My experience so far:
I’ve started testing the D3100 with a scoped frame of work, since I had a busy weekend.
I’ve discovered my manual was only on Chinese (or Japanese, for that matter). Solved the problem downloading a .PDF of the manual, but still I couldn’t carry with me to the road. So, much of the time I was doing proof-trough-ballistic learning and common sense.
For the most part, I tested it with the Nikkor 70-300 f4/5.6 G, with no auto focus.
Results were mixed, maybe, due to the lack of proper knowledge about photography. Still happy, tough, but I am not sure if I should.
Observation:
1) Good results with Bokeh, but is not an easy task, and sometimes the relation between good shoot over total shoots is something around 1 to 8, especially if there’s not too much light. Burst mode improves dramatically the chances of taking a good pic (I have no good tripod yet) but a pro photographer told me that programmed obsolescence (or just they useful span of life) on these gears are measured on shoots. He considered that 100.000-150.000 shoots should do to kill it, and that repeatedly use of burst should somewhat lower that number. Still, ha has noted that I’ll be probably been buried six feet under a long time ago by the time this camera reaches those numbers.
2) Video recording with 70-300mm is either impossible without a tripod or of a pitiful quality. For a lots of reasons. Still narrow degree at 70mm and no VR.
3) To my dismay, using the 18-55mm kit lens, with a polarizer, also complicated thing at filming, even with good light (5pm at a beach on a very clear day, on summer). I’ve got to test it again without the C-PL, but I‘ll have to wait for another weekend. Or, maybe, I went for too much of ISO quality, but I can’t remember right now, and I’m not so sure of what I’m saying.
4) Forgot HDR for now. I’m shaking down the basic stuff yet. And I must find that gorilla tripod I bought two years ago and I can’t find now.
5) I overestimated the focus of polarizers, and which is more frustrating, the one that fits with the 70-300mm lens is takes more effort to rotate than the focusing ring of the lens itself. So, I have to do the whole maneuver with three fingers (one supporting the camera, the other stiffening the focus ring and the last one rotating the polarizer), which doesn’t bother me much, but makes the whole operation slower, and there’s a reasonable risk of letting a finger print on the CPL. Another solution I’ve got is to turn the polarizer only in one direction, still bothers, but much less. Btu I’d never imagined this would happen.
6) Quality is fine; I haven’t spent the time on compositing the pic, but rather tested the capabilities of the machine. The pics I post here, really, I don’t know if they well crafted; I like them, but I really don’t know if they were appropriately executed, and most importantly, if it is the top quality I can get with the D3100 and the glasses I have.
All of them were taken 4 - 4.5 mts from target, most of the time at 300mm with either automatic (the camera), or exposures around 1/250, (don’t remember the f right now).
7) Shooting with macro: I didn’t have the proper light, but tested anyways with the 18-55mm. Results were compelling, and I believe that I’m lacking somewhat to get the best; the success ratio was still low, around 1/8 from total pics. Again, I don’t have a macro flash, neither had the proper light. Something, in particular, took me by surprise: Working nearer to 55mm gave better results than working around 18mm. Something odd too me, backwards with my previous camera, a Sony DSC-F828. And being to much glass on the composition, more light only gave enormous amount of reflexion (didn’t have polarizer yet). Again, could be my bad, I don’t have the picture right now with me.
Sorry About the quality, but in the PC I am typing right now don't have a size reduction softwarem so i have to download them from facebook all over again.
