Nikon D3100 Review - Test shots and HD Video sample

In this review on DigitalPhotographyWriter.com I want to go through what I think are the key features on the Nikon D3100. This Nikon D3100 review will emphasize on the build quality and size, sensor size, video recording facilities, image quality and battery life. I wrote this review especially for novice photographers who don't have a lot of knowledge about digital photography nor they understand many of the technical terms. The review is followed by sample videos and test shots which were taken with my Nikon D3100 camera. There are many other reasons why photographers decide choose one camera over another, whether its the continuous shooting burst rate, bracketing, older lens compatibility, etc. I wrote this review for those of you who are thinking of purchasing the Nikon D3100, but haven't yet decided if you should buy or not.

Overview

When I have decided to purchase a new digital SLR camera, I was torn between an entry-level and mid-range level camera. After a few days of dilemmas, I have decided that to buy the Nikon D3100. The D3100 is a beginner's digital SLR camera. Being a beginner's camera, doesn't mean that it lacks the key features that makes SLR cameras stands apart from P&S cameras.

I've gotten some emails from my blog readers, asking me why have I chosen to purchase the D3100 and not go with the D90 or the more expensive Nikon D7000? - For me, the main reason for buying the D3100 over the D90 was the 1080p video and the better low-light capabilities. I could have bought the D90 for about the same price as the D3100, but for the reasons I stated above, I have decided to buy the D3100.

Unboxing the Nikon D3100

The Nikon D3100 is an amazing compact digital SLR camera. The first thing that you'll notice when unboxing it, is that it's very compact. So compact that it somewhat looks more like a SLR-like camera than real SLR camera. I was first felt a bit annoyed by the fact that it is so small. From my experience, I always preferred holding a large camera in my hands. It just feels better and stabilizes the weight of telephoto-zoom lenses much better. But in many things in life, you need to make some compromises.

When holding the D3100 in my hands, I felt that the camera build quality is very good. This is something that cannot be described in text, you just have to feel it and see for yourself. For many beginner photographers, the weight (505g) and size (124x96x75mm) is just perfect. Nikon knows that beginners will probably feel discouraged from buying a camera that is heavy and bulky. I remember the first time that I've seen my father's Nikon D70 camera, it looked like a tank compared to my Canon compact P&S camera. Of course after some time you just get used to it, but for people grabbing their first DSLR camera, the size and weight does matter and can certainly be an important factor in their buying decision.

In my opinion, the Nikon D3100 build quality is very good. When you couple the D3100 with a compact lens (e.g. Nikon 18-55mm KIT lens), you get a really compact combination. I think that's one reason why Nikon has decided to use the 18-55mm lens as a Kit lens, apart from also being cheap.

Key Features

Instead of writing about all the features of the camera, let's stay focus on the features the most important features.

Sensor Size

The Nikon D3100 has a ASP-C (23.1 x 15.4 mm) 14.2MP (effective) sensor. The D3100 is also referred to as DX camera (FX is a Nikon full frame DSLR camera). Using a 1.5 crop factor sensor camera means that you get a more pronounced magnification effect. For example, if you use a 50mm lens, the lens' focal length equals to 75mm on a Nikon DX camera.

It is important to knows that because with ever lens that you mount on the camera, the focal length will be multiplied by 1.5. That means that if you are looking for a 35mm equivalent lens, you should buy a 24mm instead of a 35mm one. A 24mm Nikkor lens will give you a 36mm, while a 35mm is equivalent to to approx. 52mm. This is something that you should understand, so you can buy a lens that best fits your type of shooting habits.

If you are coming from a point-and-shoot digital camera, you should know that a digital SLR camera has many advantages over P&S cameras. By having a larger sensor, DSLR cameras have the following advantages:

• Achieve must shallower depth of field (background blur) - Much better subject isolation (depends on the lens)
• low noise in high ISO sensitivity levels
• Better color accuracy
• Better light gathering capabilities (large photo diodes/pixels) / Low light capabilities
• Better image quality in higher resolutions (when compared to P&S)

You are probably asking yourself how important are the above facts? - Well, very important. You can see the outcome in the final image. It comes more noticeable when shooting images where you want to isolate the subject from the background. Furthermore, it is even more crucial when you shoot picture in low-light conditions. Point and shoot cameras has also embraced some new sensor technologies. One of them is the Backside-Illuminated sensor that improved the light sensitivity of the sensor, allowing point-and-shoot cameras to achieve better image quality when shooting in low-lighting conditions. Still, the small sensor has always been the "Achilles' heel" of point-and-shoot digital cameras.

