The Coolpix 3100 Nikon Drops the Ball
Written: Aug 03 '03 (Updated Aug 04 '03)
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Pros: ”Point’n’Shoot” simplicity, Matrix Metering, incredibly flexible scene modes
Cons: rechargeable batteries/charger not included, no manual exposure options
The Bottom Line: Nikon’s new CP3100 should appeal to beginning photographers who want to shoot stunning digital images right out of the box without the need to learn anything about photographic technique.
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Nikon COOLPIX 3100 Digital Camera |
The development of digital imaging has progressed from tiny fuzzy grayscale pictures to fourteen megapixel color images that rival 35mm film in just over a decade. Even the personal computer revolution didn’t move with that blinding rate of speed and technological advance. Major digicam manufacturers introduce an almost dizzying array of new models providing consumers with a wide range of choices and the benefits of the digital imaging revolution (convenience, features, and immediacy). Three years ago an entry level three megapixel digital camera cost between six and eight hundred bucks---far too expensive for many consumers. Today, three megapixel cameras with more features and improved imaging capability can be bought for less than three hundred dollars.
because of growing consumer sophistication the digital camera marketplace has splintered into a handful of specialty niche markets. Nikon’s prosumer and dSLR offerings are highly regarded but the company’s attempts to penetrate the micro and entry level digital camera niche markets have been noticeably less successful. The folks at Nippon-Kogaku seem to have lost their competitive edge (in these popular market segments) to Canon and Olympus.
The Nikon Coolpix 3100 is the replacement for the company's popular CP885 digicam. The 3100 is noticeably smaller than its predecessor, with a svelte rounded look and better ergonomics. The CP3100 also has fewer and a brand new menu system, to make it simpler to operate. The usability and functionality of the CP885’s scene modes have been greatly expanded with a unique framing assist feature that helps Neophyte shooters compose better images. In addition Nikon’s product development folks listened to consumers (who hate proprietary batteries) and powered the CP3100 with cheap and ubiquitous AA cells.
The digital camera marketplace is currently awash in feature rich, inexpensive, and easy to use entry level 3 Megapixel models and that’s a great situation for first time digicam buyers. Consumers have never had it so good, it is now possible to end up with a superbly useable digital camera for just a bit more than 35mm shooters pay for an upscale 35mm Point & Shoot. Is the CP3100 that camera? Read on and you’ll see why I don’t think so.
NUTS & BOLTS
Viewfinder/LCD
The CP3100 features a fairly squinty standard tunnel style real image optical viewfinder that displays just over 80 per cent of the frame. The CP3100 provides no diopter correction for those who wear eyeglasses.
The camera’s 1.5” TFT color LCD screen is fluid (the LCD has a real time refresh rate) and color accurate but only shows a bit more than 90 per cent of the frame. The screen is bright (even outdoors) and the brightness level can be adjusted. The CP3100’s LCD screen is noticeably brighter than average in low/dim light.
Lens
The Coolpix 3100 uses the f2.7-f4.9/38-115mm (35mm equivalent)3X zoom introduced on the CP775/885 models. The lens retracts fully into the body (and a built in lens cover irises into place) when the camera is powered down. The CP3100’s Nikkor zoom lens is a bit noisier in operation than average, but colors are true, focusing is smooth, and images are consistently sharp. Add on wide angle, macro, and telephoto lenses and screw in filters can’t be used.
Auto Focus
The CP3100’s auto focus system appears to be the same contrast detection TTL system used on the CP775/885. The CP3100’s AF is accurate and fairly fast in good light, but noticeably less so in low/dim lighting.
Manual Focus
The CP 3100 doesn’t provide any manual focus capability
Macro Focus
Minimum focusing distance in macro mode is 1.6 inches (@ the wide angle setting) Nikon digicams are well known for their excellent close-up abilities and the CP3100 is no exception.
Flash
The CP3100’s built-in multi mode flash provides Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill Flash, and off settings. Nikon claims a maximum flash range of just under ten feet, however a more realistic maximum range is between 6-8 feet. Unlike most compact P&S digicams the CP3100 provides limited external flash capability, you’ll have to buy Nikon’s SK-9 flash bracket and an SB 30 speedlight. The CP3100 acts as the primary flash and triggers the SB 30 (which functions as a slave). The bracket and SB 30 will cost you about $120.00.
Memory
The CP3100 writes images to CompactFlash (type I) cards (the camera ships with a 16MB Lexar CF card) but a larger card will be required for everyone except the most restrained shooters.
Connectivity
USB 1.1 and Video out
Power
CR-V3 Lithium (disposable) or rechargeable or single use AA’s. Battery life seems to be fairly good, we used the camera for two days without exhausting the included CR-V3 Lithium. The CP3100 package doesn’t include re-chargeable batteries or charger so most folks will want to buy a charger and at least four 1800-2100mAh NiMH re-chargeable batteries.
