For many years, I used a Nikon FG, which was a mid-level camera. Took great pictures if you knew what you were doing, but of course it was a film camera. Then came digital cameras. For the last 10 years, I was basically using point and shoot cameras, which were great for general landscapes. No longer being interested in standing in darkrooms inhaling photo processing chemicals, I opted for a digital SLR where I could do any further processing on the computer. As a birthday gift to myself, I got the Nikon D3100. Took it out the first few days and achieved less than thrilling results; my point & shoots gave me better pictures. So I took a look at the manual which helped only marginally. I don't think it was orginally written in English and may have lost some in the translation.
Common sense told me that Nikon couldn't have put out a $500+ camera that only takes so-so pictures. I looked on Amazon and found 3 books written especially for this camera, and I bought one. Nikon D3100 Digital Field Guide. Going over just the first few chapters of this book made a huge difference. I'm now getting incredible images. My problem was that photography had progressed immensely while I was playing around with the point & shoots. This camera takes advantage of these new advances, plus it sounds like it's made a few advances of its own. It's a very sophisticated camera, but it's also initially complicated, and there is a learning curve. The book explains the camera in detail using plain English, and as a result I'm learning a lot about the camera and about digital photography in general, even though I thought I knew a lot.
I am only now beginning to appreciate this camera. It provides you with an incredible amount of control, from very subtle to blatantly obvious. The display on the back of the camera provides technical information, easy to use menus, and allows you to zoom in on the images to make sure they are in focus and to check on exposure of details or shadows. The 18-55mm lens included in the kit is great except that the maximum aperature opening is 3.5 (I was used to 1.8 on my old Nikon). The auto focusing gives you many options, and when used correctly, the focusing is perfect and sharp. As with all autofocus lenses, the manual focusing is touchy and not at all like the old manual lenses, however, I've really not had much need to focus manually, so it's not much of an issue.
Although it can be used as such, it's not a point & shoot camera, and therefore it is somewhat bulky. And unlike my old FG, it's mostly plastic. I think that's life nowdays; plastic is king. The neckstrap is kind of cheesy. The camera kit comes with a battery (I might get a second in case, but I'm surprised at how long it does last), and a plug-in charger. Included in the box is software for manipulating your pictures on the computer. I haven't installed this yet because I use Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 (Win/Mac), although at some point I may try it just for fun. There is also another disk which is an extended version of the printed manual; basically it suffers from the same problem as the printed one. What doesn't come with the camera is the USB cable, which I think stinks. Fortunately I had one from an old Palm Pilot that worked. The camera, by the way, does include 2 ferrite cores. I had to research what those were; they wrap around near one end of the USB cable to prevent interference when uploading your pictures. Considering using it because without it I kept getting uploading errors.
I didn't plan on writing this much, but really there is much to say about this camera. Bottom line is that I really like it.
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Technical Details
• 14.2-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor; 3-inch monitor with One-Touch Live View shooting and movie capture
• Includes 3x 18-55mm Zoom-NIKKOR VR Image Stabilization lens
• Full 1080p HD Cinematic Video with full-time autofocus and sound
• Easy-To-Use Nikon Guide Mode with intuitive controls and on-board assistance
• Capture images to SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards (not included)
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