the prosumer and professional range are shooting-priority cameras; pressing the shutter button will always take the camera out of whatever menu or setting you are currently looking at and strive to take a photograph. The camera also turns on very quickly, with no delay. It is ready to shoot when you are.
I had imagined that Nikon might have cut a corner or two to make the D600 more economical, and that it might not be as responsive as its professional siblings. I was surprised it was as responsive as my D3 in everyday use, having no trouble quickly acquiring focus and metering very accurately.
Still, it's hard to make a camera at this price point without some compromises, and there were a few points where I encountered some sluggishness. Zooming in with the Live View mode selected to a magnification greater than 100% resulted in a noticeable drop in performance (the image being viewed seems to slow down). Also, using the D600 with a slower SD card (Nikon recommends a class 10 card) can produce some sluggishness: Reviewing photographs as the buffer is being written out essentially locks up the camera in this case. When using a class 10 card, the delay is miniscule. Very occasionally, calling up the menu would result in a delay of a second or two before it appeared, though this was something I could not reproduce on a regular basis. While none of these situations is a deal-breaker, it is worth noting.
SLOW SYNC
One point that has been remarked upon is the sync speed of the Nikon D600: it's slower than its brethren, at 1/200 of a second. While I may long for the days of the D70, with its 1/500 of a second sync speed, I certainly didn't find an occasion in or out of the studio where a little more power or the use of FP mode didn't see me through. If I really needed the extra speed, I probably needed more camera, such as the D800.
QUIET SHUTTER
I shoot a lot of theater, so one of the first things that surprised me was how quiet the shutter was in comparison to other cameras I shoot with. While this may mean that the shutter is not as durable as more pro-level camera bodies (the D600 is rated for 100,000 cycles), it was very useful for shooting in a theater where you don't necessarily want to be heard.
ISO AUTO PERFECTED
Nikon has had an automatic ISO selection mode available in its cameras all the way back to the D100, and has made refinements to the operation of that mode ever since. It's not a mode I usually employed because I found I didn't always agree with the choice the camera made, however, I'm pleased to report that the D600 has added some excellent improvements to the ISO Auto mode.
The first is that a button-plus-dial combination now allows you to turn ISO Auto on and off rather than having to do so from the camera menu. Specifically, you can press the ISO button to the left of the LCD and rotate the sub-command dial to accomplish this. This is an extremely welcome change because it allows the shooter to enable or disable automatic ISO selection without having to remove the eye from the viewfinder.
The second improvement is that in addition to allowing the shooter to select the minimum shutter speed the camera will seek to use, Nikon has added an "AUTO" setting. This setting is a long overdue implementation of the "one over focal length" rule of thumb. If you're not familiar with this shooting suggestion, it basically provides that in order to ensure you get a sharp image, you should choose a shutter speed that is the inverse of the focal length you're shooting with. So if you're shooting with a 200mm lens, you should select a shutter speed of at least 1/200 of a second. Nikon's AUTO mode in ISO-Auto does just this, as long as you're using a CPU-enabled lens, or have entered the focal length information for a non-CPU lens. Nikon even allows for users to fine-tune the auto setting: if you find you need to shoot with a slightly faster shutter speed to get sharp images, you can dial this in.
A LOAD ON THE BUFFER
It's worth noting that using ISO-Auto, or in fact many of the camera's shooting menu options such as auto distortion control, vignetting control, D-Lighting, High-ISO Noise Reduction, et cetera, can reduce the number of images you can shoot in a continuous burst. The speed of the card you're using greatly influences what will actually be the case. When I used a class 10 SDHC card, the buffer said I would only get nine shots, but I actually got around 15 shots before there was any kind of shooting slow down.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE
Generally, a camera is only so successful in its ability to record a scene which has both very bright and very dark elements: one of those two will get left behind. To get around this limitation, the Nikon D600 has a new mode for High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, taking two photographs at slightly different exposures, and merging them together. The HDR mode function allows the shooter to select the range of exposure to be captured (from one to three stops of difference, or AUTO, which lets the camera decide based on the scene), and whether it's just the next photograph that will be in HDR mode (single photo) or all subsequent photographs (series). You can also select the amount of smoothing the camera will use when blending the two images together - High, Normal, or Low.
It's not clear which of the shooting variables (aperture, shutter speed or ISO sensitivity) the D600 is changing between exposures, so HDR purists may stick to tried-and-true methods rather than using the built-in HDR mode. The results are fairly compelling, though: Even without a tripod, I captured some striking images.
MOVIE LIVE VIEW MODE
Nikon was late to the party putting Full HD video on DSLR cameras, and it continues to try to make up for lost time. The D600 adds many important features that have been lacking in previous models, and for the first time we see a camera that might actually give Canon's indie filmmaker favorite, the 5D Mark II, a run for its money. Movies can be recorded at Full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format, with either a 24Mbps or 12Mbps bitrate, depending on the level of quality chosen. The actual implementation of Movie recording seems a bit hard-wired, and it's not clear if it is for technical reasons or to keep from cannibalizing D800 sales. For example, you can't change the lens aperture during movie recording; however, you can change shutter speed and ISO sensitivity (the D800 has no such limitation). You can change aperture during Live view photography mode.
