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 D5100 is a purely DX camera which, although it doesn't let you shoot full-frame, can offer advantages in lens length. The D600 offers both DX and FX (full frame) which is a great level of flexibility. But, whilst a full-frame entry-level DSLR has often been considered the holy grail, I think, on a practical level, it is largely unimportant. Consequently, I don't see the D5200 have dual shooting formats.
Disappointingly, the D600 has made no progress on the shutter speed front, still offering 1/4000. So I guess that means that the D5200 will be stuck at 1/4000 as well. The burst rate on the D600 is also a disappointing 5FPS. Surely Nikon can push the rate faster than That? I was hoping for 6-8FPS for the D5200, but it seems that it probably won't be faster than 5FPS. Nikon will find it hard to sell the D5200 as an action camera with a burst speed which can be beaten by some CSCs (compact system cameras)
However, it looks like Nikon are going to substantially improve the Auto Focus system in the D5200. The 11 point system in the D5100 now looks quite dated and I expect the D5200 to have the 39 point AF system that has been issued to the D600. This is great news for all the Nikon enthusiasts who shoot landscapes, as well as the videographers. The D5200 will probably keep the pentamirror system, rather than take the pentaprism system which is in the D600. Whilst the pentaprism enhances clarity and visible range, it is too expensive to put into this camera and the cost will severely outweigh the benefits.
Obviously, the D5200 will have to offer two card slots - it becomes imperative with modern cameras. The video requirements and larger files (especially if you want to save them as RAW files) means that relying on a single card is madness.
The articulated monitor on the D5100 has been a great selling point and is very useful for shooting at difficult angles. Whilst Nikon haven't rolled this out to other cameras, I expect the D5200 to retain this function. In fact I hope that they will also include the D600's auto brightness function and perhaps take an idea from the compact system cameras and have touch screen functionality as well.
The D5100 screen was excellent for shooting video and I am sure that Nikon will have thought hard about improving this function for the D5200. I think they will offer an extra frame rate of 60 FPS for full HD and also perhaps give it the same timelapse movie creation function that is on the D600, which is a great way of encouraging timelapse photography by taking out the grind of putting the film together. Nikon would do well to add a headphone socket to the D5200, so that users can monitor the sound levels when shooting.
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 D5100 is a purely DX camera which, although it doesn't let you shoot full-frame, can offer advantages in lens length. The D600 offers both DX and FX (full frame) which is a great level of flexibility. But, whilst a full-frame entry-level DSLR has often been considered the holy grail, I think, on a practical level, it is largely unimportant. Consequently, I don't see the D5200 have dual shooting formats.
Disappointingly, the D600 has made no progress on the shutter speed front, still offering 1/4000. So I guess that means that the D5200 will be stuck at 1/4000 as well. The burst rate on the D600 is also a disappointing 5FPS. Surely Nikon can push the rate faster than That? I was hoping for 6-8FPS for the D5200, but it seems that it probably won't be faster than 5FPS. Nikon will find it hard to sell the D5200 as an action camera with a burst speed which can be beaten by some CSCs (compact system cameras)
However, it looks like Nikon are going to substantially improve the Auto Focus system in the D5200. The 11 point system in the D5100 now looks quite dated and I expect the D5200 to have the 39 point AF system that has been issued to the D600. This is great news for all the Nikon enthusiasts who shoot landscapes, as well as the videographers. The D5200 will probably keep the pentamirror system, rather than take the pentaprism system which is in the D600. Whilst the pentaprism enhances clarity and visible range, it is too expensive to put into this camera and the cost will severely outweigh the benefits.
Obviously, the D5200 will have to offer two card slots - it becomes imperative with modern cameras. The video requirements and larger files (especially if you want to save them as RAW files) means that relying on a single card is madness.
The articulated monitor on the D5100 has been a great selling point and is very useful for shooting at difficult angles. Whilst Nikon haven't rolled this out to other cameras, I expect the D5200 to retain this function. In fact I hope that they will also include the D600's auto brightness function and perhaps take an idea from the compact system cameras and have touch screen functionality as well.
The D5100 screen was excellent for shooting video and I am sure that Nikon will have thought hard about improving this function for the D5200. I think they will offer an extra frame rate of 60 FPS for full HD and also perhaps give it the same timelapse movie creation function that is on the D600, which is a great way of encouraging timelapse photography by taking out the grind of putting the film together. Nikon would do well to add a headphone socket to the D5200, so that users can monitor the sound levels when shooting.
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 more than twenty years. He has a particular interest in digital photography. Go to his website to learn more about the new Nikon D5200 and its launch date. Alternatively visit his general digital camera site to read up to date reviews about consumer cameras.
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