Nikon D3100 specifications


The D3100 has a very good noise profile; it matches (and perhaps bests) the current leader in the budget dSLR category, the Pentax K-x. It produces exceptionally clean JPEGs up through ISO 800 and very usable ones through ISO 3200. (Adobe Camera Raw doesn't yet support the D3100 and Nikon Capture NX 2 doesn't provide sufficiently granular enough noise reduction for me to do raw versus JPEG comparisons). The camera delivers excellent color reproduction in its default SD mode as well--a nice change from some overly saturation-pushing competitors like Pentax and Sony--and its metering and exposure system work reliably and well.


Sharpness is, of course, lens dependent, but I was pretty happy with the various models I tested; generally, shots looked sharp but not oversharpened. In addition to the always reliable 18-55mm VR kit lens, I shot with the new pro-level 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 ED VR and consumer 55-300mm f4.5-5.6 ED VR, as well as the older 35mm f1.8 lens. In many ways I think the 28-300mm is a great lens optically, but I didn't like the feel of the zoom ring--it's feels inconsistent and a little too tight--and it's too heavy for a light body like the D3100's. The 55-300mm is obviously a better fit for the body, but it is slower, not quite as sharp, and more prone to fringing; that said, many will find it satisfactory for the money, and good a choice as a second lens. Similarly, for a relatively cheap lens, the 35mm f1.8 fares pretty well overall. There's a little bit of asymmetrical distortion on the right, however, as well as some fringing along backlit edges. But once again, it's a great lens value.

Video quality looks typical for its class, but with seemingly more rolling shutter artifacts than usual (and note that the lens VR makes a huge difference when shooting video). The audio isn't bad, but the full-time AF is not only loud, but pretty bad at locking on the appropriate subject. However, the camera does offer full manual exposure controls during movie capture. A 30-second countdown-to-shutoff timer appears in the upper left side of the display while the camera is idle in Live View/movie mode--an interesting touch.

Though the camera's performance is perfectly fine, it is a bit slower than the D3000 overall and not quite as fast as its competitors. It powers on and shoots in about 0.4 second and can focus and shoot in good light in the same 0.4 second. In dim light, that rises to a still-good 0.6 second, which is better than its predecessor. JPEG shot-to-shot time is about 0.6 second, which increases to 0.9 second for raw; that's slower than the D3000 and the rest of the pack. With flash, it's about 1.1 second. The D3100 also has the slowest burst performance of the group, at 2.9fps; in practice, it really did feel a hair too slow to photograph randomly moving subjects, like squirrels and birds. It might be fine for photographing the kids, though.

It has essentially the same viewfinder as the D3000, although it now uses the tiny AF points I hate; Nikon claims they were requested by users, though. The viewfinder itself is on the small, low-magnification side, but isn't too bad. You can view the LCD pretty well in direct sunlight.

Nikon D3100 specifications

Price (Body + 18-55mm VR Lens) US: $699
UK: £579.99
EU: €599
Body color Black
Sensor* • 23.1 x 15.4 mm CMOS sensor
• Nikon DX format (1.5x FOV crop)
• 14.2 million effective pixels*
• RGB Color Filter Array
• 12-bit A/D converter
Anti-dust measures • Image sensor cleaning system
• Airflow control system
• Image dust off from reference frame (using optional Capture NX software)
Image sizes* • 4608 x 3072 (L)*
• 3456 x 2304 (M)*
• 2304 x 1536 (S)*
Image quality * • NEF (12-bit compressed RAW)
• JPEG fine (1:4)
• JPEG normal (1:8)
• JPEG basic (1:16)
• NEF (RAW) + Fine JPEG*
Movie sizes* • 1920 x 1080 24p*
• 1280 x 720 30p*
• 1280 x 720 25p*
• 1280 x 720 24p*
• 640 x 424 24p*
Movie format * • MOV, H.264, mono sound recording (PCM)
Color space • sRGB
• Adobe RGB
Lens mount Nikon F mount (with AF contacts)
Lens compatibility
• AF-S, AF-I
• Other Type G or D AF Nikkor
• Other AF Nikkor/AI-P Nikkor

