by Mike Zawadzki, Technical Specialist
It is safe to say that the Nikon D3100 is Nikon's first attempt at making a competitive entry-level camera since the D40 in November 2006. Almost four years later Nikon is back in the game with the brand new D3100. Over those four long years Nikon floundered with the D40x, D60, and D3000. So what do I mean by floundered? Should you feel bad if you own one of those cameras? Absolutely not, they all take great pictures, but none of the three cameras had any truly innovative features. In fact the D40x, D60, and D3000 all sport the same 10.2 Megapixel CCD sensor and EXPEED processor. So no matter how many small upgrades Nikon made, image quality remained the same. So what makes the new D3100 so special? Keep reading after the jump/break for my video review, some ISO samples, and my first impressions about the D3100. Video Review
New in the D3100
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| New 14.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor with ISO sensitivity from 100-12,800 |
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| EXPEED2 Processor |
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| 11-Point AF system with 3D Tracking |
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| Live-View toggle switch on the back of the camera for quick access and video recording |
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| Drive mode switch added next to mode dial |
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| Customizable Function (Fn) button under pop-up flash button |
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| New EN-EL14 batery |
Other New Features:
-Continuous AF during Live View and Video
-1080p HD Movie Recording at 24fps and 720p HD Movie Recording at 24/25/30fps
What I like about the Nikon D3100
-Nikon finally used a new sensor in the D3100. The D40x, D60, and D3000 all used the same CCD sensor so the ISO range always topped out at 3200 and high ISO settings looked awful. The new 14.2 Megapixel sensor in the D3100 in conjunction with the new EXPEED2 processor provides for ISO sensitivity up to 12,800. The high ISO image quality of the Nikon D3100 matches or beats that of the DX flagship D300s.
-The D3100 is the first entry-level Nikon DSLR with Live View shooting. This is an important feature for consumers moving from point and shoot cameras to a DSLR. For normal everyday shooting this will actually slow you down and I recommend learning how to use the viewfinder to compose, but hey some people like it! There is continuous AF during Live View as well as other options such as face priority, subject tracking, and wide-zone AF. Getting into Live View mode is easier than ever with a well designed toggle switch on the back of the camera.
-In the middle of the Live View switch is a red button that is used for starting/ending video recording. The D3100 is the first Nikon DSLR with 1080p HD video recording. Kudos to Nikon for putting an important new feature in an entry level model before it makes it's way into higher-end cameras.
-Nikon's new 11 point AF system is the most advanced AF system in an entry-level DSLR. It features 3D tracking of moving subjects and the points are well distributed across the frame, not jammed all right in the middle.
-The redesigned body is more ergonomically sound. Even though it is small and made out of plastic, it feels sturdy and comfortable to photograph with. The added function (Fn) button and drive mode switch make changing your settings easier than ever on an entry-level Nikon. Less menu digging is always a good thing!
What I don't like about the Nikon D3100
-The LCD Monitor is very weak on the D3100. In 2010, Nikon could do much better than 230k dot resolution LCD. For four years, the D40x, D60, and D3000 all had 230K resolution monitors. Granted the 3" size is nice, but in Nikon's first 1080p HD DSLR it would have been nice of Nikon to include a proper LCD monitor.
-The lack of control during video recording is absolutely horrifying. I know this is an entry-level camera but some kind of video functionality outside of completely automatic would have been nice. There is also no microphone jack on the camera for using an external microphone so you are limited to using the pathetic in-camera microphone.
-The lack of an exposure simulation during Live View is baffling. Canon has had this feature for a very long time in their Powershot compacts and more recently in DSLR cameras. There really is no excuse here. I understand some of my gripes are just features/functions being held back for higher-end models, but none of Nikon's higher-end models have exposure simulation either.
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| Nikon should get rid of silly GUIDE modes too... |
-The 18-55mm kit lens doesn't work well indoors with the continuous focus during Live View. Again this is a brand new feature for DSLR cameras, so I don't expect it to be perfect right away, but I can see many people getting frustrated with their results. Because there is no external microphone option for the D3100, you can hear the 18-55 clunking and whining all day long in your videos if you're inside and there isn't a lot of ambient sound.
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| The 18-55mm DX kit lens is OK, but not ideal for video |
ISO Samples
Very impressive. I used a similar setup in the review I did on the Olympus E-PL1. Wow what an improvement from the D3000, which had a horrible JPEG engine that spits out garbage JPEGS. (Note: The RAW files from the D3000 are fine, but the JPEGS are awful) When I shoot weddings, I use two bodies, a D700 and D300s. From tens of thousands of exposures at high ISOs, I know both cameras pretty well. The D3100 isn't as good as the D700 is at high ISOs, but it is certainly a step ahead of the D300s. Good job Nikon.
I shot this test in RAW + JPEG. The shot was manually focused and shot at f/8 for each shot to keep depth of field consistent. Picture Control was set to Standard. Here are the links to the RAW (.NEF) file downloads:
Click the pictures bellow to see the full size JPEGs straight from the camera.
Yes the plush monkey I used is a shout out to Ken Rockwell, but his is in much better condition!
Yes the plush monkey I used is a shout out to Ken Rockwell, but his is in much better condition!
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| ISO 100 |
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| ISO 200 |
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| ISO 400 |
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| ISO 800 |
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| ISO 1600 |
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| ISO 3200 |
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| ISO 6400 |
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| ISO 12,800 |
Picture Control Samples
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| NEUTRAL |
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| STANDARD |
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| VIVID |
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| MONOCHROME |
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| PORTRAIT |
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| LANDSCAPE |
Conclusion/Recommendations
My criticisms in the the "What I don't like about the Nikon D3100" may be a little harsh. It is important to remember that the D3100 is a camera targeted towards consumers, not professionals. The video functionality I am disappointed with is addressed in the new D7000 camera. If those features are important to you, the D7000 is the camera you want, not the D3100. We will have to wait and see what Nikon decides to do with the D5000 replacement, presumably a D5100. I expect that it will have a microphone jack and manual video controls to compete with the Canon Rebel t2i.
-MZ
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