Nikon D3500 What You Need to Know for Best Performance
Original Price& Current Used Price
The D3500’s original MSRP was Body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR lens ($499), body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR and 70-300 F4.5-6.3 non-VR lenses ($849)
Used D3500 cameras fall into a price range of $350 to $500. The difference will be due to condition and accessories included.
Nikon D3500 Battery Type & Replacements
The Nikon D3500 uses a EN-EL14a lithium-ion battery and charger.
Memory Card Compatibility & Recommendation
The Nikon D3500 is compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards.
That means compatible D3500 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.
Nikon F Mount Lens Compatibility
The D3500 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 D3500 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 D3500 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.
Notable Features
- Active D-Lighting
- 5.0 fps continuous shooting
- Auto Active D-Lighting System
- Custom Setting Options
- Red eye correction
Sensor & Image Processor
The D3500 has an APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sized sensor. This is paired with the Expeed 4 image processor.
Video Capabilities
The Nikon D3500 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 D3500 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.
Does the Nikon D3500 Have Wireless? Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS?
Specs Table
| Manufacturer | Nikon |
| Model | D3500 |
| MSRP | Body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR lens ($499), body w/AF-P 18-55mm VR and 70-300 F4.5-6.3 non-VR lenses ($849) |
| 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 | 0.85× (0.57× 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 | ['1920 x 1080 @ 60p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1920 x 1080 @ 50p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1920 x 1080 @ 30p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1920 x 1080 @ 25p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1920 x 1080 @ 24p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1280 x 720 @ 60p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM', '1280 x 720 @ 30p, MOV, H.264, Linear PCM'] |
| 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) |
| Environmentally sealed | No |
| Battery | Battery Pack |
| Battery description | EN-EL14a lithium-ion battery and charger |
| Battery Life (CIPA) | 1550.0 |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 365 g (0.80 lb / 12.87 oz) |
| Dimensions | 124 x 97 x 70 mm (4.88 x 3.82 x 2.76″) |
| Orientation sensor | Yes |
| Timelapse recording | No |
| GPS | None |
| GPS notes | None |