Nikon D600

A full-frame SLR is something most amateur photographers quietly dream about. With massive viewfinders, professional-grade controls and sumptuous image quality, it’s easy to see why they cost four times as much as consumer SLRs. However, there aren’t many amateur photographers who can blow over £2,000 on a camera.

The dream becomes a little more real with the arrival of the D600. Currently available for £1,500, it’s the cheapest full-frame digital SLR to date. However, the similar Canon EOS 6D is arriving imminently and the more upmarket D800 has already been discounted to £1,920 at Amazon. This is an exciting time to be on the market for a full-frame SLR, but choosing one won’t be easy.

Inevitably, there are some downgrades in comparison to the D800, but very few that we’re upset about. For us, the biggest is the move from a 51-point to a 39-point autofocus system, nine of which are cross-type. That’s still a lot of points, but they’re packed together a little more tightly than on the D800 and don’t stretch across the frame quite as much as we’d like. It’s still a sophisticated autofocus system, though, with options to expand the active area to a group of nine or 21 points, plus a 3D tracking mode that follows subjects around the frame.