Nikon D3400 What You Need to Know for Best Performance

The D3400’s original MSRP was Body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR lens ($649), body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR and 70-300 F4.5-6.3 non-VR lenses ($999)

Used D3400 cameras fall into a price range of $250 to $350. The difference will be due to condition and accessories included.

The Nikon D3400 uses a EN-EL14a lithium-ion battery and charger.

The battery can not be charged via USB. This means a battery charger will be necessary. There are third party battery chargers available.

The Nikon D3400 is compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards.

That means compatible D3400 SD cards can have a maximum storage capacity of up to 2TB.

If you need a card, my recommendation is to get a 128GB SD card with UHS-I. This will provide the best price to performance, capacity, and compatibility with other devices.

The D3400 is compatible with Nikon F mount lenses. This opens up a wide range of lens possibilities. A full range of lenses exists including circular fisheye, ultra wide angle, perspective control, macro, telephoto, mirror, bellows, and all kinds of zooms.

There is a list of the best Nikon D3400 lenses that covers lenses for all different types of photography.

The camera has an APS-C “crop” sensor that has been designed to use DX lenses. These lenses are smaller and less expensive than FX lenses, which are designed to be used on full frame cameras.

The D3400 can also use full frame, ‘FX’, lenses. However, the downside to these lenses is that they tend to be larger, heavier, and more expensive than DX lenses.

  • Active D-Lighting
  • 5.0 fps continuous shooting
  • Auto Active D-Lighting System
  • Custom Setting Options
  • Red eye correction

The D3400 has an APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sized sensor. This is paired with the Expeed 4 image processor.

The Nikon D3400 can record video at 1920 x 1080 (60, 50, 30, 25, 24 fps), 1280 x 720 (60, 50 fps), 640 x 424 (30, 25 fps) in MPEG-4, H.264. The fixed screen on the D3400 can make shooting video difficult.

The lack of a fully articulated LCD screen is a big drawback for video use.

There is no port for a external microphone.

Manufacturer Nikon
Model D3400
MSRP Body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR lens ($649), body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR and 70-300 F4.5-6.3 non-VR lenses ($999)
Body type Compact DSLR
Max resolution 6000 x 4000
Other resolutions 4496 x 3000, 2992 x 2000
Image ratio w:h 3:2
Effective pixels 24.2 megapixels
Sensor photo detectors 25 megapixels
Sensor size APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm)
Sensor type CMOS
Processor Expeed 4
ISO Auto, 100-25600
Boosted ISO (minimum) None
Boosted ISO (maximum) None
White balance presets 12.0
Custom white balance Yes
Image stabilization No
Image stabilization notes None
Uncompressed format RAW
JPEG quality levels Fine, Normal, Basic
Autofocus ['Contrast Detect (sensor)', 'Phase Detect', 'Multi-area', 'Center', 'Selective single-point', 'Tracking', 'Single', 'Continuous', 'Face Detection', 'Live View']
Manual focus Yes
Number of focus points 11.0
Lens mount Nikon F
Focal length multiplier 1.5×
Articulated LCD Fixed
Screen size 3"
Screen dots 921000
Touch screen No
Screen type TFT-LCD
Live view Yes
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage 95%
Viewfinder magnification 0.57× (0.38× 35mm equiv.)
Minimum shutter speed 30 sec
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 sec
Aperture priority Yes
Shutter priority Yes
Manual exposure mode Yes
Subject / scene modes Yes
Built-in flash Yes (Pop-up)
Flash range 7.00 m (at ISO 100)
External flash Yes (via hot shoe or wireless)
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
Continuous drive 5.0 fps
Self-timer Yes (2, 5, 10, 20 secs (1-9 exposures))
Metering modes ['Multi', 'Center-weighted', 'Spot AF-area']
Exposure compensation ±5 (at 1/3 EV steps)
AE Bracketing None
WB Bracketing No
Format MPEG-4, H.264
Videography notes None
Modes None
Microphone Mono
Speaker Mono
Storage types SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI Yes (mini-HDMI)
Microphone port No
Headphone port No
Wireless Built-In
Wireless notes SnapBridge (Bluetooth only)
Remote control Yes (via smartphone or wireless remote)
Environmentally sealed No
Battery Battery Pack
Battery description EN-EL14a lithium-ion battery and charger
Battery Life (CIPA) 1200.0
Weight (inc. batteries) 445 g (0.98 lb / 15.70 oz)
Dimensions 124 x 98 x 76 mm (4.88 x 3.86 x 2.99")
Orientation sensor Yes
Timelapse recording No
GPS None
GPS notes None