Nikon D3200 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Red)

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La la llaaovveee this camera!! Just to start this review Im super ocd with my purchases. Definitely more lenient with purchases worth less Ill admit, but not for a piece worth almost 400$. I reaseched on different websites and even visited a few stores for the best deal. Long story short this was it after about a week or two or hunting the best deal . It does not get better than this folks. The camera came brand spanking new. It came with original accessories like neck strap, battery, cap for camera, Lense cap, and battery charger, also a Manuel, and cd for the camera, oh and cords for the camera. Of course the camera also came with a brand new Lense too, AF-S DX NIKKOR18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens. Yeah this Lense alone is worth 250. Also the standard Lense for the d3200 is the AF-S DX NIKKOR18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR not VR II.. So think this was a added bonus for buying the refurbished item and having faith in nikon. Im transitioning from a SLR a FE2 to be exact. I love the functionality and all the capabilities of this camera thus far. The resolution on the screen really helps make bold adjustments too. This is the perfect camera for the aspiring beginner photographer. Ill post pics, hopes this helps anyone trying to make a decision. Please like if it has thanks

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This is a great camera. I have one. HOWEVER...beware that this bundle comes with a lens that is non-VR. VR stands for Vibration Resistance. Unless you plan on taking still shots with a tripod and remote, then the lens will prove itself useless to you. To hand hold a camera with a non-VR lens produces images that look out of focus Thats because it is impossible to hold a camera without your hand having some degree of shaking/movement. I recommend spending the extra for a VR lens. In my opinion, I think that manufacturers should make it clear to consumers that non VR lenses have limited functionality. I have known a few beginners who have put money into their cameras/lenses, not knowing the significance of this, and so disappointed that their photos arent crisp and focused.

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I am amazed at this little bundle. If you are new and want a nice, inexpensive DSLR but are drowning/hesitating among all the options and prices, dont. Just buy this, you will not regret it. I picked up this refurb kit a month ago for $365, and I did a double take because I couldnt believe everything I was getting. I personally shoot with my trusty old D90 still, but this was for a specific project that needed a dedicated camera. I have to admit that this shoots way more reliably than my D90. Its focus is incredibly fast and the metering is Nikon perfect. Its amazing what half a decade in technology leads to both in quality and in price. This D3200 bundle is the ideal camera for someone who is looking to step up from point-and-shoot cameras and phone snapshots and get started with digital photography. It is pretty full-featured and has amazing picture quality for a fraction of the cost of the more expensive models. Basically, this is a way to get into the hobby or dramatically improve the quality of your pictures without breaking the bank. I couldnt even tell that it was refurbished. It looked brand new to me. Not a scratch or a nick anywhere, and the LCD was bright and crystal clear. With this, you can produce stunning photos (and videos) without being reduced to tears if you drop it on accident or be too afraid to hand it to a friend/relative to take a picture for you. As is often said, having the best (read: most expensive) camera in the world is useless if youre too afraid to take it outside and take pictures. The lens on this is a perfect first lens. Its 18-55mm, which means its a zoom lens (you spin a ring on the lens to select the region you are capturing, zooming in one way and zooming out the other). Its sharp, fast, and handles low light decently. Id of course recommend the spectacular fixed 35mm for its tack sharpness and to shine in low-light as well as the 55-200mm to give you some telephoto (serious distance zoom) coverage, but these lenses each cost half the price of this camera kit! You can see how photography can become a very expensive hobby very quickly. Id hold off on those as a first purchase and wait to see how things go. But this is why this kit in particular is a great starter package. You get an entry level, but still very solid camera body and a decent zoom lens. Dont let the term "entry level" make you feel cheap, this is still a Nikon camera with a legitimate Nikkor lens. It is categorically different and more capable than any point and shoot or pinhole phone camera. Period. End of discussion. If you find that you want/need more, Nikon will be more than happy to sell you more lenses or step up to a more expensive camera body later. For the first step though, this is ideal. I should note that in addition to taking ridiculously high quality photos, this also does quite well with video. It can do 1080p video at up to 30 fps or 720p at 60 fps. Id have loved to have seen 1080p at 60fps, but you dont get that unless you go to the D3300 or D5300 which cost tons more than this D3200 kit. Thats just not worth the extra cost. In practice, Ive been amazed. Even under terrible lighting conditions (e.g. indoor low light under coiled fluorescent lights with completely mismatched color temperatures and an LCD as an intended capture target) I can get remarkable photo and video quality with perfect color reproduction. Nikons white balance settings do sheer magic where even a prosumer camcorder just fails miserably (Im looking at you Sony). Sure, some of the knobs and dials are tucked away in menus and not as easily accessible as on the more pro-level cameras, but for the price, Ill deal with fiddling with the menus on the few times that I need them (honestly, my D90 was overwhelming for months when I first got it). For the vast majority of the time, I just set it to program or manual mode and fire away. Its beautiful.

