Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

The D3100, announced back in August of 2010, is an entry-level DSLR from Nikon, but the list of features and specs might surprise you: the 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor is at the heart of this camera, giving it ISO 100 to 3200 (with a high ISO 12,800 option), 3 frames per second continual shooting, 1080p 24fps MPEG/h.264 video with continual auto focus, an 11-point autofocus system with 3D tracking, 420-segment RGB II metering, automatic image sensor cleaning, in-camera retouch options (including trimming of video clips), and a built-in pop-up flash. It's a very capable camera for under the $700 mark. Be sure to check out my two-part unboxing and first impressions video if you haven't already seen it. My full review video is after the break. Read more...

The ever-friendly Kai looks at the Nikon D3100, considered by some - including me - to be one of the top entry-level DSLRs on the market today. I discovered a rude surprise today though: Nikon changed their raw format with this camera, so Adobe Lightroom 3.2 can't import the raw files. I sure hope Adobe releases an update for Lightroom soon!

The D3100, announced back in August, is an entry-level DSLR from Nikon, but the list of features and specs might surprise you: the 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor is at the heart of this camera, giving it ISO 100 to 3200 (with a high ISO 12,800 option), 3 frames per second continual shooting, 1080p 24fps MPEG/h.264 video with continual auto focus, an 11-point autofocus system with 3D tracking, 420-segment RGB II metering, automatic image sensor cleaning, in-camera retouch options (including trimming of video clips), and a built-in pop-up flash. It's a very capable camera for just under the $700 mark.

I've had a few entry-level Nikon DSLRs over the past couple of years; I got a Nikon D60, sold it, then bought the Nikon D5000 (and reviewed it here), and sold it to purchase the D3100. I quite liked the D5000, but the video functionality was hobbled by the lack of auto-focus. The D3100 brings 1080p video with auto-focus to the table, along with a slight bump in resolution and several other enhancements over the D5000. Check out the two-part unboxing and first impressions video after the break. Fire your questions my way after watching the videos. Read more...

"Nikon has developed a habit of making very attractive entry-level DSLRs, which are rarely the best specified but cleverly designed so that they're easy and enjoyable to shoot with. The D3000 fitted this pattern perfectly, a gentle refresh of the D60 (which was itself a slightly updated D40X), it added ease-of-use features to make it a pleasant little camera despite a specification that was beginning to look rather out-of-step with the rest of the market. The D3000 sold well, despite its rather aged 10 megapixel sensor and lack of both live view and video. However, there's only so long that clever product design and feature integration can make up for a specification that looks dated. So with this in mind, Nikon has announced the D3100 - probably the biggest refresh of its entry-level offering since it really attacked the low end market with the original D40."

Not surprisingly, Nikon send a D3100 over to dpreview - hey, if I were them, I would too - and a six page preview is the result. A few things I didn't know before: the videos are limited to 10 minutes long, which isn't such a bad limitation. Also, the Guide Mode looks pretty helpful for beginners. Definitely worth checking out of the D3100 is on your potential wish-list!

"Mississauga, ON, August 19, 2010 - Nikon Canada Inc. today announced the D3100 as the newest addition to its family of quality DX-format digital SLRs. It's the world's first digital SLR to introduce full-time auto-focus (AF) in Live View and D-Movie Mode, allowing users to effortlessly achieve the critical focus needed when shooting in full HD 1080p video. The 14.2 megapixel D3100 also makes it easier than ever to step-up to digital SLR photography with its enhanced in-camera Guide Mode."

[click the image above for a high-res image of the Nikon D3100]

Readers of Digital Home Thoughts, I give you the Nikon D3100. For the first time, I've been invited to be under Nikon Canada's press embargo, which means I was given access to images and the press release early. This has allowed me to pour over the information Nikon has provided, and give it some thought.

The D3100, released about a year after the D3000, represents an significant jump forward in intro-level DSLR technology. If you watched my video review of the Nikon D5000, you'll know that my video experience with video on a DSLR was pretty much a complete failure - the lack of auto-focus made the video on the D5000 extremely hard to use. In a controlled environment - say, an interview subject that doesn't move much - it works great. But try any sort of scene with motion, and the whole thing falls apart. The D3100 is the first DSLR to introduce full-time auto-focus while shooting video. When combined with Nikon's 3D tracking, this should be a quantum leap forward in the ease-of-use department. Nikon's 3D tracking system allows you to lock onto a colour or pattern, and the focus system will track that subject as it moves through the frame as long as you keep the shutter release pressed halfway.

The 3D tracking system works pretty well most of the time - and the D3100 also brings face detection technology into the mix, allowing it to recognize and focus on up to 35 faces at once. Those three things combined should make the D3100 the first DSLR where video can be shot reasonably easily. That's a very big deal in my book - prior to the release of the D3100, I've openly told friends and family to avoid buying a DSLR for the video function because it's so hard to use. Looks like I finally have something to recommend to them! Read more...