Nikon D3xxx owners thread

I still use a d700, have done since about 2009 , and I'm on the hunt for another d3100 as i had to sell my last one. Not all of us are gear snobs, just use the gear that gets the job done!
 
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danbroad said:
3100 still going fine here... Every time I think about so called upgrades, I remember that all I need is ISO, shutter, aperture, centre point focus and centre weighted meter. The D3100 is the lightest and most discreet means of getting there on the market. ISO 1600, even 3200 is perfectly printable at 18" as my house walls (and occasional humble photo sales) will attest!


Hands On by danbroad1000, on Flickr

Each time I pick up a D700 (my last camera) or even a D7000 I can't help but notice the extra weight and bulk. I'm a convert to the rear screen info display - it's all there, nice and easy to change - having previously sworn by an LCD top screen for camera settings.


At You by danbroad1000, on Flickr


Anything you want to know about the 3100, I'm sure we'd all try and help out. In short, I think the 3100 is the camera least burdened with electronic fluff out there. A streamlined photo taking machine!
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Just had to add my cat after seeing your post..

Kit-Kat by robin chun photography, on Flickr

Robin
 
TCR4x4 said:
I still use a d700, have done since about 2009 , and I'm on the hunt for another d3100 as i had to sell my last one. Not all of us are gear snobs, just use the gear that gets the job done!
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Hi Tom.

I've got one in classifieds as a kit but might split.
 
ManVan said:
Hi Tom.

I've got one in classifieds as a kit but might split.
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Thanks, I did see it and almost went for it, but I decided to get a D5100 off here instead.
 
I always wonder why the obsession with 'entry level' as though the camera made a bigger contribution to the image than the light, the lens, or the photographer. after all, there's nothing entry level about that macro shot of the fly!

In an alternate reality, Nikon did a Leica and only offered 2 cameras, a D600 and a 'D600P' which 'offered a smaller sensor coupled with a more lightweight body and quieter shutter for maximal portability and ultimate discretion'. This travelling camera would look identical to the d3xxx series and cost £1000, and forums would be praising it to the gods....

Of course, thank goodness Nikon aren't doing a Leica, otherwise we could look forward to the Coolpix Superdry Special Edition, complete with oversized stencilled technical alphanumeric logos and a unique polyester case for £1200.....
 
danbroad said:
I always wonder why the obsession with 'entry level' as though the camera made a bigger contribution to the image than the light, the lens, or the photographer. after all, there's nothing entry level about that macro shot of the fly!

In an alternate reality, Nikon did a Leica and only offered 2 cameras, a D600 and a 'D600P' which 'offered a smaller sensor coupled with a more lightweight body and quieter shutter for maximal portability and ultimate discretion'. This travelling camera would look identical to the d3xxx series and cost £1000, and forums would be praising it to the gods....

Of course, thank goodness Nikon aren't doing a Leica, otherwise we could look forward to the Coolpix Superdry Special Edition, complete with oversized stencilled technical alphanumeric logos and a unique polyester case for £1200.....
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But isn't that the camera envy we find everywhere sweeping in - that we don't have the latest and greatest means we are prey to marketeers - rather than just being happy with what we have.

I was thinking about an upgrade - rationale: I wanted to get a 70-200 f2.8 for lower light and portraiture outside. Without a focus motor I'm looking at £1000+ - however if I got me a D7000 then I could look for an older lens and ...

Hold on - I realised. It's a great camera. I'll get an 85mm 1.8 and then I'll cover most of what I want in low-light.

It's a darn sight cheaper as well!
 
that d7000 + 70-200 2.8 battle has happened in my mind too

must resist...must resist...
 
Honestly guys, I did just that, went from D3100 to D7000, you are missing nothing but the motor for lens and HSS(no use for HSS atm), to which was a factor in my decision, but I have zero want now for noisy lenses and want them to be af-s lenses :bonk:
I also spend way too much time messing with AF Fine Tune, which is one feature I could do with out as it really does my head in, also your ISO button (if on FN) and your rear screen is much more useful on the D3100 than D7000.
 
And the prime, even the cheaper 1.8, is sharper and more contrasty - and pulls out an extra stop-and-a-bit in really low light conditions.

The internet has been a real boon to salespeople - forum hysteria is so much better than a sales pitch. Gotta have a 7100... after all, the 7000 is so old now and superceded in every way... and the 7200 is out soon... it'll make all the difference to my photos... or maybe the 600... or maybe I'll wait for the 610/600s... I learnt the hard way, losing money hand over fist. I'm relaxed about where I am now.

I'd spend on glass - that £1000 lens will be £1000-ish for some time to come, whereas the D7000 has lost £500 for those who bought it last year!
 
Love them, Chris. Just goes to show its the user, not the camera..
 
Yes, especially number 2 which tells a great story!

