The Nikon Coolpix 3100 is a great choice for digital photography beginners, offering a compact size, 3.2-megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, and a plethora of automated scene controls that are customizeable. Featuring a 3x optical Zoom-Nikkor lens and 4x digital zoom, the CoolPix 3100 provides excellent optical performance. Coupled with Nikon's advanced image-processing algorithm, this ensures vibrant color, contrast and clarity in every picture. The camera's 3.2 effective megapixels offer remarkable resolution in printouts as large as B4 size. The CoolPix 3100 also features Continuous Shooting Mode and four Movie Modes, including one capable of recording a clip as large as 640 x480 pixels. Users can take up to 40 seconds of smaller-size video in color, B/W or sepia. In Macro Mode, the camera can shoot as close as 4cm (1.6 in.) from a subject and still get sharply focused shots.