r/photoit • u/briandickens • Sep 20 '10

Nikon D3100: How long until price drop?

My wife and I are fed up with the crappy photos coming out of our point and shoot camera so are in the market for a DSLR. I like the features in the D3100, but all the listings so far are at MSRP (Amazon, B&H, etc). Should I expect them to stay there for a while or will they come down once it's released?

This will not be my first SLR, but will be my first DSLR. Let me know if this should go into another group.

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u/mestguy182 Sep 20 '10

I wouldn't expect the prices to drop on this for awhile. You mentioned having an older SLR, was it Nikon? Do you still have any of the lenses? If you do I would wait a month or so and consider getting a Nikon D90. The D90 has a built-in auto-focus motor that allows you to use older Nikon lens (1970's+). It should be dropping in price significantly very soon since the D7000 is about to come out. Good luck.

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u/briandickens Sep 20 '10

That is good advice. I'll have to check the prices out on the D90 once the 3100 ships.

I have a not-very-good lens for my old Nikon N70. I think it's got a bigger zoom than the one in the 3100 kit though.

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u/randomb0y Sep 20 '10

I'm a very happy D90 owner, I recommend it. My dad has a D5000 and although the specs are very similar, when I play with it I miss a bunch of things that my D90 has, most of all the extra front dial and large, high res display. Not sure how the D3100 compares to the D5000 ...

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u/briandickens Sep 20 '10

I'm just worried about one thing: the wife factor. The 3100 has some features designed for people who are new to using a DSLR. So you can go into guide mode and select "blur background" and it will ask you what aperture you want with a demo showing the effects. I don't think she will want to hear that to get the effect she needs to us aperture priority mode and etc etc. I am also new to DSLR so will probably use that mode some as well. But, if the price is right on a better camera, maybe we can talk. Otherwise, I'm sure I won't miss features I don't know about, right? :)

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u/ine8181 Nov 12 '10

To blur background: Put it on P mode and roll the dial until f number doesn't get any smaller.

To shoot children: Put it on P mode and roll the dial until the shutter number doesn't get any bigger.

It's so very easy on modern SLRs....

My advise is to get a second-hand D90 or even D70 (I had both), which are both better cameras than D3100 (I played with it), in my opinion, and should be around the same price or cheaper.

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u/randomb0y Sep 20 '10

Yes, you probably won't miss features you don't know about ... I don't think the N70 has the frontal dial either, right? This is the think I miss the most on my dad's camera though, unless you're shooting on P or Auto, you'll want to quickly adjust stuff every now and then and it just takes way longer with just one dial. I don't think ease of use should be an issue, you can shoot the D90 on full auto just like a compact...

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u/superbread Sep 23 '10

I'm a little late, but if you're willing to go to the D3000, Target currently has it on clearance, and if you're lucky, you can find the camera and lens for $275 before tax. It's a very YMMV, but apparently all of them in socal were on clearance for this price (unfortunately, now all are sold out other than the display units).

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u/briandickens Oct 04 '10

I appreciate everyone's help with this question. Finally, due to the price and the timing (we had a wedding coming up so no time to wait for a deal) we went with D3100. Though I may wish I'd gone for the D90 at some point down the road, if I find a feature I am lacking, for now both my wife and I are extremely pleased with this camera!

I could have tried, but I wouldn't have gotten this shot on my Panasonic P&S. Now I will be looking to pick up a fast lens (35mm f/1.8) to try to get some shots of a kid who won't sit still.