Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens
- 14.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor; 3-inch monitor with One-Touch Live View shooting and movie capture
- Includes 3x 18-55mm Zoom-NIKKOR VR Image Stabilization lens
- Full 1080p HD Cinematic Video with full-time autofocus and sound
- Easy-To-Use Nikon Guide Mode with intuitive controls and on-board assistance
- Capture images to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards (not included)
Nikon’s affordable, compact and lightweight D3100 digital SLR features a high-resolution 14-megapixel CMOS DX sensor, high-quality 3x NIKKOR 18-55mm VR image stabilization zoom lens and intuitive onboard assistance including the learn-as-you grow Guide Mode.Capture beautiful pictures and amazing Full HD 1080p movies with sound and full-time autofocus. Easily capture the action other cameras miss with a fast start up time, split-second shutter release, 3 frames per second shooting and 11-point autofocus.
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Takes excellent pictures and gets out of the way while doing it,
This Nikon D3100 is a phenomenal deal for non professionals, the rest of us people that want to take family and travel shots. I’ve owned DSLRs since 2004, starting with a Nikon D70 and then moving to D40, D200 and Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) and Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). Those are all excellent cameras, but this Nikon D3100 is better than all of those in one crucial area, the area that matters: it takes excellent pictures without having to fiddle with the settings between shots. Yes, the other cameras are better in other respects: They have more buttons to change settings without delving into menus, they are bigger (is that a plus?), heavier (another plus?), and have better specs (1/500 flash sync speed for D70 and D40), but in the end I would have to fiddle with the settings to get the best results: change the white balance, fiddle with the ISO (my Canons would default to ISO 400 for flash shots, why? Who knows. That meant disabling auto ISO and choosing ISO settings manually), the exposure (+0.7 indoor, 0 outdoor), and so on. D200 was noisy at higher ISO, D70’s pictures tended to be cool (i.e. not warm), 40D had cool custom buttons (C1, C2, C3, very cool), but I found its ergonomics worse than XSi or any Nikon; why place the on/off switch at the bottom of the body? Who knows. Fortunately, new Canons have fixed this).
This D3100 also makes the D3000 and D5000 obsolete. The D3000 is slow and noisy at high ISO. The D5000 only shoots 720p (not 1080p), no autofocus in movie mode, less resolution. Old technology.
What sets the D3100 apart from all the other cameras above is this: set the camera in P (program) mode, auto white balance, -0.3 exposure compensation, slow flash sync mode (for people shots), auto distortion correction on (great!), auto chromatic aberrations correction on (great!), and you are set; now you can concentrate on the only aspect of photography that matters: composition, i.e. framing your shot in the best possible way. There must be a photography mantra that says, “thou shalt buy the D3100, and the D3100 will set you free.” Now this is if you shot jpeg. If you shoot raw, you can then use a program like DXO, Aperture 3, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 to further play with the pictures. My workflow with the XSi was to shoot raw, then use DXO to batch process all the pics according to two settings: people (low contrast, no saturation added) and landscape (contrast, saturation, etc.). DXO would then batch-remove lens distortion, chromatic aberrations, vignetting, apply custom curves, change white balance when necessary, and apply its (almost magical) auto lighting settings to make the shots pop. For now DXO does not have a custom module for the D3100 (still too new of a camera), so I’m shooting jpeg for now. Once DXO adds the module for the D3100, I’ll takes shots in both raw and jpeg fine and compare the jpegs straight out of the camera with the raw images processed with DXO. I’m curious to see the comparison.
This is great, not only for you, but also for your non-photographer spouse; my XSi took phenomenal shots, but I had to know how to set it. Can you imagine me going to my non-photographer wife and say, “okay, when you take indoor shots of our kids, set the camera on A mode (Canons expose for ambient light in A mode and adjust flash for fill, that’s great), +0.7 exposure compensation, ISO 400 or 800, white balance on cloudy, and shoot.” My wife was lost at “okay.” Sure the custom modes on the 40D would have helped, but the 40D is old technology; can it take 1080p video? I didn’t think so. Plus, what lens are you going to use with the 40D? The 17-55 IS? Great lens, but who wants to spend $1,000 for a non-weather sealed 17-55 dust collector (google Canon 17-55 and dust)? Will 17-55 be enough for your telephoto shots? Your kids’ baseball games? Didn’t think so. What about the Canon 18-200? Sub-par quality, noisy, overpriced.