The comment about AF-S lenses is so true. The only screw-drive lens that genuinely focused more quickly was my 1st gen 17-50 Tamron. Modern lenses bring so much new tech to the table - nano-coats, ED glass, newer designs, micro contrast, colour rendition. The only real reasons to choose screw-drive lenses IMO is when the lens is still not updated to AF-S or if trying to cheapen out... and cheapening out on value-hold items like lenses by buying a loss leader like a DSLR body no longer makes sense to me....

I wonder how many people who upgraded really were at the limits of the camera. After all, the little D3100 packs a better sensor than previous generation higher end cameras, and there's plenty of satisfied non-forum users who use those still quite happily, unaware that the 'world has moved on'. How many who 'needed' the 24MP sensor really ran out of options cropping or printing large at 16MP, especially when there are D700 and D3 users who'll be filling billboards with 12MP images for years to come?

On body control is another thing, but I find my own shooting style knows exactly what settings I'll be using well before I take the shot. My wildlife stuff starts 1/500-f8, my portraiture of the kids at least 1/125 and f/4... the D5100 actually makes life more difficult for me because there are two buttons on the back next to each other - the AE/AF-lock [which I use for AF-on] and the <i> button. I was forever pushing the <i> for focus lock in WEx when I tried them both side by side. No amount of tricks like exposure bracketing made up for a frustrating focus experience, in my opinion.

The only upgrades I have planned are a WiFi card like the Eye-Fi Mobi; love to be able to review shots on the iPad whilst in a hide immediately, far away from any WiFi connection. I also live at either 35mm or 300mm [or 50/450 in FF terms], and so much as I love the inexpensive zoom my eventual plans are for a 300/2.8, but that's a while away, once the kids are older and I get to spend a little more time alone in the wild...
 
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Hi,

I was going to buy myself a 32Gb Sandisk memory card (class 10) and I noticed that in the manual it only goes up to 16Gb as approved. Does this mean I will have problems using it or will it be fine? :help:

I've been using a class 4 Sandisk 4Gb as that is all I had spare but I also had a Fuji 4Gb and now it doesn't work. Don't want that to happen to a more expensive card.
 
According to a quick Google the 32Gb card will not be a problem in the D3100.

On another note I agree with this upgradeitis that affects some camera owners, I "downgraded" to the smaller lighter D3100 as it does not feel like carrying a breeze block around. Folks bleat on about metal bodies and focus motors etc. but it all adds weight. For me that is important as I go walking a lot.

I have large hands but the 3100 has never felt too small either. It'll get replaced the day it goes phttt (or whatever noise a dead camera makes). :)
 
I'm grieved to be selling mine, literally only to justify getting a Fuji x100s. Anybody browsing this read, and you don't have one... Get one!
 
I've had my D3100 since Christmas and have just upgraded from the kit lens to the Sigma 70-300mm range. As a beginner to SLR's i'm mostly using the camera in mode setting which gives mixed results and like many i've found the D3100 operates better in around the ISO 400-200 range on any given day but this is mainly due to using the camera at night, hopefully the Sigma lens will encourage me to take the SLR outside more often now that the focal range is enhanced.
 
I'd encourage you to switch to manual mode - the quicker you use it, the more keepers you'll get. I remember being nervous of it at first but it will become natural very quickly.
 
Cheers, with the old s1730 DSLR what i'd naturally do is to switch to 'A' mode and have the ability to change ISO, exposure, and shutter, but I guess it's just a case of getting my head around the NIKON userface as obviously the same options will be available on the D3100. Hoping for some clear weather tomorrow to get some MAN inbounds and a rough gauge of how to control things, infact i'll give it a whirl out the bag today with the 70-300mm lens as it's overcast and then i'll be able to make the best out the camera using both good and rubbish conditions this week.
 
Fully manual mode may be a step too far right away, but you do need to get there -even if it's just to understand exposure - in the longerterm. Most folks start with the A mode, controlling depth of field/subject isolation whilst the camera sorts out ISO and shutter speed for you.

However, there's no shame in letting the complex electronics do some of the work for you, and I have no problem taking a shot in Auto mode if the camera's been left that way by my wife. I have some excellent shots taken by my four-year-old in full auto, because the rapport between her and her younger brothers makes for some shots daddy just couldn't get!
 
Hi,

Have any of you had issues where your photos come out tilted?

Yesterday I took a number of images of a lake which will need correcting and I had to tilt the camera 5 degrees to get a correct flat image.

I sent my d3100 in for repair two years ago with this issue and think it may be back.

I'm going to do the same tests I did last time with a tripod to rule out myself.

Just wondered with it a common fault?

Thanks
 
I find I have that problem if I take some shots after a couple of beers. But strangly when I'm dry it's fine.

Sorry - sounds like a problem to me! Can't comment if it's common.
 
bigtel said:
Hi,

Have any of you had issues where your photos come out tilted?

Yesterday I took a number of images of a lake which will need correcting and I had to tilt the camera 5 degrees to get a correct flat image.

I sent my d3100 in for repair two years ago with this issue and think it may be back.

I'm going to do the same tests I did last time with a tripod to rule out myself.

