24MP Nikon D3200 announced

2012 is a big year for Nikon as they try bounce back from catastrophic flooding that transpired over at their Thailand-based factory. As a proof that things are shaping up quite nicely, the Japanese-owned company has recently announced their latest creation, the Nikon D3200.

Following the success of its predecessor, the D3100, the new DSLR doesn’t stray too far from its award-winning predecessor in terms of design and usability.

It seems as though that the much celebrated D3100 is finally passing its torch to an equally capable, if not better camera, the D3200. Nikon used most of the features that made the D3100 popular for photo enthusiast and applied new technology that translates to faster and better performing D3200. The first noticeable improvement is the addition of the 24-megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor with an effective pixel count of 24.2 million pixels. The new CMOS image sensor paired with the EXPEED 3, the same processor used for high-end Nikon D-SLR’s, allows the D3200 to shoot quality stills with lesser noise and vivid colors.

Not only is the D3200 capable of capturing detailed stills, it is also capable of recording stunning HD video clips with 1920 x 1080 resolution with variety focuses that users can utilize to suit the desired movie result. Another feature of the D-SLR is giving its users the ability to edit the clips using the camera. In addition, users also have an option to save the movie frames as JPEG. And unlike its predecessor, Users are no longer limited to the camera’s built-in MIC as the D3200 now has support for an external microphone. This also translates to a better sound quality in the movies that users shoots.

Though adept photographers may not have a use for this, photography beginners like me may learn a trick or two from the refined Guide Mode of the D3200. Following the same principle that made its predecessor such a hit, Nikon has added some minor improvements to this NOOB-friendly and very informative camera feature. The Guide Mode is displayed in the D3200’s 3” TFT LCD screen. The 912k dot screen is big improvement from the D3100’s 230k dot screen.

With the advent of Wireless enabled point-and-shoot cameras, Nikon doesn’t want its latest creation to be left behind in the tech race. This is why they are offering the WU-1A wireless adapter (sold separately) as an accessory to the D3200 in order for it to wirelessly communicate to smart devices like smartphones and tablets through a downloaded app.

Note: The Android version of this app is rumored to be available in May and iOS should follow in the next months.
One of the advantages of having this wireless adapter is that users can turn their smart devices into a remote control to capture stills while being distant (not too far of course) to the camera. The view through the lens is also displayed on the smart device for a more accurate shot. Images captured using this method can also be viewed on the smart device but I am not sure though if there’s an option to save it on the smart device.

With all the said features, the D3200 is certainly a great entry level camera. We are excited to our hands on one of this and write a more comprehensive review about it. The feature-packed D-SLR will come with a Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR kit lens and is set to hit shelves late April to mid-May which will cost around Php30,000. We’ll keep you posted for an official release date, pricing and availability.