NIKON D3200:
Although Nikon announced the return of the Nikon D3200 from the DSLR family in April 2012, we didn't even receive a review until early November, which is unfortunate because this camera has attracted many buyers and is characterized by a sleek red color plus basic black. This camera is ideal for photographers who want to move from just a regular camera to a camera that provides quality images as well as many creative features and is suitable for family photos or when traveling. Globally, DSLR is the best-selling Nikon camera and one of the low-cost cameras.
The Nikon D3200 offers the highest resolution to date in cameras of this type (24.2 megapixels) within a relatively compact and light DSLR body. It also adopts the successful Nikon D3100 model as well as full HD video support and offers the option of Wi-Fi connectivity and the highest resolution display. Like its predecessor, the Nikon D3200 features a simplified version of Nikon's Active D-Lighting lighting feature (you can just turn it on and off). It also does not support parentheses and does not provide any custom functions. There is no internal focus engine; there are only AF-S lenses, which include an internal focus motor and autofocus within the camera, such as Sigma HSM, Tamron or Tokina lenses. (Nikon has a lot of AF-S lenses, so buyers should want to use old Nikon lenses.)
Construction and Work Environment:
The design of the camera structure has not changed since the Nikon D3100. Like its predecessor, the D3200 is small and light in DSLR cameras featuring a polycarbonate structure with a stainless steel lens frame that accepts Nikon DX lenses. The build quality will meet expectations for Nikon camera buyers at this level. Nikon features an infrared sensor, which is an integral part of the front panel grip as on the D300. In the rear panel, the Live View key is disconnected from the movie recording button to be available on the rear panel.
The front, back, and top of the D3200 are black with no vehicle lens. (Source: Nikon)
This port also covers an HDMI port and a connector that accepts an optional GPS receiver or wired remote control. An optional WU-1a Wi-Fi adapter is connected via the USB / AV port on the side panel. There is also one rubber cover on the left-hand panel to protect all these ports and should remain open when used. The viewfinder is the same as the Nikon D3100. It is a pentagonal mirror (instead of a heavier and more powerful pentagon prism) with 95% coverage of the field of view and can be magnified 0.8 times and distance from the eye aperture by 18 mm. There is also the possibility of refractive adjustment from -1.7 to +0.5 DPT through the knurled handle on the right side.
The memory card has its own place in the right panel, which is another feature. The battery is located inside the molded grip and attached to it by a hard plastic cover on the mainboard. On the mainboard, there is a metal socket that fits the lens axis. Like its predecessor Nikon D3100, the D3200 is relatively compact, which may not be suitable for users with large hands (smaller or shorter hands should find it comfortable to work). The grip also features a secure feel and various buttons are easily accessible.
The mode dial is divided into two sections, where the settings for P, A, S, and M are located separately from other media, which are specially designed for photographers. In addition to the fully automatic “green” setting, there are six preset scenes (portrait, landscape, kids, sports, close-up, and night shots) and flash settings.
Like the Nikon D3100, the new camera also offers a manual mode that allows novice users to adjust camera settings with the help of an on-screen guide. Nikon has made some changes to this manual but essentially simply duplicated the options presented in the scene presets without saving much in the style of information on certain functions such as aperture and shutter speed control.
Presets have also been modified so that users can now use some settings (such as selecting the focus area in Sport mode). In P, A, S and M mode, adjustments are made to autofocus, ISO, white balance through the information buttons and the display of snapshot information. When the information button is pressed (behind the shutter) the snapshot information display is switched between on and off (the default setting is On). When the rear information button is pressed, an alternate screen with one selected mode appears. You can use the arrows panel to navigate to the function you want to adjust. Most users will find this strategy faster compared to diving in the list.
The front function button above the lens button is also the same on the Nikon D3100. You can program it to access one of the following functions: QUAL, ISO, WB or Active D-Lighting. Similarly, the AE-L / AF-L button can be programmed to access AE and AF lock, to work separately or to act as AE lock/hold
Sensor and image processing:
The Nikon D3200's CMOS sensor is a big step compared to its predecessor. Considered the best sensor in Nikon to date and included in the DX camera, it offers a resolution of 24.2 megapixels, compared to 14.2 megapixels in the Nikon D3100. There are two aspects in the subject offering such high resolution in a camera for beginners. The first is that a small number of users can benefit from this (and there is a smaller percentage that can use RAW files) and there are many users who can find it difficult to handle the amount of image data associated with even small-sized images (see table below). The second aspect is that there are a few lenses that can match the high performance of the sensor. (We'll explore the last issue in the “Performance” section of this review.)
Besides the sensors, there is the new image-processing engine EXPEED 3, which is a refinement of previous technologies. It provides faster processing to support video shooting and reduces noise in both images and video. Like the previous Nikon D3200, this camera supports three JPEG file sizes, each with three quality levels. NEF.RAW images can be captured in the largest file size (6016 × 4000 pixels) and RAW + JPEG images that allow RAW files to be recorded with a large JPEG. The table below shows typical file sizes and caching capabilities.
Video and live view:
When the live play button is pressed, the mirrored mirror is raised, the live play is engaging and video recording is enabled. While the Nikon D3100 only supports live playback in 30-second shots, the Nikon D3200 does not have such a limitation. Recordings are started and stopped by pressing the video recording button. The recording indicator and available time are added on the display. The recording is done in most shooting modes and the aperture is selected when the image is taken in A or M mode. Available exposure up to 3EV in P, A and S mode is within steps of 1 / 3EV.
