Nikon D3100 Review

4.5

November 29, 2010 | Zoltan Arva-Toth |

Buy a D3100 Black SLR Digital Camera Kit w/ 18-55mm Lens (14.2MP, 3x Opt, SD Card Slot)

Lowest Price: £299.00

Buy a D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera w/18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Lens

Lowest Price: N/A

Specifications


Type	Single-lens reflex digital camera
Lens mount	Nikon F mount (with AF contacts)
Effective angle of view	Approximately 1.5x lens focal length (Nikon DX format)
Image sensor	23.1 x 15.4 mm CMOS sensor
Effective pixels	14.2 million pixels
Total pixels	14.8 million pixels
Dust-reduction system	Image sensor cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data (optional Capture NX 2 software required)
Image size (pixels)	4,608 x 3,072 (L); 3,456 × 2,304 (M); 2,304 × 1,536 (S)
File format	NEF (compressed RAW); JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1 : 4), normal (approx. 1 : 8), or basic (approx. 1 : 16) compression; Simultaneous recording of compressed RAW and JPEG fine image possible
Media	SD (Secure Digital), SDHC, SDXC, and Eye-Fi memory cards
Picture Control System	Can be selected from Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Landscape, Portrait; selected Picture Control can be modified
Viewfinder	Eye-level pentamirror single-lens reflex viewfinder
Frame coverage	Approx. 95% horizontal and 95% vertical
Magnification	Approximately 0.8× (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0 m-1)
Eyepoint	18 mm (-1.0 m-1)
Diopter adjustment	-1.7 to +0.5 m-1
Focusing screen	Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark VII screen
Reflex mirror	Quick return type
Lens aperture	Instant return, electronically controlled
Compatible lenses	AF-S or AF-I NIKKOR: All functions supported. Type G or D AF NIKKOR without built-in autofocus motor: All functions except autofocus supported. Other AF NIKKOR without built-in autofocus motor: All functions supported except autofocus and 3D color matrix metering II. IX NIKKOR and F3AF: Not supported. Type D PC lenses: All functions supported except autofocus and some shooting modes. AI-P NIKKOR: All functions supported except autofocus and 3D color matrix metering II. Non-CPU: Autofocus not supported. Can be used in exposure mode M, but exposure meter does not function. Electronic rangefinder can be used if lens has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or faster.
Shutter Type	Electronically controlled, vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
Shutter Speed	1/4000 to 30 s in steps of 1/3 EV, bulb
Flash sync speed	X=1/200 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/200 s or slower
Release mode	Single frame, continuous, self-timer, quiet shutter release
Frame advance rate	Up to 3 fps (manual focus, mode M or S, shutter speed 1/250 s or faster, and other settings at default values)
Self-timer	2 s, 10 s
Metering	TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor
Metering method	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 8-mm circle in center of frame; Spot: Meters 3.5 mm circle (about 2.5 % of frame) centered on selected focus point
Range (ISO 100, f/1.4 lens, 20 °C/68 °F)	Matrix or center-weighted metering: 0 to 20 EV; Spot metering: 2 to 20 EV
Exposure meter coupling	CPU
Mode	Auto modes (auto, auto (flash off); scene modes (portrait, landscape, child, sports, close up, night portrait); programmed auto with flexible program (P); shutter-priority auto (S); aperture-priority auto (A); manual (M)
Exposure compensation	-5 to +5 EV in increments of 1/3 EV
Exposure lock	Luminosity locked at detected value with AE-L/AF-L button
ISO sensitivity (Recommended Exposure Index)	ISO 100 to 3200 in steps of 1 EV; can also be set to approx. 2 EV above ISO 3200 (ISO 12800 equivalent); auto ISO sensitivity control available
Active D-Lighting	Can be selected from on or off
Autofocus	Nikon Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus sensor module with TTL phase detection, 11 focus points (including one cross-type sensor), and AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 0.5–3 m/1 ft. 8 in.–9 ft. 10 in.)
Detection range	-1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F)
Lens servo	Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); continuous-servo AF (AF-C); auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A); predictive focus tracking activated automatically according to subject status. Manual focus (MF): Electronic rangefinder can be used
AF-area mode	Single-point AF, dynamic-area AF, auto-area AF, 3D-tracking (11 points)
Focus lock	Focus can be locked by pressing shutter-release button halfway (single-servo AF) or by pressing AE-L/AF-L button
