Despite its small size, the Nikon D3400 is a great successor to the Nikon D3300 since it comes with a longer battery life, bluetooth connectivity and smartphone remote control. The D3400 Nikon can take up to 1200 shots vs the Nikon D3300’s 700, and also weighs significantly lighter than its predecessor. Being an entry-level DSR, the camera is perfect for budding photographers who are still learning the ropes, or a young family that wants to capture its best moments in film – It even has a couple of features that could make it the best vlogging camera. In case you’re interested but not too sure about this DSLR camera, we’ve put together a short Nikon D3400 review to help you make a decision.
Why We Like It – Nikon D3400
The Nikon D3400 is an entry level camera that comes with three lenses making it the perfect choice for capturing all the special memories that you create with your family. It also comes with a high ISO performance for a good reaction to light sensitivity, and online resources so that you can learn how to take the best photos.
- High ISO performance
- Great image quality
- Very user friendly
- Small optical viewfinder
- No WiFi support
Performance
Cameras like the Nikon D3400 don’t come around that often. This camera comes with a kit lens that you can interchange, and a 24 Megapixel CMOS sensor that delivers good image quality. Unfortunately, its resolution will only allow you to shoot in Full HD, and not in 4K as you would with the Panasonic Lumix LX10. Its kit comes with 3 new AF-P lenses, where we have a 18-55mm VR lens lens, a 70-300mm lens and a 35 mm lens for wide angle shots. The camera also has an 11-point autofocus system that allows you to fine-tune your focus range, and a continuous shooting speed of 5 frames per second. Those two are great, but its small optical viewfinder may force you to switch to live view through its 3-inch screen from time to time.
Design
There’s really not much to differentiate the D3400 from the D3200. They both have a similar camera body, a max shutter speed of 1/4000 seconds, and they both maintain good build quality. The D3400 is also 35 grams lighter than the D3200, but not everyone’s counting. For easy media sharing, the D3400 Nikon camera has the snapbridge app that relies on Bluetooth to transfer pictures and videos to your smart device, but it doesn’t have WiFi support like the Canon Powershot G7 X does. It’s nice how with this camera Nikon provides the user with different ways to operate it, like when on some days, they may feel like using the optical viewfinder over the live view and vice versa.
Related: Also see our Nikon CoolPix S9900 review
Value
There aren’t many cameras that come specialized for shooting kids and pets, so the camera Nikon D3400 stands out a lot in this way. It’s kit includes things like a Shutter Huggers monkey to attract your kid’s or pet’s attention, and access to an online class where you’ll learn how to make the best use of your camera. You can also use it with the Guide mode turned on to get instructions from the camera itself on how to use it (you definitely won’t get this with the Canon Vixia HF R700 Camcorder). Once you get the hang of it, you’ll notice things like the camera’s good ISO performance, thanks to its wide ISO range of 100 to 25,600. This basically means that it can bring out great pictures relative to the amount of light present, but best practice is to use the lowest ISO possible for a much better overall result. With both the decent build quality and image quality on the D3400 Nikon does well at providing beginners a great option for their first DSLR. It’s a great step up from its predecessor, the Nikon D3300, with longer battery life and Bluetooth. The Snapbridge app is a major plus for convenient Bluetooth file transfer, which is a much better option for those who seek an alternative to using physical memory cards.
Nikon D3400 Wrap Up
Whether you’ve just started taking an interest in photography or you just want to get better, the Nikon D3400 is a good pick. Its decent ISO performance, shutter speed, continuous shooting of 5 frames per second, new AF-P VR lens for a quiet autofocus system, and many other features contribute to its great overall performance. The camera body and kits lens help make the camera feel lightweight so it’s easy to carry and you’ll be comfortable using it while you practice and get better as a photographer, especially while using the helpful Guide Mode. Its use of interchangeable lenses will train you on when to use what, and its personalized learning courses are more than enough to get you to be an expert photographer. Everyone has to start somewhere, so consider giving this great entry-level DSLR a shot. If you enjoyed this Nikon D3400 review or found it informative, definitely check out our other reviews that cover other DSLR cameras like this D3400, gaming monitors, outdoor tools, etc.