Back to the D3100. Auto white balance (the second most important thing after composition) works great, even indoor (no cloudy setting necessary), the only changes are extreme situations (outdoor shade, or indoor fluorescent or tungsten lights at night, but that is true with every…
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|D70 Upgrade,
I recently updated my DSLR collection to the Nikon D3100 from the Nikon D70. There are good reviews out there that you should check out. However, I would like to share some of my first impressions.
Pro:
-Better image quality and lower noise at high ISO with the D3100
-MUCH MUCH lighter, which will be nice when traveling
-Larger LCD screen
-11 focus points, including 3D focus which tracks the motion of the subject or camera.
-1080p Video
-14 megapixels
-2nd Generation DSLR
-Quiet, quiet, quiet
Cons:
-No bracketing option. Not a huge deal since I only bracket once a year
-Cannot use my old 50mm 1.8 lens. I knew this before purchasing the camera.
-As of 10/1/2010, Camera RAW for the D3100 is not supported in Photoshop or Lightroom. Need to shoot .jpg + RAW or use Nikon Capture NX2 for RAW files. That should be updated soon, so not a big deal.
-Can hear the lens focusing when recording video.
-No depth of field preview.
-Can’t use wireless remote
I’m an amateur photographer and this camera meets my needs. I love the fact that it’s small and light, with great quality images. If I were a serious photographer and had more money to spare, I would wait and check out the D7000, which appears to have phenomenal specs. I’m happy with my purchase and I highly recommend this camera.
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|Nikon D3100 VS. D300 VS. D700,
For the cost of this camera, I don’t think you can get anything better. The low light performance is off the charts. As a wedding photographer I regularly shoot with Nikon’s high end professional equipment and I was amazed how close this camera is to a pro camera. Now let me get specific. In order to compare I took a look at 100% files out of each camera I own.
Which camera excels Nikon D3100($Cheap) VS. D300($1600) VS. D700 ($2,700):
* Lens = The D3100 is the only camera that comes with a lens at it’s normal price
* ISO Performance = Tie between D3100 and D700! (It could be Nikon’s new processing but the JPEG looks fantastic I was shooting D3100 on 6400iso with very little noise at all)
* Low Light Focusing = D700
* Focus Speed = D700
* External Buttons & Controls for Pros = D700
* Menu Navigation = D3100
* Ease of Use = D3100
* Megapixel = D3100 (14.2)
* Sensor size = D700 (Much more important than megapixels but I won’t get into this)
* Can use older lenses with functionality = D700 & D300
* Video = D3100 of course! 1080P video looks amazing.
* Frame Rate = D300 at 6 photos a second
* Weight = D3100 (light as a feather)
* Ergonomics = D700 (big enough for all my finger)
Lens:
The lens is a kit lens, it will work outside but not so great in low light. The Vibration Reduction will help indoors but Vibration Reduction can’t stop a child or pet in motion indoors. Consider buying a 35mm 1.8dx AFS for around $200 and you will be super happy with this camera.
Video:
I purchased the 3100 specifically to shoot video, so I put on Nikon’s brand new 85mm 1.4g Nano lens and shot video with it. The lens costs more than double the camera but I wanted to see how the 1080P video looked. It has the look of a cinematic movie. After the 85mm, I put on Nikon’s 50 1.2 manual focus lens and was able to take very cinematic video in manual mode. In order to make it brighter or darker you either need to use a really old lens like the 50mm 1.2 and hit the AE-L (auto exposure lock) and twist the aperture to change exposure. Or you can hit the AE-L button when you get the exposure you like. Its not a perfect system but it works well for me. Inside the menu options you can change the AE-L button to hold the setting until you reset which is helpful.
Jello Cam (What’s not so great):
This camera still suffers from the “Jello Cam” look in video if it is not on a tripod and you are shaky. The video can look like jello if moved too quickly. Use a monopod or tripod when shooting to avoid this. I’m not sure if a faster video frame rate 60fps would help – but at 24 and 30 it can suffer badly.
Conclusion:
This is an amazing deal! Unless you make most of your income from photography or have a stockpile of old lenses (this camera can only autofocus with AFS lenses) then this camera is the must have camera of the year. If you have good composition skills and an eye for light you can take photos worthy of a magazine with this. Seriously, you won’t regret buying this camera. When you do, do yourself a favor and buy an additional Nikon AFS lens that has a maximum aperture of 2.8, 1.8 or 1.4. These lenses will take better portraits and deal better in low light than the kit lens.
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