To be honest I've never been successful with panorama's with or without a tripod. I
don't know why, but they just never seem to align right :(

Thats why I ended up tracking down that stitcher program. Just spray a couple of dozen
shots and make sure they overlap each other a bit and it just sticks it all together for
you :P

But totally agree with you on you get what you pay for...

I think some bodies are not worthwhile 'upgrading' to though and the money would be
better spent on a nicer lens... just my opinion, but I feel you get more bang for your
buck when it comes to quality that way. Don't know if it is the same for nikon though...

While I've taken panoramas freehand before, I find you still get better results with
a tripod. Simply because you can maintain a steady level, while just panning around.
Freehand, you tend to move up and down a little, however steady you are.

Not too sure bout Canon (am a Nikonian), but apart from primes, Nikon doesn't
have any affordable and compact f2.8 lenses in its crop sensor (DX) line up for
hobbyists like Seiko.

(Have always been praying that they'll make one, for I'm not too fond of lugging
these giant cannon barrels around on travels or assignments either, lol)

While there are a few older model lenses, those won't auto focus on the D3100 as
that body doesn't have a built in motor. The nearest option, the 17-55 f2.8, is more
of a professional lens nearly twice as heavy as that body.

But I agree that they are good investments if one is serious about photography.
There's also a stark difference in image quality. I guess you get what you pay for.

there is freeware out there that automatically stitches shots together to make great
panorama's. I've used it before for some projects as well as work - Surprisingly decent.

and re: expensive lenses - true, but at the same time they are quality lenses and will
last you longer than your body will if you are serious.

I guess it depends on how serious you are though and the only person who can
answer that is seiko XD

With regards to it feeling off balance - well tbh I don't know Nikon's well at all. In fact
the last time I looked at Nikon's was probably over 5 years ago........
so I shouldn't claim to know anything with the size/weights of them :)
(I'm a canon person)

Vanity's right, you can make a simple diffuser with basic household materials.

But I wouldn't advise you to get a wide aperture lens just yet. They're usually very
very expensive, and very very heavy. On a small body like the D3100, a lens like that
will feel horribly off balance.

And I forgot to mention earlier - a tripod also allows you to take beautiful
panoramas (a few pictures stitched together for a wide view not possible with a
single photo).

If you are going to be doing night shooting just get a good lens with a low F stop...

You have to be careful with flashes - make sure you get a good diffuser otherwise it
just looks ugly...

You can make one yourself if you're a little bit handy and original.

-vanity
(wrong acct)

Well, third party external flashes can be had for about 100 USD, and a very good
tripod for similarly that amount.

But the thing is, it's only a one-time investement that will serve you very well for a
very very long time. If one has the money, I would definitely say go for it.

The problem when upgrading (just gonna point this out emma) is that external flashes can
range from 100 to 400? USD and tripods can range from 20 to 140 (would recommend one from
blacks they have a specific tripod that is good).

As emma said tri-pod + long exposure time + remote = awesome effects.

The main challenge in night photography is the lack of light.

As such, you need to increase shutter speeds (open the shutter longer) to allow
more light to come in and hit the sensor.

But as human hands are shaky, the longer the sensor is open, the more the image
is prone to be blury, due to camera shake.

One way to overcome that is by increasing the ISO (sensitivity of the sensor). But
this also has a drawback, as most entry-level DSLR sensors don't perform well in low
light. Even though the D3100 is a new generation camera, its sensor's low-light
capabilities do not match two-year old professional models like the D700 or D3s/x.

The problem is noise, or what you see as tiny grains in the image. When you push
your ISO up, it amplifies the sensitivity, which in turn, generates noise if the ambient
light is insufficient. Think of it this way - when you turn the volume of your speakers
to full blast, you're likely to hear crackling sounds or interference.

There are several methods you can overcome this.
1. Use an external flash gun. Unlike the camera's built-in flash which only points
forward, an external flashgun allows you to point your light to the exact area where
it's dark, or bounce the flash off a surface to generate more natural tones.

2. Use a wide aperture lens. This helps, but F2.8 lenses are typically very expensive,
big and heavy. As Nikon does not have any cheap or lightweight F2.8 variable zoom
lens at the moment, the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 is great third party alternative that is
reasonably priced.

3. Use a tripod and remote trigger. If you're into shooting landscapes, this can be
very, very useful. It allows you to open you shutter for longer periods (up to 30
secs) and create beautiful effects.

Raising the ISO you make your camera more sensitive to light.That means in low light
conditions you must raise the ISO.
Changing the F ,you change the aperture of the entrance pupil.Lower F means bigger
apperture (more light )
Shutter speed is the exposure time.Bigger means more light.
You have to find the best values for the light conditions.
As if you raise the ISO too much, you ll have more digital noise.
Raising the shutter speed ,you make your camera sensitive to movement.
If you use a speed like 1 sec for example,your picture will be a bit blurry as your hands
cant be perfectly stable and the camera will catch their move.
Bigger times than 1/60 secs = tripod.
You have to experiment with the values to understand them well.
Try to take the same picture with different values to see the differencies.

@seiko, make sure your 70-300 is wide open when you capture at night. The lower the f stop, the better.