In case you are contemplating an improve from a point-and-shoot, the Nikon D3300 is one heck of a DSLR for newbies. It succeeds the very fashionable D3200 with a couple of upgrades, resembling higher video capabilities. The D3300 lacks the bells and whistles of its dearer cousins, resembling Nikon’s personal D5300 ($800), however it takes sharp, clear 24.3-megapixel pictures and clean, natural-looking video. Priced at lower than $400 for the equipment with an 18-55mm lens, the D3300 competes immediately with value-priced DSLRs just like the Canon T5 and with midrange mirrorless cameras just like the $499 Olympus PEN E-PL5. And it stacks up very properly.
Design
The D3300 has the usual Nikon DSLR design, with a utilitarian plastic physique. We examined a model in matte black, however Nikon additionally presents the D3300 in crimson and slate grey. The D3300 is a bit of lighter than different Nikon DSLRs. It weighs 14.5 ounces for the physique solely, in comparison with 16.9 ounces for Nikon’s D5300, however it additionally feels much less sturdy. Nevertheless, the D3300 is heavier than most micro four-thirds mirrorless cameras, such because the Olympus PEN E-PL5, which weighs simply 11 ounces.
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On the again of the physique is a 3-inch 921k pixel LCD. Pictures on the display are clear and pretty shiny, however viewability suffers in direct daylight. This show cannot flip out or rotate, so there is no such thing as a selfie capturing or potential to carry the digital camera above or beneath to get a difficult shot. The D3300 shares this lack of a rotating display with the Canon Digital Insurgent T5, however the Olympus PEN E-PL5 and another competing mirrorless cameras have tilting LCDs. As a DSLR, the D3300 has an optical viewfinder, on this case a shiny mannequin that features a minimal LCD on the backside of the body to show fundamental settings data.
Along with a small built-in pop-up flash, the D3300 presents a regular scorching shoe, which suggests it may well work with flash models from Nikon and different producers.
Controls
Buttons are strewn across the D3300’s LCD like youngsters at a pool get together, however with a greater sense of order. The 4 on the left facet of the display are for viewing and zooming into captured pictures and accessing the on-screen menu. The 5 buttons on the suitable, together with the adjoining four-way directional pad, management the capturing settings and stay view mode (extra on that later).
Atop the suitable handgrip, three buttons (film seize, data and publicity compensation) are grouped across the shutter button, which makes it simple to shortly tweak publicity or change between capturing stills and video. This design is an instructive instance for different digital camera makers that bury the video-record button in hard-to-reach spots.
Many of the ceaselessly used controls fall comfortably beneath the fingertips for one-handed capturing: your thumb can simply attain the management dial on the digital camera again whereas capturing along with your eye subsequent to the viewfinder. This makes it simple to regulate the aperture in aperture precedence mode, however it would not provide the management over each shutter and aperture that twin dials supply (as on the Nikon D5300).
Subsequent to the dial is the AE lock button, so you possibly can lock in an publicity setting in a posh lighting state of affairs with out having to take your eye off the topic. In contrast to its dearer cousin, the D5300, the D3300 doesn’t supply any customizable buttons or dials, and there’s no technique to reprogram the features of the buttons on the digital camera physique.
Like all DSLRs, the D3300 makes use of a mirror to bounce the sunshine from the lens up into the optical viewfinder while you’re framing a shot, after which flips the mirror out of the way in which whereas taking the picture. A stay view mode can also be obtainable. Once you press the LV button on the suitable facet of the digital camera again, the mirror flips up, and a preview picture seems on the LCD. This preview seems nice in good mild, however will get slightly uninteresting and grainy in low mild. That is a typical drawback with stay view modes on all DSLRs and mirrorless cameras, nonetheless.
The D3300 scores acceptably in our take a look at of how simple it’s to entry key settings.
| Setting | Steps/button presses | Operate |
|---|---|---|
| Shutter | 1 | Size of publicity |
| Aperture | 1 | Quantity of sunshine let in |
| ISO | 1 | Mild sensitivity |
| Focus Mode | 2 | Factors or factors used for focus |
| Mild metering | 2 | A part of picture with optimized publicity |
| White stability | 3 | Total coloration solid of picture |
| Publicity compensation |
1 | Set auto publicity to be darker or lighter |
| Wi-Fi sharing | N/A | Ship pictures to smartphone, activate distant viewfinder |
| Video recording | 1 | Swap from photograph to video and again |
| Play | 1 | View pictures or movies and again |
| Delete picture | 1 | Self-explanatory |
| Photograph seize decision | 2 | Quantity of megapixels |
| Photograph seize high quality | 1 | Quantity of JPEG compression/element, or RAW |
| Video seize decision | 4 | Traces of decision and body price |
| Video seize high quality | 5 | Quantity of compression / element |
| Drive | 1 | Single photograph, burst, timer, and so forth. |
Picture High quality
Total, the D3300 snapped high-quality pictures utilizing its 24.3-megapixel sensor, with robust element and correct coloration in shiny mild however noticeable noise (graininess) by low mild at excessive ISO (sensitivity) settings. Though the decision of the D3300 is unchanged from its predecessor (the D3200), Nikon has tweaked the sensor by eradicating the optical low-pass filter (OLPF), which softens the picture barely to make sharp edges look extra pure. We did not see a variety of distinction between the 2 fashions, although: each fashions produced very sharp pictures with a effective degree of element.
