Nikon D3300 w/ AF-P DX 18-55mm VR Digital SLR – Black
The Nikon D3300 has long been my go-to recommendation for an inexpensive DSLR; however, after 2 years, it’s always time to slap a replacement coat of paint on a client product. Nikon’s 2016 update to its camera, the D3400, has some little enhancements to bring it up so far, but nothing important. It remains a good value, quick, with superb icon and video quality, and a replacement kit lens optimized for shooting via the alphanumeric display; however, its weak wireless file transfer barely seems like a step up from anything.
Along with the camera, Nikon has kits with two versions of two new kit lenses. The AF-P lenses
incorporate stepper motors like Canon’s STM lenses for power tools and quieter focus Live view,
the LCD-based view on a DSLR. There are 2 versions of every, 18-55mm and 70-300mm, one
with optical image stabilization (Nikon’s Vibration Reduction, or VR) and one without; the
names dissent exclusively by the “VR” designation.
Nikon is putting two kits of the D3400 on the market in several regions. The first choice is:
bundled with the 18-55mm VR lens for $328 with the non-VR version of the lens (which is not sold out within the US). the other
choice is a dual-lens kit with the VR version of the 18-55mm lens however the non-VR version
of the 70-300mm. whereas that is a silly configuration — stabilization on the lens where you do not want it and no stabilization on the one where you do — it permits Nikon to hit its just-under-$1,000 value of $999.95. That dual-lens kit does not appear to be on the market within the United Kingdom and Australia, however, you will be ready to get a body-only version in those regions for £400 and about AU$575.
Overall, the camera delivers superb icon and video quality for its value. Due to its new sensor —
a similar resolution as the D3300, however without an anti-aliasing filter to slightly unsharpen the image — the D3400 delivers slightly sharper photos in low light than its predecessor. They do
not seem to possess better tonal range in shadows and highlights than before, however, the
additional sharpness makes a distinction.
The automatic white balance is not great: It displayed a purple cast beneath our LED test lights
and a moderate cyan cast in real daylight, thus photos look a little too cool. However, under
most circumstances, you will not really notice it if you are not hyper-sensitized to color accuracy or comparison to a more accurate camera. This kind of issue is not unusual, though.
You also cannot get considerably better noise-reduction results by processing the raw files; the
JPEG processing is pretty smart. However, you’ll recover a little of highlight detail in higher
ISO-sensitivity shots, boost underexposures for low ISO-sensitivity photos and fix the same white balance problems in raw. And due to the AF-P lenses, Nikon currently has improved — quicker and smoother — autofocus throughout movies that makes them look lots better for fans of automatic.
Pro
The Nikon D3400 delivers the image quality and speed that a first-time dSLR client ought to
expect.
Con
A lot of the tiny annoyances from previous models remain, together with small autofocus points
within the viewfinder and a non-persistent self-timer mode. Plus, its Bluetooth-only wireless
solution isn’t good.
Final Conclusion
Very good picture quality for its category plus performance quick enough to capture children and
pets make the Nikon D3400 a solid selection for a first DSLR.