Nikon D3100 18-55VR Kit review

Video clips are limited to 10 minutes, which could be a problem. The battery lasted for just 92 minutes’ recording and we also found that the sensor began to overheat after 50 minutes of back-to-back recording, prohibiting further recording until it cooled down.

While the D3000 trailed its competitors for noise levels, the D3100 shows massive improvements, with print-worthy results at ISO 3200. Colours weren’t perfectly balanced – it exhibited a tendency towards warmer hues – but autofocus was highly reliable. In general, photos were superb.

As for the controls, there’s still too much reliance on the LCD screen for our liking. However, Nikon has added a lever to select the drive mode. With the Fn button set to ISO speed and the navigation pad for the AF point, the three most important controls are quick to access. We can’t understand why Auto ISO must be accessed via the menu rather than dropping it in alongside the manual ISO options, and there’s some further odd behaviour when switching to live view. However, the D3100’s other strengths make it worth living with these quirks.

Its videos are superb, its photos are even better and the relatively small and light design makes this an excellent first SLR. The significant improvements over the D3000 and it predecessors make it a worthy upgrade, too.