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Like many folks, I pre-ordered the D800 the same day it was available. Alas, Nikon totally blew the market analysis vs production vs. supply chain formula. After waiting 2 months, I had to leave the country before Nikon got its D800 act together. I needed a beat-up D90 replacement camera, and the D3200 seemed like a decent place-holder. I quickly ordered one before they were back-ordered too! Sure, the D3200 is DX, not FX. Sure, it is not nearly as flexible. Sure, it can only AF with newer lenses. BUT, you can buy about 4-D3200s for the price of a D800, AND it comes with a decent kit lens for $699! The tutoring graphical-based menu system is geared more to beginners, which I am not, so I find it maddening. Most will love it, since it is somewhat educational, and offers a great variety of pre-sets to take creative shots easily. It is amazingly light weight - lighter than most lenses! It is very quiet. The AF could be faster, but its plenty fast enough. When you dig deeper, you shockingly find that the D3200 has many advanced internal features from the highest-end cameras (D800 & F4). The high-res LCD rear screen, the EXPEED 3 image processing engine, and a new 24MP sensor. The EXPEED 3 image processing engine allows the D3200 to perform at an altitude unheard of for a so-called entry level camera. Nikons Active-D dynamic range enhancement at 24MP at 4 frames per second requires substantial in-camera processing power. I bought this camera primarily for still photography. With the proper lenses & technique, the results are stunning. Low-light/high ISO performance is far beyond what you should expect at this level camera. Candle-lit face images are noise-free, and look great. Still lifes on a tripod at ISO 100, have more resolution that ANY DSLR I have ever used, with very little shadow noise. In short, I might not accept my D800 when it becomes available. I might use the D3200 longer than I thought, (waiting for the 24MP FX D600 for $1999 later this year -- my guesses on price & stats & date)...or, just keep using the D3200. If it breaks (Im hard on cameras), Ill just buy a new one. Bottom line -- the D3200: super light-weight, very quiet, super high resolution (& low noise, high dynamic range, superb colors), incredible HD video with slow motion. It is no doubt THE most amazing DSLR value on the planet! 5/14/12 UPDATE: Ive now shot 100s of images, using lenses from 11 mm to 600 mm. Ive learned a lot. Super-high resolution cameras are a new arena for most of us. On the surface, one automatically thinks you will get images with twice the resolution (12MP vs 24MP). Not so. MP resolution is measured linearly, so the increase while significant, is less than doubled. More importantly, when you enter the hi-res camera stratosphere, photographic technique & lens choice are critical. While these high MP cameras are capable of amazing results, you have to work to get absolutely ALL the MPs this camera has to offer. Do not blame the camera if your initial results are less dramatically sharper than your old 6-8-12MP Nikon. Its probably you... BTW, the Nikon 18-55mm is a decent lens, but it doesnt do this imager justice. You can get better results, with better glass. The excellent f1.8 35mm DX Nikon on this camera makes a super-light weight compact package you can carry all day long, producing super images. A 60 year-old Nikkor Q 200mm f4, $70 or so on eBay, produces stunning results if carefully used on Manual, on a tripod. Set-up a table with clean background and a few artifacts on it. Use the sharpest lens you have, at f 8, on a sturdy tripod, perpendicular to the table, Shoot the scene with the in-camera flash on both old & new camera bodies. You will see the difference easily when images from both cameras are compared side by side, enlarged to 100%. How does this translate to everyday casual shooting? Not easily. Sub-par technique still results in sub-par images no matter what camera is used. If you are a beginner looking for the best entry-level DSLR ever made, all of this wont matter -- grab a D3200 and shoot away! Just note that the D3200 is capable of world-class imagery. If it takes more effort to take photographs of this caliber, its a good thing -- the D3200 forces you to up your game to get there! 5/5/13 UPDATE. Its been a year. I have a D800 and a D3200. Yes, there are many differences between the two. One is at the high end of the spectrum, the other, entry level. When Im shooting commercially, or seriously in any way, its the D800. It is a superb camera, if you own glass that can fully exploit the 36MP sensor, and your technique is solid. For everything else, I use the D3200. Why? Its light and compact. You can easily carry it around all day, with the f1.8 35mm, and hardly know its there. If that lens isnt wide enough, shoot a 3-frame series and stitch them together in Photoshop. Again, with good glass and technique, the results are very, very good. D800 territory? No, but few would notice. The D3200 is a pleasure to use, and handles fast enough for most kinds of photography. You can use old manual Nikkor lenses easily, albeit with a bit more effort. With the focus confirmation dot in the viewfinder, manual focusing is easy. Exposure can be guessed and adjusted using the great hi-res LCD. I recently had to shoot an emergency-rush job covering a politicians speech. All I had in the car was the D3200, the 35mm f1.8, and an old, sharp 100mm f2.8 E Nikkor -- my normal in-car-at all-times stash. The setting was indoors, in a bright garden area -- no flash allowed. I was surrounded by folks with Nikon D4s and $1500 lenses. I got a few looks....LOL. I boosted the ISO to 1600, used the $50 100mm @ f4 @1/125th, and the results were great, published in several places. The D3200 is a great camera for the money, I like it more now than when I first bought it!

