The Nikon D600 has, in just a few days, become the new darling of camera reviewers (including me) and photographers who’ve gotten their hands on one. One of its appeals is that it packs an amazing quality full-frame image sensor into a pretty small package. Specs put it between the D700 / D800 (which are essential identical in size and weight) and the Nikon D7000, which is smaller and lighter. Since I have all three, I’ve been hefting them in turns to get an idea. It’s hard to pass along subjective impressions, but I tend to agree with other reviewers who say that while the Nikon D600 is not small enough that anyone should rush out and purchase it for that reason, it is noticeably lighter and smaller than a Nikon D800 with similar lens.

It certainly isn’t as compact as the Nikon D7000, so I suppose that if I was in an incredible bind for space or weight I might still use the D7000 as a primary camera once in a while, but I expect the Nikon D600 to replace both the Nikon D700 and the Nikon D7000 as my goto “medium size” body.

A big reason the practical difference between the Nikon D600 and Nikon D800 isn’t more pronounced is lenses. Both use heavier, larger full-frame lenses, so the 1 lb savings in the weight of the body is only a portion of the total of body and lens. The Nikon D7000, by contrast, uses lighter DX lenses, so it gains from both the lighter body and smaller lenses (for any given spec of lens, at least).

All of these cameras are tiny of course compared to the Nikon D4, which weighs in at nearly 3 pounds. Time for me to get out in the field and really use the new model. I’ll be reporting back as I go. In the meantime, as far as specs go, here is how the three cameras come out…

Size and Weight by the book

Nikon D700 / Nikon D800:

Dimensions (WxHxD)
4.8 x 5.8 x 3" / 12.19 x 14.73 x 7.62 cm for the D700, 5.7 x 4.8 x 3.2" / 14.5 x 12.2 x 8.1 cm for the D800

Weight
2 lb 3 oz. / 995  g Camera body only for the D700, 2.20 lb / 1.00 kg for the D800 camera body only

Nikon D600:

Dimensions (WxHxD)
5.6 x 4.4 x 3.2" / 14.2 x 11.2 x 8.1 cm

Weight
1 lb 11 oz. / 760 g Camera body only
1 lb 14 oz. / 850 g Camera with battery and memory card

(Note that the B&H site incorrectly lists the D600 as 1.11 lb.)

Nikon D7000:

Dimensions (WxHxD)
5.2 x 4.1 x 3" / 13.21 x 10.4 x 7.62 cm

Weight
1.71 lb / 780 g Camera with battery and memory card