Thanks for the tips. I do believe also the D600 will meet my expectations and more. The hi-ISO IQ on this thing is incredible, can't wait to take it for a spin in the next couple of days. And ok, you confirmed my belief, I'll get a Hoya HD filter soon for the 24-70, meanwhile it received a Hoya Pro1D filter I had on one of the DX lenses.

msmoto said:
@ Rx4Photo Why would anyone shoot without a lens hood, except when using the built in flash? Just curious....

I dunno...I've watched a couple of blogger's videos where they say just leave the hood at home. Maybe they don't see the value it it. I prefer to use it though to prevent any flaring whenever possible.

@ Mihai CH, I occasionally shoot at the beach or near piers so there's always the chance of spray and mist. I prefer to occasionally wipe off the UV filter instead of constantly wiping the front element of the lens. I think you will enjoy the D600. I met a birder yeaterday morning carrying a D90 and a D600 with a Sigma 150-500mm lens attached. She really liked the combination.

Mihai CH said:
But do you pros also put a UV or protector filter on it. I used to do this but now I'm afraid about losing IQ. On the other hand I also worry about protection of frontal element.

If you have ever been accidentally spayed but an graffiti street artist, you would know the answer to this

unless you shoot is safe and very clean safe environment, or don't mind buying new lens from time to time, i would recommend a UV filter

for those, into the light, tricky landscapes, you can always take it off

Thank you msmoto.

About the 24-70 and sorry for a short offtopic, I think the hood offers also a great protection. But do you pros also put a UV or protector filter on it. I used to do this but now I'm afraid about losing IQ. On the other hand I also worry about protection of frontal element. Been reading a lot online and it's not all that clear.

@ Rx4Photo Why would anyone shoot without a lens hood, except when using the built in flash? Just curious....

Love the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. I even shoot it with the lens hood on (even though many people leave it off) because it's such a pleasure to see and hold the whole package.

@ Mihai CH.... congratulations..... we will be waiting for the results on PAD

Well guys, I have to share this with you because my excitement level is through the roof. I took your advice (partly) and understood I need at least one top quality lens with a FF body, so this Black Friday I was one of the few who managed to get Nikon D600 at 1550euros and the gorgeous Nikkor 24-70 2.8 for another 1100euros. Also got 2xSandisk 8Gb extreme 30 Mbps for 35euros.

I have already picked them up from the shop and I'm biting my hands here at work to try them, but I'll get home only late in the night :(

Will come back with some impressions after this weekend.

Good topic and one that I have thought about a lot over the years although obviously regarding different bodies. The D600 should continue to drop in price and used bodies will even start popping up so if I were you I would grab the excellent 24-70mm lens first. I still believe it is Nikon best lens in its current lineup with the exception of the extreme telezooms of course. I see that you need it for January 2013? Possible Christmas sales might help? Ebay? The big lens should always come before the big body purchase, but I do feel your pain believe me..

msmoto: I would love to have a D4 but for $6,000 I can have more fun with more bodies (D800 + D600 is only about $5,000 which leaves a $1,000 left for a D7200). If I shot sports professionally or speeding cars (like you do) I would get a D4 instead of the others because I would need the speed. But I don't. Shooting both a D800 and a D600 has convinced me that I don't need a D800's 36 megapixels. The 24mp on the D600 is good enough for my use and I expect the same will be true of a high end 24mp DX sensor. I think a D600 FX matched with a D7200 DX will do all I need or want to do and will be lighter to carry around.

Thank you guys for your answers. While I've been reading the NR website for years now, I am just discovering the great community hidden inside the "Forum" button -- so nice to have found it.

@TaoTeJared, although I do have the hots for a change and D600 has superb quality, when I manage to think objectively I end the same result as you - at the current price D600 is for at least semi-pros or people who make some money out of photography. And in case I go FF at some point the 35mm will leave me, I know it vignettes.

@golf007sd - yes, no point in buying FF to use with DX lenses, I think it somehow defeats the purpose. I'll try to settle down for a few more months hoping the D7000 successor comes along as the body is my biggest drawback now, not necessarily the lenses. By the way, here in Romania Nikon gives up to 7% discount when buying a FF body + a gold ring lens (in case there is a promo offer however this does not apply any longer).

@mihaich: The D600, much like the D4 & D800, will work with all DX lenses...that is why it has a DX mode on/of in the camera setup menus. So your lenses will work on it as if it was a DX body. But, as you know, you will not be taking advantage of the FF sensor.

