Nikon D3200

Compact and loaded, this is among the best entry-level DSLRs

I headed off to Amritsar for a holiday taking the D3200 along with me. I was at the Golden Temple around 4 in the morning for the morning service. Mixed lighting from incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps lit up the place, and a lot of people were moving around. The camera captured most of the scenes without noise, though in some scenes where I had to push the ISO a bit up, I did get some noise, but overall it performed well. At breakfast, I tried framing poori-chhole. At 4 frames per second I captured the pooris being prepared and I loved the result.

On ‘movie’ mode, the D3200 can shoot a 1080p, 29.97 frames per second video, but recording time is limited to just 10 minutes, which is a bit of a downer. The microphone pick-up is good, but the camera is equipped with just a mono microphone.

The D3200 has a 24.2 megapixel DX format sensor and an ExPEED3 processor. Like its earlier cousin, the D3100, it is smaller than other entry Level DSLR cameras. It has an infrared receiver in the hand grip, granting the option of using wired as well as a wireless remote to take pictures.

The LCD screen is one of the best I have seen on entry level DSLR cameras, and the ‘live’ mode on its screen helps, especially for those who don’t like to use the viewfinder. For me, the viewfinder option works.

The battery life is rated to last 500+ shots at one go.

The D3200 is a good camera, though I would have loved some more improvement on image quality over the D3100. The D3200’s easier-to-use ‘guide’ mode could be a hit with new users, as it can explain how to take pictures. This feature is a great edge over other DSLRs in the market.

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