Just wondered with it a common fault?

Thanks
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I would try this with a tripod that has a level on it. Uneven ground could quite easily make you turn the camera more than you immediately think. Also, was the horizon you were shooting (or the vertical stricture you were using as a guide) pretty level? shooting the side of a hill will make you think youre rotating the camera a bit too much also...

best thing to do would be to try and photo a level/upright edge with a tripod that has a spirit level - atleast you then know both the camera and the edge are roughly calibrated to level/vertical.
 
cant say i have had that. Have certainly quite a few that have needed straightening ( user error )
 
george g said:
I would try this with a tripod that has a level on it. Uneven ground could quite easily make you turn the camera more than you immediately think. Also, was the horizon you were shooting (or the vertical stricture you were using as a guide) pretty level? shooting the side of a hill will make you think youre rotating the camera a bit too much also...

best thing to do would be to try and photo a level/upright edge with a tripod that has a spirit level - atleast you then know both the camera and the edge are roughly calibrated to level/vertical.
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It was a lake, but maybe the ground I was on wasn't perfectly flat.

At first I thought it would of been my 18-55mm. I think one of the screws internally is loose as its stiff around the 35mm mark and squeals at times when focusing.

Looking back though some of the 300mm images where the same.

I have a tripod so tonight I'll try taking photos of tiles where they meet.

That worked last time.

Don't really need this at the moment as I'm off to the US in September and might need a new lens and service of the body!


Cheers
 
Found my repair sheet from Nikon when I thought I last had the issue and it reported:

Mirror box / front casting repair or replace, adject and check operaion.



Mixed results tonight really but think and hope it might be me.

For these tests and what I was doing yesterday was lining the central dots on the horizon of my viewfinder with a flat line for subject (Lake water / Tile grout) ...

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d3100/img/features06/img_05.png

This is the type of shot I was getting yesterday...

9243413970_5540a291e8.jpg



Tripod Viewfinder...

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Tripod Liveview...

9243414396_6e1ff68466_o.jpg


9243414148_42cc9f0afc_o.jpg


Handheld...

9240630461_bbe31de9c4_o.jpg


9243413638_74e8f7132e_o.jpg



Handheld looks obviously more of an angle. I'm not sure of I'm being distracted with the dots in the viewfinder and maybe this is offset?. When I try to take a photo of say this laptop screen and just try to line the top of the screen as a datum inside my viewfinder it comes out pretty good.

So I have no idea what to do!
 
I would like to join this D3100 club and i am very new to the dslr world. I have got a 18-55mm kit lens and also a Nikon Zoom-Nikkor G 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Lens not sure how good the lenses are tbh but i will give them ago over the weekend.

I have read all 17 pages on this model and taken in peoples comments and advice on lenses so looks like my next investment will be a 35mm f1.8.

Many thanks to all that have helped me out today now going to play and read the manual lol...

Many thanks
Graham
 
Sorry, missed that. So it's the older non af-s version ie no motor / manual focus ?
 
For super-super-zoomage bridge cams have an advantage, but image quality is so much better on SLR's you might find cropping a 300mm image gives you better results than the bridge does. Focus speed and shutter-to-shot times are so much better you'll get far more keepers with the SLR.

I wish it weren't so, because I'd love to use a bridge for 1200mm birding, but each time I see a bridge image I know I couldn't live with the blocky image quality.

Fundamentally, for those ultra-HQ poster prints of wildlife you see, 300mm and getting closer beats 600mm at distance every time. A scrim net and patience at a hide goes a long way!
 
I have a strange problem with my D3100 - there appears to be a problem with the SD card slot in that I am having difficulty getting the card out! The spring action does activate if I press the card excessively hard - but having to press this hard is probably not good for the card or the camera.

The problem came on suddenly yesterday and I'm not sure why. I have given the camera a good shake to try and dislodge any debris and I've tried a number of cards (that all worked fine before) but no luck. The camera is just over a year old now and still under extended warranty; however I'm hoping to take it on holiday next week and so would prefer to solve it without having to send it away for repair. The alternative would be to live with this annoying problem while I'm on holiday and have it repaired when I get back.

Has anybody else had this problem? Any ideas on what I can try to solve it?
 
alet said:
I have a strange problem with my D3100 - there appears to be a problem with the SD card slot in that I am having difficulty getting the card out! The spring action does activate if I press the card excessively hard - but having to press this hard is probably not good for the card or the camera.

The problem came on suddenly yesterday and I'm not sure why. I have given the camera a good shake to try and dislodge any debris and I've tried a number of cards (that all worked fine before) but no luck. The camera is just over a year old now and still under extended warranty; however I'm hoping to take it on holiday next week and so would prefer to solve it without having to send it away for repair. The alternative would be to live with this annoying problem while I'm on holiday and have it repaired when I get back.

Has anybody else had this problem? Any ideas on what I can try to solve it?
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You probably be best just sending it away rather than risk getting something stuck in there and voiding the warranty.
 
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