Rating: 
Summary: Very, Very Slow Focus/Shutter Speed
Review: I purchased the camera at a Best Buy, in the store they did not equipped the camera with memory making it virtually impossible to test the camera onsite. After taking the camera home I came to realize the reviews I had read on-line were very misleading.I have been a digital camera users since the early 90's and have had owned a number of different models (HP, Canon, Casio, Olympus) this being my first Nikon. After bringing the camera home I proceeded to set the camera up for my first picture, doing so I can into a few problems, first being power. The camera comes with one Panasonic CV battery (not a rechargeable). The battery was dead leaving me no choice but to load the camera with lithium AA's. To reduce the size of the camera it only held two AA's or one CV-3, the battery life of the AA was approx. 1 min. or 3 pics. After a little frustration and approx. 6 sets of batteries I went out and purchased a CV-3 replacement. The new battery worked fine but the camera did not, the auto focus on the camera took a very, very, very long time to lock in on the image (3-4 second). During this time the subject would have moved or ran away. After doing some investigating I came to realize the Nikon was known for the delayed shutter, I found this very hard to work with. After a night out with the family and several attempts of capturing a good, quality photo I gave up. The following day I took the camera back and purchased a Canon A70, a step up from my A20. I love the canon, it is very quick to snap the picture and had a great battery life (with my lithium rechargeable AA's). The Nikon 3100 may take good pictures but if you have to wait 4 seconds for the camera to snap you better make sure your subject is either tied down or sleeping.. If you decide to purchase the camera after reading this review, I have one suggestion "Keep the Receipt".
Rating:
Summary: Stay far, far away
Review: Save yourself a lifetime of aggravation and don't buy this lemon of a camera. After about 10 pictures, the battery dies, whether fully rechargable batteries or standard AAs. When I called Nikon technical support, they told me that the camera came with the wrong firmware version and we attempted to update it over the phone. This effort failed, so they told me I had no choice but to send the camera in for repair. (I'm still waiting for it to be returned). Also, Amazon's 30-day return policy absolves them of any responsibility. They refused to return it or do ANYTHING for me. I'm still seething.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Camera at a Great Price
Review: I've taken 1000's of shots with this tiny little camera and love them. I've bought the 2100 as gifts for everyone in my wedding party. The camera is awesome. (...) Nikon issued a firmware update that fixes the battery life issue. I called Nikon and they recommended using the Nikon NIMH batteries or a disposable CRV3 battery, not the ones he was having trouble with. This camera is so easy and so much fun. The scene assist is a blast. I wouldn't trade it for any other camera out there. I've been a Nikon person before, I looked at all the print samples and this one is better than many of the 5 Megapixel cameras out there...
Rating:
Summary: Best mix of quality, size and price
Review: I'd held off buying a digital camera until now. For me image quality was the most important consideration. Of course price was a consideration too; when I started reviewing all the models I didn't think I'd be buying a Nikon...! I found this camera to be terrific value with amazing specs and functionality. And a big bonus was that this camera will easily fit in your pocket. I'm content to take it around with me all the time. This model provides professional results for a modest outlay. It's very simple and intuitive to use and the options and image manipulation modes are fluid and responsive in operation. It doesn't hang and freeze like some cameras I've used in the past. And for those with a background in serious SLR photography this camera will offer a pleasing array of exposure options. Once you've figured out what all the dials and buttons mean you have a high degree of control. And of course you've got immediate feedback so it's no problem just trying again... Two other bits worth mentioning: it has a viewfinder (these things really come in handy) and the lens opens up to 2.8 - great for low light situations. I haven't tried the movie mode yet. The main issue with this being that there's no audio. (I should also mention, and this has only peripheral relevance to this review, that 3.2 megapixels is more than enough. I find that I never utilize the full resolution. I bought this 3.2MP model over the identically specified Nikon Coolpix 2100 (2MP) because the price was only $40 higher) I got this camera off the "grey market" so I didn't get the usual equipment in the package There were no cables or software, and generic batteries, charger and card reader. In fact the only original equipment was the camera itself. But this is comforting - it means there are absolutely no proprietery parts and you're not at the mercy of peculiar software or connections. I'd snapped a few pictures and was viewing them on my PC within minutes; nothing to install or configure. And you've got three options as far as batteries are concerned, with standard AAs to fall back on, which is also very comforting. Basically what I'm saying is that as long as you've got the camera in your hand you can always take and process pictures. You're not going to be dependent on any special accessories. It is suggested that this camera has a weak flash. So far I've had no problems. Using the special night time mode the pictures are actually wonderfully exposed. I've used SLR cameras for years and I'm amazed at some of the nighttime and indoor exposures - I wouldn't have thought such results were possible outside a studio. And the design puts the flash relatively far from the lens which reduces red eye problems. I was also worried by reports of problems with flashcard compaitibility. I can report that there have been no problems with the cheap 128MB card I purchased. I can also report that I've experienced no problems with battery life. The camera was in my hand for two whole days and I was snapping pictures of everything that caught my eye and flicking through my creations on the LCD montitor and showing them to friends the whole time before the battery ran out. And NiMH are supposed to get better after the first few charges. Finally I'll note that the camera is well built and well designed. It feels sturdy enough and every control seems to be intuitive and positioned in just the right place for my (big and clumsy) fingers. I recommend this camera for its features and image quality, with low price and small size being the clinchers. This camera (or the lower resolution Coolpix 2100) should fit most requirements and budgets. And remember it's a Nikon...
