Nikon D3500 has a Nikon F lens mount and currently there are 309 native lenses available for this mount. Besides providing one of the largest selection of lenses, Nikon F mount also has backward compatibility which means that you can use F mount lenses even dating from 1960s. It is also well supported by the lenses form third-party manufacturers.
A small disadvantage is that Nikon D3500 doesn't have an internal focus motor so it will not auto focus with old-style screw-drive autofocus (AF) lenses. It still works well with modern Nikon AF-S, AF-I and G lenses but lenses form 1980s may not autofocus on Nikon D3500.
Nikon D3500 doesn't have a sensor based image stabilization system but 106 of these lenses already comes with Optical Image Stabilization. There are also 78 lenses with weather sealing for D3500 but bear in mind that D3500 body doesn't have weather sealings.
Here are some of the most popular Nikon D3500 Lenses on Camera Decision:
Popular Nikon F Mount Lenses for Nikon D3500
Check our Nikon D3500 Lenses page for more detailed lens search.
Nikon D3500 LCD and Viewfinder
Nikon D3500 has a Fixed Type 3 LCD screen with a resolution of 921k dots. Both the screen size and the screen resolution is up to the standards of this class.
D3500 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder, making it easier to shoot in direct sunlight and in other situations where it might be difficult to view the LCD monitor. The viewfinder has a coverage of 95% and a magnification ratio of 0.56x. 95% coverage means that what you see in your viewfinder while shooting will slightly be different from the actual image.
Nikon D3500 Connectivity, Storage and Battery
Nikon D3500's Bluetooth connectivity feature comes handy for connecting other devices that supports it. One other feature that we like is the ability to use our smartphone as a remote to control our D3500. You can change camera settings, release shutter, view LCD screen and tranfer files using remote control app.
You can connect D3500 to compatible devices via its HDMI port or USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) port.
Battery
Nikon D3500 is powered by battery which provides a shooting life of 1550 according to CIPA standards.
Considering that the average battery life of DSLR type cameras is 943 shots, Nikon D3500 has a good battery life for its class.
Battery Life Comparison in Entry-Level DSLR Cameras
Pentax K-x with its 1900shots is the model with longest battery life among Entry-Level DSLR cameras. Check the comparison of Nikon D3500 vs Pentax K-x or take a look at Longest Battery Life DSLR cameras list.
Nikon D3500 Features Compared to Main Competitors
Nikon D3500 Video Features
With Nikon D3500, you can record your videos at a highest resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60,50,30,25,24 fps and save in MPEG-4 and H.264 formats. Full HD resolution of Nikon D3500 will be adequate in most of the situations. But if you are after the highest resolution videos available, see our list of Top Cameras with 4K (Ultra-HD) Video.
D3500 has a built-in Stereo microphone and a Mono speaker.
Nikon D3500 doesn't have any connections for external microphones and headphones. If you need a DSLR camera with external microphone connectivity, consider Sony SLT-A77 II or Pentax K-3 in a similar price range.
Nikon D3500 Other Features
Max Shutter speed
Nikon D3500 can shoot continuously at max speed of
5.0 fps and has max shutter speed of
1/4000 sec.
Flash
D3500 has a built-in flash, and it also has a flash shoe to mount your external flashes too.
Focusing
Nikon D3500 features both Contrast Detection and Phase Detection autofocus (AF) systems which ensures speed and accuracy of focusing in most situations. The AF system has 11 points to choose from. Nikon D3500 also features
Face detection AF where it intelligently detects the faces in the frame and locks the focus automatically.
Now let's get in to more details of our Nikon D3500 review by analysing its specs and features and listing out its pros and cons compared to average competitor cameras in its class.