Given that you are not a novice, you have plenty of tools at your disposal to make the right choice for which lens kit to you...after all this is not your first "rodeo." If there is a lens you have specific question on, let us know and we will each tell you our thoughts about it, with respect to how each of us has used it. FYI. TTJ, Eric, msmoto are "glass professors" they have immense knowledge on them. I'm just playing catchup.

Lastly, if you do buy new body, there are some very nice specials offered that reduce the price of a pro-glass (those with a gold ring in the front) when purchase with a D600.

Good luck...specially with the wife :P

With the quality of what DX seems to achieve now, I would stick with DX. You don't need $6,000 of glass and a $2,000 camera to make great images. What you have now is quite good. DX will allow you to get more for your money and give you more glass options than having to switch to FX. I still see the D600 as a good pro back-up and a marketing gimmick to get amateurs to spend a ton of $$ on new glass. Good camera if you have the money, but if you are stretching it, I would focus on glass and move to FX when you have the glass bought first.

Just a note, the 35mm 1.8g does work on FX but has heavy vignetting. I like it, not technically correct, but I usually had a lot of vignetting to my photos anyway.

Hi guys.

I would really want to upgrade also and D600 sounds very tempting. However, I do not make any money out of photography, I'm just a passionate amateur and on a budget
Currently I own: Nikon D80, Tokina 11-16, Tamron 17-50 (without VC), Nikon 70-300 VRII and the primes: Nikon 35 1.8G, Nikon 50 1.8D and Tokina 100 macro.

In case I go FF, the only compatible lens are the last 2 primes and the 70-300 although quality wise this tele is not great. Also, I heard that the 11-16 should be ok @16 on FF.
I shoot landscape, urban, portraits and very little macro and studio. However, lately I've also started shooting dogs agility (running, jumping obstacles etc) and the D80 is totally overwhelmed.

Whatever I choose for body I would like to get it new, for warranty and peace of mind. Lenses I'm pretty ok to buy SH. The options I see are: D600 but also a 24-70 2.8 (keeping the primes, maybe the Tokina and the 70-300) or wait & buy the future D7100, get some good FF lenses (the trinity?) then move to FF - this would mean a few years probably.

Last but not least - tried the D7000, maybe I had bad luck but I got 3 bodies all with problems. And don't ask about budget, I need to negotiate with wifey after I make up my mind what I want to do :))

@ donaldejose ...so when are you ordering your D4?

Funduro has a good point about Nikon D lens. Great value. But if you buy any lens used from private sellers outside companies like B&H you'd better make sure you don't get them with dust, fungus, etc. There are used lens buying tutorials. EBay can be a problem here.

The two brothers time lapse video on the Nikon USA site clearly shows how long the D600 test mule cameras (Nikon preproduction cameras) have been out there working. Those stills and videos were taken last winter mostly. The D400 test cameras are out there getting stills and video that we will be seeing in 2013. Check that out and look at the Nikkor lens in use for much of it. Big glass, big bucks, and supersize that for the travel to those locations.....Alaska, Monument Valley, Arizona Navaho colored rock shots, etc.

donalddejose wrote: I have a D40, D70, D80, D90, D3100, D3200, D7000, D800 and a D600 on order. LOL I thought that having aD300s AND a D700 made me feel like I have OCD. Thanks for curing my phobia ! ;-) ( my post is meant to be funny)

OP you do have great suggestions being posted so your decision will be very well thought out and reasonable. Don't forget the D type Nikon lenses, they are a great value.

I wouldnt buy a camera or lens just to get me through. I don't have the money to buy multiple cameras so when I buy I want to buy what I like. So if you can afford the D600 which is what you want then buy it and use your lenses on your trip and save for the lens. Or otherwise, buy better glass which should last ages and should help your images even with the D60 as long as your D60 is still in good working order and save up to buy the camera you like.

Its just my opinion...my funds are limited so I only buy what I really like and what I can afford...

Look at a D5100 if you want to save some money for a later purchase of a D7200 or D400. It has the same 16mp sensor as the D7000.

I'v been waiting since the start of 2012 because they may come. Should have gone for the D7000 long ago :( oh well.

Yes, they both will come. But it may be in 2013, If you want them, just wait.

I am starting to side with the D7000 route now and then save the money saved to buy an FX lens. It does seem the best idea since the lens will be good for a long time whereas the D600 will just drop in price further.