The AF area type should be selected from the face priority area, wide area or normal area or can be continued before recording begins. The contrast-based AF system is slower than the phase-detection system used for shooting shots. If you're shooting with Auto mode. The camera will automatically select the scene based on the following presets Portrait, Landscape, Close-Up and Night Portrait. Default measurements are set according to the matrix style, regardless of the style that is selected. ISO sensitivity and shutter speed are automatically adjusted if the camera is not in M mode and no manual film settings are selected in the menu.
Four quality settings are supported for the PAL format used in Australia. Videos are limited to a maximum of 10 minutes and you can record mono soundtrack or toggle audio recording. The table below shows the available options and maximum file sizes. (Unfortunately, Nikon does not provide memory card recording capabilities).
Each video file can be up to 4GB or 20 minutes, depending on the speed and capacity of the memory card. The camera includes flicker reduction technology to minimize splicing and distortion in under-sparkling film shots, mercury vapor or sodium lights. No wind reduction filter. An optional ME-1 stereo microphone can be connected to the jack on the right panel. It allows you to record soundtracks in stereo (instead of mono music via a built-in microphone) and reduces the possibility of capturing camera sounds even in sound recordings.
Operating and Software:
Not much has changed on either side compared to the Nikon D3100. Nikon bundled software has always been few, and although the ViewNX2 standard has been updated it remains essential and less powerful than the software provided by other manufacturers with their own cameras that provide the RAW format.
The performance :
The Nikon D3200 is equipped with the F-18- S 18-55mm / 3.5-5.6 Gigahertz and AF-S DX Nikkor 55-300mm / f / 4.5-5.6 G ED VR, both of which have a range of lenses. We reviewed both of them and found that they perform well on less accurate sensor cameras. Initially, we decided to build an Imatest test for this review on the 18-55mm lens range because it is the most likely lens to be purchased with the camera. However, when the results of our tests showed that they failed to meet the theoretical expectations of the D3200 image sensor, we re-tested using AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED VR lenses, which were supplied with the D600.
This lens is reviewed separately for both D3200 and D600. Interestingly, while they offer high resolution compared to the range of lenses, the differences between them are not significant, and this confirms that the sensor implements most of the work of Nikon DX lenses. The 18-55mm lens performs reasonably well and has a maximum resolution at the maximum aperture, as well as excellent focal length performance of 24mm.
The lateral chromatic aberration was minimal, as shown in the graph below, where the red line represents the boundary between “negligible” and “low”. This could be due to automatic corrections in the camera but, for whatever reason, we have not found any cases Of colored fringing in test shots. Apart from accuracy, the subjective evaluations of the test shots have shown them in detail and most of them are in accurate colors as there is a noticeable improvement in similar shots from the Nikon D3100. The dynamic range of shots in contrasting conditions with automatic lighting was also distinct, though not as wide as the D600. The standard image control default setting provides high saturation, especially in red and purple as well as some shifts in green, just as you'll find on a built-in Digicam camera. The normal setting was closer to “real life” colors and the NEF.RAW files were very accurate colors.
Autofocus was generally fast and accurate, provided the subjects were in the center of the frame. (The range of lenses was slightly slower to get more focus than the AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED VR lenses that we used in some Imatest tests.) We also noticed a tendency towards all the lenses we used with subjects in the center and within lighting levels Low. The magnification was longer than it could be compared to the shorter magnification. The camera review showed a slight tendency towards overexposed exposure, which was easily corrected with exposure compensation.
This issue is complicated by the tendency of the screen to brightness in bright outdoor lighting. At best, the resolution recorded in the Imatest tests on JPEG files was lower than expected in a 24-megapixel camera. With RAW files, the resolution was slightly lower than expected, as we suspect the highest resolution with a professional-quality lens. Accuracy was maintained in all camera sensitivity ranges, with ISO 1600 and steadily declining to reach 1Hi location, which is equivalent to ISO 12800. The graph below shows the results of our tests.
Long exposure at night showed little noise up to the ISO D3200, although noise can be seen in higher ISO settings. With these small platelets (3.8 ونm square), it is not surprising that the camera performance in the D600 does not match. The noise was evident in the shadows at ISO 6400, while the Hi1 setting introduced color shifts, softening the details; flashes were slightly weak at ISO 100 but were evenly exposed afterward. It is surprising to see little noise in the flashes taken with the Hi1 setting where the natural contrast was maintained. The automatic white balance setting fails to remove the warm mold from incandescent lighting to allow for a light gradient in shots taken under fluorescent lighting in our standard tests. However, at every day shot in mixed lighting, the camera produced usable images under most conditions and a lot of adjustments in the camera for color correction.
The video quality was similar to the other 1080p, the APS-C sensor in the DSLR cameras we reviewed. In bright lighting, the videos were well exposed and the moving subjects were recorded smoothly. We found a few instances of the “moving shutter” effect that can occur with subjects moving quickly across the frame. The autofocus was slower in movie mode but the exposure reset during zoom was smooth and more accurate. Wind noise was present in the recorded sections outside because there was no built-in filter to mitigate it. The number of shots taken in each shot in a single-mode is 0.5 seconds shot on average without flash and 4.6 seconds with flash. We also measured the average image delay by 0.3 seconds. Each large JPEG file takes 0.8 seconds to process, while the NEF. The RAW file takes 1.3 seconds and the RAW + JPEG file takes 1.9 seconds.
In high-speed continuous shooting mode, the camera recorded 10 large JPEGs/min in 2.7 seconds, which is very close to the specification. It takes 2.9 seconds to process. For NEF.RAW files, capture rates were slightly faster with 10 frames recorded in 2.6 seconds. It took 5.1 seconds to process. For RAW + JPEG files, the camera recorded 8 pairs of frames in 2.1 seconds before pausing briefly. It took 13 seconds to process that.
The current price of the Nikon D3200 is close to $ 410
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