Nikon D600 First Look

Given the opportunity to lay hands
on the D600 at the official Nikon launch, it was the D600’s compact size that struck us first. Placed up against the D800, the D600 is
the noticeably smaller model of the two and on first glance it does
appear to look a little bit like a D7000 on steroids.

The chunky
grip contributes to a robust feel in the hand but without a full
magnesium chassis we’d say it doesn’t feel quite as solid as the D800, which is around 140g heavier. The ergonomics of the camera seem to have
been carefully thought through and we like the idea of having dedicated
buttons for ISO, White Balance, Image Quality and Bracketing. There are
no major changes to the layout of the menu system. This is good news
for existing Nikon users who might be looking at the D600 as an upgrade
option.

Screen sharpness seemed exceptional in the short space
of time that we used the camera. For Nikon users that are familiar
with Nikon DSLR’s they’ll be able to pick up the D600 and start using
it without any delay. The D-Pad at the rear of the camera seems slightly
smaller than the one found on the D800, however the switch to control
Live View is exactly the same.

We’re expecting to lay hands on
our full review sample in the next few days so be sure to check back to
What Digital Camera for your full, hands-on, review very soon.