Back in 2019, I got my hands on a Nikon D3500; my first “proper” camera. It was an unexpected 24th birthday gift from my parents, which was around the time I was truly getting into photography and had clearly started to talk to my family about it with some conviction.
Admittedly, it took me the best part of a year to pluck up the courage to turn the dial from auto to manual mode after I finally demystified the exposure triangle with a 15-minute YouTube video.
But at that point, I unlocked the true power of the Nikon D3500 – and what a beginner camera it was. In fact, eight years after its release, I still recommend this camera to photographers starting out.
The main beginner draw to the Nikon D3500 is that it's insanely practical. As a newbie, you don’t want to be faffing with complicated settings and changing batteries all the time. The simplicity of the camera encourages you to shoot, rather than frustrating you.
First off, it’s got a really simple LCD interface that’s intuitive and limited. In the two years that I shot with this camera, I can’t remember a time when I struggled to find a setting or understand what was happening on screen.
It may sound pedantic, but the last thing a beginner needs is a menu packed with pages and pages that will only put them off exploring what their camera can do.
Next up is the battery life, and this is a huge benefit of the Nikon D3500. I kid you not, on a full charge this 14.5oz / 415g beast can snap upwards of 1,500 images. That is absolutely unheard of by today’s mirrorless standards, with entry-level rigs lucky to capture 500 images before their battery runs dry.
As a beginner, you want to shoot. That's it; take pictures and repeat. This is how you build a love for photography. Having to buy several replacement batteries and swap them out after just a few hours can impact this negatively.
Mirrorless cameras do, of course, have their advantages for beginners. I’ve previously argued that they can actually help more on the creativity side of things thanks to all the built-in help. But, in my view, for beginners, practicality trumps creativity.
And while the Nikon D3500 might only feature 5fps bursts, FullHD video and a maximum ISO of 12,800, it’s cheap (roughly $450 / £330 / AU$630) can go for days before dying and is just a joy to use.
So, if you’re thinking about what your first camera is going to be – or, like my parents, you're going to gift someone as theirs – I’d seriously consider the Nikon D3500. While I think practicality is the main selling point, it has other great traits – which you can read about in our Nikon D3500 review, where my colleague Rod called it "an evergreen classic".
You might also like…
Already got one? Make sure you're using one of the best lenses for the Nikon D3500! And here’s our roundup of the best cameras for beginners as well as our pick of the best cheap cameras.
