5DMarkIII en route this Wed, sending back D600

I apologize for the somewhat lengthy post in advance.

I just placed an order for the Canon 5DMarkIII and couldn't be happier.

I started researching FF cameras back in August, once I read the specs, saw the early reviews, and saw some sample pictures of the Nikon D600, I was sold. Convinced my wife that spending $2,000+ on a camera was a necessity (it really wasn't), but she knew that it was on my mind and she didn't stand in the way. I had shot with Canons before and while it was comfortable to me, I had thought that I should try a change while I'm not so tied into one system. The mystique of the L lenses always appealed to me and the massive user base of Canons would make buying 2nd hand lenses much more affordable ($900-1,100 35L's vs. $1,300-1,600 Nikon 35 1.4's)

I asked the question "5DMarkII vs D600" on this forum a little while back and I was shocked to see that almost everyone recommended the D600. Maybe it was comparing a brand new camera to a 4 year old technology. Maybe it was the better DR. Even though I couldn't try out the D600 before I bought it, I confidentally ordered the D600, bought a 2nd hand Tamron 28-75 non-BIM, and placed an order for the 50 f/1.8g. Got the Tamron first, the D600 was on backorder on Amazon as was the 50 f/1.8. So I sat there with a lens that I couldn't mount, waiting. Finally got the in stock notification on the D600 from Amazon and was so giddy. Got the D600 and shock... it appeared to be opened already. Battery packaging was open, myshuttercount showed that my very first snapshot of a Coke can was actuation #3, etc. I emailed Amazon frustrated, they apologized, couldn't explain why I received a non 100% new. It would've been one thing for them to tell me it was opened before, but I bought it expecting a 100% new and it obviously wasn't.

Once I got over it and decided to keep it, mounted my Tamron on it and since I work until 6:30 most nights, by the time I get home I don't have time to go out and shoot. First dozen or so shots indoors were less than memorable. I'm by no means a professional but my expectations might've been unreasonably high. But I chalked it up to shooting indoors under possibly harsh and difficult lighting. First weekend rolled around, went up to a state park in NY, took the Tamron and while it was much better, pictures seemed less than sharp. Nowhere was I getting the type of IQ that I had seen in samples. Where as in some samples even in LL, I saw people doing 100% crops and it looking amazing, mine were horrible compared to it. I thought to myself 'that person probably processed the hell out of that image'. I asked a buddy of mine who also has the D600 to send me some of his unedited samples and there was a noticeable difference. So again I chalked it up to sample variation on the Tamron, that it was the non-BIM and possibly an older lens. Waited and waited, and finally got the 50 f/1.8. From everything that I've read about this lens, it is a bargain at $219, it is sharp, especially down at f/8 or so. Mounted it up, went to an apple picking farm in NJ, took a ton more pictures mixing up various f-stops, ISO combos, etc. Went home thinking it would be fine, then disappointed again. Even recovery in LR couldn't satisfy me. Even slight crops were full of noise, grain, you name it. It was at that point that I was fed up, maybe I did get a bad copy of the body, and I was determined to get a new one. Emailed Amazon and they said that since the body was out of stock, they could only issue me a refund and that I could reorder when it was back in stock.

Debating whether I should send it in to Nikon for them to take a look at, I vented my frustration to a buddy of mine who's makes his living as a wedding photographer. In the beginning he told me not to get caught up in the better DR of Nikon, not to get caught up on the specs, and advised me to get a Canon. Foolishly I went against his suggestion. So he lent me his Mark III over this past weekend to shoot with. Even when I picked it up the first time it just felt different. My first few shots weren't terrific, with the first 10 or so mostly being out of focus getting used to the AF system or blurry (realized I had IS off). But then the next 10 looked better, then the next 10 looked even better.

When I told my wife what I had thought, she said to me, yeah but that Canon has a 24-105L lens on it, you have a possibly 'soft' Tamron, you have a prime where you can compare varios focal ranges to, etc. She asked doesn't Nikon make a lens that compares to it. When I told her that the comparable Nikon is the 24-120 f/4VR and that it costs around $1,299 bringing my somewhat 'affordable' FF setup up to $3,398 and I showed her that the 5DMarkIII with 24-105 is now $3,798, she said 'isn't the much better camera that you talked to me for hours and hours about with the small price premium?' I happily agreed. So I spent the better part of last night boxing up the various goodies that I bought with the D600 (lens, filters, remotes, etc). Sent them off in the UPS store today!