Just wish a D7100 or a D400 had been announced either would have been perfect. But with no news what so ever on either front I am wondering if one will come.

tcole1983: I have a D40, D70, D80, D90, D3100, D3200, D7000, D800 and a D600 on order. I do not have a D4. Only the D80 and D800 (and soon D600) were bought new. The others were purchased used or reconditioned. A D4 would be nice but I don't need the fps or the robust build so it is just not a good "bang for the buck" for me. It is just too much money to play around with. Yes, you can say I have more money than good sense or talent. I enjoy photography and that includes testing out some of the things I read. For example, when Ken Rockwell praised the D40 so highly and said you don't need more than 6mp it didn't seem right to me so I bought a used D40 on e-bay for about $200 and shot with it for a while. KR is sort of right, 6mp does produce a large enough image for most of us, if we don't need the additional controls or more robust build of a more expensive model. I tired to illustrate this recently on PAD by posting a half mp image taken with a D40 and a direct link to the full 6mp image. When I read that 36mp is too much data to process but also the D800 IQ exceeds medium format phase one cameras according to DxOMark, I couldn't resist buying one to see for myself. Still testing that out. I printed a crop of about one third of a D800 image at 24 x 36 inches and it was very sharp. My tentative conclusion is that processing is slower and very few people need 36mp. Most of the mp are just wasted as we downsize the image to print or view it. Now comes the D600 at 24mp. I ordered one because I think it will be "just right;" faster processing than 36mp and still more than enough resolution to crop significantly and still print at 24x36 inches. Plus, I think the U1 and U2 controls are the way to go, if the grip size is not too small for your hands (my D7000 is not too small for my hands but I can say the D800 with battery grip and 28-70 f2.8 is too heavy and too bulky to carry around all day). Finally, I think the "plastic" build on the D600 can be addressed by adding the metal battery grip to the bottom so you have a metal top, back, bottom and lens mount. That should be robust enough. So I am thinking a D600 with battery grip is the most FX almost anyone really needs. I have not purchased a 24mp D3200 because I would rather test out a 24mp DX sensor in a D7200 or a D400 body so I am waiting for those to arrive in 2013. My current project is to pull out a lot of Nikon 35mm AF lenses I bought on e-bay and keh ranging from a Nikon plastic $35.00 28-80 f3.3-5.6 G up to a metal $125.00 Nikon 28-85 f3.5-4.5 and a metal 35-135mm f3.5-4.5 I purchased for the same price. These are very inexpensive "normal" zooms which give the D600 user wide angle for landscapes and moderate telephoto for portraits (if I can find one that is sharp on the D600). A person could match one of these older AF zooms with a 50mm 1.6 AF-D prime I bought for $85.00 for low light. Sure, the latest and greatest lenses will be better but that additional ability won't show on PAD or 8x10 prints. Anyway, that is my suspicion and we will see if it is true. If I had more money I would love to play around with a D4 but I just don't so for less than the cost of one D4 with one "holy trinity" lens I can experiment with a large number of Nikon bodies and last generation FX lenses.

donaldejose said:
Here is an option I have not heard anyone talk about: Buy the D600 and start with used older (35mm film era) Nikon AF lenses which you can obtain for less than $150.

This makes sence to me S/H Nikon AF lenses are unlikey to drop in value much

donaldejose said:
Here is an option I have not heard anyone talk about: Buy the D600 and start with used older (35mm film era) Nikon AF lenses which you can obtain for less than $150. I have a D600 on order and a lot of older 35mm film era AF lenses so I am going to start testing them on a D600 when my body arrives. Such a combo should be the least expensive first step into FX using current FX body technology. Hopefully, I can find some good old AF lenses. If they were good enough for film why wouldn't they be good enough for 24mp digital? We will see.

Sorry off topic. You are getting a D600 also? Do you shoot for a living? Didn't you get a D4 (or D800) also?

I think donaldejose is on to something, there are all kinds of combinations you can get to do the job. Although I have some FX glass I am in a similar situation. However I see options such as old AF glass as a compromise. Going from a 18-200 to being limited to a single prime or something. It depends on how long it would take you to save for a new lens or whatever. I would probably sell both the 35 and 18-200 and could have almost enough to get a different lens...maybe the 24-120 instead. The switch would cost you something like $2400 then and some time to sell your lenses. You could always add the 50 F1.8 later.

I don't have any good opinion though. I wish a new DX body would be released instead. The D600 isn't a great option if you have no FX glass IMO and can expensive quickly...such as the 24-70 F2.8. Then you jumped to almost $4000 for that kit. And the other option is older or cheaper glass. Gosh to me it seems asinine to buy a new expensive body and then be limited to so so variable aperture or old (I know there are a couple of gems out there) glass.