Video

The Nikon D3100 video feature is probably one of the main reasons why I personally bought the D3100 instead of the D90. The D90 only featured 720p, while the D3100 can shoot both 720p and 1080p. Before I get into more details about the video, let's me explain in short what is the difference between 720p and 1080p.

720p = 1280 x 720 video resolution (also referred to as HD)
1080p = 1920 x 1080 video resolution (also referred to as Full HD)

So with the Nikon D90 you are limited to a lower 720p resolution. For some people it is enough, especially if you just want to share your videos on the Internet on various Tube video sharing websites like YouTube or Vimeo.

If you have a HDTV display at home, make sure that it has support for 1080p. If it does, it means that you can enjoy viewing high resolution videos by playing your 1080p videos from the Nikon D3100. 1080p is not bandwidth friendly resolution for the Internet right now. Try viewing a 1080p (even compressed) video on YouTube and you'll see what I am talking about. It just takes too much bandwidth so it just pauses from time to time. If you have a very fast broadband connection, you won't have a problem with that. Bottom line, 720p is probably the most suitable HD format for playing high resolution videos on the Web. It is just more bandwidth friendly.

Now you are probably asking yourself: "Hey, the D90 shoots 720p, so if I just need 720p why not getting the D90 instead?". A very good question. In my opinion and other people's opinion as well, the D3100 video quality as vastly improved upon the D90. It means that you get better image quality in videos on the D3100 when compared to the D90. I actually didn't like the D90 videos at all. If I had to shoot HD videos, it was by either shooting it with the D3100 (or other latest cameras) or not shoot at all.

If you asked me this question just a year ago, I would have said "Canon all the way!". But Nikon has considerably improved the HD recording capabilities of its DSLR cameras. I think that the difference between Canon and Nikon video recording capabilities are almost unnoticeable.

Let me show you a video which I've taken with the Nikon D3100. This is my first HD video. I didn't apply any further editing, just applied transitions between the different scenes.

The above video was shot at 720p @ 30fps. If you decided to shoot videos in 1080p, you are limited to 24 frames per second (fps). You can see that the video color rendering is brilliant, so beautiful and natural.

The Nikon does support AF while shooting videos. Even so, I am not a fan of this feature. I personally prefer shooting videos in manual focusing mode. The reasons for that are the speed, accuracy and sound that doesn't work that well while using AF in D-Movie mode.  The sounds of the lens AF is probably the most annoying one. It is being captures by the manorial built-in microphone on the D3100.  In order to solve that, you will need to purchase an external mic. In some cases it might do that job well, but for my type of shooting, I would prefer using manual focusing, at least until Nikon come up with a DSLR camera that provides much better continuous AF.

Image Quality

The image quality is probably one of the departments that the Nikon D3100 really rocks. Nikon D3100 is Nikon's latest DSLR camera. As a newly designed camera, it features the latest technology hardware that, at the end, resembles a highly capable entry-level digital SLR camera.  Many people buy a DSLR camera because of the image quality that it can produce. The Nikon D3100 is one of those cameras that won't let you down.

When we talk about image quality, we can overlook the fact that a good lens should be used with the camera in order to produce high quality images. Luckily, Nikon is one of the leaders in high quality lens manufacturing. I personally have bought two lenses: Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX NIKKOR and Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR. Both with Vibration reduction motor.

For those of you who aren't familiar with focal lengths on interchangeable lenses, here is a quick explanation.

What's a "Focal Length"?
The focal length describes the distance in millimeters between the optical center element of the lens and the camera's digital sensor (or film, depends on the camera that you use).

The smaller the focal length number, the larger the angle of view. It means that if you want to capture a very wide scene, you would opt to purchase a lens with a lower focal length (i.e., wide angle lens or ultra wide angle lens). If you want to get closer to your subject and capture a subject that is far away from you, you would opt to get a lens with larger focal length (i.e., telephoto lens or super telephoto lens).

OK, enough mumbling about technical stuff. Let's look at some Nikon D3100 sample images shall we?

Nikon D3100 Test Shots

Note: All the test shots were taken in Raw and converted to Jpeg using CaptureNX2. They where also re-sized and not reflecting the original full size image that the Nikon D3100 is capable of capturing. I also added some of the EXIF metadata to you know how I shot the each photo.