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Although I know my review will fall between the other high-rated ones eventually, I thought id share my positive experiences with this camera. PROS: -Price. $500 is cheap in comparison to other similar (albeit lower quality) cameras, like the Canon Rebel T3i, 60D, or even the newer T5i. -Build Quality. This camera is built in Thailand to the extent of my knowledge but the quality control on mine is absolutely incredible. Doesnt feel cheap or flimsy. Has nice grips and a comfortable weight to it. Not an overly bulky camera either. -Image quality/sensor. At $500, you get a true 24.2 megapixel DSLR camera. SnapSort in their comparison of the D3200 vs its direct competitor, the Canon Rebel T3i 18 megapixel DSLR, stated that the image quality on the D3200 is over 20% better as attributed to the D3200s 10% larger image sensor and higher true megapixel count, which accounts for 30% more detail in photos. The image sensor is very high quality and this camera consistently takes incredible pictures. Im not a professional photography by any means, this is simply a great hobby of mine, but I am a perfectionist about pictures. The ability to easily take awesome pictures with this camera is second to none. -Ease of use. I am an amateur photographer who was looking for a nice upgrade and I made sure to do my homework when it came to selecting a camera. I ended up on this camera because of what everybody else said, its ease of use was a major selling factor in the purchase. Ive had this camera for a few weeks and I still havent even figured out everything its capable of-- theres quite a bit! But the guide mode helps you with some basic and advanced photography. -Nice lens kit. Out of the box Ill admit the 18-55mm is quite limited in what it can do, especially as somebody who enjoys macrophotography, but itll be able to do most of the shots youd like to take. The VR feature is nice as well. -Nikon brand quality. As always, Nikon has delivered a high quality product. Ive owned a few Nikon products before and theyve never failed me. I prefer Nikons to Canons in the world of DSLRs anyway. -Ability to save as JPG/Raw. -Out of the box: comes with body, lens, strap, battery and charger, etc. CONS: -I cant really seem to think of any that arent dumb little nitpicks. Final thoughts: This camera is perfect for the beginner and good enough for the master. It does it all!

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Probably the best starter DSLR on the market, of any brand, as of December 2015. Yes, there is a newer model (the d3300) available, but if you can save $100 Id still get this one. The new model is unnoticeablely lighter, allows you to shoot 1 fps faster if needed, and gives you the ability to create panoramics in-camera (plenty of free software is out there for that already), and the ISO goes up even higher (although the image quality is terrible at those high ISOs on both models). Is that all really worth the price increase for an entry level crop-sensor dslr... most likely not. Features: You get all the basic features you need. They dont overload this model with tons of features most people will never use. The omission of all the fancy, little used features unless youre into a specific style of photography creates a learning curve for this camera that is fairly easy, especially if you have any background using camera controls. Side note: This camera requires AF-S lenses to autofocus since it does not have a built in-camera focus motor. Not a huge issue (both lenses that come with it are AF-S), just something to be aware of. The biggest complaint I read on lens reviews is certain lenses being only manual focus with this camera. Thats because they bought an AF lens when they needed an AF-S lens, and really no fault of either product. Build: Very quality build, both in materials and design. Its not weather sealed, but I wouldnt take my weather sealed full frame cameras out in the rain either if I didnt have to, so this doesnt affect me much. Image/Video quality: Plainly put, both are wonderful. Full HD video with the push of a button is great, and still something a few pro Nikons still dont do (Im looking at you D7--). The picture quality is wonderful in shooting conditions with adequate light. To be fair, any lighting issues with this camera tend to fall more on the lenses than the camera itself. 24.2MP is way more than you need to produce quality images. Megapixel count is more of a marketing gimmick nowadays unless youre blowing up photos to cover an entire wall in a house. Lenses included: These are Nikons plasticy kit lenses. Months/years from now if you move into full-frame phtography both these lenses will work on your new camera, just not well... but thats a big "if" you decide to buy that level of camera. With that being said, they are extremely sharp lenses that will cover an adequate range for most of your shooting. Dont forget, crop sensors (like this camera, and most other budget dslrs have) actually magnify the lens coverage (and not degrade the picture quality), so the 200mm lens you get will work more like a 300mm lens. thats plenty of zooms for what most people need. Both lenses included should treat you well. A big bonus, this camera accepts all the pre-AI prime lenses Nikon made, some being 50 years old now! These are some phenomenal lenses you can buy on most auction sites for very cheap. Overall: It easily earns five stars. Ease of use and image quality are all top notch. Owning Nikons nicest DSLRs for my photography business (I currently own D4s, D810s, and a D610) I purchased one to test out and ended up using it for personal use for about half a year, loving every second of it. Would I recommend this to a professional? No. Would I recommend this to any of my friends looking for a great dslr without spending thousands of dollars? Yes... and it would be my first choice. Just shooting the family? Are you a student looking to take a photography class? This might be your best choice. WARNING: VERIFY THE MODEL YOU ARE BUYING IS A USA VERSION. Easiest way to confirm: 99% of these have a serial number (on the bottom of the camera) starting with a 3. Import (aka Grey Market) Nikons are often bought MUCH cheaper buy non-legit sellers and then sold again to you. If they are the import model, you should be paying a LOT less. And keep in mind, Nikons warranties do not apply to ANY import model. In fact, their service centers WILL NOT TOUCH OR FIX an import model no matter where or when you bought it... they will just mail it back to you, at your expense. If it breaks or has any issue, you have no other option than to buy a new camera.

