Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

The 24.2MP Nikon D3200 was a ground breaking device when it was first launched in the first half of 2012. It offered many of the functions and photo quality of a professional DSLR but with a £500 price tag. Now, the camera is available for the even lower price of £350 to £400 with an additional lens and this makes it even better value for money. It is still difficult to find cameras with a better resolution of images and the user friendly menus and systems offered by the Nikon make it an ideal choice for any level of photographer.

First of all we should cover that thumping resolution. 24.2MP is more than most amateur photographers are ever going to need so unless you’re a keen hobbyist or you like big numbers from your gadgets it may not be necessary to purchase such a high spec. Where professional users may notice the difference in picture quality is in the size of the camera’s sensor. It doesn’t quite run to the full 35mm sensor size so quality can suffer with large photos but not to too crippling a degree.

The Nikon D3200 is likely to be purchased by those that are making the move up from a high end compact camera although the quality of the Nikon D3200 also means that it will prove popular as an inexpensive professional DSLR as well as a convenient and easy to use consumer model. However, for those that are making the move up, the Guide feature and handy images that represent the changes you are making to the camera settings will prove especially useful.

The Nikon D3200 has a 2 inch display that offers Live View and is also where beginners will be guided through the process of using even the more complex features. The Guide is an extremely beneficial addition to the D3200 as it uses plain English to enable users to get the most from their new DSLR camera. Choosing one of the photo modes, such as soften backgrounds will alter the various manual settings for you so that you are free to take pictures.

One of the more important features that you need to consider when buying this type of camera is the number of autofocus points. For every autofocus point, the camera will essentially pick out a particular object and then focus a section of the image on that point. The more focus points there are, the better the quality of the photo’s finish. High DSLRs may have 40 to 50 autofocus points or more. The Nikon D3200, on the other hand, packs in 11 to give it good quality without being exceptional.

None of the features and settings of the D3200 are particularly exceptional but they are all very good, and the Guide feature makes this a worthy choice if you are looking for a consumer level DSLR and don’t want to end up paying too much and getting a camera that you don’t really understand. Worse still is paying too little so that you may be better off sticking with a compact digital camera.