J. Dennis Thomas - Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide

Nikon

D600

Digital Field Guide

J. Dennis Thomas

Nikon D600 Digital Field Guide

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc. 10475 Crosspoint BoulevardIndianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com

Copyright 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-50930-2

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

J. Dennis Thomas is a freelance photographer and author based out of Austin, Texas. He has nearly 25 years of experience behind the lenses of Nikon cameras. His work has been published in many regional and national publications, including Rolling Stone, SPIN, Elle, EBONY, W, Country Weekly, Us Weekly, and Thrasher. He has written more than a dozen highly successful Nikon Digital Field Guides, a comprehensive book about concert and live music photography, and a book about urban and rural decay photography. Thomas also writes articles about photography for Digital Photo magazine and www.masteringphoto.com, and maintains a blog called The Nikon Digital Field Guide Companion (www.deadsailorproductions.blogspot.com).

Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Carol Kessel

Project Editor

Kristin Vorce

Technical Editor

George Maginnis

Copy Editor

Marylouise Wiack

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Project Coordinator

Sheree Montgomery

Graphics and Production Specialists

Andrea Hornberger

Quality Control Technician

Jessica Kramer

Proofreading and Indexing

Joni HerediaTy Koontz

As always, to my girls Henrietta and Maddie.

Acknowledgments

Id like to thank everyone at Wiley who works so hard to get these books out, especially my favorite woman at Wiley, Courtney Allen, for always lending an ear and an objective opinion, and generally being an all-around great gal. Id also like to thank Kristin Vorce and Carol Kessel for all the hard work that they do behind the scenes, Kathleen Jeffers for getting out all the paperwork, Robyn Siesky for crackin the whip on the production team, and Barry Pruett for giving the go-ahead and signing the checks!

Id also like to thank the folks at Precision Camera and Video in Austin, Texas, Jack and Monica Puryear at Puryear Photography, Cricket Krengel, and everyone else who lent a helping hand along the way.

Introduction

There had been rumors circulating for quite a while that Nikon was planning to release an affordable full-frame camera, so when the D600 was announced, it wasnt a complete surprise. The world was expecting a full-frame sensor in a D7000 and thats what they got. What was surprising, however, was that the D600 wasnt just a full-frame D7000; it inherited quite a bit of technology from its bigger brother, the D800.

While the D800 turned the world of digital photography on its head, the D600 arrived a little later and set the world on fire. With a 24MP sensor (which puts it on par with one of Nikons flagship cameras, the D3X), the brand-new EXPEED 3 image processor, the updated Multi-CAM 4800FX 39-point autofocusing system, and the 2016-pixel Color Matrix Metering II metering system, the D600 borders on being a professional camera.

Although the D600 isnt necessarily a professional-grade camera, it does have a lot of professional features, including a magnesium alloy top and bottom for durability, weather sealing for protection against the elements, and easily accessible buttons to make quick changes during shooting. The D600 has everything an advanced photographer needs, but Nikon also hasnt forgotten about newer photographers. The D600 offers a plethora of scene modes to allow you to open up your creativity and capture great images in any shooting situation, no matter how much photography experience you have. The D600 also allows in-camera editing so you dont necessarily need to be computer savvy to add great effects to your images. It even allows you to edit RAW files.

The D600 will appeal to videographers as well. It matches the D800 in almost every way in terms of video capabilities, including the ability to record uncompressed video through the HDMI port. Other features that will appeal to videographers in addition to the lower price point include the stereo microphone input, the stereo headphone output, the ability to control ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, and the number of fast lenses Nikon offers to achieve the shallow depth of field that is the hallmark of high-quality video production.