The Nikon D3300 has long been my go-to recommendation for a cheap dSLR, but after two years it's usually time to slap a new coat of paint on consumer products. Nikon's 2016 update to that camera, the D3400, has some small enhancements to bring it up to date, but nothing vital. It remains a great value -- fast with very good photo and video quality and a new kit lens optimized for shooting via the LCD -- but its weak wireless file transfer barely feels like a step up from nothing.
Very good photo quality for its class plus performance fast enough to capture kids and pets make the Nikon D3400 A solid choice for a first dSLR.
The Nikon D3400 delivers the image quality and speed that a first-time dSLR buyer should expect.
A lot of the small annoyances from previous models remain, including tiny autofocus points in the viewfinder and a nonpersistent self-timer mode; Plus, its Bluetooth-only wireless solution isn't very good.