It was asked about Christmas pricing reductions specifically in Australia..... I doubt if any other offers except those on the table now will come through....

Years ago when shopping for a computer, I was talking to a salesman about whether I should wait based on the rumor that some new thing was in the pipeline. He looked at me and said, "Buying technology is a snapshot, not a motion picture." He was right. We buy what's great right now, but even if we pay top dollar the thing we buy is only state of the art for a couple of years at best.

In January 2010, I bought a new D90 to replace my D40. So what happens? Some months later Nikon released the D7000 with more focus points, better low light performance, etc. And for a minute I felt a tinge of regret for not having waited. But in the meantime I'm still shooting with that D90 and it's treated me very well. Is it the latest and greatest? No, but you can only have that for a short time. If I had waited for that D7000 then, would I now be kicking myself for not waiting for the rumored D7200?

My advice:
1. Go out today and buy the best camera you can afford (without buying features and functionality that you'll never use). Save a few bucks for some lenses.
2. Embrace the fact that that camera is going to be cheaper and/or replaced by a more advanced version within two years.
3. Go out and take as many pictures as you can.
4. Have fun.

River251 - yes, I do have additional intelligent comments.
If you wait until next year, when something new is out, there will already be rumors of the next new thing coming out the following year. If you get into that mindset, you will never buy a camera.

Dear river251,

If you're really serious about photography... or anything else for that matter then there is no better time than now to start.

And that holds true regardless if you're 57 or just 7.

There is plenty of other good cameras besides the D600... if you're truly serious.

Now if you actually are serious but just not ready yet then you're more than likely just wasting your time and effort trying to think about it now.

...oh, I almost forgot... I do give you permission to do whatever it is you'd like to do.

Any more sarcastic remarks?

Thanks sevencrossing. I'll do that, if I can, if I don't actually die on the way to the camera store. Course that's not likely. I been feeling old age set in, gets me all rheumy, you know. Thanks for your concern.

river251 said:
Dear iris chrome and warprints...

I'm 57.

life is too short
buy it today

Dear iris chrome and warprints...

I'm 57. I'm a beginner. If I don't buy now because of camera problems, it seems to me wise to wait a year for things to change and new models to come out and try Black Friday again.

That is, if it's OK with you?

Course it says I'm a beginner right there in my post... and that I might wait for next Black Friday right there in my post.

Any more intelligent comments?

Well, from what he says, and how he says it, in his post, I'd say he's new to photography, period, not just digital. Probably a kid who hopes to have some money in a year.

>Will a D600 be more affordable in a year?

I wonder why OP is asking about prices a YEAR from now. I also wonder why he hasn't bothered to post again.

Here in the UK one with 200 (WHAT? - yes, 200!) actuations went for £1200 yesterday.

Unreal a used D600 with 4,000 actuations going for $1700 now where I am. What a deal, its a great camera. I wouldn't listen to a lot of the "problems" associated with the camera. I haven't had any problems with mine. I hear the dust issue goes away with those who have had the issue after 3,000 shots or so. Good advice though warprints nothing wrong with waiting a few more weeks.

Price just dropped almost 25% in Germany according to NR Blog. If that happens in the U.S., I might be very tempted to buy - despite the "problems" with the camera.

TO answer the OP - if you can wait until December 15th, I'd wait.

Where I am, when the D600 was released the prices were insanely high. It was priced at $2600 in some stores, but very quickly went down each week that followed. They can be found as cheap as $1800 now in a few stores, and there are even several used ones popping up as well. Quite often the D700 will be more expensive even.

The price of the D600 has dropped considerably here in the UK - whether it is down to how fast word gets round about the quality issues these days or because they were preying on the early 'must have the latest' buyers at the beginning, I don't know. I think it was near £1897 at launch, now it is £1497 so IMHO if the USA situation is similar (I assume that is where you are writing from as you didn't say and the world does continue on from those shores...), I doubt it will go down much more now. Having said all that, everything molnarcs said about the D7000 is true and it is available for only £637 here as it is soon to be replaced (best time to buy). Also, if you do commit to DX the lenses are cheaper too. If you are serious enough to wait so long to save a few bucks that you lose a lot of time, the DX option may be best for you. 16mP gets you a pretty big image at the correct viewing distance. If you want to press your nose against your images then learn to stitch.

If you are serious about blowing up huge from one click, the D800 is now at the price the D600 started at which is a real bargain!

It is doubtful the price will go down more than $100. Most of Nikon's products start to show lower pricing after 9-12 months from first release.

It will be... in the meantime, the best choice for you is the d7000 :) It's a lovely camera with 16 quality megapixels. The d7000 gives you professional controls and body at a very sweet price point. It's also quite demanding on technique, which imho is a very good thing if you're new to DSLR - it teaches you good shooting discipline from the get-go. It's also a camera that is hassle-free now (no more oil on sensor issues, AF works fine).

16MPX is quite good, especially considering the pixel-level quality - those are good pixels ;) I shot most of the stuff here with the d7000: <Link Removed>It's got a tough body with lots of control points, thus good ergonomics. This is important, because I can access all settings I use from the camera body with my eye at the viewfinder. With practice, changing setting becomes muscle memory, and your d7k an extension of your body. Buying the d7k now will live you enough spare money to buy some good lenses, such as the 12-24 F/4 for landscapes (that at some focal lenghts, even covers the full frame, so when you transition to FX you'll still be able to use it). Or you could buy the sigma 8-16mm - fantastic wide angle.

You can't go wrong with the d7k now, even if a replacement arrives soon. The price is good, the sensor is good (and in some respects better than the new 24mpx sensors in the d3200 and d5100). Use it for a year, get used to Nikon controls, and switch a year later when the d600 price comes down.

Hi all, my first post. I'm trying to decide between the D7000 and waiting to see if the D600 comes down in price by next Black Friday.

I'm new to DSLR, plan to do landscapes blown up big, care about resolution. Being new I don't know how Nikon prices progress after introduction.

Will a D600 be more affordable in a year?

Thank you,
Jim