Nikon D3300 1533 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR (Renewed)

This is a great camera, but has a serious learning curve compared to a more simple point and shoot. It's much harder to use than a point and shoot, but when you take your first good picture in raw, it will blow your mind. (Feels like a hole in one!). The shots I take are of textured textiles, and I realize this can be very difficult for a newcomer. I am a newbie to DSLR'S, so I cannot comment any further on the quality of the camera.I have taken a few shots in Raw with a 55-200mm AF-S, that have been so superior to anything I could possibly have ever imagined. So i know that every bad shot comes from my lack of skill and not the camera.I find the camera very hard to use with black and white subjects, that is me making lighting mistakes.One possible "tug of war" I have with this camera is that the delayed on tripod shots have to be programmed every single time.I have not tried automatic mode extensively, but am using A and M modes. It's taken me about 3'000 shots so far to get some decent pictures, of which the latest have been very rewarding.Update 03/23/15I made a critical mistake, which I would like to cover in detail, so as to help the next person.I have always had problems taking pictures in manual mode with VR turned off. 99% of pictures were blurry. However pictures in Auto focus with VR turned on are 90%~95% in focus. For a few weeks, now I have been desperately trying to understand why all manual focus pictures are blurry. I called Nikon a few times trying to troubleshoot the problem, and tested 3 different lenses, which gave me more or less the same result.The culprit is a cheap tripod and the problem is not obvious at all. This specific tripod http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ONSZPI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1When it's extended, vibrates when you release the shutter button, and does not stop vibrating for many seconds later. I was using a 5 second delay on all my shots, but was unaware that these vibrations would continue passed the 5 second mark.I knew this tripod vibrated somewhat, but would never have guessed that this was the root cause of all these blurry manually focused pictures.Unfortunately, it was very easy to blame the lens, or the camera, before guessing that there may be another cause to blurry pictures.The fact that I was getting more or less focused pictures in AF mode with VR turned on was more a coincidence than anything else, because the VR helped against the vibrations in the tripod.Also not obvious, is that before using the Nikon D3300 i was using a small point and shoot camera which did not cause the same vibrations in the tripod when the shutter button was released, as with the heavier Nikon with an added 200mm lens.Today I received a new tripod which is built more like a tank than a tripod. It's heavy, and you can press the shutter button with or without delay and there are no vibrations at all. As a result all manually focused shots with VR turned off are now in perfect crisp focus.Moral of the story, after spending money on the camera and lenses, do not save on a tripod. Minuscule vibrations can obviously cause blurry pictures. Just because I thought a tripod has stopped vibrating after a few seconds I had released the shutter button was not true. The vibrations continue well beyond what my eyes can see.Most clever photographers of which I am not one, probably do not even use the shutter button but use a remote control.To cut a long story a little shorter, this camera is fantastic, but not very forgiving to newbies who have no clue about photography. I have taken about 6'000 shots thus far, and now I have this manual focus under control I feel much more confident. I take difficult product shots, of leathers and textiles, and there is little margin for error.I will repeat that the only "bone to pick" with this camera that I have, is the delay. For whatever reason that I fail to comprehend, you have to press the "i" button every time to set the delay. Still after 6'000 shots, I forget to do this sometimes before taking a shot, and have to press the delete twice and go set the delay again for the next shot. Sort of kills my concentration.When you are concentrating on all the other things to do before taking a shot, it is so easy to forget to set the delay. Then sometimes I have to go and see if I have forgotten to set it or not, so I end up going there twice to ensure it's set.It's a wonderful piece of equipment, but like anything else it took me about 15 solid days of practice, before getting some really amazing shots.I'm sure less, had I not bought a cheap tripod and avoided all these focusing issues.Another thing which I found to be quite hard, is that it took me quite a while to figure out if the shot taken on the LCD was good or bad. When i first used this camera, the shot on the lcd looked ok, and it was only when i opened it up on my PC that I realized that the exposure or aperture was off. Now with a little practice I can pretty much determine if i have to delete or keep a shot after taking it.The last thing that can be quite confusing is the Nikon does not like certain colors. Especially the colors which diffuse little light such as black, or any pastel color on a white background. The camera wants to use a flash because of "poor lighting conditions". Obviously a flash must not be used because it would cause havoc with reflections, especially on patent leather. No matter how much light you throw at the subject the Nikon still does not understand that light is there. Moreover there's a very fine line with adding too much light or too little. The best fix for this is to bump up the ISO to 200+ instead of 100, and play with the exposure. Standing back 5~7 feet away with a macro/micro lens also requires more light.Since these cameras are dominated by software, I am quite surprised they do not have a learning mode. Not difficult to do now days if one is creative, and has a few good programmers at hand.

I've been a camera "addict" for years. Mostly point & shoot cameras, although I did spring for a Nikon 1 S2 a couple years ago that I was very happy with. I take a lot of pet pictures, and Nikon, Sony and Panasonic seem to do the best job with cats and dogs.I was afraid of a dSLR camera. I knew manual settings but the thought of a dSLR camera brought out the fear in me. After reading many reviews both here and other sites, I decided to go with this camera since it's rated one of the best for beginners to dSLR shooting.There's a definite learning curve when switching from a P&S camera to this. The guide on the mode dial helps, but I highly recommend doing a search for "Tom's Guide Nikon D3300" on the web. Tom is immensely helpful for setting up this camera for the best possible shots.>>> Photo Quality: Excellent once you learn the proper settings - although you CAN keep this on AUTO and use it just like a point & shoot camera - your photos will be much better than any P&S camera can do, but once you learn how to tweek settings for the best shot, you'll no longer want to keep the dial on AUTO>>> Battery Life: Excellent>>> Lens: The included 18-55mm lens is good for most shots I'll be taking, but I plan on buying just one other lens for great portraits - this one: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras>>> Camera Weight: Lighter than most dSLR's, but still much heavier and larger than a point & shoot cameraMemory Card: Yes, you will need one. Opt for one that's a Class 10 and fast....this SDHC card works fine: SanDisk 32GB Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I Memory Card Up to 80MB, Grey/Black (SDSDUNC-032G-GN6IN)>>> Video: Yes, and this camera does great quality video, too.So, should you buy this Nikon-refurbished camera or a brand-spanking new one? My camera came with a shutter count of only 22. Whoever bought this before me took only 22 photos before deciding to return it. Nikon then sent it through a refurbishing process before putting the camera back out for sale. I have a keen eye for finding defects and there is not one tiny scratch, scuff or ding on this camera, the LCD screen included. It's absolutely perfect.It came with USB cable, audio/video cable, the standard lens with both front and back caps, the Nikon lens cap, genuine Nikon camera neck strap, genuine Nikon charger, and genuine Nikon battery.The only thing you don't get that a brand-new Nikon D3300 provides is the original box. They packaged this refurb in a generic white box with a Nikon label.