EXPOSURE & FEATURES
Nifty Features
Manual white balance, in-camera image cropping (in camera is always preferable to post exposure), one-button data transfer, a Small Picture function (for e-mail and Internet applications), and a selection of creative LCD framing overlays (that will help users compose more dramatic portraits and landscapes). Nikon had the good sense to keep the BSS (Best Shot Selector) function from the CP885. With BSS enabled users can hold down the shutter button and the camera captures up to 10 shots----analyzes them (for color, sharpness, and under/over exposure) and saves the best image.
Exposure
The Coolpix 3100 provides automatic exposure only. Operation is simple and straightforward with most exposure options accessed through the menu system. The Mode dial on the camera’s top deck allows the user to select from Auto, four preset "Framing Assist" (select Portrait, Landscape, Sports, or Night Portrait and bold yellow framing outlines appear on the LCD screen to help with composition) modes, a Scene mode (select from Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset, Dusk/Dawn, Night Landscape, Close-Up, Museum, Fireworks Show, Copy, and Back Light.) each scene mode maximizes all exposure settings for the specific subject/shooting condition chosen, or Manual (aperture and shutter speed are automatic with no user input—manual mode on the CP3100 means Program mode), Movie, and Setup modes.
The CP3100 is particularly well designed for beginning photographers, however more advanced photographers will likely find the camera frustrating. User input into the exposure process is limited to tweaking exposure compensation up and down and manual white balance.
Movie Mode
The CP3100 allows users to shoot short video clips (without audio) up 20 seconds in duration at 640x480 @ 15fps.
CONTROLS, DESIGN, & ERGONOMICS
The CP3100 is a very compact digital camera (substantially smaller than the CP885 it replaces) that departs from the ubiquitous square look of most popular compact digital cameras----The CP3100’s polycarbonate body has rounded edges and a slightly chunkier shape than its competitors. All controls are well placed and logical and menu navigation is straightforward and simple. The camera is a bit thicker than most compacts, but it will fit in a shirt pocket.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: 3 megapixels (2048X1536)
Viewfinders: Tunnel Style Optical VF and 1.5” TFT LCD
Exposure: Auto and 14 scene modes
Exposure Compensation: Yes /- 2EV in 1/3 EV increments
Auto Exposure Bracketing: Yes 3 exposures in 1/3 EV increments
Lens: f2.7-4.9/38-115mm (35mm equivalent) zoom with 9 elements in 8 groups
Metering: 256-segment Matrix (evaluative)
Shutter: 4 seconds to 1/3000th of a second
Image Storage: CF Card Type I
Image Formats: JPEG
White Balance: Auto, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Incandescent, Speedlight, Daylight, and Custom
Sensitivity: Auto only (ISO 50-400---800 in night portrait mode)
Built-in Flash: Auto, Flash Cancel, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-flash, & Slow Sync
Image Affects: B&W, Sepia
Sharpening: Yes
Power: 1 CR-V3 Lithium (disposable) or 2 rechargeable or single use AA’s
Street Price Range $350.00-$299.00
Included
Included
16MB CF card, CR-V3 Lithium or 2 single-use AA alkaline batteries, wrist strap, USB & Video cables, Software CD-ROM, Printed user’s manual
Optional
Nikon SK-9 flash bracket, Nikon SB-30 Speedlite, a Nikon soft case, and a Nikon AC adapter.
In the Field/Handling & Operation
For one weekend every summer Louisville becomes the largest used car lot in the World, and every one of those cars was manufactured before 1949. The event is the annual Street Rod Nationals held every year at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. About 70,000 people come out to see the 10,000 to 12,000 colorful street rods. My friend (who sells new and used digital and analog cameras and photographic equipment) thought the event would be a perfect place to test a new digital camera.
We got together for our photographic outing with Nikon’s new Coolpix 3100 on a cool cloudy Saturday afternoon. We always shoot some color tests with a set of bright red, blue, green, and yellow children’s plastic beach toys displayed on a white background. Consumers had consistently complained about the CP885’s “hot” reds and we were curious to see if Nikon had overcome this problem with the CP3100 (the CP885’s replacement). The CP885’s slight bias toward Velvia style reds and ruddy complexions has been completely corrected and the CP3100 consistently produces images with accurate color balance. After we finished our color tests we headed for the Fairgrounds and the acres of shiny street rods.
The flat overcast lighting (there are fewer reflections and reduced glare under overcast lighting, so colors appear more intense) was perfect for shooting the brightly colored old cars. We walked around the huge parking lot at KFEC shooting classic hot rods and colorful street rods from the twenties, thirties, and forties (and their middle aged owners).
The street rod phenomenon started just after World War Two in California when returning GI’s bought old cars and souped them up by adding powerful V8 engines, colorful paint jobs, and lots of personal styling. The movement grew and spawned the custom car and muscle car movements of the fifties and sixties.