• Type D PC Nikkor

• Non-CPU



• IX Nikkor/AF Nikkor for F3AF
• AI-P NIKKOR
-All functions supported
- All functions supported except autofocus
- All functions supported except autofocus and 3D Color Matrix Metering II
- All functions supported except some shooting modes
- Can be used in mode M, but exposure meter does not function; electronic range finder can be used if maximum aperture is f/5.6 or faster
- Cannot be used
-All functions supported except 3D color matrix metering II
Autofocus • 11 area TTL phase detection
• Nikon Multi-CAM1000 autofocus module
• Detection range: EV -1 to +19 (ISO 100 equivalent, at normal temperature)
• Manual focus [M], Electronic range finding supported
Lens servo* • Single-servo AF (AF-S)
• Continuous-servo AF (AF-C)
• Automatic AF-S/AF-C (AF-A)
• Full time AF (AF-F)*
• Manual focus (MF)
AF Area mode • Single Area AF
• Dynamic Area AF
• Auto Area AF
• 3D Tracking (11 points)
• Closest Subject Priority Dynamic Area AF
Focus tracking Predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status in continuous-servo AF
Focus area Can be selected from 11 focus points
Focus lock Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button
AF Assist White light lamp
Exposure mode* • Auto
    - Auto
    - Flash off
• Scene Modes
Portrait
Landscape
Child
Sports
Close up
Night portrait
• Programmed auto (P) with flexible program
• Shutter-priority auto (S)
• Aperture priority auto (A)
• Manual (M)
• GUIDE mode
    • Easy operation
Auto
No flash
Distant subjects
Close ups
Sleeping faces
Moving subjects
Landscapes
Portraits
Night portrait
    • Advanced mode
Soften backgrounds (aperture priority)
Bring more into focus (aperture priority)*
Freeze motion (people) (shutter priority)
Freeze motion (vehicles) (shutter priority)
Show water flowing (shutter priority)*
    • Use a timer / quiet shutter
Metering TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor
• Matrix :3D color matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); color matrix metering II (other CPU lenses)
• Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to a 8mm circle in center of frame
• Spot: Meters 3.5 mm circle (about 2.5% of frame) centered on active focus area
Metering range • EV 0 to 20 (3D color matrix or center-weighted metering)
• EV 2 to 20 (spot metering)
Meter coupling CPU coupling
Exposure comp. • +/- 5.0 EV
• 1/3 EV steps
AE Lock Exposure locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button
AE Bracketing None
Sensitivity* • Auto
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200*
• ISO 6400 (Hi1)*
• ISO 12800 (Hi2)*
Auto ISO options* • On/Off
• Maximum ISO (200 to Hi2)*
• Minimum shutter speed (1 to 1/2000 sec)
Shutter • Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
• 30 to 1/4000 sec (1/3 EV steps)
• Flash X-Sync: up to 1/200 sec
• Bulb
White balance Auto (TTL white-balance with 420 pixels RGB sensor)
• Twelve manual modes with fine-tuning
    • Incandescent
    • Fluorescent
Sodium-vapor lamps
Warm-white fluorescent
White fluorescent
Cool-white fluorescent
Day white fluorescent
Daylight fluorescent
Daylight fluorescent
Mercury-vapor lamps
    • Direct sunlight
    • Flash
    • Cloudy
    • Shade
• Preset white balance (immediate or from photo)
WB fine tuning Yes, (except preset manual)
Image parameters • Picture controls: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape
• Quick Adjust: 5 settings (adjusts Sharpening, Contrast and Saturation by preset amounts)
• Sharpening: Auto, 10 levels
• Contrast: Auto, 7 levels
• Brightness: 3 levels*
• Saturation: Auto, 7 levels
• Hue: 7 levels
Viewfinder • Optical fixed eye-level
• Pentamirror type
• Built-in dioptre adjustment (-1.7 to +0.5 m-1)
