Finally, an evolution

Ever since the D40X (released 2007), the lowest end DSLR from Nikon appears to have used the same 10 megapixel CCD sensor inherited from the D200 (released 2005). While the D60 (2008) and then the D3000  (2009) have sold very well, I could not help but feel disappointed at Nikon's lack of innovation in this sector of the market. 

Because the relatively poor ISO performance of the D40X is the main reason why I've been wanting to upgrade the cam since last year.

Can't really blame them I suppose, but it meant I had little incentive to upgrade from my D40X, which of course remains an outstanding camera after more than 300,000 pictures and lots of physical abuse: lots of rain, some snow, the seaside and once, a drop from about 1 metre.

But things seemed to have finally taken a turn for the better last week. Nikon announced the D3100, successor to the D3000. It will come with 14 megapixels with a base ISO range of 100 to 3200, which can further be boosted to 12800. It is also the first Nikon DSLR to do full HD video recording.

Picture from http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/

That's better than Nikon's top-end D300s DX format camera, at least on paper!

And for me, one of the most welcome innovation (for Nikon's bottom-end model) besides the brand-new sensor is a physical switch to toggle between Single frame shooting, Continuous shooting and Self-timer. The last option is the Quiet shutter mode. In the D40X/60/3000 as well as the D5000, these options can only be chosen from a menu on the camera's display. Because the camera automatically switches back to normal shooting mode (Single or Continuous) after a Self-timer shot, it was troublesome to do self or group portraits or long exposure shots without a remote, as one will have to change the setting through the onscreen menu to Self-timer again after every attempted shot.

Picture from http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/

But upon reading the specs a little more closely, I found a deal-breaker. Sort of. The D3100 doesn't work with the cheap Nikon ML-L3 remote, almost an essential accessory for my D40X for the past three years! I suppose the new shooting mode switch makes up for this deficiency to some extent, but that's quite a bummer, really. Shall have to await the D90 replacement, set to be announced in September, to see if there is a better alternative.

Besides compatibility with the ML-L3, I am watching out for two memory card slots. One memory card failure was all I needed to feel the need for this feature, which allows for instant back-up of pictures taken on a second SD card.

In the meantime, the Ricoh GXR is looking to be a very interesting (but relatively expensive) option.