Nikon D3200 Specs Decoded
LCD Screen
The D3200 has a fixed (non-articulating) 3″ LCD screen with 921,000 pixels. This is a big improvement over the D3100 which only sports 230,000 pixels. With the added resolution, it’s easier to see fine details when playing back images or utilizing the ‘Live View’ feature.
As for other cameras in it’s class, the Nikon D5100 and Canon T3i both sport a 3″ flip and rotating LCD screen with 921,000 and 1,040,000 pixels respectively.
Optical Viewfinder
The D3200 has an average sized pentamirror optical viewfinder with 95% frame coverage and 0.8x magnification. This means that your final shot will actually be slightly larger than the image seen through the viewfinder. To get 100% coverage, you can use ‘Live View’ and compose shots with the LCD screen.
Built-in Flash
The built-in flash has a guide number of 12/39 (m/ft). This basically means you can properly illuminate a subject approximately 11 feet away with an aperture of f/3.5 at an ISO of 100.
Flash Sync Speed
The flash sync speed is set at 1/200. This is the fastest shutter speed you can use with flash.
Image Sensor
Nikon has increased the megapixel count from 14 (on the D3100) to 24, giving you a max resolution size of 6016×4000 pixels. The image sensor also has a low-pass filter which helps prevent moire (strange artifacts that appear over areas with repeating patterns, like fabric). In addition to that, the low-pass filter acts as a protection layer over the image sensor which removes dirt and dust using small vibrations.
Crop Factor
The D3200 has a crop factor of 1.5x, which results in a narrower field of view when compared to full frame DSLR’s (like the Nikon D800) and film SLR’s. For example, if you were to attach a 50mm lens to the D3200 and look through the viewfinder, you would have the same field of view as a 75mm lens mounted to a full frame DSLR. To get the effective field of view, just multiply the lens length by 1.5. So the 18-55mm kit lens, would give you an effective field of view comparable to a 27-82mm lens.
Processor
The D3200 is equipped with an Expeed 3 processor. Comparatively, the D3100 and D5100 both sport the Expeed 2 processor. Camera processors are very similar to computer processors, contributing to overall performance and speed.
ISO Range
The ISO (digital film speed) range is between 100 and 6400, however, you can go as high as 12800 with ISO expansion enabled.
Shutter Speed Range
The shutter speed range is between 30 seconds to 1/4000 of a second. As mentioned above, the fastest shutter speed you can use with flash is 1/200 of a second.
Auto-Focus System
The D3200 has the same 11 point autofocus system found in the D3100 and D5100. Each point is selectable, which means you can select any of the 11 points to pinpoint exactly where you’d like to focus.
Metering
The D3200 uses a Through-The-Lens (TTL) exposure metering system utilizing a 420-pixel RGB sensor. This is the same metering system found in the D3100 and D5100.
Burst Mode
Continuous shooting clocks in at 4 frames per second (fps), which is equal to the D5100 and 1 fps faster than the D3100. If you’re into sports or wildlife photography, the increased burst rate will increase your odds of capturing a winner.
White Balance
There are eight preset white balance settings; Auto, Cloudy, Direct Sunlight, Flash, Fluorescent (7 types), Incandescent, Shade and Preset Manual which will help you obtain correct color hues in different lighting situations. You can read more about it on page 69 of the manual (see here).
Picture styles
There are six preset picture controls; Standard, Landscape, Monochrome, Neutral, Portrait and Vivid which allow you to control the amount of saturation, contrast and sharpness applied to your photos.
Video Recording
The D3200 comes equipped with 1920×1080 (1080p) HD video recording at 24 frames per second (fps). The built-in mic can only record monaural sound, however, there’s an available stereo mini-pin jack (3.5mm diameter) which allows you to attach an external mic for higher quality stereo sound. Videos are saved in .MOV format and the maximum clip length for each video segment is 20 minutes or 4GB of data…whichever comes first.
Post-processing & Editing
The D3200 comes with a fully featured Retouch menu, complete with the following tools…Color Balance, Color Outline, Color Sketch, D-Lighting, Distortion Control, Filter Effects, Fisheye, Image Overlay, Miniature Effect, Monochrome, NEF (RAW) Processing, Perspective Control, Quick Retouch, Red-Eye Correction, Resize, Selective Color, Straighten and Trim.
The most notable are the RAW processing, Monochrome and Selective Color features. RAW processing will allow you to convert NEF (RAW) files to JPEG. Monochrome will allow you to transform your colored photo into classic black and white. Selective Color gives you the ability to selectively color parts of a subject, like a portrait with the eyes in color and everything else in black and white.
As for movie editing, you’ll be able to choose the start and end to each movie clip. This will allow you to trim your movie to the desired length or cut out unnecessary clips. In addition to that, you can also select a frame and save it as a JPEG.
Size & Weight
The D3200 measures 5.0″ wide x 3.8″ tall x 3.1″ deep and weighs 1 lb. This makes it slightly larger than the Nikon D3100 and smaller than the Nikon D5100 and Canon T3i.
Build Materials
The exterior is made of polycarbonate resin, reinforced with glass fiber. There’s also a rubber grip provided on the front and back of the camera