You know the old saying that the best camera is in the one in your hand?
Well, with the latest smartphones we all have pretty good cameras in our hands at all times. However, there’s nothing quite like using a real camera and the quality of photos you can get.
If you’ve not used a DSLR before (or it’s been awhile), we love the Nikon D3500. It’s the perfect camera for beginners at a pretty reasonable price – only $594.95.
This DSLR is compact so it’s easy to take with you and not feel like a hassle. It has great battery life and handling, too. It’s perfect to take with you on trips or just when you’re getting out in nature locally. It’s also fairly simple to use, so even if you’re not an expert photographer you can still get great shots without needing to know everything.
Our Favorite Features
The Nikon D3500 has a 24.2MP pixel count, giving you beautiful photos at high quality. It has a pretty wide ISO sensitivity range – from 100-25,600 – to help you grab great photos even in low light. It has a Handy Guide mode too, to walk you through and teach you how to use some of the features of your camera.
The D3500 also comes with Bluetooth so you don’t need to plug in your camera to transfer files. Instead, you can pair with your computer or other device to back them up using Nikon’s app. We’d prefer it to have a WiFi connection, but Bluetooth gets the job done.
One thing we love about this camera, though, is a classic feature. Its optical viewfinder allows you to snap a photo not by staring at a screen on the back, but through a traditional viewfinder. Talk about an old-school feature that’s actually beneficial! (At least to us)
Missing Features We’d Like
One thing about this camera you’ll want to consider is that it’s not really meant for video. While it can take high quality videos at 1080p, most other cameras could shoot in 4K these days. Plus, it doesn’t allow you to plug in an external microphone, so your sound quality may not be great.
You also have to be careful to buy a version with at least one lens. We think the D3500 VR lens version is best, because it helps to stabilize your image. The bright side here, of course, is that you can add and upgrade your lenses as you develop your skills (and don’t worry – we only linked to a version of the camera with the VR lens included).
Our Take Away
While this camera is a couple of years old and lacking in video, we think this is perfect for those of us that want to improve our photography skills. It’s user-friendly and high-quality to give you beautiful images without a huge price tag.
