Nikon D610: Do you even need a full frame (dSLR) camera?

Dear viewers of the TomPhoto channel! Have you been wondering if it makes sense
to get a full frame dSLR and which one to get? Are you looking to take a step up from the
crop sensor camera? If yes, I have a story for you today. It’s about one of the most affordable and
capable choices out there – Nikon D610. But will it improve my photography, is my
main question? Or could it potentially make my photos worse? The time has stopped for full frame dSLR (and
any dSLR for that matter) as major manufacturers are announcing that they are halting their
development of new models and will instead shift their focus to hybrid cameras.

They are still making them, but no new models. So what we have right now is the best models
that there are ever going to be. Since it’s not going to get any better it
should be a perfect time to buy them. The prices are dropping and you still have
lots to choose from, including many that have been minimally used. The dSLRS still offer faster shooting experience
and better battery life than the hybrids. Their pentaprism viewfinders are still favored
by many pros over what the hybrids offer. The mirror protects the sensor when changing
lenses in difficult conditions. But most importantly they can use the entire
array of lenses from the past times; especially with Nikon because Nikon has been very conservative
about changing their lens mount. That is why I own a Nikon D610. At 850 g without the lens or any extras this
camera is like a rock. Solid and stable – but heavy. This is the price you pay for the breath-taking
image quality, color depth and dynamic range. Well, some of this weight comes from the in-body
motor that can drive your motor-less lenses.

Then again not a single gram comes from in-body
image stabilization because there is no such thing in this camera. This is the only major technical problem I
have with this camera. The other smaller problem being no front curtain
electronic shutter on this camera for some reason. It does offer a delay between the mirror movement
and the curtain movement so you can get rid of the mirror slap in those long shutter speed
landscape photos for the next year’s calendar. But the front curtain electronic shutter would
allow you to eliminate any trace of shaking entirely. I have to come back to the bulkiness and weight
of the camera because this means that a D610 cannot be my only camera. This is a Sunday camera, reserved for the
special photography trips.

There’s no way you’d routinely carry it
with you when you go to work, pick up the kids from school or run some other errands. No, you’re going to look for excuses to
leave the camera at home. This means you’re going to miss out on the
best opportunities. With this camera you’re going to be taking
amazingly beautiful images of boring things while you’re taking ugly pictures of interesting
things with your smart phone. A small camera would get you the best of both
worlds. You’ll have great photos of interesting
things. For me this where my Fuji hybrid cameras come
in.

But more about this in other videos. The problem is that my favorite camera manufacturer
(Fuji) doesn’t make full frame cameras. But I wanted to have a full frame in my collection,
as well. Since I own Nikon lenses and Nikon is my other
favorite, Nikon was an obvious choice. I also considered D750, D800, D810. I would have bought any one of them but only
the D610 came my way as a minimally used camera in brand-new like condition at a very reasonable
price. So I went for it. You see these cameras are tough to buy as
I detail in my “how to buy a used camera” video (link is below) because full frame cameras
are typically sold by professional photographers. And they don’t “baby their gear” as
they sometimes proudly state. Pros take lots of pictures so it’s hard
to find a unit with a low shutter count and previous tender care. You’re in better position with crop sensors
because many people buy or receive them only to find out just 500 pictures later that photography
was not for them.

My D610 has 24 Mpix and this is a good number. Often the reason you want a full frame camera
is that it has large pixel area and will thus produce very clean pictures at high ISO. This favors a small number of pixels. The second reason could be that you need to
make humongous prints, perhaps to cover a good part of your living room wall. This favors a large number of pixels. Of course the more of them pixels you have
the less clean the photo. So, there’s a balance. I like my 24 Mpix quite a bit. But it’s not just the low noise that a large
sensor gives you. It gives you a much better dynamic range,
color depth but also a shallower depth of field. Most photographers like that because this
means better bokeh and more artistic outcomes. It gives you that magazine look, especially
when combined with proper lighting techniques. A crop sensor comes with a crop factor, typically
1.5.

With crop sensors your 35 mm lens will behave
like a 50 mm lens would behave in front of a full frame camera. Is this good or bad? Certainly the same telephoto lens becomes
less of a telephoto when you upgrade from crop sensor to full frame. So I always use crop sensor when I photograph
small birds or animals. Let me mention that your full frame camera
lenses work with both the crop sensor and full frame cameras.