Most of the cars are for sale (if the price is right----figure on dropping somewhere between $40,000-$150,000---for a ready to roll road rocket) because the owners love the challenge of building and restoring the cars as much as they enjoy driving around and showing them off. We talked to dozens of owners and even found one guy from Arkansas who had a 1939 Ford Sedan just like the one a friend’s father had when I was in High School-----bright red with orange and yellow flames flowing back from the big chrome grill and over the fenders. It was a great place to spend a couple of hours shooting pictures of neat cars and meeting new people.
We got together again on Sunday morning and headed back to the Fairgrounds. Sunday’s weather was more typical of high summer----warm with blue skies and puffy white clouds. After a couple of hours spent shooting more colorful street rods, we called it a day and split. We completed our evaluation of the Nikon Coolpix 3100 by printing out a couple of 5X7’s and a couple of 8X10’s with an HP 1215 photo printer (on Kodak photo paper). Detail and color were excellent as long as we stayed at 5X7, but images printed at 8X10 showed flatter color and a little edge softness when closely inspected with a Mamiya 4X loupe (designed for checking out medium format prints). Our one low light enlargement (shot inside---the camera automatically shifts to ISO 400 in low light) showed some noise and minor pixelation. Overall the CP3100 is a decent three megapixel digital camera---especially for beginners----however more advanced photographers will find the camera very limiting.
PERFORMANCE
Image Quality
The CP3100’s color balance is accurate and colors are well saturated but not garish. Outdoors in good lighting the CP3100 produces consistently well exposed relatively sharp digital images, however the noise level (even in good light and at lower ISO settings) is a bit higher than average. Image quality is good, but not quite as good as some of the CP3100’s competition (like the Canon Powershot A70). In dim/low light noise levels are noticeably higher than average and images shot indoors (using the Incandescent WB preset) had a slight yellowish cast. Overall, I’d have to rate image quality as average or maybe a bit below average.
Timing/Shutter Lag
The CP3100 starts up pretty quick----the boot up cycle (the length of time it takes to extend the lens and be ready to shoot) is about three seconds---not bad for an entry level digicam. Standard shutter lag ranges from almost instantaneous (shutter pressed halfway) to about one second. AF lag is a bit quicker than average in bright lighting, but in dim/low light (when the AF has to “hunt” for focus) AF lag is noticeably longer. Shot to shot speed is about average for three megapixel entry level digicams---between 2 and 3 seconds. Write to card times are about average---ranging from 1 to 3 seconds (depending on resolution). Overall the CP3100’s timing is about average for three megapixel entry level digicams.
A Few Concerns
The CP3100’s lens is quite good with minor barrel distortion at the wide angle end of the zoom range and essentially no pincushion distortion at the telephoto end of the range. In high contrast scenes shadow areas hold detail very nicely, but highlight areas look a bit washed out. Chromatic aberration (purple fringing) wasn't apparent in any of my shots.
Flash coverage is noticeably weaker than average. For macro work and shots within six feet or so the flash does OK, however anything beyond six feet and the image is going to be dark unless the ambient light is very good. Like most compact cameras the CP3100 has red-eye problems. Noise is noticeably above average due to the auto (only) ISO sensitivity settings---the CP3100’s internal software clearly favors a broader shooting range over noise free lower ISO images. There’s no focus assist beam for low light shooting.
Conclusion
The Nikon Coolpix 3100 is not a bad camera----if it had been introduced two years ago it would have absolutely skunked the competition-----however, today it simply isn’t the best choice for smart digicam buyers. The CP3100’s most egregious fault is that it can’t keep pace with users as their photographic skills evolve---in other words---it’s a beginners only camera---if purchasers decide to get serious about photography later they’ll have to change cameras. I think consumers would have been much better served if Nikon had added the nifty Framing Assist Modes and the CP3100’s snazzier new features to the CP3500 and skipped the CP3100 altogether----after all why compete with yourself.
My Final Word
I’ve been a big Nikon fan for more than twenty years and I’ve used most recent Nikon professional and amateur 35mm and digital cameras, but I can’t in good conscience recommend the CP3100. If you’re looking for a digital camera with the capability to adapt to your needs as your photographic skills grow then check out Canon’s nifty little Powershot A70-----it was designed to appeal to the same niche group as the CP3100 and it costs about the same.
Links
Check out my reviews of a bargain priced and very capable photo quality ink-jet printer.
Epson Stylus Photo 785 EPX ink-jet printer
http://www.epinions.com/content_60776812164
For definitive advice on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:
http://www.epinions.com/elec-review-2E46-17B174E2-39A418E3-prod1
For information about other entry level three megapixel digital cameras you may find the reviews below informative:
Nikon Digital Cameras
Nikon Coolpix 3500
http://www.epinions.com/content_88242491012
Canon Digital Cameras
Canon Powershot A70
http://www.epinions.com/content_99985034884
Canon Powershot S230
http://www.epinions.com/content_78900203140
Olympus Digital Cameras
Olympus Camedia Stylus 300
http://www.epinions.com/content_103093997188
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $329.00
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 334
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About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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