To get comparable outcomes, we take a look at all mainstream DSLRs and mirrorless cameras —these with a so-called APS-C-size sensor — utilizing a primary (non-zooming) lens of roughly a 32 mm focal size, which is equal to a 50mm on a full body digital camera. On this case, we selected Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8G, which sells for $196. We additionally spot-checked towards Nikon’s 18-55mm Zoom Lens, which you should purchase with the D3300. The 35mm-prime is barely sharper than the equipment lens, that means you will not see all of the digital camera is able to with the packaged lens.
MORE: DSLR vs. Mirrorless Cameras: Which Is Higher for You?
Daylight outcomes
The D3300 did an admirable job capturing in shiny mild, capturing each the highlights and shadow particulars of a scene. We discovered that the photographs had been precisely uncovered in most of our take a look at photographs in daylight when utilizing this system mode of the digital camera.
The D3300 captures very detailed pictures. In a photograph of a historic dwelling shot with the equipment lens, we may zoom in to see the date on the plaque and virtually learn the gasoline meter on the nook of the home. The equipment lens does introduce some distortion, although. The window frames appeared barely curved, attributable to a lens impact referred to as barrel distortion that’s widespread with entry-level zooms. The D3300 does attempt to take away this impact by processing the captured picture when it’s saved, however it didn’t fairly get it on this shot.
Colours appeared very wealthy. In a photograph of a crochet piece, for instance, the hues of the completely different yarn seem similar to how they did in actual life: delicate colours that had been muted by repeated publicity to the solar.
Low-light outcomes
The D3300 carried out properly in dim settings, capturing a good quantity of sunshine. We first took a hand-held, low-light shot of the memorial transept at Harvard in auto mode. On this shot, the digital camera upped the ISO (mild sensitivity) to 6400 to maintain the shutter pace quick to keep away from blur. The picture exhibited a good degree of element, however closeexamination confirmed some noise (graininess) within the wooden paneling and shadows. However that is to be anticipated at such a comparatively excessive ISO.
A shot of a memorial plaque in the identical transept in low mild exhibits the identical challenge. The sides of the names usually are not sharp, as a result of the noise has softened the main points considerably.
The noise degree of the picture will increase because the ISO degree goes up. Noise discount removes a lot of the noise, but additionally a variety of the effective element.
We did not see a lot noise in our evaluation of the captured JPEG pictures at decrease ISOs, however some began creeping into pictures at ISO settings above 1600. This noise turned extra pronounced once we took pictures in low mild, which wanted greater ISO settings of 3200 and above, though the digital camera’s built-in noise-reduction (NR) characteristic did ameliorate the graininess considerably.
This did have a value, nonetheless. The noise discount additionally eliminated some effective particulars within the pictures. It’s potential to strike a greater stability between noise discount and element utilizing RAW pictures and a program resembling Photoshop that lets you apply extra finesse to the noise-reduction course of.
MORE: How Many Megapixels Do You Actually Want?
Though the digital camera technically helps an astronomical ISO of 25600, we would advise not capturing above ISO 3200 for a big picture for those who can keep away from it. In case you are printing smaller pictures or posting them to Fb, the noise and noise-reduction results are tolerable as much as ISO 6400.
Most cameras will let you set completely different ranges of noise discount, to seek out an sufficient stability between the quantity of noise and the lack of element that noise- discount entails. The D3300 presents a binary On/Off possibility for noise discount, although, with out in-between ranges. Additionally lacking is long-exposure noise discount, wherein the digital camera tries to take away noise in longer exposures by capturing a darkish body (one with the shutter closed, so all it accommodates is the noise) and subtracting it from the picture.
Video high quality
The video that the D3300 captured was of equally prime quality because the nonetheless pictures, with robust, shiny coloration in good mild and loads of element. Video is captured at a most decision of 1920 by 1080 pixels at 60 frames per second in H.264 or MP4 format. That is slightly uncommon: most entry-level cameras seize 1080p video at solely 30 frames per second. Spectacular for this class of digital camera, we noticed little proof of the widespread rolling shutter impact, the place quick digital camera pans and motion within the body causes a wobbly trying impact.
Video clips are restricted to only 10 minutes in size, which could possibly be an issue if you wish to movie your kid’s play or dance recital, for instance. Most digital cameras restrict the utmost size of video clips, however normally to twenty or half-hour.
Shot in daylight on the highest-quality settings that the D3300 presents, a video of shifting vehicles confirmed clean movement and a very good quantity of element in every body. The audio, nonetheless, is weak. The stereo microphones had been simply overwhelmed by the noise, thereby distorting the sound. There was additionally little or no stereo separation: you aren’t getting the sensation of a automotive passing shut by on the left facet, for instance.
