Nikon D3500

£479/$497 with 18-55mm AF-P kit lens Nikon’s new entry-level DSLR ticks all the boxes

This new entry-level DSLR ticks all the boxes for under £500

The D3500 is the latest version of Nikon’s entry-level DSLR. It’s effectively an update to the evergreen D3400, a starter DSLR that’s been a longterm favourite. The D3500 will usually come with a lightweight 18-55mm AF-P kit lens, which has a retracting mechanism to make it more portable.

This camera is designed specifically for beginners, with simplified controls and a built-in Guide Mode to help new users learn the basics. But it’s also compatible with a wide range of lenses from Nikon and third-party makers, and has a good enough specification to please enthusiasts as well as beginners. Inside, the D3500 has a decent 24.2-megapixel APS-C sensor. It also has an unusually good 5fps continuous shooting speed; and while you don’t get 4K video, it can shoot Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 video at up to 60/50fps.

Build and handling

The D3500 is pretty fat and chunky compared to a mirrorless camera, but this gives you a good grip on the camera, and it’s very light. The rear screen is fixed and not touchsensitive, but it is bright and sharp.

The viewfinder might only be a cheaper ‘pentamirror’ design rather than the pentaprism found in more expensive DSLRs, but it’s very clear, and you can see right into the corners of the frame without shifting your eye.

For an inexpensive, beginnerorientated camera, the D3500 feels well-made and is very nice to use.

Performance

Autofocus performance is very good, both for viewfinder shooting and in Live View mode. Nikon does not use on-sensor phase-detection autofocus in its DSLRs, relying on slower contrast-based autofocus instead, but the fast, silent autofocus in the AF-P 18-55mm kit lens transforms its performance.

Our lab tests show that the D3500’s image quality is very much on a par with its rivals. There are slight differences here and there in resolution, noise and dynamic range, but these show up more in lab tests than they do in real-world shooting. In practice, the D3500 delivers sharp, vibrant and well-exposed images. The 18-55mm AF-P lens performs really well for an inexpensive kit lens, with consistent sharpness exhibited across the focal range and right to the edges of the frame. Rod Lawton

1 2 3 1 The D3500 has a slightly larger grip than the older D3400 and handles well for a small camera. With a Guide Number of just 7m at ISO 100, the pop-up flash is best kept for emergencies only. The retracting 18-55mm AF-P lens is compact, smooth and silent – and it’s pretty sharp too. The rear screen is fixed and not touch-sensitive, but it’s sharp and clear. The control layout on the back has been designed to give plenty of thumb space when you hold the camera. 2 3 4 5