Gadgetory

with reasonably fast performance and very good photo quality the Nikon d3200 delivers what you expect from a DSLR while the cameras lackluster feature set some underwhelming design changes and photos that don't necessarily surpass its predecessor might disappoint some people it still delivers enough that it should please most folks who are looking for an upgrade from their point and shoots it still has a lot of the same or similar components to the D 3100 including the same viewfinder and autofocus system the latter is bolstered by Nikon's newer scene recognition technology though it also has a newer higher resolution sensor coupled with Nikon's updated X speed 3 imaging engine it's got a higher resolution LCD and 1080 30p video with a supporting microphone jack an HDMI connector the G 3200 essentially has the same body as the D 3100 it's still relatively small in light though it also still feels a little plasticky while it remains a pretty streamlined camera to shoot with Nikon has changed a few of the control types and locations in ways I don't particularly like it keeps the same viewfinder it's small and dim which is pretty typical for this class but I also hate the tiny focus points which only illuminate and only briefly when you half press the shutter they're impossible to see and moderate to dim light so if you shoot on anything other than full auto you first have to press the shutter to find the appropriate focus point before you can even begin to frame the scene Nikon has also moved the record button to it I think is an awkward location on the D 3100 there's a combination live view of record switch that falls under your right thumb and that's really nice now we're back to the separate live View button on the back which you have to invoke first before you can record and a record button on top that you've got a stretch to reach the D 3200 does keep the nice guide mode that provides various levels of step-by-step help for a limited number of common shooting scenarios a nikon laudably puts the D 30 to hundreds SD card slot in the more accessible grip side location unfortunately it retains the bare-bones feature set of the D 30 hundred right down to the lack of something as basic as bracketing compared to its competitors the Definity 200 matches their photo quality but doesn't really surpass them in fact I think the d30 100 has better photos out overall and by the numbers it has a better noise profile in general the JPEGs look clean up through ISO 400 you don't gain any unambiguous advantages shooting raw until about ISO 1600 it still gives you some Headroom for image manipulation but you can't easily produce a cleaner image without some trade-offs in other respects color exposure sharpness tonal range the camera fares very well I wasn't terribly impressed with the video quality though it's OK for personal vacation type use but even in good light it's fairly soft and there are a variety of annoying edge based artefacts and dim light it gets very noisy the performance is definitely better than its predecessor though still no rocket ship compared with models like the SLT 8:37 this is typical for its class LiveView autofocus is slow and cumbersome and the full time autofocus and video performs about the same as other DSLRs it can focus but it doesn't stick and it pulses on unmoving objects there's nothing about this camera that screams by me or don't by me it's faster has a better LCD and better video than the D 3100 but the higher resolution sensor doesn't deliver better photo quality its bare-bones feature set can't match that of the cheaper a 37 and you can probably find the older but more feature-rich D 5100 for less than the cost of the new D 3200 still I think most entry-level shooters would be perfectly satisfied with the Nikon d3200