PROs
| Bluetooth Connectivity |
| Full HD Video |
| Optical Built-in Viewfinder |
| Face Detection Focusing |
| 24.0MP - High Resolution Sensor |
| 25.600 Max ISO |
| 11 Focus Points |
| 921k dots LCD Resolution |
| Long Battery Life (1550 shots) |
| 365g Light Body |
| Panorama Shooting |
| Flash Sync Port |
| Remote control with a smartphone |
| Compatible with fast UHS-I cards |
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CONs
| No Wireless Connection |
| No Image Stabilization |
| No Articulating Screen |
| No Touch Screen |
| 0.56x magnification - Small Viewfinder |
| No Environmental Sealing |
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In this section, we analyse how Nikon D3500 compares with other DSLR cameras within a similar price range.
Popular Comparisons of Nikon D3500
Here is the eight most popular comparisons of Nikon D3500 amongst Camera Decision readers.
Nikon D3500 Alternatives in Mirrorless Cameras
It would also be interesting to compare Nikon D3500 with Mirrorless Cameras. Below we have listed 4 highest ranked Mirrorless cameras in Nikon D3500's price range.
| General |
| Brand |
Nikon |
| Model |
Nikon D3500 |
| Announced |
2018-08-29 |
| Body Type |
Compact SLR |
Lens |
| Manual Focus |
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon F |
| Number of Lenses |
309 |
| Focal Length Multiplier |
1.5x |
| Macro Focus Range |
n/a |
Screen |
| Screen Type |
Fixed Type |
| Screen Technology |
TFT LCD |
| Screen Size |
3 |
| Screen Resolution |
921k dots |
| Live View |
|
| Touch Screen |
|
Viewfinder |
| Viewfinder |
Optical (pentamirror) |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
no electronic viewfinder |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
95% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.56x |
Photography Features |
| Min Shutter Speed |
30s |
| Max Mechanical Shutter Speed |
1/4000s |
| Continuous Shooting |
5.0 fps |
| Shutter Priority |
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
| Exposure Compensation |
Yes |
| Custom White Balance |
|
| Image Stabilization |
|
| Built-in Flash |
|
| Flash Range |
7.00 m (at ISO 100) |
| Flash Modes |
Auto, Auto slow sync, Auto slow sync with red-eye reduction, Auto with red-eye reduction, Fill-flash, Off, Rear-curtain sync, Rear-curtain with slow sync, Red-eye reduction, Red-eye reduction with slow sync, Slow sync |
| External Flash |
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
Exposure Modes |
| Multi-Segment |
|
| Average |
|
| Spot |
|
| Partial |
|
| AF-Area |
|
| Center Weighted |
|
DxO Sensor Scores |
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
|
Report a correction |
| Sensor |
| Sensor Type |
CMOS |
| Sensor Size |
APS-C |
| Sensor Dimensions |
23.5 x 15.6 mm |
| Sensor Area |
366.60mm2 |
| Sensor Resolution |
24 megapixels |
| Max Image Resolution |
6000 x 4000 |
| Max Native ISO |
25,600 |
| Min Native ISO |
100 |
| RAW Support |
|
Autofocus |
| AF Touch |
|
| AF Continuous |
|
| AF Single |
|
| AF Tracking |
|
| AF Selective |
|
| AF Center |
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
| AF Live View |
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
| Number of Focus Points |
11 |
| Number of Cross Focus Points |
Unknown |
Video Features |
| Video Resolutions |
1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 50 fps), 640 x 424 (30, 25 fps) |
| Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
| Headphone Port |
|
Connectivity |
| Wireless Connectivity |
None |
| HDMI |
|
| USB |
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
Physical |
| Environmental Sealing |
|
| Water Proof |
|
| Dust Proof |
|
| Shock Proof |
|
| Crush Proof |
|
| Freeze Proof |
|
| Weight |
365g |
| Physical Dimensions |
124 x 97 x 70mm |
| Battery Life |
1550 shots |
| Battery Type |
Battery Pack |
| Battery Model |
EN-EL14a |
Other Features |
| Self Timer |
Yes (2, 5, 10, 20 secs (1-9 exposures)) |
| Timelapse Recording |
|
| GPS |
None |
| Storage Type |
SD/SDHC/SDXC |
| Storage Slots |
1 |