The Nikon D3300 is one of the best selling and most popular DSLR cameras on Adorama right now, and Adorama is not the only camera equipment vendor to list the Nikon D330 as one of the favorites of photographers. As photography becomes more and more accessible to everyday people, many are looking for DSLR cameras that can take them through either an amateur career or a professional one. The best cameras for professional photographers might not be the Nikon D3300 or the Nikon D5300, but they are definitely good options with relatively affordable prices. The Nikon D330 and D5300 are more suitable for amateur or novice photographers, although professionals can get great results out of them as well.
Although DSLR cameras are pretty expensive for someone just getting into the field of photography, the investment in such a camera is worthwhile as they usually last for a long time and are generally as future-proof as it gets. With the rise of Instagram as one of the most popular photo-sharing social networks, more and more people are drawn into the photography scene and more and more of them are trying to produce photos that are as professional as possible. The fact that monetization through social media is now not only possible, but quite easy, means that many people will try and up their photo-game to gain more and more followers.
This comparison between the Nikon D3300 and Nikon D5300 is meant to offer a short introduction as to which of these would be the best camera for an amateur photographer, or a novice one, however you prefer phrasing it. I will be talking a bit about the differences between the two, emphasizing the pros and cons of each of these cameras. Each of these has its ups and downs, but the more recent model, the Nikon D3300 is obviously the slightly upgraded model.
First off, let’s start with pricing. On Adorama, one of the best photo-oriented retail sites out there, you can find the Nikon D3300 price set at around $500, which is a pretty good price. It’s currently on sale, which means it is $150 cheaper. The Nikon D5300 is a tad more expensive at $650 at the same retailer, but it does make up for the money with a few features that might even draw in the professional crowd of photographers. Overall, price-wise, both these DSLR cameras are pretty good deals, which means that they can be affordable for a beginner in photography, too.
First off, let’s see what the Nikon D3300 has to offer for the average photographer that’s looking for a camera out there. Off the bat, you probably already know that the Nikon D3300 is a consumer camera oriented at beginners and amateur photographers, so you should have a pretty good idea of what you’re getting into already if you’re considering this camera. The advantage of the Nikon D3300 and consumer cameras in general is that they come with a lot of modes that you select so that you don’t have to set things yourself while getting accustomed to the camera interface itself. But the Nikon D3300 also has a fully manual mode, because sometimes the modes that it offers really can’t handle the environment and the conditions you’re shooting in, or won’t give you the results that you want. Tampering with manual settings is always a good way to learn how cameras and software actually work and will help you get accustomed to photography in itself if you’re a beginner.
One of the best features of the Nikon D3300 is that it comes with built-in WiFi with the Nikon Wifi adapter, so that you can easily transfer photos to other devices on the network, like a smartphone, laptop, computer or tablet. For those of you who love filters and effects, the camera also comes with a slew of them so that you can use tens of effects on your photos to make them as visually entertaining as possible. You get effects like Silhoutte, Night Vision, Pop, Photo illustration, Super vivid, Color sketch, Toy camera effect, Miniature effect, Selective color, high key, low key, HDR painting, black and white and panorama of course.
When it comes to design, the Nikon D3300 is small and light compared to other DSLR cameras, which can be viewed as a plus or as a minus depending on your preferences. Although it doesn’t feel as premium as other cameras do, it certainly gives off a user-friendly vibe and is easily maneuverable, even for beginner photographers. Note that professional cameras don’t compare to the Nikon D3300 when it comes to design, as their materials are much more high-quality which add to their weight quite a bit. For a photography enthusiast, the Nikon D3300 should feel as good as any other consumer DSLR, if not better. Since it’s a lightweight camera, the Nikon D3300 can be considered a good camera for traveling. Its small size contributed to that a lot.
The Nikon D3300 is mostly made out of plastic, but it still feels well put together and sturdy, which is what most beginners and enthusiasts are looking for. For the price, the Nikon D3300 is pretty well-equipped. It comes with a pop-up flash, a built-in diopter adjustment ring so that you can customize the viewfinder for your eyesight. That’s one of my favorite features when it comes to the camera, as I’m nearsighted and really need to adjust the viewfinder to actually see what I’m doing. When it comes to buttons and the user interface, the design is pretty much standard, so anybody who has held a camera before will get used to the Nikon D3300 pretty easily. There’s also help available in the form of a guide that you can access from within the user interface.
