I am really excited about the Nikon D600 as a new, less-expensive, way to get high-performance full-frame images. Mine is arriving tomorrow, and I'll be writing more hands-on when I get it. But in the meantime, I was blown away by the amazing test results achieved by the D600 by the folks over at DxOMark. In their exhaustive tests the D600 bested not only the Canon 5D Mark III, but Nikon's own D4 for low-light performance and overall image quality...

The Nikon D600 scored an eye-popping 94 overall, behind only the more expensive Nikon D800 and Nikon D800e. In fairness, when I sifted through the actual charts of results, there were plenty of areas where the D600 didn't beat other cameras like the Nikon D4 (at ISOs above 6400 for example, the D4's low-light capability was much superior), but for a $2K camera to go head-to-head with Nikon's recent $3K offering like the Nikon D800 and other more expensive cameras like the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D4 is an impressive accomplishment.

Obviously there are many other reasons you might prefer a D800, D4, or 5D Mark III, so I'm not claiming the D600 is a better camera, but I am really psyched about the results. They're better than I was hoping for. The best part is that the Nikon D600 is actually in stock at B&H -- almost unheard of for a popular new model in its first week -- and can be yours for $2099, or $2599 with the newish 24-85mm lens.

Once word of the test results gets around, I expect the D600 to sell out quickly, so I wanted to give readers a heads up now, but of course I'll be passing along my experiences once I have the Nikon D600 in hand. The bar has definitely been raised for the upcoming Canon 6D, which is available for pre-order at the identical $2099 price.