Now awaiting my 5DMarkIII that will be delivered this Wed. In addition, Amazon is including a few goodies that I'll be parting with to help offset the cost. A LowePro fastpack which I won't need, a memory card that will help save me $30 or so, and a $200 card for classes which I'll glady use. All in all, I'm happy to be back in the Canon family. Could I have made it work with a swapped body, more seasoning, and maybe more PP work? I have no doubt. Is the D600 an excellent camera? No doubt, I think that it is a great camera for the right person. But since I plan on shooting trips where I go on vacation with my wife, my upcoming baby, and mostly people, the Canon skin tones will be appreciated. And since the Canon JPEG engine is supposedly 'better' than the Nikon, shooting in RAW+JPEG will save me time when I'm up to my elbows in dirty diapers. I'll update this thread with pictures when I get the 5DMark III and have a chance to shoot it a little. I hope you guys will understand my momentary lapse and my drifting to the dark side.

Thanks everyone for letting me vent, letting me tell someone who might care (my wife stopped listening to me about a week ago, lol). And for anyone who's thinking of making the switch to the D600 or D800, don't be tempted so much by the specs on sheet, if you have a chance to shoot real world with them first, do yourself a favor and do that. It'll save you the frustration of having to box up multiple boxes to wait in line at the UPS store.

TMaG82 wrote in post #15156380
I apologize for the somewhat lengthy post in advance.

I just placed an order for the Canon 5DMarkIII and couldn't be happier.

I started researching FF cameras back in August, once I read the specs, saw the early reviews, and saw some sample pictures of the Nikon D600, I was sold. Convinced my wife that spending $2,000+ on a camera was a necessity (it really wasn't), but she knew that it was on my mind and she didn't stand in the way. I had shot with Canons before and while it was comfortable to me, I had thought that I should try a change while I'm not so tied into one system. The mystique of the L lenses always appealed to me and the massive user base of Canons would make buying 2nd hand lenses much more affordable ($900-1,100 35L's vs. $1,300-1,600 Nikon 35 1.4's)

I asked the question "5DMarkII vs D600" on this forum a little while back and I was shocked to see that almost everyone recommended the D600. Maybe it was comparing a brand new camera to a 4 year old technology. Maybe it was the better DR. Even though I couldn't try out the D600 before I bought it, I confidentally ordered the D600, bought a 2nd hand Tamron 28-75 non-BIM, and placed an order for the 50 f/1.8g. Got the Tamron first, the D600 was on backorder on Amazon as was the 50 f/1.8. So I sat there with a lens that I couldn't mount, waiting. Finally got the in stock notification on the D600 from Amazon and was so giddy. Got the D600 and shock... it appeared to be opened already. Battery packaging was open, myshuttercount showed that my very first snapshot of a Coke can was actuation #3, etc. I emailed Amazon frustrated, they apologized, couldn't explain why I received a non 100% new. It would've been one thing for them to tell me it was opened before, but I bought it expecting a 100% new and it obviously wasn't.

Once I got over it and decided to keep it, mounted my Tamron on it and since I work until 6:30 most nights, by the time I get home I don't have time to go out and shoot. First dozen or so shots indoors were less than memorable. I'm by no means a professional but my expectations might've been unreasonably high. But I chalked it up to shooting indoors under possibly harsh and difficult lighting. First weekend rolled around, went up to a state park in NY, took the Tamron and while it was much better, pictures seemed less than sharp. Nowhere was I getting the type of IQ that I had seen in samples. Where as in some samples even in LL, I saw people doing 100% crops and it looking amazing, mine were horrible compared to it. I thought to myself 'that person probably processed the hell out of that image'. I asked a buddy of mine who also has the D600 to send me some of his unedited samples and there was a noticeable difference. So again I chalked it up to sample variation on the Tamron, that it was the non-BIM and possibly an older lens. Waited and waited, and finally got the 50 f/1.8. From everything that I've read about this lens, it is a bargain at $219, it is sharp, especially down at f/8 or so. Mounted it up, went to an apple picking farm in NJ, took a ton more pictures mixing up various f-stops, ISO combos, etc. Went home thinking it would be fine, then disappointed again. Even recovery in LR couldn't satisfy me. Even slight crops were full of noise, grain, you name it. It was at that point that I was fed up, maybe I did get a bad copy of the body, and I was determined to get a new one. Emailed Amazon and they said that since the body was out of stock, they could only issue me a refund and that I could reorder when it was back in stock.

