Adam Trahan: Nikon D610

Nikon D610

s/n 2037044

This is not a review. It’s notes about the camera and why I chose it. Released in 2013, the D610 was the progression from the D600. I read that the D600 had issues of the sensor being soiled by internal lubricants, that was part of the reason for the progression to D610.

I really like this camera. It’s just what I need, not much more.

This is the camera I wanted before I purchased my D780. It has dual SD card slots and an FX sensor, the same as the D780. It will do 4k video but this camera is purely a second camera, a sort of back up. I will probably keep the 80-400 on it and leave it at that probably only changing it if I really need a second mid-zoom or wide angle lens. It’s not my primary camera but there is no loss in quality of images.

The live view screen is fixed, I rarely tilt it on the D780.

This isn’t a D780 vs. D610, nothing like that. I really like the D610 and could easily use it primarily for what I shoot.

For file transfer, the D610 does not utilize SnapBridge, Bluetooth or WiFi. There is an adapter, the Nikon WU-1b that plugs into a micro port that wirelessly sends the image files through the Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility App to your phone or (Apple) tablet.

I use an iPad and iPhone to make this site so for now I use a SD card reader that plugs into the USB-C port on my iPad. I just take the SD card out of the camera. It’s super quick and easy. There is a pop up flash which I like. My D780 does not have one so that’s refreshing as it can serve as fill flash duties.

I bought the camera through an auction site, sourced in North America with less than 10,000 pictures taken. It literally looks new as the owner used a rubber cover which I promptly took off. I’ll be rocking this camera for sure, it feels good in hand.

There is a battery grip the MB-D14. You can place a second Nikon battery in it and it works seamlessly or use AA batteries. The claim is about 1,400 pictures, certainly a lot less than the D780 which just has monster battery duration.

I chose two 128gb UHS 1 cards capable of up to 200mb transfer speeds. That’s plenty of storage. I set up the cards for overflow. Card slot #1 fills first. If I am at a must secure picture assignment while traveling, I use the back-up mode where both cards record the same images.

It’s a great camera, not complicated, easy to use, I would even say I should have listened to the advice of my experienced friends, I should have bought it first...