Nikon D3200 Digital SLR with 18-55mm VR II Lens Kit - Black (24.2 MP) 3.0 inch LCD

This camera has already proved to be a very good performer. I thought about it for a long time, as I still have my middle-aged Sony R-1 which is still a good camera with a superb lens. However, the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) is not so good for my aging eyes, and although the D3200 viewfinder is small, it is bright and very clear being fully optical. Having been a film camera user for a very long time, I still like a real viewfinder to look through, with the camera held to the eye.The menus on the rear screen are easy to get used to, (and very clear to see) but please read the excellent supplied instruction manual, or visit KenRockwell.com and read his (also excellent) review and guide to this camera. After around three years since being introduced, the D3200 is still selling brand new, and the camera feels solid and very well made. Forget all the sales pitch about 'needing' huge numbers of pixels; so far I have the camera set to 6MP and the Fine quality JPG mode. You should get excellent pictures up to around A4 size.The kit lens is an excellent performer, although I usually use Aperture Priority at F8 (as I often used a film camera, and still do occasionally). The manual zoom action is firm but smooth, and there is no fear of the zoom changing accidentally if you brush a hand or a sleeve against it. There is a button on the zoom ring that you depress to extend the lens for shooting, and for retracting when packing the camera into a small case. However, it is not necessary to retract the lens if you prefer the camera to be more 'ever-ready'.There have been a few comments about the rear screen turning on every time you take a picture. This could be a nuisance if you were taking pictures for example in a low-lit club. However, you can turn off the image review in the menu. When you first switch on the camera, you do for a very few seconds get a read-out of the aperture / shutter speed / battery state etc. However, it is easy enough to hold the camera against your chest if the rear screen could be a nuisance. If you leave the camera switched on, then the rear screen will stay off. Only on the first 'boot-up' does it show for a very short while. So again, please read the manual!I usually set the iso to 400. I have taken a few images at iso 1600. Attached is a monochrome image at iso 400 and a colour image taken at iso 1600. This was taken at F8 with the camera hand held and the only light was some reflected daylight from a window several feel away. The JPG quality of Le Chat has been reduced considerably in post editing using GIMP. I would ask please only use the two images for personal viewing. Although there is a lot more to learn about this camera, as I purchased it of recent weeks, I am very happy with it, and I hope this opinion of mine helps. Thank you for reading.

I already have a D90, which is a very good camera, and I needed a second machine so that I could take stills and video at the same time. The D3200 has more pixels and far better, more versatile video performance. It can autofocus while shooting video, and runs for 20 minutes on HD as opposed to the D90's 5 minutes. With a stereo microphone fitted to the flash mount, It also records sound very well, provided that you first go through the menu and find out how to switch the sound on! It's not necessarily on when you unpack the camera, and this caught me out.The all-purpose function display on the back, while not to everyone's taste, is ideal for my theatre work; everything is clearly visible in the dark, and the button to activate it is conveniently positioned. Once you've learnt the routines, the camera is very easy and intuitive to use. No more craning over the top of a tripod-mounted camera to peer at tiny icons and numbers in the dark!The body is a bit small on the left-hand side, but I find this no problem as the left hand can support the body or lens from below, while the deep main grip gives very precise, stable pointing. A second infra-red receiver on the back is a big plus; in conjunction with the front receiver, it allows the shutter to be released remotely from just about any angle.One slight disappointment is that there is no built-in autofocus motor; the D3200 relies on lenses having motors of their own, so my older lenses have to be manually focussed. My fault - I should have checked beforehand! There is a focus-confirmation dot anyway, so it's not much of a problem. They had to leave something out to produce the camera for the price. I think I'd still have bought a D3200 anyway for its ease of use in the kind of work I do. It's tough, too: it has already been dropped on its top twice, once when the cat knocked it off the table onto a tiled floor - and it still works perfectly.

For its price, it's a great camera. It takes superb photos and has a huge amount of features that are mostly easy to use. There are dozens of good reviews out there so I won't go into any great detail... other than to say I'm very happy with it and it does what I want it to. My only negative comment would be that the viewfinder image is smaller than I'd have expected, certainly smaller than my old-fashioned film Nikon SLR. That said, the 'live view' option on the large rear screen makes up for that so no big deal.