Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I actually bought my Niko in Japan and it came with the NiMH batteries, which I'll get too later. I had intended on buying one of the newer Sony camera's, but after shopping around a little I found that Nikon had all the same features as the Sony equivelant and took better pictures. Sony pics look a little grainy, especially at large sizes. This is my first digital camera although I've had a digital video camera for almst 4 years.
Picture quality: first and foremost, the picture quality is very good and is easily of the best camras in the 3.2 meg range. I've worked to blow the pictures up, use them as screensavers, etc and they look immaculate on my 19" screen.
Scenes: I haven't had much call to use the scene function, but I have worked on the indoor/ outdoor settings, portrait and even took some pictures with the "snow" setting in a room that looked way too white. The scenes also utilize flash contol. Overall these are easy to use, although as Amazon notes, you probably won't have use for many of them.
Performance: Autofocus could be a little quicker and a little more responsive in my book. I've had problems with the camera not focusing during portraits and coming out all blurry. With the time it takes to autofocus, the time it takes to record and the time it takes to setup for the next pic, the shutter speed is moot. Usually though, the camera works very well, indoors and outdoors. Outdoor pics look amazing on a nice sunny day. The Flash is a pain and requires some tooling. Get too close and everything comes out white, portrait takes a little too long. Everything else is fine.
Batteries: My biggest complaint. Anyone out there expecting to get any kind of use out of regular batteries can dream on. Even the NiMH batteries die way too fast and require constant recharging. When the batteries get low, which is usually after 10 or so pics, the camera will auto shut down while the flash recharges. Very irritating when combined with the autofocus and the time it takes to record pics to the memory. Takes forever to get another shot off. I'm tempted to bring the review down to three stars over this one feature, but I haven't experimented with other batteries yet so I'm going to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Conveience: The size, features and computer to camera setup is top notch. I have windows XP and I didn't need to install any software to copy the pics to my hard drive. It was plug and play. I like that the camera uses compact flash cards while other companies are going to more expensive formats. I have an Epson printer that can copy pics of the CF cards and they lok amazing.
Value: about average for a camera in this class, and I think the pros outweight the cons. Lets face it, this is just above entry level and not the best camera on the market, but easily one of the best in it's price range. Having owned this one for a little over a month, I may decide not to skimp when I upgrade. Most of my complaints could be easily resolved if I were willing to shell out the extra dough. Great camera for vacations, parties and portability.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Nikon Coolpix 3100 3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
A compact, lightweight digital still camera with 3.2 effective megapixels and a powerful 3x zoom lens, the Coolpix 3100 is a friendly and versatile model, even for those who are using a digital camera for the first time. The Coolpix 3100 is ideal for people who want an easy-to-use digital still camera that offers great image quality, and who are looking to get more fun out of digital photography. The camera's compact body fits easily in a pocket for carry-anywhere portability.Featuring a 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens and 4x digital zoom, the Coolpix 3100 provides excellent optical performance. Coupled with Nikon's advanced image-processing algorithm, this ensures vibrant color, contrast and clarity in every picture. The camera's 3.2 effective megapixels offer remarkable resolution in printouts as large as B4 size.Shooting is simplified by general-use Auto Mode and 14 Scene Modes, four of which offer a Scene Assistance function for perfectly composed pictures, which allow users to capture the essence of every situation and fully experience the fun of digital photography. The Coolpix 3100 also features Continuous Shooting Mode and four Movie Modes, including one capable of recording a clip as large as 640 x480 pixels. Users can take up to 40 seconds of smaller-size video in color, B/W or sepia. In Macro Mode, the camera can shoot as close as 4cm (1.6 inch) from a subject and still get sharply focused shots.The Small Picture function creates reduced-size pictures that are perfect for e-mailing or Web posting, while the Date imprinting function allows users to date a picture at the time of shooting. Image effects such as B/W, sepia and halo filters extend users' creative options.The Quick Review button allows images to be viewed right away on the LCD monitor while maintaining live-action viewing. The Transfer function simplifies uploading image data to a computer.
Click here for more information about Nikon Coolpix 3100 3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom