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This is an excellent entry level DSLR, especially at a "last years model" price. Mine even shipped with the collapsable 18-55 mm kit lens (which appeared to be the most appreciable difference between the D3200 and D3300). The controls are intuitive and clearly labeled. While I dont have the experience to speak as to the image quality of this camera versus a more expensive DSLR, it certainly has all of the features I was looking for to make my leap into manual exposure photography. The only complaint I have with this camera is that the user manual is not incredibly helpful if youre looking for a specific feature (i.e. I still have not found out if you can access exposure compensation in full manual mode). That said, its plenty for leaning the basics of the camera. Plus, there are several good videos and guides online to help learn some of the more advanced features.

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This being my first SLR camera I have learned a lot from just a little playing around. I would strongly suggest watching a few introductory videos on YouTube to get used to the functions. However, this camera package packs a lot in to a a cheaper price. Highly recomend a tripod for new photographers. Hope this helps!

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This is probably one of the best cameras in its class. It works great for the beginner and is capable of growing with you as you gain confidence with photography and with the camera itself. When this first arrived I was overwhelmed by all of the buttons. I never thought I would learn them. After reviewing the included literature once I feel reasonably confident on playing with some manual settings. It takes phenomenal pictures in auto "point-and-shoot" mode and has several auto/manual modes that seemed to be designed to take you from "what is a DSLR?" to "I think a lower F-stop would really bring out her eyes." The pictures in fully automated mode are vivid, crisp and well-exposed for just about any subject in nearly any lighting condition. My cellphone camera takes pictures that make me look like a manic gorilla but this camera makes me look like a professional.

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After ALOT of research, I decided to purchase this camera as my first DSLR! Taking pictures is something I truly enjoy but I wanted to go beyond the regular digital cameras, and my iPhone. One of my biggest concerns was that my iPhone might take better pictures. Through my research I had read a lot of articles saying to not waste your money on DSLR cameras because, the iPhone camera is even better. I didnt believe this to be true, but it was still on the back of my mind since I wanted to move up from the iPhone camera. Anyways, my camera came in and I could not be more pleased. It has met all of my expectations and it takes amazing pictures. I will be taking my camera up to new Hampshire with me this weekend while I hike and I am so excited. Since I am a beginner, I would say that this camera is great for noobies! I do suggest however while waiting for it to ship, watch some youtube videos and study up on it. If you are truly passionate about taking good photos, there is a lot to learn. Its a camera you can easily pick up and use, but, theres so much more to the camera than just "auto" mode! Here are the youtube videos I have watched and have found very helpful! When you get the camera and un pack it, be sure to take a peak at the different pieces that came with it and where they go. Then I suggest you follow the steps in this video! It was super helpful for me! [...] How to work with shutter speeds and its cause and effect! (This was fun to experiment with) [...] More in depth how to work with shutter speeds (with our camera) [...] This video is for creative photo techniques [....] There are so much more, but here are the ones I have so far played around with!

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