Rating:
Summary: Serious design problem with battery life
Review: This camera takes great pictures - no doubt about it - but you only get about 10 pictures from a freshly charged set of batteries. The batteries are 1.5 volt batteries - once they get to 1.4 volts they are "exhausted". Too bad - a great little camera, but don't take this on vacation - or anywhere important. Nikon needs to fix this problem.
Rating: 
Summary: Great picture quality. Poor power management.
Review: I received this camera as a gift. Right off the bat, I was mad that it does not come with anything but the camera. I have an inexpensive Polaroid digital camera that I have used for years. When I bought it, it came with a case, power supply, cables and memory. THIS CAMERA DOES NOT. You have to buy all that separately. So my gift camera cost me several dollars before I could use it. The picture quality is awesome. It has special settings for indoor and outdoor and sunsets etc. The menus are easy to use also. Power usage is a big problem with this camera. The design was very poorly planned to save on size and weight this camera sacrifices battery power. It has space for two AA size batteries. Regular Alkaline AA batteries are worthless. Disposable Lithium AA batteries work a little better. The accessory rechargeable batteries that Nikon recommends work pretty well. You can take about 15-20 pictures with continuous use. Or if you take a picture here and there they will last about two weeks. I have found the special C-something disposable lithium batteries (look like two AA batteries molded together) work the best but they are the most expensive battery option for this camera.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...Great print outs and new low price
Review: I was just ready to place my order at $349 and was suprised this past weekend to see it fifty dollars less at $299.99. This is my second camera and I was up and running in less than 2 minutes. The auto mode works very well, but some of the special settings take some getting used to...but thats the fun part this week. The manual settings once you get them down even allow for better pictures that the auto mode. As others have said get some NiMh rechareable batteries and a largere memory card. Yes the camera is small, but thats a benefit to me as I carry it in my coat jacket pocket....get a Nikon case for it to keep the dirt out of the great Nikkor zoom lens.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent camera for web images and beyond
Review: I absolutely love this camera. After a few years of using a cheaper (different brand name) model, it's such a relief to have a high-quality digital camera! Image quality is great, I use it mostly for Website images and I couldn't ask for more. I am an extreme beginner in photography, so I don't know all the terminology and such, but the only complaint I have is that it's a little difficult to get action shots because the camera has a delay when you hold down the button. I haven't run into a digital camera in my price range yet though that doesn't have this issue. I know there is a name for all that (shutter speed?) but like I said I'm a beginner. Perhaps there is even something I can do to alleviate the problem, I'm not sure. But if you're a beginner, this camera will take great pics for you (I imagine even if you're not a beginner you'll be satisfied), and the price is right. It's a snap to use too, and the software included is pretty cool even though I usually use Photoshop and bypass it. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: We own a SLR and a camcorder that takes digital pictures so we never thought that we would need a digital camera. But after lugging the other 2 around, we realized that it would be so nice to have something compact to take on vacations. So when we decided to shop for one, we had decided on a couple of things. First it had to be compact and easy to hold. It had to have over 3x zoom and at least 3 mega pixels. We wanted it to be worth the money as well. Remember to buy at least a 256 memory card so that you can take a couple hundred good resolution pictures that you can print out in great quality. Placement of your hand is comfortable and not straining. It's so small it can fit in your pocket! We got great shots and our printed pictures came out almost like our SLR quality. We separately bought the recharger since this camera takes 2AA batteries. Loved the option of either buying the batteries if it ran out in the middle of vacation or just recharging it at ngiht if we remembered. Other digital cameras come with recharging dock stations. However, our friend ran out of power in the middle of the day and couldn't use his camera for the rest of the time we were out. Something to consider... I would highly recommend this camera.
Rating:
Summary: I warmly recommend this camera
Review: I got this camera two months ago, and after 2500 pictures taken I can safely say that this is a very good camera, especially for this price. I was actually looking for a smaller camera, as I want to take it with me everywhere I go, but despite it being bigger than the smallest cameras on the market, it fits perfectly in the pocket of my jeans. Also, you get a really good grip when you hold it in your hand, which is also important. The image quality is great; for examples, see peterlindberg.se/photolog If you buy this camera, you should be aware that the batteries take a few, say 4 or 5 charges to function properly. After that, they last two days.
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