Built-in flash	Guide number of approximately 12/39, 13/43 with manual flash (m/ft, ISO 100, 20°C/68°F); Auto, portrait, child, close up, night portrait: Auto flash with auto pop-up; P, S, A, M: Manual pop-up with button release
Flash control	TTL: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR using 420-pixel RGB sensor. i-TTL balanced fill-flash is available with built-in flash and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, or SB-400 when matrix or center-weighted metering is selected. Standard i-TTL is available with built-in flash and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, or SB-400 when spot metering is selected (Flash mode can be set using Speedlight controls with SB-900, SB-800, and SB-600). Auto aperture: Available with SB-900/SB-800 and CPU lens. Non-TTL auto: Supported flash units include SB-900, SB-800, SB-80DX, SB-28DX, SB-28, SB-27, and SB-22S. Distance-priority manual: Available with SB-900 and SB-800
Angle of coverage	Sufficient to illuminate the angle of view of an 18 mm lens. Picture edges may be slightly dark depending upon conditions, such as the lens used and the aperture setting.
Flash mode	Auto, portrait, child, close up: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, off available with built-in flash; Fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional flash units. Night portrait: Auto slow sync, auto slow sync with red-eye reduction, off available with built-in flash; Slow sync and slow sync with red-eye reduction available with optional flash units. Landscape, sports: Fill-flash and red-eye reduction available with optional flash units. P, A: Fill-flash, rear-curtain with slow sync, slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction. S, M: Fill-flash, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction
Flash compensation	-3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3 EV
Flash-ready indicator	Lights when built-in flash or optional flash unit such as SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, SB-400, SB-80DX, SB-28DX, or SB-50DX is fully charged; blinks for 3 s after flash is fired at full output
Accessory shoe	ISO 518 hot-shoe with sync and data contacts and safety lock
Sync terminal	AS-15 sync terminal adapter (available separately)
Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS)	Advanced Wireless Lighting supported with SB-900, SB-800, or SU-800 as commander. Flash color information communication supported with built-in flash and all CLS-compatible flash units
White balance	Auto (TTL white balance with main image sensor and 420-pixel RGB sensor); incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade, preset manual, all except preset manual with fine tuning.
Live View - Lens servo	Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); full-time-servo AF (AF-F). Manual focus (MF)
Live View - AF-area mode	Face-priority AF, wide-area AF, normal-area AF, subject-tracking AF
Autofocus	Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame (camera selects focus point automatically when face-priority AF or subject-tracking AF is selected)
Scene auto selection	Available in auto and auto flash off modes
Movie recording	File format: MOV
Movie recording	Frame size/rate: 1920 × 1080, 24 fps; 1280 × 720, 30 fps
Movie Recording	Video compression: H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding
Movie Recording	Audio recording format: Linear PCM
Movie Recording	Audio (Sound): Monaural microphone built in. Can be set to on or off.
Movie Recording	Metering: TTL exposure metering using main image sensor
Monitor	3-in. (7.5cm)., approx. 230k-dot TFT LCD with brightness adjustment
Playback	Full-frame playback; Movie playback; Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images or calendar) playback; Slide show; Histogram display; Highlights display; Auto image rotation; Image comment (up to 36 characters)
Retouch functions	D-Lighting, red-eye correction, trim, monochrome, filter effects, color balance, small picture, image overlay, NEF (RAW) processing, quick retouch, straighten, distortion control, fisheye, color outline, perspective control, miniature effect, edit movie
USB	Hi-Speed USB
HDMI output	Type C HDMI connector
Accessory terminal	Remote cord: MC-DC2 (available separately); GPS unit: GP-1 (available separately)
Supported languages	Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Battery	One rechargeable Li-ion EN-EL14 battery (supplied)
AC adapter	EH-5a AC adapter; requires EP-5A power connector (available separately)
Dimensions (W × H × D)	Approx.124 × 96 × 74.5 mm (4.9 × 3.8 × 2.9 in.)
Weight	Approx. 505 g (1 lb. 1.8 oz.) with battery and memory card but without body cap
Durability	Body and shutter unit both durable up to approximately 100,000 cycles.