Nikon D3200 (with 18-55mm VR lens) review: Nikon D3200 with 18-55mm VR lens

The Nikon D3200 has a lot of the same or similar components to the D3100, including the same autofocus system (bolstered by Nikon's newer scene-recognition technology) and viewfinder, it's got a newer, higher resolution sensor coupled with Nikon's updated Expeed 3 imaging engine, a higher-resolution LCD, and 1080/30p video with a supporting microphone jack and HDMI connector. But the D3200 may be a case of newer not necessarily being better; it's a solid camera, but one that doesn't particularly stand out from the crowd.

7.0

Nikon D3200 (with 18-55mm VR lens)

$185 at Amazon

The Good

With reasonably fast performance and very good photo quality, the <b>Nikon D3200</b> delivers what you expect from a dSLR.

The Bad

The camera's lackluster feature set, some underwhelming design changes, and photos that don't necessarily surpass its predecessor may disappoint.

The Bottom Line

A solid if unexceptional entry-level dSLR, the Nikon D3200 should still please most folks looking for an upgrade from their point-and-shoots.

Image quality
Compared with its competitors, the D3200 matches their photo quality but doesn't surpass them; in fact, I think the D3100 has better photos overall, and by the numbers has a better noise profile at all levels up to ISO 12800 (which is immaterial since it's unusable on most cameras under at least $1,800). In general, JPEG photos look clean up through ISO 400 with increasing noise and loss of detail through ISO 3200, the highest I'd probably use and even then only scaled down. You don't gain any unambiguous advantages shooting raw until about ISO 1600; it still gives you some headroom for image manipulation, but you can't easily produce a cleaner image without some trade-offs.

Nikon D3200 photo samples and analysis

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ISO 100

ISO 800

ISO 1600

In other respects -- color, exposure, sharpness, tonal range -- the camera fares very well. JPEGs are sharp without being oversharpened, it conserves a good amount of highlight and shadow detail for recovery during raw processing, and it delivers relatively accurate color. One thing to watch out for is that the default Standard Picture Control settings bump up contrast enough that you can lose some shadow detail.

I wasn't terribly impressed with the video quality. It's OK for personal vacation-type use, but even in good light it's fairly soft and there are a variety of annoying edge-based artifacts. In dim light it's quite noisy.

Performance
While I'd consider the photo quality comparison with the D3100 debatable, the D3200's performance is definitely better than its predecessor. It's still no rocketship, however, compared with models like the SLT-A37. It's fast enough at powering on and shooting at less than 0.3 second. Its shot lag -- focusing and shooting -- in good light takes about 0.3 second, which is fast but now typical for its class. In dim light that rises to about 0.5 second; also typical and pretty good. Two sequential shots take roughly 0.5 - 0.6 second, depending upon whether you're shooting raw or JPEG, bumping up to 0.9 second if the flash fires. Continuous shooting runs at about 3.9fps, which should be good enough for most hobbyist photographers.

The autofocus occasionally feels more sluggish than the numbers would indicate, however. It's smart enough to not hunt when you go for that second shot of the same subject and fine in good light. But in suboptimal conditions you can feel the kit lens moving more slowly. As is typical for the class, the Live View autofocus is slow and cumbersome as well, and the full-time autofocus in video performs about the same as other dSLRs -- it can focus, but it doesn't stick and pulses on unmoving objects.

Design and features
The D3200 essentially has the same body as the D3100 body -- it's still relatively small and light -- though it still feels a little plasticky. (Because of the similarities, parts of the body description are the same as in that review.) While it remains a pretty streamlined camera to shoot with, Nikon has changed a few of the control types and locations in ways I don't particularly like.

It keeps the same viewfinder; it's small and dim, which is typical for this class. But I also hate the tiny focus points which only illuminate (and briefly) when you half-press the shutter. They're impossible to see in moderate to dim light, so if you shoot on anything other than full auto you first have to press the shutter to find the appropriate focus point (in my case, center) before you can even begin to frame the scene.

A programmable Fn button -- you can set it to control the image quality, ISO sensitivity, white balance, or Active D-Lighting menus -- lies under your left thumb, though it's a little hard to differentiate from the flash pop-up/compensation button that sits above it by feel alone. Behind the shutter button circumscribed by the power switch are the exposure compensation and info buttons; the latter toggles the back display.

Nikon has moved the record button to the left of those buttons to what I think is an awkward location. On the D3100, there's a combination Live View switch/record button that falls under your right thumb that's really nice. Now we're back to the separate Live View button on the back -- which you have to invoke first, before you can record -- and a record button on top that you've got to stretch to reach.

As usual, the top mode dial is segregated into the automatic, semimanual and manual modes. The D3200 keeps the Guide mode that provides various levels of step-by-step help for a limited number of common shooting scenarios. There's Easy operation, which, like Auto, provides access to a limited number of options, as well as an Advanced mode, which describes the appropriate settings for the chosen scenario and then allows you to change the settings yourself. For instance, in Easy Operation/Distant Subjects it puts you into the Sports scene mode -- the camera tells you what it's doing, which is really nice -- then asks if you want to use the viewfinder, Live View or shoot a movie. From there, it optionally allows you to adjust flash, release mode, and ISO sensitivity. The options are not specific to the scenarios, however, which would be useful. My one minor quibble with this is that the controls don't always function the same in this mode as when shooting normally; so, for example, here you'd adjust shutter speed with the up/down buttons on the multiselector, whereas you'd normally use the command dial to change the speed. This might confuse some people.

Nikon laudably puts the D3200's SD card slot in the more accessible grip-side location, and I still like Nikon's implementation of the interactive display. The adjustment options are arrayed around the edges of the display, which makes the one you're looking for easier to find compared with some of the more cluttered full-screen layouts of competitors. On the other hand, you do have to navigate sequentially through the options, which you don't have to do with control panels that allow you to move up, down, and sideways.

In addition to a composite, a HDMI out, and a USB connector, plus the connector for Nikon's proprietary GPS module, D3200 adds a jack for an external mic, bringing it into parity with its peers. But there are a lot of more useful shooting features still missing that other cameras in this price class provide, notably simple exposure and flash exposure bracketing. (For a full account of the D3200's features and operation, download the PDF manual.)

Conclusion
There's nothing about this camera that screams either "buy me!" or "don't buy me!" It's faster, has a better LCD and better video than the D3100, but the higher-resolution sensor doesn't deliver better photo quality. Its bare-bones feature set can't match that of the cheaper A37, and you can probably find the older but more feature-rich D5100 for less than the cost of the new D3200. Still, I think most entry-level shooters would be perfectly satisfied with the Nikon D3200.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Raw shot-to-shot time

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Alpha SLT-A37

0.8

0.5

0.5

0.3

0.2

Canon EOS Rebel T2i

0.3

0.6

0.5

0.5

0.3

Pentax K-x

0.7

0.6

0.4

0.5

0.3

Nikon D3200

0.3

0.6

0.5

0.5

0.3

Nikon D3100

0.4

0.9

0.6

0.6

0.4