I bought this camera for my son for Christmas. He was thrilled with the camera and it has barely left his hands since. We had a few tricky moments trying to work out all the features, but now that he knows what they do, he is snapping away happily.

The Nikon D3500 is an ideal first DSLR for photographers wanting more than their smartphone can deliver.

I'm working my way through all the fuctions of the camara, but have to say I am very pleased with its performance so far.

As an entry level photographer, this is all you need, great value getting the twin lenses compared to buying separately. Easy to use as well. If you want a camera that has all the bits and bobs but don't want to go overboard, get this one!

Being a beginner photographer I wanted something to last but not make me go bankrupt. My dad has a mirror less camera and it's was to skinny and thin, I thought he wasted his money.

Easy to use; Compact; Build quality; Battery life

Screen size

When Nikon announced the D3500, photographers complained that nothing had really changed from the D3400. (Akin to complaints when the D3400 had so many D3300 similarities.) I've now tested the D3500 extensively - and I disagree. It has its flaws, no doubt. But this camera is better than the D3400.

Is this the best entry-level DSLR you can buy We think it might be...

Value for money; All-round image quality; Beginner friendliness; Responsive autofocus; 5fps continuous shooting

Fixed rear screen; No 4K video; Bulkier than mirrorless rivals

The biennial Nikon D3500 is the latest entry level DSLR from Nikon, released like clockwork 2 years after the D3400 (2016), which followed the D3300 (2014), which followed the D3200 (2012), which followed the D3100 (2010), which was the first camera I reviewed for ePHOTOzine.

Incredible battery life of 1550 shots; 24mp APS-C CMOS sensor; Good noise performance; Great image quality possible; Compact DSLR body; Bluetooth for instant image transfer; 5fps continuous shooting

Small optical viewfinder; Control system could be better; No HDR mode (auto or otherwise; No exposure bracketing; Slow live view mode; Remote shooting doesn't include live-view

The Nikon D3500 has been proven to perform really well with external flash. It is lightweight and small, which makes it a well-packaged bundle, particularly while vacationing. Also, recent buyers claim that the autofocus performance and high ISO are both ideal for pictures, and since it allows...

Has an affordable price; Very compact so easy to take places; High megapixels provide you with great image quality; Also has a shooting guide present inside for beginners; You can enjoy automatic image transferring through Bluetooth

No mic input; Fixed LCD omits touch support; Live view focus has a slight contrast that is not good for video

This entry-level DSLR is nearly identical to its predecessor which is in-turn very similar to models before it. The 24 megapixels APS-C CMOS sensor used by the D3500 produces nice images with very good sharpness, not much noise and reasonable color.

Very good sharpness; Relatively low noise; Very reliable metering; Truly responsive; Short shutter-lag; Excellent time-to-first-shot; Exceptionally flexible image parameters; Superb battery-life

Poor White-Balance; AF on the slow side; Very small OVF; Inefficient interface; Self-timer resets; LCD causes glare when changing settings; Exposure steps always 1/3 EV; Odd Auto ISO behavior; Mount lacks autofocus mechanical coupling