• Eye point: 18 mm (at -1.0 m-1)
• Frame coverage 95% (approx.)
• Viewfinder magnification approx. 0.8x with 50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1
• Focusing screen: Type B BriteView clear matte screen Mark VII*
LCD monitor • 3.0" TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixel
Built-in flash • Auto, Portrait, Child, Close-up, Night portrait
• Auto flash with auto pop-up,
• Manual pop-up in P, S, A or M modes
• Guide number approx. 12/39 at ISO 100 (m/ft)
• Guide number approx. 13/43 at ISO 100 (m/ft) in manual mode
Sync contact X-contact only; flash synchronization at shutter speeds of up to 1/200 sec
Flash control • TTL flash control by 420-segment RGB sensor. i-TTL balanced fill-flash for digital SLR and standard i-TTL fill-flash for digital SLR available when CPU lens is used with built-in flash, SB-400, SB-800, and SB-600
• Auto aperture with SB-800 and CPU lenses
• Non-TTL auto with SB-800, 80DX, 28DX, 28, 27 and 22s
• Range-priority manual with SB-800
Flash mode • Auto, Portrait, Child, Close-up: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction; fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional Speedlight
• Night portrait: Auto, auto slow sync, auto slow sync with red-eye reduction; slow sync and slow sync with red-eye reduction available with optional Speedlight
• Landscape, Sports: Fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional Speedlight
• P, A modes: Fill flash, rear-curtain with slow sync, slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction
• S, M modes: Fill flash, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction
Flash compensation • -3 to +1 EV
• 1/3 steps
Nikon Creative Lighting system • Advanced Wireless Lighting supported with SB-900, SB-800 or SU-800 as commander
Shooting modes • Single frame shooting (S) mode
• Continuous shooting (C) mode: approx. 3.0 frames per second
• Self-timer
• Quiet release (Q) mode
Continuous buffer • Unknown
Self-timer • 2 or 10 sec
Remote control* • Using optional MC-DC2 cable via GPS socket*
Text input Up to 36 characters of alphanumeric text input is available with LCD monitor and multi-selector; stored in EXIF header
Playback functions • Full frame
• Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images or calendar)
• Playback with Playback zoom
• Slide Show
• Histogram Display
• Highlights
• Auto Image Rotation
• Image Comment (up to 36 characters)
Orientation sensor Yes (Rotates user interface when using camera in portrait orientation)
Storage • SD / SD HC / SDXC
• FAT / FAT32
• Supports firmware update via SD card
Video output NTSC or PAL selectable
Connectivity • USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed)
• Mass storage / PTP selectable
• A/V out
• HDMI out
• DC-IN (optional AC adapter and adapter connector)
Languages* Czech, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Power* Lithium-Ion battery pack EN-EL14 (7.4 V, 1030 mAh)
Working environment • 0 to 40°C (32 to 104°F)
• Less than 85% humidity
Dimensions 124 x 96 x 75 mm (4.9 x 3.8 x 3.0 in)
Weight (no batt) 455g (1.0 lb)
Weight (inc. batt) 505g (1.1 lb)
Supplied accessories • Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL14
• Quick Charger MH-24
• Eyepiece Cap DK-5
• Rubber Eyecup DK-20
• USB Cable UC-E4
• Video Cable EG-D100
• Camera Strap AN-DC3
• Accessory Shoe Cover BS-1
• Body Cap BF-1A, Software Suite CD-ROM
Optional accessories Remote Control MC-DC2, Capture NX2, Camera Control Pro, AC Adapter Connector EP-5, AC Adapter EH-5, Video Cable EG-D100, Semi Soft-Case CF-DC1, Speedlight SB-900/600/400/T041/R1C1


Source: dpreview

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