Nikon D3100 Review

Like last year's D3000, the new Nikon D3100 is a rather small DSLR camera, although it does come with a fairly chunky right-hand grip that makes it better suited to hand-held shooting than some of its competitors. Still, expect having to find a place for your little finger under the camera if you have larger-than-average hands.

The body itself is mainly plastic, but while the camera certainly doesn't feel as robust as some of the company's higher specified models, it still exudes a degree of quality you might not expect at this price point. This is helped by the surprisingly classy rubber coating on the grip, which also appears on the thumb rest in the back of the camera.

The Nikon D3100's body is a new design, 30 grams lighter than that of its predecessor, but the designers have gone to great lengths to make sure most controls are in the same places as before. The most notable changes to the outside of the camera include the omission of the infrared remote sensor that used to be in the grip of the D3000 (the Nikon D3100 accepts a wired remote release cable only), the appearance of a built-in monaural microphone on the front plate and an all-new drive-mode lever at the top (which we love because it makes setting and checking the current drive mode very easy and straightforward), plus a spring-loaded lever in the back that takes you to Live View mode at the flick of a thumb. Said lever encircles a red button that acts as a movie shutter release, enabling one-touch video recording when you are in Live View.

Author:Zoltan Arva-Toth


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