Nikon 3100

WHAT'S HOT: At 6.9 ounces when equipped with battery and media, the Coolpix 3100 is one of the lightest cameras we've tested--and it's one of the smallest, too. Only the Pentax Optio S, at 4.1 ounces, weighs substantially less. Yet the Coolpix 3100 feels very comfortable in use, allowing easy operation with one hand. Targeted at snapshooters, Nikon gave the 3100 14 scene modes--enough for most shooting situations. The camera also has four "assist" modes that not only handle the exposure but also put up templates on the LCD screen. For example, the portrait modes show outlines of people, which can help novice photographers compose their shots.

In contrast to earlier Nikons with deep, complicated menus, the 3100's are very easy to understand, thanks to big, colorful icons and settings that go only one subtopic level deep. Few people will be intimidated by this camera.

WHAT'S NOT: Like some other cameras aimed at novices, the 3100's "manual" mode is a bit misleading--you do not use it to set specific aperture or shutter values. Instead, it lets you adjust the white balance setting, set the camera to continuous shooting mode, adjust image sharpness, or use Nikon's Best Shot Selector, which tells the camera to take pictures for as long as you hold down the shutter release, and then picks the sharpest photo of the bunch. (Because the camera discards the other shots, we can't compare photos to tell if this feature works.)

The thumbnail icons in the scene menus don't really tell you what the scene modes do; they're just cute little icons that make the camera seem a little toylike. We'd rather see an example photo, as Casio provides with its scene modes, or some explanatory text, as on Hewlett Packard models. You'll have to consult the manual to find out exactly what the scene modes do.

WHAT ELSE: In our photo tests, the Coolpix 3100 scored slightly above average. Our flash shots were somewhat dark, but the rest of our photos looked good--the photos' colors were very close to the original shades, and objects looked sharp (though not nearly as sharp as higher-resolution, higher-priced models).

You select the four assisted scene modes from a dial on top of the camera; you choose the other ten scene modes from menus. Nikon rates the flash only to 9.8 feet--a couple of feet short of the average--and the flash seems somewhat slow to fire. The 3100 does not have a low-light illuminator, so framing shots in dim settings can be trying.

The camera did well on our battery tests, holding a charge for nearly 3 hours--480 shots--with a CRV3 battery. Alternatively, you can use rechargeable NiMH batteries, but the camera does not include them (or a charger). The Coolpix 3100 takes good-looking movies, albeit without sound; you can capture 20 seconds of 640-by-480 video at 15 frames per second, and you can zoom during shooting. You can make very minor edits to your photos within the camera. It creates a copy of your image, and then adds the effect you've selected, such as converting the photo to monochrome, or applying a halo effect or sepia tone. You can also save cropped versions of your images and trim your movies (ostensibly to save media-card space).

UPSHOT: Though it doesn't feel as rock-solid as the equally small Canon PowerShot Digital Elph models, the Coolpix 3100 is an ounce lighter and costs significantly less. What it lacks in sophistication it makes up in ease of use, making it an ideal snapshooter's camera.