D3100 Impressions

[mdma]

 

<p>Just some brief pro/cons I've noticed.<br>

A little about where I'm coming from– Amateur who started taking photography seriously this January, have built up a small collection of film SLRs. The two I use most are my F5 and my OM-1n - Yeah I like my pro bodies :)<br>

The D3100 is my first DSLR.<br>

<strong>Things I like:</strong> <br>

Its small. Really small. The footprint is little larger than a CD case, and around 9-10cm tall. Great for travel.<br>

Its light too, so much so that the D3100 can be easily held in one hand for extended periods of time.<br>

But by no means does the D3100 feel cheaply made; the body does not creak or groan at all. If I had to be nitpicky, the shutter mode selection switch (single/multiple/self timer etc.) sounds hollow but that’s it. All the other buttons have pleasant resistance in a pleasant matt finish (with the exception of the chrome shutter release – just a little tacky, no?) The battery compartment is snug; the memory card slot cover springs open with a sense of bravado, and the live view lever in feels particularly well made, as if physically connected to the mirror system.<br>

As far as actual operation goes, it’s made simple as could be really with the D3100 illustrating nearly every change with a sample picture.<br>

It accepts the latest generation of SDXC cards, if 64GB+ of data is your thing.<br>

Video quality (1080p) is solid but not spectacular. It certainly wont be used for shooting an episode of House, put it that way.<br>

The viewfinder is small but perfectly useable, even for a glasses wearer like myself.<br>

The built in flash has iTTL and the usual sync settings – slow, red eye, rear curtain – and output compensation. Once learned and understood, It’s adequate for a casual shooter.<br>

In terms of image quality, all I can say is that Im happy with performance up to and including ISO 3200. Getting quality pictures at 6400 is just wishful thinking!<br>

<strong>Things I don’t like:</strong><br>

I’m surprised at the lack of AEB – how hard would it have been to implement, seriously? Even my lowly EOS 300 film body has it. I suppose with the advent of RAW and Photoshop et al it’s not as much as an issue, and the target audience is unlikely to use it, but still...<br>

The passable video is hampered with mono audio (only - no inputs). The autofocus does indeed work during recording, but is audible and unsuccessfully hunts for poorly lit subjects:<br>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHzvJPG12tU<br>

The screen is only 230k instead of 920k seen elsewhere. Although this just reflects the D3100's standing in the Nikon stable, one would think a hi-res screen would help attract casual users during a a demonstation, and sharing parts across the range would surely keep the extra cost to a minimum.<br>

The default sharpness is way,<em>way</em> too low.<br>

<strong>Summary:</strong><br>

If Reuters called me tomorrow and offerred me the chance to do some shooting on the other side of the world, I'd happily take my D3100 - its capabilities as a camera doesn't outstrip my abilities as a digital photographer, and Im fairly confident it'll survive the exiting life i lead (read: careless with equipment).<br>

Its not quite the all rounder the D90 is, but it is cheaper and still represents a good price/feature balance for people just starting with DSLR's. <br>

Thanks for reading!</p>

 

<div></div>

[mdma]

<p>Sample Image 2 - Default Sharpness (look at "Minerva")</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>Sample Image 3 - Sharpened in Post</p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>Sample Image 4 - </p><div></div>

[mdma]

<p>Oh all were taken with the 18-55 VR. </p>

[jay_poel]

<p>Thanks for the review. My wife wondered my I gave my Dad my D80 when I upgraded to a D90 and I've been contemplating on gettting her a D3000/D3100 - I wish she had said something BEFORE I offered it to my Dad - LOL. Nice to see a real review from a fellow poster. I think the D3100 would be easier for her anyways.</p>

<p>As a side note - I find the default sharpening on my D90 a little soft too.</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>Swaroop,<br>

Just curious, what does "Default Sharpness" mean ?<br>

Sharpness is influenced by so many different things, like :<br>

- Which lens do you put on the cam<br>

- Focussing technique<br>

- Aperture setting ( overal sharpness versus DOF)<br>

- USages of tripod( camera movement<br>

- etc. etc. </p>

 

[jay_poel]

<p>I'm sure he means the setting in the menus for each "Picture Control" - standard, neutral, vivid, portrait, landscape, etc. which is how the camera applies sharpening when processing (and saturation, contrast, etc).</p>

[mdma]

<p>Yep thats what I mean - you can adjust saturation and sharpness for each of the picture control presets.<br>

Out of the factory, the sharpness is 3 of a possible 9- Im happier with a 7/8 - but I appreciate all the factors you mentioned do affect it as well. </p>

[RaymondC]

<p>How is the noise compared to your D90 at high ISO? Thinking if it would be a great light camera that is good for handheld at night in the city. </p>

<p>Thx</p>

[jay_poel]

<p>I have the D90 but not a D3100 and Swaroop has the D3100 not the D90. :)</p>

[CvhKaar]

<p>Aha Jay, Swaroop. thx. now I understand the thing about sharpness better.<br>

<br />I was just triggered by the sentence "The default sharpness is way,<em>way</em> too low" , which made me think the camera was not capable of sharp pictures, but I understood wrongly.</p>

<p>Thx, for the review Swaroop, since I am currently looking for a cam. for my wife, and this helps me for that.</p>