The D3300 features a stereo mic jack for an exterior microphone, which we advocate utilizing for high-quality audio. Nikon sells an exterior stereo microphone for $179 that plugs into the digital camera’s scorching shoe on high of the digital camera.
Not surprisingly, nighttime video was grainier. A video shot on the highest-quality settings beneath a streetlight confirmed a variety of noise, and the digital camera didn’t adapt for the streetlight illumination, giving the video a heavy amber solid. The motion, nonetheless, nonetheless stays principally clean.
Autofocus and pace
The D3300 is a fast digital camera to focus: capturing by the viewfinder, we discovered that the small 18-55mm zoom lens snapped into focus shortly utilizing any of the 11 focus factors. In a candid shot of a cuddling kitten, we obtained the photograph shortly with out disturbing the (semi-)wildlife: After we had been capturing by the viewfinder, the digital camera targeted and took the shot earlier than the topic may get up and assault.
Focusing pace is essentially concerning the lens. Autofocus with the 35mm prime lens that we additionally used was considerably faster. Nevertheless, the equipment lens was quick sufficient to seize most topics in our assessments.
In stay view mode, the D3300’s focus was quite a bit much less spectacular. The purpose-and-shoot-style distinction detection focusing system utilized in stay view created a sluggish, to-and-fro looking movement of the lens, particularly in low mild. Some more-expensive DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are incorporating quicker phase-detection focus sensors into the imaging chip, however the D3300 is not one in all them.
The D3300 is a speedy shooter. We discovered that it was able to capturing the 5 frames a second that Nikon claims when capturing within the Tremendous JPEG mode with a quick 32GB SanDisk Extremely UHC-1 SDXC card. With this card, we had been capable of shoot a formidable 17 pictures earlier than the digital camera needed to decelerate for the photographs to be saved.
Package lens
The equipment lens that Nikon bundles with the D3300 is an 18-55mm, f3.5-5.6 zoom with inbuilt VR (vibration discount), Nikon’s personal moniker for picture stabilization. This barely uncommon lens has a lock button on the zoom ring; if you press the button, the barrel of the lens retracts from 3.5 inches lengthy right down to 2.5 inches for simpler dealing with and storage. Once you need to begin capturing, you push the button and twist the zoom ring to increase the lens.
Whereas that retains the lens as small as potential, it’s a drawback for candid images: unlocking the lens takes time and appears pretty apparent in case you are making an attempt to shoot unobtrusively. This mechanism additionally signifies that you begin off on the wide-angle (18mm) setting each time you unlock the lens. The trouble issue right here is pretty minor, although.
Picture high quality was typically good, although particulars come out softer than they might when utilizing a sharper lens, such because the 35mm f/1.8G we additionally utilized in testing. As well as, the lens produced some geometric distortion on the broad finish, however that is to be anticipated on a low-cost lens. Luckily, the digital camera’s processing software program helps to ameliorate the distortion.
Lenses and equipment
The F mount that the D3300 makes use of offers entry to an enormous collection of lenses, from ultra-wide angles to very lengthy telephotos. There are lots of of suitable lenses on supply, from each Nikon and different producers, resembling Sigma, that vary from a couple of hundred to some thousand {dollars}. Some older lenses aren’t totally supported, although. Lenses within the AF-S and AF-I households work with all options of the D3300. Others might supply solely handbook focus or not enable the light-metering options of the digital camera for use.
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The lens choice is without doubt one of the components that make the D3300 such a very good starter DSLR. Many lenses you purchase for this digital camera will work with higher-end Nikons it’s possible you’ll improve to sooner or later.
The D3300 presents a regular scorching shoe, so it’s suitable with a spread of flash gadgets from Nikon and different producers. A microphone jack on the left facet of the digital camera physique lets you join an exterior microphone. However no “phantom energy” is obtainable, which suggests some skilled microphones that require further energy enter will not work. This isn’t uncommon for a DSLR, and in reality the inclusion of a mic jack is a bonus for a digital camera on this worth vary.
Backside Line
The truth that you should purchase a 24.3-megapixel DSLR (with a good lens) for $650 exhibits how aggressive the digital digital camera market has gotten lately. The Nikon D3300 is a wonderful entry-level DSLR digital camera for aspiring photographers, delivering a very good characteristic set and high-quality pictures.
Specs desk
Nikon D3300
24.2 efficient Megapixels
DSLR
$649 (with 18-50mm lens)
5 fps burst mode
Nikon DX (APS-C) CMOS Sensor
18-50mm f3.5-5.6 equipment lens
11 Distinction detection AF Factors
Shutter pace 30 to 1/4000 second
ISO 100- 25600
Video decision 1080p, 720p, VGA at 60 and 30fps
Constructed-in flash
Customary scorching shoe
SDXC Card slot
Mic, HDMI, miniUSB
Optical lens picture stabilization (VR) in equipment lens
4.9 by 3.9 by 3 inches
1 lb. 2.7 oz.
