Just recently, Nikon launched its latest dSLR camera, the Nikon D3100. Positioned as a middle-low dSLR camera, Nikon D3100 price is quite affordable. This may cause someone to wonder, “What about the features/technologies and performance of this camera?” It may be a valued dSLR camera, but user will still expect to get a high-quality camera. Moreover, this edition is claimed to be the successor of Nikon D3000, a highly successful product which brought Nikon to closing the gap with Canon. This short Nikon D3100 review is intended to answer the simple question “Is Nikon D3100 price worth what it offers?”
In order to answer that question, this article will present Nikon D3100 review in three main points, the “what went well”, “what needs to be improved” and “who needs it the most.”
What went well?
- High quality photos – Photos quality produced by Nikon D3100 is amazing, even under ISO 800 setting. People could even get better photos by adjusting the ISO settings up to ISO 3200. The color reproduction is very great and no over saturation noticed.
- Picture sharpness – Picture sharpness greatly depends on the lens quality used. Unfortunately, Nikon D3100 coming with a highly reliable 18-55mm VR kit lens. Professional photographer may opt for 28-300mm VR kit, with which the picture sharpness will be lifelike. However, less-professional ones will find the bundled lens is more than enough.
- The video recording capability is amazing. Able to record a Full HD 1080p video at both 24 and 30 fps (frame per second) is quite exceptional for a dSLR camera. In addition to that, user can also do simple editing within the camera (ie. deleting scenes, saving particular frames, etc).
- Guide Mode – Nikon Guide Mode is a user-friendly guide mode embedded in the camera itself and full manual controls in video capture. The guide mode will be exceptionally helpful for families, which are inexperienced with dSLR camera before, to learn more about photography as well as the full features of Nikon D3100.
What needs to be improved?
- Small viewfinder – Body of Nikon D3100 is quite small and compact. User will find no difficulty in carrying it around, however, the downside is that the viewfinder is quite small. Although it has no significant impact and eventually user will get used to it, it's worth to be noted.
- Slower camera performance – The power on and shooting time is between 0.4 – 0.6 seconds, depends on the light conditions. The shot-to-shot timing for taking JPEG images is between 0.6 – 0.9 seconds. Albeit could be a distraction for professional photographer, it may not really affect the less-professional photographer. After all, if you're a professional one, you will not go for Nikon D3100.
Who needs it the most?
- Hobbyist
- Less-professional photographer
- User searching for the best dSLR camera with limited budget