My optimistic view of this implementation is that Nikon wants to simplify the experience for its D600 users. That said, older AI/AIS lenses have absolutely no problem adjusting aperture during movie recording (you just turn the aperture ring); newer AF lenses won't work this way, they produce an "EE" error.
IMPROVED AUDIO RECORDING
Nikon has also improved its audio recording in the D600. The first important change is that the D600 now includes a 3.5mm audio output jack, which can be used to attach headphones for monitoring audio quality. Until now, if you wanted to check sound, you had to shoot a clip, then remove the memory card and play it back on a computer. Or, you could take your chances by listening to the tinny mono speaker.
Nikon has also added some on-screen audio levels in two important locations. The first is during movie recording, which is useful, and these levels show red warning points if the audio is too hot. However, there is no in-camera way to adjust the volume during recording: you have to stop recording, and adjust.
The second place audio levels show up is in the Movie Settings selection of the Shooting Menu. The shooter can adjust how loud or quiet the recorded sound will be, either automatically (where the camera will boost the volume in quiet settings, and reduce it in loud settings), or on a scale from 1 to 20 to fine-tune based on the camera's environment. There is no indication of what this scale actually represents, but it is nice to have, so you can see exactly what level of sound you are about to record.
The Nikon D600 includes an HDMI video output, and the LCD will continue to display when an HDMI device is attached. Unfortunately, composite video is no longer supported, so if you want to use an external video monitor, it will have to be HDMI.
You can visit our Nikon D600 Video page for sample videos and more details. [Ed. note: The video page has details about an aliasing issue we found with the D600's video that we weren't aware of when Andrew wrote the Shooter's Report that's excerpted here.] (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d600/nikon-d600VIDEO.HTM)
OVERALL APPRAISAL
The best part of the Nikon D600 is that at its core, it is an excellent still-image camera, with an impressive number of extra features built-in; the 24-megapixel full-frame imager is the primary reason for getting this camera, and the image quality does not disappoint. Using a high ISO setting used to mean that you would roll up your sleeves after capture and salvage what you could with noise reduction software. While the D600 may not match the ultra-clean images produced by the D3s or D4 cameras at high ISO settings, its images are very good indeed. And if you don't need to push the sensitivity, you are rewarded with ultra-clean, huge images. With 24 megapixels, you can print a massive 13 x 19-inch image without any resizing.
By choosing a price point of just over US$2,000, Nikon has signaled that they want to move a lot of these cameras; and indeed, most of the Nikon photographers I know who had been waiting for an entry-level full-frame camera have lined up to buy one. Sometimes, bigger, better and faster comes with a compromise, but in this case, the D600 delivers - and does so at an extremely reasonable price.
DUST ISSUE
In the course of our regular and lab shooting, we found the same dust reported elsewhere on the Web, with primarily dark flecks of dust appearing in the upper left corner of images. Having shot well over 1,000 images, we cleaned the sensor with the Copper Hill Wet/Dry Kit (our attempts to blow off the dust with a Giottos Rocket Air Blaster had little effect), and shot a few hundred more. What appeared after that looked more like drops of oil than dust or paint. They were concentrated on the left side, with a smaller cluster on the right, as you can see in the image below, whose levels were adjusted to reveal the dust more clearly. (To see the unmodified image, see image YDSC_5416.JPG on the image thumbnails page of the review.)
SAMPLE IMAGES
You can find our Test Shots at http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d600/nikon-d600A7.HTM and the Gallery Shots at http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d600/nikon-d600GALLERY.HTM.
IR'S CONCLUSION
Put simply, the Nikon D600 is very much like a D7000 with a full-frame sensor. Nikon drew on the earlier, extremely popular design when building the D600. Its 24.3-megapixel sensor was the first available for under $2,100 body-only, followed closely by the Canon 6D's 20.2-megapixel design for the same price. Since many balked at the D800's 36.3-megapixel sensor, it makes good sense for Nikon's consumer FX camera to stick with 24.3.
Just like the D7000, shooting with the Nikon D600 is just plain fun. Straightforward design, a big bright viewfinder, responsive AF and a quiet shutter all add up to a great experience, one where the camera gets out of the way and you can focus on composition.
Shooting in low light was even easier than expected, producing well-balanced images in most circumstances. Daylight shooting was just as easy: Shooting in Program and Aperture priority yielded great results, and any tweaks needed to make were just a button or dial away, usually without having to dig into the menus.
A few button positions frustrated our pro reviewer, particularly the second Function button, which was out of reach compared to the same button on his pro Nikons. The recent change to Live view control is also a little irritating, but that's more for reviewers to lament than a camera owner. It becomes important, though, if you'll be working with both cameras, as many advanced shooters do. Flash shooters like the Strobist also lamented the lower X-sync speed of 1/200 second. It's a legitimate concern, and those interested in faster flash sync speeds should save a little longer for a D800.
