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Nikon D3100 review

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Verdict

Absolutely superb image quality, a top video mode and great handling make this a deserving award winner

Review Date: 3 Nov 2010

Reviewed By: Dave Stevenson

Price when reviewed: £424 (£498 inc VAT)

Buy it now for: £305
(see more store prices)

Overall Rating

Features & Design
6 stars out of 6

Value for Money
5 stars out of 6

Performance
6 stars out of 6

PCPRO Recommended

The bottom end of Nikon’s formidable DSLR line-up has never looked so tempting. The D3100’s build quality is up to Nikon’s intimidating reputation, with the possible exception of the rather wobbly pop-up flash. It’s almost identical to the wonderful D5000 in the hand; it’s big enough to grip comfortably and small enough to be eminently portable.

It does cram in a few more body-mounted controls, though. Unlike the D5000 it has a drive selector switch, allowing you to select burst, single or timer modes, as well as a quiet mode. As with the flash, the switch itself feels a little on the cheap side.

Other luxuries are thin on the ground. The D-pad on the rear resists the urge to function as a set of four shortcut buttons, while the 3in monitor is fairly low resolution with 230kpixels, and it doesn’t pivot. There is, however, a big improvement when it comes to video. The D3100 is Nikon’s first H.264-capable camera, and offers 24fps, 1080p recording to a maximum of ten minutes.

The D3100 is very new, so the price isn’t as appealing as some of the other models we've seen recently. However, its image quality clearly shows the benefit of being a generation ahead of other cameras. It's simply superb.

The kit lens helps. As with the D5000, the D3100 comes with Nikon’s decent 18-55mm effort, and in our still-life tests it excelled. In our high ISO tests, it bested every rival we've tested. Some softness started to edge in at ISO 3200, but even at a stop beyond that images were salvageable with a little Photoshop intervention. The H2 setting – equivalent to ISO 12800 – pushes the boundaries, but it still edged ahead of its closest rival, the Canon EOS 550D.

The D3100 is yet another sign of Nikon taking the challenge straight to Canon’s doorstep. At this price, the D3100 is just as desirable as the D5000. Image quality is improved, as is the video mode. Build quality doesn’t quite match, but otherwise the D3100 is the D5000’s equal in every way. Canon’s next low-end effort is going to have to be spectacular to match this.

Author: Dave Stevenson

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Comments

User comments

...and like all entry-level Nikons it doesn't have bracketing. So for all users who want to grow, D5000 (being also faster and cheaper) represents much better value imho.

By Lomskij on 3 Nov 2010

Sound Quality???

I own the wonderful D5000 and would say that it takes longer to learn how to use all the features than it does for Nikon to release a new model!

However it is worth noting that on video mode the sound recording is appalling, which rather defeats the object. I am also not aware if you can use an external mic???

By ironbath on 3 Nov 2010

People who are interested in making videos should look for a camcorder, rather than a DSLR. It shows your ignorance of highest order by complaining about the sound quality or video of D3100.

This gem is intended for still photography and this is what it does best in its class. Brilliant ISO 3200 and even 6400 is truly an amazing thing done bu Nikon.

Yes price can be an issue, but its not worse or over the moon. Its a new model so its price is expected to decrease somewhat.

As soon as I save money for it, I will go for this camera finally there is a DSLR that has won my heart due to its size, weight and top of the line image quality.

One last word, its for still photography and video is just added bonus for short clips and not serious video shooting. If you need that go get an HD camcorder and stop complaining about this little beauty.

By imrankhan1984 on 4 Nov 2010

Hang on there a moment!

@imrankhan1984
Let's be clear, I did ofcourse buy my D5000 for still photography, and it is excellent. For video I do use my camcorder.

I was simply commenting on the headline summary of the review that describes a "top video mode". May be my point wasn't clearly made but I feel that it is wrong to praise the video mode if the sound recording function doesn't match... and on the D5000 it is truely appalling!

By ironbath on 7 Nov 2010

Play nice

@imrankhan
"It shows your ignorance of highest order..."

The whole point of these DSLRs offering video is that you can use these in exactly the same way as a 16mm or 35mm film camera.

Replace the lens with a quality wide-angle lens or zoom lens of your choice, attach a matte box with french flag & wings, attach a follow focus, attach it to a fully professional tripod or shoulder mount... and you can get results that professionals would expect from a movie camera.

Yes, if you wanted this for your holiday videos it would be a bit useless. You can let any camcorder handle the focus, contrast, whitebalance, etc, for you. However, if your a small independent film/TV production - these kinds of cameras are a godsend. To get the best quality out of a movie camera you were never going to use it on auto - you were going to use the controls on manual.

Poor audio and the current ISO discussed in this review are not a problem. You are never going to rely on sound from the camera; that's useful for reference. You will have a sound recordist with a digital recorder (cheap as £100) with a mic (cheap as £150) attached to a boom (£75ish) catching dialogue. Or maybe use tie-clip mics on your actors. You record background sound before or after filming. You'll mix and edit it in post-production. Lighting for film/TV has always required bringing some (or a lot of) additional lighting equipment, wither outside or in a studio, to help the image sensors (and for aesthetic reasons).

Filmmakers are used to having to set up and handle movie cameras in the same way that still photographers used their cameras... Now they can actually buy (digital) still cameras that also record video. Amazing.

By Jimraf on 28 Nov 2010

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