Nikon D3100 Sample image 1

Original Image Size:    L (4608 x 3072)
Image Quality:    Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Device:    Nikon D3100
Lens:    VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G
Focal Length:    70mm
Focus Mode:    AF-S
AF-Area Mode:    Single
VR:    ON
Aperture:    F/6.3
Shutter Speed:    1/400s
Exposure Comp.:    0EV
Metering:    Matrix
ISO Sensitivity:    ISO 100
White Balance:    Auto, 0, 0
High ISO NR:    ON (Normal)
Active D-Lighting:    Auto




Nikon D3100 Sample image 2

Original Image Size: L (4608 x 3072)
Image Quality: Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Device: Nikon D3100
Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 110mm
Focus Mode: AF-S
AF-Area Mode: Auto
VR: ON
Aperture:  F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 400



Nikon D3100 Sharpness + 100% original crops

You are probably interested to see how many details the camera can capture 14.2-megapixel effective resolution. In the next picture (shot in Raw) you can see exhibit the Nikon D3100 + 70-300mm VR sharpness and fine details that you can capture with this lens-camera combo.

Sharpness sample image 1:

Old Tractor photo
Taken with Nikon D3100 + Nikkor 70-300mm VR
(click to enlarge)

Image Quality: Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Device: Nikon D3100
Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 70mm
Focus Mode:  AF-S
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR: ON
Aperture: F/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 800
Active D-Lighting: Auto

100% crop
From Raw; No extra sharpening was applied

Sharpness sample image 2:

Dry leaves surrounding a weird ground bulge

Image Quality: Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Device: Nikon D3100
Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G
Focal Length: 112mm
Focus Mode: AF-S
AF-Area Mode: Single
VR: ON
Aperture: F/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/160s
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Matrix
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 400

Crop from 100% original JPEG image file

That's what I called amazing details. Just couple the Nikon D3100 with a respectable piece of glass and you will have a lot of cropping and editing freedom.

If you are still not convinces yet, read my Nikon 18-55mm VR lens review which was tested with my Nikon D3100. The sharpness is really out of this world. Luckily, even the cheapo Nikon 18-55mm is able to capture highly detailed images. The better the glass, the better the sharpness would be under various aperture settings and focal lengths. That's for the pixel-peepers out there. Overall, the D3100 was able to capture highly detailed images with my two Nikon lenses.

Nikon D3100 Battery Life

One of the reasons why I opted for buying a DSLR camera was the battery life. P&S cameras give you about 200 shot battery life. It means that if you intend to shoot a lot of images a day, you should either buy several compatible batteries or use rechargeable batteries or/and regular AA batteries, if they are supported by your camera. I don't like massing up with batteries. Considering the fact that the Nikon D3100 currently don't have an official vertical battery grip, you need to rely on one lithium battery.

The Nikon D3100 works on a Li-ion EN-EL14 battery that delivers up to 550 frames on a single charge (based on CIPA standards). Although 550 frames is less than what you get with more advanced Nikon DSLRS, still, it is more than enough for many of us. I have been shooting hundreds of photos and a few 1080p videos on my 32GB card one day. Believe me when tell you that I could have shot another day with it.

If you intend to shoot many HD videos or planning to shoot more than the 550 frames a day, buying a second battery is always a good move. Maybe that's one of the disadvantages of the D3100, that it doesn't have an official battery grip where you can add a second battery. Even so, carrying a second battery is not going to be such a burden. Just put it in your bag and you won't feel that it's even there.

By the way, there are several other important DSLR accessories that I think that you should consider buying together with your Nikon D3100 (should you decided to buy it).

Highly Recommended Entry-Level Digital SLR!

As an enthusiast photographer, I really happy that I have decided to purchase the Nikon D3100. It is an excellent beginner's digital SLR camera. It's able to capture beautiful videos and still images. For many photographer, it is the only camera that they'll need. It captures beautiful JPEG images and if you shoot RAW, you will be able to capture even higher detailed images. It is lightweight and very compact when compared to more advanced DSLR in Nikon's lineup.

You will enjoy shooting videos and photo with it. At the end of the day, you want to come home with beautiful images and share them with your friends and family. This is the perfect camera for the family photographer or for anyone who is moving from point-and-shoot or DSLR-like cameras to a move advanced SLR camera.

Even with a cheap 18-55mm lens the Nikon D3100 was able to capture stunning photos. For many of us, it's just a waste spending more on a camera. Just buy a good lens and start shooting gorgeous images. I really love my Nikon D3100 and I am sure that you enjoy shooting with it too. Highly Recommended!

If you are buying the D3100 and searching for a book on the D3100, I highly recommend these two books:  Nikon D3100 Digital Field Guide and Nikon D3100: From Snapshots to Great Shots.

If you see this review in other website other than DigitalPhotographyWriter.com, please send me an email. Thanks.