Difference Between Nikon Coolpix S3000 and S3100

Nikon Coolpix S3000 vs S3100

Nikon has a series of ultracompact cameras that are meant for people who just want to take nice photos without needing to mess with a variety of controls. This includes the Coolpix S3000 and its successor, the Coolpix S3100. There are a number of differences between the Coolpix S3000 and S3100, and they start with the resolution. The S3100 has a slightly improved 14 megapixel sensor compared to just 12 megapixels for the S3000. It is not really that much of a game changer as the resolution difference doesn’t affect image quality that often.

Another upgrade to the S3100 is optical zoom. Compared to the 4X zoom of the S3000, the S3100 is a step better with its 5X zoom factor. If you need to zoom in more, you can also utilize up to 5X of digital zoom in both cameras. This is one of the areas where the resolution advantage of the S3100 comes into play as you will probably get a clearer image with the S3100 when utilizing digital zoom.

When it comes to video capabilities, the S3100 is capable of shooting HD quality video at 720p. This is way better than the 640×480 maximum video resolution of the S3000; The S3100 is also capable of shooting at this lower resolution if you so desire. The higher video resolution is preferred nowadays because of the increasing screen sizes of displays. The lower resolution would result in pixilation and it gets worse as the display gets bigger.

Both the S3000 and the S3100 take SD memory cards. But the S3100 is the one that takes the latest format, SDXC. SDXC is a newer format with capacities of 32GB and higher. These memory cards are still not that common but should be the standard in a few years’ time. The older S3000 only takes standard SD and SDHC memory cards. These lets you use memory cards of up to 32GB but are not available in higher capacities. This is not really a major limitation as you can simply carry two or more memory cards and swap one for the other in case you run low.

Summary:

1. The S3100 has a higher resolution sensor than the S3000
2. The S3100 has a higher optical zoom factor than the S3000
3. The S3100 can shoot HD quality videos while the S3000 cannot
4. The S3100 takes SDXC memory cards while the S300 does not

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