Nikon D3100

It is a nice camera. But with a bundled wide-angle zoom lens, it is a great buy too

Even if you look at only the price and specs, this fully loaded DSLR with an 18–55 mm VR (vibration reduction) lens bundled in, is a great buy. Compared to the D3000, its grip is deeper and it has a 14 megapixel sensor, over the D3000’s 10 meg. Like the D3000, however, the 3100 also features a Guide Mode that helps you use the camera’s features better.

The new Live View feature lets you see how changing the settings will impact the final image.

The 3100 can shoot HD movies (1920 x 1080 p) at 24 frames per second, but it can only record for 10 minutes. It has only a mono aural microphone, but there is a built-in speaker that lets you preview the audio track of movies captured on this camera.

The camera accepts SD, SDHC (high capacity) and SDXC (the next generation of SD) cards. There’s also an inbuilt USB port, which lets you transfer photos without removing the memory card. Some of the other features are: an HDMI port (the HDMI cable has to be bought separately), a remote cord port (the 3100 is without a wireless remote) and a port to connect an external GPS unit (buy separately) in case you want to geo-tag the photos.

I would have preferred that the camera did at least 10 frames per second on a continuous shoot (even if with fewer megapixels). The camera is also available without the lens at Rs 27,250, but remember, not all older generation Nikkor lenses can work with this camera.

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Gagandeep Singh Sapra