Welcome!

Howdy dudes and dudettes! Well, it's pretty simple. If you've got questions about your Nikon D3100, you can start a new discussion and get tons of helpful replies from other D3100 owners all across the world, including yours truly. :)

To get started, go ahead and register an account here at Camera Tips.

To start a new topic or discussion, just click the Ask a New Question button in the upper right hand corner.

To reply to a current topic, just click a thread below and you'll see a Post Comment button towards the bottom of the discussion.

Happy shooting!
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Comments

  • edited July 2015
    Hi, I live in the beautiful English Lake District and having just retired I plan to try and move my passable snaps level of photography towards something that I had more of a hand in creating. Just bought a pristine 2nd hand D3100 for less than £200 with the 18-55mm and the 55-300mm lens.
  • edited August 2015
    Hi! I am a retired man with some time on my hands and would like to take up photography as I did some number of years back when I used an Olympus OM 10 SLR, but sold it. I am now looking forward to continuing with this Nikon D3100, as I always wanted a Nikon camera. I would like to learn all about it and get the best advice I can about taking photographs. I'm looking forward for the help that is offered here.
  • edited August 2015
    Can anyone tell me about a wireless remote control for the Nikon D3100, as I am thinking of getting one and would like to get one that is recommended.
  • edited August 2015
    Ok, I need some help. I'm feeling like a big dummy, but the only way to get my answer is to ask it, right? I'm trying to change my aperture to f/1.8 per my cheat cards, and I'm doing everything that Moose said to do in his notes, holding down the +/- button, & turning the dial, but mine is constantly on f/5.6 and will not move. What am I doing wrong? Please help me if you can, that's IF I am helpable! I can change my manual setting to A and turn the dial and it moves the F number, but will not go lower than 5.6. I'm exhausted trying to figure this out. Thanks
  • edited August 2015
    @janb1122, remember that you can achieve only the aperture that the lens itself allows. If you are using an f/3.5-5.6 variable aperture zoom, the best you can do is 3.5 at the wide end and 5.6 at the long end. The f/1.8 setting is available only to prime (non zoom) lenses that are designed to be fast.

    Lens speed is expensive. I don't think there are any commonly available zoom lenses, even the shockingly expensive ones, that go faster than f/2.8.
  • edited August 2015
    Thanks Bruto, I actually figured this out before I could stop my post. I felt like quite the dummy when I realized I had bought the cheat cards for the wrong lens, but I've gone on this morning and purchased the cheat cards for my 18-55mm lens. I have a new 35mm f/1.8 lens on the way, should be here tomorrow, so at least I've already got the cheat cards for it. Thanks so much for your help, I couldn't believe I had done that!
  • edited August 2015
    No worries. By the way, it looks as if I was a little wrong about super fast zoom lenses. Sigma has been coming out with some short focal length zooms that are faster than f/2.8. Not cheap, but they exist.
  • edited September 2015
    Hi, I've joined to learn how to use my Nikon D3100. I'm very new to photography, only having decided to get a starter camera yesterday. I got my D3100 after I read on the internet that it's the best for beginners. I need help, there are so many different settings and numbers. I'm confused, help!
  • edited September 2015
    It's a steep learning curve at first, but not so hard once you're under way.

    Try to find some basic information on the meaning of the settings, ISO, shutter speed and aperture, and remember that because it's a digital camera, you can make nearly limitless experimental shots, and erase them.

    Many resources exist, and of course this site is one of them, and the cheat cards are one as well. Even if you simply follow guidelines, you will see what is being done, and can experiment to see how things change.

    One other site you might find useful is "Cambridge in Colour", which includes several tutorials on the basics. Check out the "Camera Essentials" section. Note the British spelling: http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

    I don't know if it's true of the D3100, but it probably is as it is with the D3200 - the printed instruction book is seriously abridged. To get the complete instructions, find the PDF file on the accompanying CD, along with the View NX-2 program that allows numerous ways to manipulate Raw files.

    If you did not get the CD, go to the Nikon website, and download the instructions there. It's very handy to have this on the computer, and I highly recommend putting the file there in a prominent place, so you can open it any time and refresh your memory on how to do things.

  • edited February 2016
    Just stopping in to say hi, and say that I wish I had found your page when I bought my D3100 three years ago.
  • edited February 2016
    Trying to get the most out of my Nikon D3100; I am here to learn.
  • edited April 2016
    Hi, thanks for creating this very helpful group. I've had my D3100 3 years, originally equipped with the 18-55mm AF, but later I bought the Sigma 18-250mm all in one (macro to zoom) lens, AF. Very happy with this combination.
  • edited April 2016
    I just purchased my first camera, a Nikon D3100, and I'm excited to learn how to use it! My new hobby!
  • edited April 2016
    Hey, I should be receiving my D3100 next week sometime. Excited for my first DSLR.
  • edited April 2016
    Always loved photography but end up with terrible pictures. Hoping to learn how to use my camera correctly and take good pictures that I can be proud of and not hide away in a drawer.
  • edited May 2016
    Hi! I'm super excited for my new acquisition, but I don't know how to use it. Pretty excited to learn new tricks!
  • edited August 2016
    Hi, I see I've got a lot of reading and learning to do. Looking forward to it. I've got the Nikon D3100. Great site. Thanks.
  • Just trying to figure out my camera. Right now all the pictures are very dark. Can't figure out what to do.
  • For starters, although one wants to get out of Auto mode as soon as possible for many reasons, I'd put the camera in full auto mode (the green position on the top dial) and take a picture in normal light. This should result in approximately correct brightness and color balance. Auto mode overrides almost all the user inputs, and you'll see on the back screen that most are grayed out.

    If that results in a satisfactory picture, then go back to where you were, and try to figure out what got changed to make the pictures too dark. Exposure compensation , [+/-] button would be a first suspect.

    If the auto picture was not satisfactory, the first thing I'd do is to investigate whatever you're reading it on, to make sure there is not a wrong setting there, and if it reads the same in multiple places, then I'd suspect a problem with the camera.

    Before getting too much further, one thing you should do is remove the lens and reinstall it and make sure that it has clicked fully into place and made full contact. Chances are that the camera would tell you if there's a problem there, but you never know.


  • edited September 2016
    Hey folks, an exiled Scot living in the beautiful county of Carmarthenshire in Souh Wales. A question if anybody can answer (no such thing as a stupid question if you don't know the answer!). For my D3100, how can I get a 10 second plus exposure time for nighttime photography?


    Diolch yn fawr iawn
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