has anybody played with one of these yet? the idea of having both a still camera and movie camera in one is rather appealing

Yes it's much better than the D3000, it's a good camera now, but still not a great video camera, I know just EVERYBODY is shooting on DSLR these days, but for more than casual use they aren't that good.
I think it only dose short clips in HD like 5 min.
Only Mono sound and you can't plug a good microphone in.

It needs the AF-S lenses with the motor in the lens for FULL auto use but there are some great ones, they do cost more then ordinary Nikon AF ones.
You can fit any F mount lens but won't have all functions, depending on what lens you use.

thanks much. 5 min clips just aren't going to do much

Mine is the Nikon S8100

1080P video and easy use!

It's a point and shoot but I love it!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by The Specialist:
Yes it's much better than the D3000, it's a good camera now, but still not a great video camera, I know just EVERYBODY is shooting on DSLR these days, but for more than casual use they aren't that good.
I think it only dose short clips in HD like 5 min.
Only Mono sound and you can't plug a good microphone in.

It needs the AF-S lenses with the motor in the lens for FULL auto use but there are some great ones, they do cost more then ordinary Nikon AF ones.
You can fit any F mount lens but won't have all functions, depending on what lens you use.

I have a D3100. It's a great camera for pictures. Easy for noobs to get started with.
Right now there are all kinds of package deals. I got the camera kit and another 55-200mm AF-S for a very good price.
I have a 50MM AF lens for it. The lack of auto focus isn't a big deal for me. I grew up with old school manual SLR's.
Focusing the old fashioned way is fine with me.
I don't do video. I knew that going in.

According to my manual the D3100 will do a max of 10 minutes of video. Less depending on the quality settings.
Here's more on the D3100 video capability . Good for the odd You Tube posting. Not so good for the next Oscar winner.

looks like the new D5100 is quite well featured for video, 30 fps in HD, full time auto focus, a good swing out screen and audio in for a stereo mic.
Still will have the main drawbacks of DSLR video shooting, but for casual use while using it as a still camera it may be good.

I just picked up a D5100 last week and I love it so far, but it's my first dSLR. The screen is nice, and it takes up to 20 minutes or 4gb of videos. The full time autofocus is nice for movies, but the microphone is mounted right next to the viewfinder, and it picks up some noise from the lens focusing, and sometimes it takes a while to focus. If I was planning on taking more movies I would get a dedicated video camera, but for the occasional video it's pretty good. It does have an input for a separate stereo mic.