Nikon D3400

The D3400 is Nikon’s latest entry-level DSLR, but does it represent a solid investment for those looking to buy their first serious camera? Audley Jarvis put it to the test.

- Audley Jarvis

The Nikon D3400 is Nikon’s latest entry-level DSLR and succeeds the D3300 that came out in 2014. Despite the two-year gap between the two models, there doesn’t initially appear to be all that much to separate them, at least not in terms of their key specs. Both models are built around a 24.2-million-pixel APS-C CMOS sensor and Nikon Expeed 4 image processor, and both employ the same 11-point AF system and pentamirror optical viewfinder that provides 95% coverage. The headline addition for the D3400 is Nikon’s SnapBridge technology, which uses Bluetooth to facilitate wireless image transfer between the D3400 and compatible mobile devices. The D3400 also offers significantly improved battery performance over its predecessor, with Nikon claiming that the camerais able to record up to 1,200 images on a full charge, compared to 700 images on the D3300. On the flipside, the pop-up flash has a lower guide number than its predecessor (GN 7m @ ISO 100 compared to GN12), and the external microphone port has been removed.

Given that the D3300 is still available and around £70 cheaper, the question is, do the incremental upgrades make the D3400 worth the additional expenditure? Likewise, how does the D3400 stack up against its main rivals within the entry-level DSLR segment, namely the Canon EOS 1300D and Pentax K-50?

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