Nikon D610 Review: Second Verse Same as the First, Minus Tons of Dust and Oil

Overview
The D610 shares the same 24 megapixel FX CMOS sensor as the D600, with essentially the same body, features and options. The new shutter mechanism shoots at 6 FPS, where the D600 was 5.5 FPS. The D610 also has a quiet mode for the shutter, and it is noticeably quieter than the normal mode; an option that is useful for wedding ceremonies, births, wildlife, or anywhere you would want to be as unobtrusive as possible.

The build and design of the camera are essentially identical to the D600. It features a magnesium alloy interior on the top and back of the camera's insides, and is weather sealed just as fully as the D800. The camera is equipped with the same dual SD/SDHC/SDXC card slots, the same display, and the same viewfinder with same focal points as the D600.

The street price for the body only is just about $2000, and the kit with the 24-85 f/3.5-4.5G VR lens is approximately $2500. This is $100 less than the D600 when it came out!

Because the D610 is basically the exact same camera as the D600, we will not be doing a full discussion of the Build and Design, Ergonomics and Controls, and Menus and Modes sections of this review. Rather, click here for a full review of the Nikon D600. (DigitalCameraReview's Theano Nikitas did an excellent job explaining the D600. There's no need to rehash the information again, right?) Instead, we will focus this review on the difference between the two cameras, namely the new shutter mechanism.

Does the shutter mechanism shed particles? Does the camera allow abnormally high amounts of dust into the seals? Are there oil splatters seen on the images?

Check out page 2 of this review. We have included a time lapse video containing 7200 shutter clicks that will expose any problems the D610 might have with dust/particles/oil.  

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