Nikon D3200 Camera Review – An Exceptional Entry-Level DSLR

EXTENDED WALK-THROUGH

While the ‘Information edit’ button is pressed:

Press the button down and change the settings in programmed modes. The settings take a little figuring out at first, but quickly become second nature. The menu still has too much going on and could be simplified with a better GUI:

The viewfinder is an eye-level pentamirror which does a fine job especially lining up shots at night time when Live View becomes non-useful. On the left-hand side we have the playback button, which can be navigated with the multi-selector dial. Zooming into the image is simple by pressing the playback zoom-in button. Obtaining a grid view for quicker image selection can be accomplished by pressing the playback zoom-out button/thumbnail button/help button. The missing button on the left hand covered by my thumb is the ‘Information Edit’ button.

AE-L/AF-L button/Protect button stands for AutoExposure-Lock and AutoFocus-Lock. These features are actually very useful to retain certain values if photographing someone or something in a crowd of people. Instead of the camera refocusing on the background, the focus will remain locked on the subject’s original distance. It’s the same principle with the exposure lock. If you take a panoramic photo, you want the same exposure for all of the images. This will lock the exposure so a consistent look can be achieved. 

A Live View button is on the right instead of using the viewfinder, simply press the LV button and now like a point-and-shoot you can see everything through the screen. The multi-selector directional pad is pretty responsive, but because of the confusing menu system takes a little time to be proficient with it. The one thing we do not like about the camera at all is the ‘Delete’ button. When playing back photos simply pressing the delete button twice deletes an image. It’s a great time saver… but it’s too easy to lose photos quickly. A “press okay to delete” prompt would be much welcomed. With the release mode button/self-timer button/remote control button, you can change if you only want a single photo, or continuous shooting etc. You can set the self-timer for 2,5,10,20 seconds. In the menu you can also select to use a wireless remote control.

Alright, enough of the writing already! Let’s take a look at some photos.