Debating whether I should send it in to Nikon for them to take a look at, I vented my frustration to a buddy of mine who's makes his living as a wedding photographer. In the beginning he told me not to get caught up in the better DR of Nikon, not to get caught up on the specs, and advised me to get a Canon. Foolishly I went against his suggestion. So he lent me his Mark III over this past weekend to shoot with. Even when I picked it up the first time it just felt different. My first few shots weren't terrific, with the first 10 or so mostly being out of focus getting used to the AF system or blurry (realized I had IS off). But then the next 10 looked better, then the next 10 looked even better.

When I told my wife what I had thought, she said to me, yeah but that Canon has a 24-105L lens on it, you have a possibly 'soft' Tamron, you have a prime where you can compare varios focal ranges to, etc. She asked doesn't Nikon make a lens that compares to it. When I told her that the comparable Nikon is the 24-120 f/4VR and that it costs around $1,299 bringing my somewhat 'affordable' FF setup up to $3,398 and I showed her that the 5DMarkIII with 24-105 is now $3,798, she said 'isn't the much better camera that you talked to me for hours and hours about with the small price premium?' I happily agreed. So I spent the better part of last night boxing up the various goodies that I bought with the D600 (lens, filters, remotes, etc). Sent them off in the UPS store today!

Now awaiting my 5DMarkIII that will be delivered this Wed. In addition, Amazon is including a few goodies that I'll be parting with to help offset the cost. A LowePro fastpack which I won't need, a memory card that will help save me $30 or so, and a $200 card for classes which I'll glady use. All in all, I'm happy to be back in the Canon family. Could I have made it work with a swapped body, more seasoning, and maybe more PP work? I have no doubt. Is the D600 an excellent camera? No doubt, I think that it is a great camera for the right person. But since I plan on shooting trips where I go on vacation with my wife, my upcoming baby, and mostly people, the Canon skin tones will be appreciated. And since the Canon JPEG engine is supposedly 'better' than the Nikon, shooting in RAW+JPEG will save me time when I'm up to my elbows in dirty diapers. I'll update this thread with pictures when I get the 5DMark III and have a chance to shoot it a little. I hope you guys will understand my momentary lapse and my drifting to the dark side.

Thanks everyone for letting me vent, letting me tell someone who might care (my wife stopped listening to me about a week ago, lol). And for anyone who's thinking of making the switch to the D600 or D800, don't be tempted so much by the specs on sheet, if you have a chance to shoot real world with them first, do yourself a favor and do that. It'll save you the frustration of having to box up multiple boxes to wait in line at the UPS store.

Would you happen to have any samples that you took with the D600 to show us?

Although I would be hard pressed to make a judgement on a new camera's IQ with a 28-75 on it (and I have one), I went to Best Buy and saw the D600 and immediately thought "hey, that's what all the hub bub is about".
I didn't like the way it looked off the bat, but when I picked it up, it was horrible in the hand. It feels narrow in both body and grip. I could feel how my hand would cramp before it actually did. There was a 60d there (have one) and picking it up felt immediately different, and better. The grip is just "meatier" and feels better in the hand. The acclaimed resolution and DR don't mean much if its in a body that you can't stand using.
This was all personal preference of course, but I completely agree with your photog friend, its not all about sensor "ratings" and such.

Sounds like you went through a lot of hastle just to get the camera you really wanted. I have never used the D600, but it's a heck of a camera body from what I've heard. It's not something that would make me sell all my Canon equipment for, but to each his own.

The most important thing is that you got the camera body that you really wanted. Hopefully you're happy with the decision you made.

-Nick

Welcome to the 5DIII club! Besides the more serious AF and ISO range capabilities, don't forget to play with some of the fun things like multiple exposures and even in camera HDR (make sure to save the underlying raw files).

I remember your thread asking about the choice between 5D MkII or D600. The response was overwhelming in favor of the D600! Goes to show what a bunch of Canon shooters [don't] know about a Nikon camera!

I sincerely hope that you have better luck with the 5D Mk III!

Yogi

D600 is very capable of great photos.

5d3 is also very capable of taking great photos.