One of the more annoying problems that users have faced when it comes to the Nikon D3300 is that its light-meter gets easily distorted by large white backgrounds. That means that you might end up with pretty weird photos in very bright locations, like in the snow during winter. Still, this small flaw shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for the photography enthusiast, as most consumer cameras do have the same problem when it comes to whites. The images that you might take with the Nikon D3300 in snowy or white landscapes and environments will most likely be a bit under-exposed.
On the other hand, the burst mode that comes with the camera is rather good, better than on most consumer cameras I’ve seen lately, so this makes the Nikon D3300 a good camera when someone wants to photograph moving objects and sports events. Moreover, you can actually catch birds mid-flight, in focus, without too much of an effort, which is something we can’t say about the majority of consumer DSLR cameras in this price range. The video mode is also very impressive in the Nikon D3300 as it can take 1080 p footage at 60 fps, which although is something many smartphones can already do, this camera does rather well. The ISO ranges from 100 to 12000, axpandable to 25000 but at that moment, you will probably get some grainy images, so I’d recommend staying within the limits. Still, most of the low-light photos taken with the Nikon D3300 will look great, so that’s a plus and something smartphones just can’t do.
Tech specs for the Nikon D3300 include a 24.2 MP CMOS sensor, 0.85x high-magnification viewfinder, image retouch, 1.5× lens focal length, Nikon F bayonet mount, 3 inch display and the camera works with all the more recent Nikon lenses that are available on the market. there’s no touchscreen on this baby, which might become annoying at one point when trying to zoom in on pictures and see the shots and if focus is right, but that’s a small compromise for an affordable price. You can buy the Nikon D3300 for $500 on Adorama right here, $150 off.
Moving on the older, more expensive Nikon D5300, when it comes to design and materials, there’s not much of a difference. Still, the D5300 is a bit larger and heavier than the Nikon D3300, but not as much as to make it cumbersome or bothersome. so it’s definitely of no important consequence. The design is slightly different, but not as much as to be a turn-off for newbies and photography enthusiasts. When it comes to the sensor, the D5300 has the same one as the Nikon D3300, so it should yield photos that are about the same quality if set right. The big difference between the two is that the D5300 has much better autofocus and it is noticeable in some cases. Still, the Nikon D3300 didn’t disappoint on that front either, but the D5300 is definitely faster in this respect.
The display of the D5300 is slightly bigger than on the Nikon D3300 as it measures a whole 0.2 inches more, which can be a significant increase. I personally love larger displays on DSLR cameras and on anything really, so that’s a plus in my book for the D5300 this time around. Still, the difference is quite small, so it shouldn’t really be the deciding factor between these two. Also, the D5300 has a bigger viewfinder. One of the added features in this DSLR is its flip-screen, which can come in handy when filming or when working with weird angles, so that’s a plus in my book. For other people, it might be cumbersome to use as when you’re shooting straight forward, it can be a bit of a hassle to adjust correctly.
The modes that the D5300 offers are mostly the same as with the Nikon D3300, including all those effects. Although these effects are rather gimmicky to be honest, they are a fun way to photograph and can be quite enjoyable on various occasions. I especially like the Sketch feature, as it makes photos look like paintings or drawings, which is pretty neat in my book. The better autofocus of the D5300 does make for better high-speed photos or just the plain moving target photos, which is a plus for the more expensive DSLR. One minus the D5300 gets in the features field is for the lack of a panorama mode.
While the Nikon D3300 has WI-Fi thanks to a Nikon adapter, the D5300 comes with Wi-Fi straight out of the box, which is a bonus feature in my mind. Having to get the adapter in every time you need to transfer files can be time-consuming and rather impractical, so the D5300 has better connectivity, so to speak. Moreover, the D5300 comes with built-in GPS, which is lacking from the D3300. Video recording is the same with both cameras, but the Nikon D5300 has a stereo mic, whereas the Nikon D3300 doesn’t. That means that sound quality will be decidedly better on the D5300 in the end.
Since the tech specs and features are largely the same when comparing the Nikon D3300 with the Nikon D5300, we can safely say that an amateur photographer or a photography enthusiast will get a good experience out of either of these. The D5300 is definitely the superior model, and although older at the same time, it does have just a few features that warrant the higher price. Most notably, the added built-in Wi-Fi and much better autofocus are the biggest differences between the two. The flip screen and the larger size are more of a preference-type difference, so we shouldn’t look at them as deal-makers or breakers for that matter. The lack of panorama is a bit of a turn-off, but hey, you can’t have it all. If you’re interested in the Nikon D5300, you can get it for $650 from Adorama right now, and it’s $150 off. Which do you think is the better DSLR for photography enthusiasts?
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