But by far the biggest problem with the D600 is this dust and oil issue that also affected our review unit. Widely reported on the Internet, it seems the shutter mechanism is splattering the sensor with oil, and perhaps paint is peeling off and joining the oil to prevent the D600's dust-reduction system from removing the spots. Nikon has acknowledged the issue, but no fix is yet available. The problem seems to abate after a few thousand shutter actuations, so there's hope, and there are some early indications that high serial numbers (beginning with 8 and above) don't display the problem. The dust and oil we've seen is light and not particularly noticeable in most images. We had to enhance our images to show the spots, but results vary. It's quite likely most D600 owners will do well to learn how to clean their sensors.
On the video front, the Nikon D600 offers a lot more features than its predecessors, including Full HD, full manual exposure, manual audio level control, external mic jack, and a headphone jack for monitoring the audio, great news for videographers. We were a little disappointed with the moiré and aliasing artifacts thanks to a weak low-pass filtering algorithm in the video engine, but we're also seeing similar artifacts from other cameras. We liked having full control over exposure, as well as so many frame rate options. Even cooler was the ability to save single frames from video as a JPEG. See our video page for more on the D600's video capabilities.
Overall, though, our experience with the Nikon D600 was quite positive. It's an excellent digital SLR with plenty of years of Nikon engineering in its design, and it shows. We have no trouble recommending it highly, making it a Dave's Pick! (http://www.imaging-resource.com/WB/WB.HTM)
New on the Site
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At http://www.imaging-resource.com/new-on-ir you can keep track of what's new on our main site. Among the highlights since the last issue:
- DEALS! (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/12/10/last-minute-holiday-camera-deals-2012)
- I-R.com Site Upgrade: New Similar Cameras feature (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/12/07/ir-releases-new-similar-cameras-feature)
- Reviewed: Canon ELPH 530 HS (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/12/04/canon-530-hs-review-small-12x-zoom-camera-adds-touchscreen-and-wifi)
- Reviewed: Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 EX (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/12/04/lens-review-sigma-50-150mm-f-2.8-ex-dc-os-hsm-apo)
- Pro Photographer Interview: Breathtaking photos prove Scott Rinckenberger's switch from high-flying skier to pro photographer is no mere stunt (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/11/30/Breathtaking-photos-prove-scott-rinckenbergers-switch-from-highflying-skier)
- Video: Make this HD-DSLR shoulder rig from PVC pipe yourself for less than $10 (http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/12/11/make-this-hd-dslr-shoulder-rig-from-pvc-pipe-yourself-for-less-than-10-vide)
We Have Mail
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You can email us at mailto:editor@imaging-resource.com. You can read our Letters policy at http://www.imaging-resource.com/IRNEWS in the FAQ.
RE: D600 a Dave's Pick?
Hi, I think you made a big mistake in selecting the Nikon D600 as a Dave's Pick in view of the dust / oil sensor issue.
When this camera came out I thought it was just what I was looking for. However, the dust / oil issue has completely put me off. I hope Nikon will quickly address this problem, but until it does so I think that the camera is a far from satisfactory offering and I am amazed you have given it such a high recommendation. It has badly dented my faith in your judgment.
-- Tony
Hi Tony -
We debated that point a little internally, and came down on the side that the dust/oil issue didn't outweigh the camera's many other great attributes and capabilities.
While the D600 seems to have quite a bit more of an issue with initial dust/oil residue than most, it's by no means unheard of with other cameras as well. (Our Senior Technical Editor Zig mentioned that he had spots of dust and/or oil in his D300s when he first got it as well, and our lab routinely uses a Copper Hill wet/dry cleaning system on cameras we test.) Given this, and that normal usage inevitably ends up introducing dust into the camera body that needs to be cleaned at some point, we didn't feel that the need to buy a cleaning kit along with the D600 was in any way particular to that model.
There's also clear evidence that the problem improves or goes away over time, making it much less of a concern:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/11/27/new-nikon-d600-test-video-shows-dust-problem-may-be-temporary
http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2012/11/29/lensrentals-reconfirms-that-Nikon-D600-dust-issues-are-temporary
Finally, at least one reader wrote in saying that his D600 (serial number beginning with "8") shows no sign of the problem, and saying that he'd hear it was only lower serial numbers that it was present in.
All this not to give Nikon a completely free pass on it; we've actually been in the forefront of reporting on the issue. It's just that we didn't feel that a problem that appeared to be temporary, was shared to a lesser extent with many other DSLRs, was easy to deal with, and that may not affect the most recently produced units was enough to deny the D600 it's place on the Dave's Picks list.
-- Dave Etchells
Next Issue
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Schedule at IRHQ (IR Headquarters) permitting, we might ship another issue of the Newsletter next Friday, to help you with some absolutely last-minute deals. The next regular issue of the Newsletter will be mailed on Dec. 28. Hopefully we'll provide an interesting, leisurely read while you're enjoying some holiday R&R. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
Signoff
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That's it for now, but between issues visit our site for the latest news, reviews, or to have your questions answered in our free discussion forum. Here are the links to our most popular pages:
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