The Nikon D3500 is Nikon’s entry-level camera in its DSLR range. While that means it’s the most basic, it’s still an excellent camera that can take great photos. Digital camera sensors have come a long way in recent years, and you can get some outstanding results out of the D3500. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of cameras higher in the range, but it’s also at a much more affordable price point. All of which makes it a great choice if you’re making the leap to DSLR photography.
- Nikon D3500 DSLR Camera Body (Import Model)- DX-format 24.2MP DX-Format CMOS Sensor , EXPEED 4 Image...
- Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens - F-Mount Lens/DX Format ,27-82.5mm (35mm Equivalent) ,...
The D3500 is commonly sold with an 18-55mm zoom lens as part of the kit, and that’s the lens I’ve used in most of these shots. But being a Nikon F-mount, you can also attach a wide variety of other lenses to this camera, from much longer telephoto lenses to very wide-angles or specialty lenses like fisheyes or macro (close-up) lenses.
The D3500 has a 24-megapixel sensor that produces photos that measure 6000 by 4000 pixels. In practical terms, that’s more than big enough for sharp prints at least up to 16×20 inches, and even excellent results up to poster size 20×30 prints.
Sample Photos Taken with a Nikon D3500
Here are some sample photos I’ve taken with D3500. I’ve included the exposure details in the caption of each photo, and you can click on each of them to open a full-size version. The D3500 offers the option to save the files as JPGs or NEF RAW files (or both).
Most of these were originally shot in RAW image format (the D3500 can also shoot in JPEG) and have only been lightly processed in Lightroom. I haven’t applied any noise reduction beyond the light amount that Lightroom applies by default.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₂₅ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 22mm @ ISO 250 and ¹⁄₄₀ sec at ƒ/3.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₀₀ sec at ƒ/13.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 27mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₂₅ sec at ƒ/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 110 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 21mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₆₄₀ sec at ƒ/3.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 21mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₆₀₀ sec at ƒ/3.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 35mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₂₀₀ sec at ƒ/13.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 125 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55mm @ ISO 3600 and ¹⁄₁₀₀ sec at ƒ/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 29mm @ ISO 320 and ¹⁄₅₀ sec at ƒ/4.2.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 450 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 30mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at ƒ/4.2.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 20mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₂₅ sec at ƒ/4.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 40mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at ƒ/5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 560 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ sec at ƒ/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 2200 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 25mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₂₅₀ sec at ƒ/4.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₈₀₀ sec at ƒ/8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 34mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₈₀ sec at ƒ/4.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₀₀ sec at ƒ/11.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 36mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₆₄₀ sec at ƒ/8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 46mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₆₀ sec at ƒ/5.3.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₆₄₀ sec at ƒ/8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 31mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₆₀ sec at ƒ/5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₂₀₀ sec at ƒ/13.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₁₂₅₀ sec at ƒ/5.6.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 35mm @ ISO 2800 and ¹⁄₆₀ sec at ƒ/4.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 23mm @ ISO 2000 and ¹⁄₄₀ sec at ƒ/3.8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 45mm @ ISO 100 and ¹⁄₅₀₀ sec at ƒ/8.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 25600 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
This photo was taken with a Nikon D3500 DSLR with a Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18mm @ ISO 4500 and ¹⁄₃₀ sec at ƒ/3.5.
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Where to Buy a Nikon D3500 DSLR
The D3500 is an excellent entry-point camera for getting started with DSLR photography. You can find them at Amazon and B&H Photo. You can also find them used at major used camera gear sellers such as KEH (which is where I often buy when I'm looking for used gear).Nikon D3500 Tips
I've put together a number of resources related to the Nikon D3500.
Good places to start are with the Nikon D3500 Q&As and recommended SD cards for the Nikon D3500.
Questions & Comments