You’ll be using the central part of your
lens’ projection with a crop sensor. Things are not so smooth the other way around. A crop sensor camera-specific lens does not
work the same with full frame. Sure you can take a picture but you’ll want
to switch the full frame camera to crop mode so that only the central part of the sensor
is used and you don’t get dark dead areas around your image. So full frame lens on a crop sensor camera
will work but will not unleash all the lens can offer. A crop sensor camera lens with full frame
camera just doesn’t make sense since it will not let you take advantage of the large
sensor. The advice I gave to myself back when I was
using only crop sensor cameras was to buy only full frame lenses in case I decide to
go full frame in the future.

At least for me this advice from myself worked
well. Now I have access to full frame camera. Has my photography benefited from it? There are many aspects to this question. Technically, maybe. More of my pictures are more clear. But the more boring pictures are the most
clear. This wonderful camera has not made me a better
observer. It has not improved my feel for composition
or made me see colors better. And it has caused me to miss some photos. And I’ve left it home on some days. You see, the camera doesn’t make a photographer. I like to say that Leonardo Da Vinci was not
a good painter because he a had a very good paint brush. Same with photography. You could give me any camera you want but
Ansel Adams would beat me to dust with a shoe box with a small hole in it. If a small camera makes you see things better
because it draws less attention away from what you’re really doing then a smaller
camera is better. With all due respect to Nikon I’ve taken
a step back with colors when starting to use the D610 or any Nikon.

You see my main camera is crop sensor Fujifilm
X-T30 (see my video link below). Once again I absolutely love Nikon (Nikon
fans please don’t feel offended) but spending most of my photographic time in the Fuji’s
world of colors I feel like a bit color blind with my D610. Fuji would sometimes kick me breathless straight
out of the box (not with color intensity but with how well the color works for the scene). With Nikon I have to invest time and work
to get the same colors. With raw files and technology everything is
possible but it takes extra time. But when this time is taken and the true hidden
power of my Nikon D610 is unleashed after hard work, the results are powerful. Same as Fuji but with better clarity and better
detail. So this is a balancing act. I love my Nikons, too. Speaking of clarity: my crop sensor Nikon
or Fuji sensors don’t have low pass (or anti-aliasing) filters in front of their sensors
but the D610 does. The manufacturers have been reluctant to remove
them from full frame cameras citing the need to control moire or weird patterns and colors
from small repeating motifs in the photo.

The low pass filter should reduce pixel level
detail because it’s yet another layer between light and the senor. Luckily with full frame cameras the effect
is really tiny because the pixel area is so large. Even at the pixel level I’ve not been convinced
that there’s something there. I don’t have the same camera without the
low pass filter to do a demo right now but I’ve inspected such photos taken by other
users. The low pass will have an effect on crop sensor
camera but not so much with larger sensors. So don’t worry about this aspect. I have to admit that my crop sensor Nikon
D3500 has the focus points scattered much better over the entire filed of view.

The D610 has them cramped or squeezed together
in the middle and I have to focus and recompose when I photograph. This technique takes time but most importantly
can result in sub-optimal focusing when your subject is very close because the distance
to the subject changes slightly when you do this. My Fujifilm X-T30 is a major winner in this
competition because it has no limits where you put the focus point and it happens all
very quickly in a touch sensitive manner. Good thing I use my D610 mostly for landscapes
where it is not as critical that the focus is accurate to the millimeter. But let’s come back to the beginning and
ask if it is reasonable to start walking the full frame alley instead of the crop sensor
street where your current home is. There’s no clear answer. If you want to start taking more exciting
photos and compose better – continue with your crop sensor. Making the camera even larger, even more expensive
and even more cumbersome to use is not improving things. The same is true if you need a camera for
traveling and already see that you sometimes prefer a phone to your crop sensor camera.

Also don’t upgrade if you simply photograph
to store memories for yourself and you look at the photos on the screen or in a family
photo album. For all these cases full frame might kill
what you already have. Crop sensors are developing fast and have
become really nice. However if you have a client who wants to
buy photos from you with the intent to put them in books or on the wall then your crop
sensor may not be able to cut it. In the extreme case you may even need a medium
format or a film camera but we’re not discussing those here.

But if photography is your number one hobby
(no competition) and you particularly enjoy low light photography; and you typically sneak
out of the house before 6 am on a cold and foggy autumn morning because you could not
sleep because you were afraid to miss the wonderful fog photo opportunities – then you
are my soulmate and you should consider giving the full frame a try. Thanks so much for sticking with me throughout
this narrative video. I will soon make a video on the technical
aspects of my Nikon D610. If you want to support my channel I greatly
appreciate if you consider subscribing to my channel or leaving a like. Till the next time. Have a great day. Bye!.

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