Nikon D3100, What Makes It Best Seller DSLR?



Nikon D3100 is not a new camera in the market, already announced by Nikon since August 2010 but this camera still become #2 best seller in Amazon.com until now (April 2012). A prestigious achievement for entry level DSLR camera, could last up to almost 2 years in the digital SLR market which is very tight. What is the secret inside Nikon D3100?

Nikon D3100 comes to fine-tune its predecessor, the Nikon D3000 which has a good sales. Nikon pack CMOS sensor technology on Nikon D3100 and built it around 14.2 megapixel. With this feature, Nikon D3100 will bring you to live view and Full HD video capture experiences from an entry-level DSLR for the first time. This DSLR offers 1080p @24fps format in movie recording which notes as an impressive feature addition at this level.

The body of Nikon D3100 is designed more fresh-look than its predecessor. The dimension which is only 124x96x73 mm make this camera easy to hold and light enough for DSLR camera, 505 g. For the screen, nothing has changed both size and resolution if we compared with Nikon D3000.

Ultimately we will make a summary of the Nikon D3100's successful secret for almost 2 years become best seller in entry level DSLR category:

- 14.2 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor
- 3.0" LCD monitor (230,000 dots)
- Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
- 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
- IS0 100-3200 range (12,800 expanded)
- HD movies (1080p, 720p or WVGA)
- Movie continuous focus and Autofocuses shooting video
- Categorized as cheap DSLR camera in class

If you are interested to see the complete specifications of the Nikon D3100 or to find out the latest prices and special offers, we strongly encourage you to look at a very trusted Amazon.com.

Nikon D5100 versus Canon 600D


Choosing DSLR camera between Nikon and Canon brand sometimes is not so easy. Each has advantages and disadvantages, so that Nikon and Canon have loyal users which are fanatical. For you who have not been a fanatic of one of them, We will help you by giving you a proportional objective comparison between Nikon and Canon DSLR camera. This time we will compare Nikon D5100 versus Canon 600D which are known in the same class.

Before comparing each other, We will give you some reasons to choose Nikon D5100. Nikon D5100 give better performance in the low light environment, creating low noise picture at high ISO; 1183 ISO. Nikon D5100 has great image quality, the score is 80 to a scale of 0 to 100. The screen used by Nikon D5100 has better color depth until 23.5 bits, so your image will be displayed better and could be flipped-out that will give you great experiences during making a video. Nikon D5100 has a larger sensor; APS-C 23.6x15.6 mm and wider dynamic range up to 1.6 EV.

And the reasons for buying Canon 600D are as follows: Nikon 600D has high screen resolution up to 1,040k dots and has high true resolution; 17.9 MP. Both features are important to produce the high quality image and display it. For you who also love capturing moment as video, Nikon 600D is the best for you, with flip out screen, external mic jack and built in focus motor.

Now lets start comparing these two DSLR camera with the same level as objective as possible.
Nikon D5100 has these kinds of advantages if we compare with Canon 600D:

- Significantly lower noise at high ISO; 1183 ISO vs 793 ISO. The D5100 has a slight edge (0,6 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
- Much better image quality; 80.0 vs 65.0. More than 20% better image quality
- More dynamic range; 13,6 EV vs 11,5 EV. 2,1 f-stops more dynamic range
- Much less start-up delay; 500 ms vs 1500 ms. 3x less delay when turning on.
- Better color depth; 23,5 bits vs 22,1 bits. Distinguishes 1,4 more bits of color
- Has in-camera HDR; Yes vs No. Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
- Video autofocus; Contrast detection vs None. Automatically focuses shooting video
- Larger sensor; APS-C 23.6x15.6mm vs APS-C 22.3x14.9mm. More than 10% larger sensor
- Longer battery life; 660 shots vs 440 shots. 50% more shots per battery charge
- Better boost ISO; 25,600 ISO vs 12,800 ISO. The D5100's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better
- More focus points; 11 vs 9. Set focus accurately within the frame
- Smaller size; 127x96x78 mm vs 133x99x79 mm. Around 10% smaller
- Slightly more lenses available; 169 lenses vs 162 lenses. Almost the same
- Slightly less shutter lag; 273 ms vs 283 ms. Almost the same
- Shoots slightly faster; 4 fps vs 3.7 fps. Around 10% faster continuous shooting
- Slightly thinner; 3,1" vs 3,1". Almost the same
- Slightly cheaper, see the Nikon D5100 update price here.

See the Nikon D5100 detail specification here.

Canon 600D has these kinds advantages if we compare with Nikon D5100:
- Has a built-in focus motor; Yes vs No. Auto-focuses with all autofocus lenses
- Higher true resolution; 17.9 MP vs 16.1 MP. Capture more than 10% more detail in your photos.
- Higher screen resolution; 1,040k dots vs 920k dots. More than 10% higher resolution screen
- Slightly larger viewfinder; 0,53x vs 0,51x. Around 10% larger viewfinder

See the Canon 600D detail specification here and see the update price of Canon 600D here.

From the comparison between Nikon D5100 versus Canon 600D above, we strongly recommend you to buy Nikon D5100. Sometimes the more expensive price is not directly related to the camera features.