At last the much leaked Nikon D600 is out and we can all have a good look at it. Designed to fill the niche between the D800, which is essentially a Pro camera, and the D7000, the D600 is a full frame enthusiast camera that will compete with canon's EOS 5D. File size is still the main selling pint for cameras in this range and the D600 offers a24MP file against the EOS 5D which offers 22MP. It does seem that the 36MP sensor, which is at the core of the Nikon D800 will be reserved for the top of the range DSLRs. However, for those of who are waiting for the D5200 to arrive, what clues can we get from the specs of the new D600? 
I think we are able to make some educated guesses about what the d5200 will offer us. After all, Nikon have the same desire to make their production line cost effective as any other manufacturer. They will be looking for a degree of conformity in their components and functionality. Consequently I think Nikon will put the 24Mp sensor into the D5200. It is big enough for most purposes and substantially larger than the d5100's 16MP sensor. Remember, a good lens will make all the difference and Nikon lenses are excellent.
The D600 can offer both FX and DX functionality which offers extra flexibility and the ability to use the different lenses as intended. However, I don't think that the D5200 will extend into FX territory. Whilst FX was once seen as the best way to shoot, most enthusiasts are quite happy shooting DX and would prefer to take the extended lens length against the full frame crop. Offering FX for the D5200 would just increase cost for little benefit.
The D600 is a very promising all round camera, but I am a bit disappointed by the shutter speed of 1/4000 and burst rate of 5FPS. Whilst it is more than most photographers will need, they want more. 1/8000 shutter speed would sound a lot better and I would hope that the D5200 leap-frogs the D600 and offers at least 6FPS. An entry-level DSLR should be flexible enough to allow the photographer to experiment and push their skills to the limit - 5FPS is simply not fast enough.
The good news is that the AF system should be greatly improved.I would be surprised if the current 11 point system on the D5100 isn't pushed up to the 39 point system that is on the D600. This will be splendid news for the landscape photographers in particular. The 51 point system will probably be the preserve of the top range DSLRs. I think the pentamirror, which is in the D5100 will stay for the D5200. The D600 has a pentaprism, which offers greater clarity and wider vision, but the cost ids prohibitive for the D5200.
And the D5200 will have two memory card slots. This was a real inconvenience in the D5100, particularly if you are shooting RAW files or video. Dual memory slots allows you to save still in two formats at the same time, or double your capacity. Two slots are a basic requirement these days.
Whilst DSLR cameras retain their viewfinders, many photographers now exclusively use the monitor at the back. One massive selling point for the D5100 was the articulated back screen, that enabled a photographer to shoot at different angles more easily. It would be great if the D5200 incorporates the D600's auto brightness function, which automatically decides the screen brightness and then perhaps go even further and introduce touch screen technology.
The HD video function was a huge selling point for the D5100 and Nikon need to maintain their momentum in this area on the D5200. Offering a 60 FPS rate on full HD would be really useful, but I think they could take a neat trick from the D600 with it's auto time lapse movie creation function. It seems a practical way to take the hard work out of time lapse photography and encourage the beginner to try something new. Also, with sound being so important, Nikon might add a headphone jack to the D5200.
So, while we may have to wait longer than we had hoped for the Nikon D5200, there are encouraging signs from the functionality of the D600. the D5200 is likely to have a 24 MP file size, 5 frames per second burst,1/4000 shutter speed, an improved LCD monitor, 39 point AF system and some neat additions to functionality inside the camera. To keep the costs down, the build will probably be the same toughened plastic. I can't wait to see one......
I think we are able to make some educated guesses about what the d5200 will offer us. After all, Nikon have the same desire to make their production line cost effective as any other manufacturer. They will be looking for a degree of conformity in their components and functionality. Consequently I think Nikon will put the 24Mp sensor into the D5200. It is big enough for most purposes and substantially larger than the d5100's 16MP sensor. Remember, a good lens will make all the difference and Nikon lenses are excellent.
The D600 can offer both FX and DX functionality which offers extra flexibility and the ability to use the different lenses as intended. However, I don't think that the D5200 will extend into FX territory. Whilst FX was once seen as the best way to shoot, most enthusiasts are quite happy shooting DX and would prefer to take the extended lens length against the full frame crop. Offering FX for the D5200 would just increase cost for little benefit.
The D600 is a very promising all round camera, but I am a bit disappointed by the shutter speed of 1/4000 and burst rate of 5FPS. Whilst it is more than most photographers will need, they want more. 1/8000 shutter speed would sound a lot better and I would hope that the D5200 leap-frogs the D600 and offers at least 6FPS. An entry-level DSLR should be flexible enough to allow the photographer to experiment and push their skills to the limit - 5FPS is simply not fast enough.
The good news is that the AF system should be greatly improved.I would be surprised if the current 11 point system on the D5100 isn't pushed up to the 39 point system that is on the D600. This will be splendid news for the landscape photographers in particular. The 51 point system will probably be the preserve of the top range DSLRs. I think the pentamirror, which is in the D5100 will stay for the D5200. The D600 has a pentaprism, which offers greater clarity and wider vision, but the cost ids prohibitive for the D5200.
And the D5200 will have two memory card slots. This was a real inconvenience in the D5100, particularly if you are shooting RAW files or video. Dual memory slots allows you to save still in two formats at the same time, or double your capacity. Two slots are a basic requirement these days.
Whilst DSLR cameras retain their viewfinders, many photographers now exclusively use the monitor at the back. One massive selling point for the D5100 was the articulated back screen, that enabled a photographer to shoot at different angles more easily. It would be great if the D5200 incorporates the D600's auto brightness function, which automatically decides the screen brightness and then perhaps go even further and introduce touch screen technology.
The HD video function was a huge selling point for the D5100 and Nikon need to maintain their momentum in this area on the D5200. Offering a 60 FPS rate on full HD would be really useful, but I think they could take a neat trick from the D600 with it's auto time lapse movie creation function. It seems a practical way to take the hard work out of time lapse photography and encourage the beginner to try something new. Also, with sound being so important, Nikon might add a headphone jack to the D5200.
So, while we may have to wait longer than we had hoped for the Nikon D5200, there are encouraging signs from the functionality of the D600. the D5200 is likely to have a 24 MP file size, 5 frames per second burst,1/4000 shutter speed, an improved LCD monitor, 39 point AF system and some neat additions to functionality inside the camera. To keep the costs down, the build will probably be the same toughened plastic. I can't wait to see one......
About the Author:
Jeremy Bayston has worked in the photographic industry for over twenty years. He has a particular interest in digital photography. Go to his website to discover more about the new Nikon D5200 and its release date. Alternatively visit his general digital camera site to read up to date news about consumer products.
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