Adding to my D3100

wellbeloved747 · Jun 14, 2012

i have recently purchased a Nikon D3100 and am looking to build up my kit.

i was looking at the sales video for the d3100 and saw that you could add a gps device that geotags your photos. the official nikon one is around £150 but i have seen that you can get a third party one for around £40-£50 i was thinking of getting one but then thought is it really wort the money? and my Lumix G1 is like 3 years old and it geotags photos with no attachments. is the d3100 the same and the gp1 is a gimmick??

i chose the D3100 over the 550d because it is a better all round camera but i have been told that you can't add an external mic to it. i have seen some 3rd party ones on the internet, will theses work or are they just advertising them to work with the D3100??

i have 2 regular sd cards from my G1 but now my new camera films should i upgrade the cards i have seen that sandisk make extreme and extreme pro cards now are these worth the money as i will be hd filming or should i stick to regular cards.

i will keep the camera for now in a amazon basics camera bag that i have lying around but when i have some money i will get a proper decent one so i was wondering if anyone could recommend a bag for the D3100+18-55+55-300 and also a 13 inch macbook pro or an iPad but i am also after a bag that i can add things to when my setup grows.

i have never owned a flash gun but will get one now as i get more into photography so was wondering if anyone could recommend a decent one that isn't to expensive I'm not going to use it every minute of the day but just now and then?

thanks Matt!!

Basalt · Jun 15, 2012

Hi
I've never understood the point of the GPS attachments - I tend to remember where things were shot ( vaguely at least ) or scribble it down, I have wondered when they come in useful as they're a pricey bit of kit.
The cards - I use class 4 Sansdisk cards for my 3100 and they're absolutely fine for continuous and Video filming, the extreme cards aren't going to improve video quality or increase the length of sequence you can shoot so I'd concentrate on other kit.
The 3100 doesn't have any form of audio in socket, I think your best option for external sound is actually an external recorder and a clapper board or a slightly more modern equivalent - anything that makes a noise and flashes at the same time would do the job - I'm thinking some sort of cheap kids toy.

wellbeloved747 · Jun 15, 2012

many thanks

domu221 · Jun 15, 2012

When i got my d3100 some months ago, the first thing i bought were 2 no color filters (nikon calls it "NC" and others call it a UV filter) to protect my lenses. Then i got 2 LF-4 since my kit lens and my other one onlycame with the plasic back cover. As for my d3100, i got a scratch resistant cover for the screen. As for equipment, i got an sb-700 flash which i use once in a while. I think a flash is better than a gps device since there is actually some use into it. Even though the sb910 is the best flash there is for nikon, i still like my sb700 because it does its job and very well. This flash has a rotating head so you can bounce it whether taking portrait or landscape orientation shots. It costs about ~US$320. Get the flash for the shoe mount instead of an external mic (if u can find one) or the gps device so you can get more out of ur camera and learn somehting new.I also bought a 64gb sandisk sdxc cause i shoot in raw and in hd. Ive been using my memory card since forever.Im also still using the bag that came withthe camera and might not buy a new one soon. My flash bag, body and 2 lenses fit all inside and i find it convenient to carry and stuff in a bagpack with my laptop. I'm using a North Face Surge II that fits my 15" laptop and charger, my camera bag and some travel essentials (guidebooks, gps, toiletries).