Both have their strengths.

Both can take poor photos.

Yogi Bear wrote in post #15160458
I remember your thread asking about the choice between 5D MkII or D600. The response was overwhelming in favor of the D600! Goes to show what a bunch of Canon shooters [don't] know about a Nikon camera!

I sincerely hope that you have better luck with the 5D Mk III!

Yogi

What I don't understand is that the OP's main gripe is IQ. If the D600 and a prime are not satisfactory, I don't know what will be.

frugivore wrote in post #15160841
What I don't understand is that the OP's main gripe is IQ. If the D600 and a prime are not satisfactory, I don't know what will be.

After reading all the reviews of the D600 you have to ask the question was the body a dud? That aside, the OP should be more than happy with a 5D3. I have tried one and even though the picture quality was not enough to sway me to update my 5D2 I still hanker for that better high ISO performance.

Happy ending then.

I'm still waiting for the price drop to happen 'down under'.

why nor return to amazon for a new one?

frugivore wrote in post #15160841
What I don't understand is that the OP's main gripe is IQ. If the D600 and a prime are not satisfactory, I don't know what will be.

I think it may have been the body being not sharp, my unrealistically high expectations, or both. I didn't seem to have any of the dust/oil spots like some commented on but felt like something was missing.

john_galt wrote in post #15161017
why nor return to amazon for a new one?

At the time that I requested a return, they didn't have any bodies in stock and could only offer a refund. It was in that time that I handled a Mark III.

Yogi Bear wrote in post #15160458
I remember your thread asking about the choice between 5D MkII or D600. The response was overwhelming in favor of the D600! Goes to show what a bunch of Canon shooters [don't] know about a Nikon camera!

I sincerely hope that you have better luck with the 5D Mk III!

Yogi

Thanks so much Yogi, I'm sure that the D600 is a fine camera and I may have learned to adapt and grow into it but at this point it's almost like love at first sight, if it doesn't call out to me at first impression, not sure I'll grow to love it. This is going to be my first and hopefully last buy in into a system and I want it to be with no regrets. After the big decision on a system and a body I'll be slowly building up my arsenal of lenses. Since hopefully this body will last me 3-5 years, I figure why not go for the best that I can afford and take advantage of. After I take a few hundred to thousand pictures and see where I take the majority of my pictures at will determine my next lens (35L, 50L, 85 or 135). I'm thinking that it'll be the 35, but who knows.

L.J.G. wrote in post #15160908
After reading all the reviews of the D600 you have to ask the question was the body a dud? That aside, the OP should be more than happy with a 5D3. I have tried one and even though the picture quality was not enough to sway me to update my 5D2 I still hanker for that better high ISO performance.

I agree, possibly was a dud, a non sharp copy of the Tamron, or my inexperience with the camera. But corners looked extremely dull, even doing some cropping with the prime looked not crisp, etc.

It could also be that I have a hidden bias against Nikon and towards Canon. Maybe it's the draw of the red rings. But at the end of the day I have to be happy with the gear that I choose and I can't wait till tomorrow. I have a weekend trip planned to Boston and can't wait to start snapping away.

nburwell wrote in post #15159102
Sounds like you went through a lot of hastle just to get the camera you really wanted. I have never used the D600, but it's a heck of a camera body from what I've heard. It's not something that would make me sell all my Canon equipment for, but to each his own.

The most important thing is that you got the camera body that you really wanted. Hopefully you're happy with the decision you made.

-Nick

Sounds like it to me too. I'm glad you ended up getting the body you wanted but the MK3 isn't going to fix any user error that may have contributed to the photos from the D600 being less than what you wanted. This shot hasn't had the hell processed out of it, plus 1 on sharpening and changed picture style to vivid in ViewNX2, that's it.

2819 x 2962

EMBED PREVENTED, IMAGE TOO LARGE: http://imageshack.us/a​/img195/8770/930004.jp​g Click here to see our image rules.

Can someone post an ISO 1600 MK III picture, not heavily processed? Preferably a studio portrait shot.

My 7d screwed the pooch big time at 1600, want to see what CMOS can do.

thank you,

R

I had a chance to handle the d600, I didn't like anything about the layout of buttons or the menu system. It will make a great camera for someone upgrading from an entry level dslr but coming from something like a d300 or 7d, 5dII it will be very lacking in my opinion.