Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D800E
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| NikonD3500 | NikonD800E | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2018 | April 2012 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | DSLR | DSLR |
| Sensor format | APS-C | Full frame |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 23.5 × 15.6 mm | 35.9 × 24 mm |
| Effective resolution | 24.2 MP | 36.3 MP |
| Largest image | 6000 × 4000 | 7360 × 4912 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 100–25600 | 100–6400 |
| Sensor detail | Nikon DX CMOS with 24.16 million effective and 24.78 million total pixels; no optical low-pass filter; approximately 1.5× lens focal-length equivalent. Image Dust Off reference data uses Capture NX-D; no automatic vibrating sensor-cleaning system | FX CMOS with 36.3 million effective pixels and 36.77 million total in Japan, rounded to 36.8 million USA; Optical low-pass filter stack cancels the aliasing/moiré reduction effect rather than removing all filter glass; Nikon warns of more noticeable moiré and false colour with some subjects. IR/anti-reflection coating remains the same as D800. Image Sensor Cleaning and Image Dust Off reference data. FX 7360 × 4912; 1.2× crop 6144 × 4080; DX 4800 × 3200; 5:4 crop 6144 × 4912 |
| Image formats | 12-bit compressed NEF RAW, JPEG and simultaneous RAW plus JPEG; maximum 6000 × 4000 pixels; Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape and Flat Picture Controls | 12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW, uncompressed, lossless-compressed or compressed; TIFF RGB, JPEG Fine/Normal/Basic with size-priority or optimal-quality compression, simultaneous RAW/JPEG; adjustable/custom Picture Controls and in-camera RAW processing |
| ISO detail | ISO 100–25600 in one-stop steps; Auto ISO | Standard ISO 100–6400 in one-third, half or whole stops; Lo expansion down to ISO 50 equivalent and Hi expansion up to ISO 25600 equivalent; automatic sensitivity control |
| Image processor | – | EXPEED 3 |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Nikon F mount | Nikon F mount |
| Stabilisation | Optical lens stabilisation | Optical lens stabilisation |
| Maximum continuous burst | 5 fps | 4 fps |
| Lens detail | Autofocus supported with AF-P lenses and type E/G AF-S lenses; no body autofocus motor for screw-drive lenses | F mount with body AF coupling and contacts; G/D, other AF and AI-P lenses with restrictions; non-CPU AI lenses usable in A/M with registered lens data, DX lenses use DX crop. Non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses excluded |
| Autofocus | Multi-CAM 1000; 11 phase-detection points including one cross-type; -1 to +19 EV at ISO 100, 20°C; AF-S/AF-C/AF-A, single-point, dynamic, auto-area and 11-point 3D tracking. Contrast-detection live view supports face, wide, normal and subject-tracking areas | Advanced Multi-CAM3500FX phase detection with 51 points, 15 cross-type and 11 f/8-compatible points; -2 to +19 EV at ISO 100, 20°C; AF-S/AF-C, fine-tuning, single-point, dynamic nine/21/51, 3D tracking and auto-area. Live view uses contrast AF-S/AF-F and face/wide/normal/tracking areas; current USA AF-A listing conflicts with Japan's AF-S/AF-C modes |
| Shutter | Electronically controlled focal-plane shutter; 1/4000 to 30 seconds in one-third stops, Bulb and Time; flash sync 1/200 second | Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter, 1/8000 to 30 seconds and Bulb; tested to 200000 cycles. X-sync 1/250 second, up to 1/320 with reduced flash range |
| Burst detail | Approximately 5 fps with manual focus, S/M exposure, 1/250 second or faster and other settings at defaults | Approximately 4 fps full FX or 5:4; 5 fps DX or 1.2× crop on EN-EL15. DX reaches 6 fps with optional MB-D12 using EN-EL18 or AA batteries, or an AC adapter; 1.2× remains 5 fps. Quiet single-frame, mirror-up and configurable self-timer modes |
| Stabilisation detail | Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation | VR depends on attached lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation |
| Flash | Built-in pop-up flash; guide number approximately 7 m at ISO 100, 20°C, or 8 at manual full output; accessory shoe | Built-in i-TTL pop-up flash, guide number approximately 12 m at ISO 100, 20°C; commander for two remote groups, hot shoe, PC sync terminal and compatible Auto FP Speedlights |
| Exposure controls | P/S/A/M, Auto, flash-off Auto, scene and special-effects modes; beginner Guide mode; 420-pixel RGB metering with matrix, centre-weighted and spot modes; ±5 EV compensation; Active D-Lighting on/off | P/S/A/M; 91000-pixel RGB matrix, centre-weighted and spot metering; ±5 EV compensation, exposure/flash and white-balance bracketing; two-exposure HDR, interval timer and dual-axis virtual horizon. Japan centre-weighted default is 12 mm and spot range 2–20 EV; USA lists 8 mm and 0–20 EV |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 1920 × 1080 at 60 fps | 1920 × 1080 at 30 fps |
| Video detail | H.264 MOV at Full HD 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p or 720p 60p/50p; actual NTSC rates 59.94/29.97/23.976. Maximum 29 minutes 59 seconds, reduced to 20 or ten minutes depending on frame-rate/quality settings, or three minutes with Miniature Effect | FX- or DX-based 1920 × 1080 at 30p/25p/24p; 1280 × 720 at 60p/50p/30p/25p; MOV H.264/MPEG-4 AVC and linear PCM audio. High quality up to 20 minutes, normal up to 29 min 59 s; time-lapse movies and uncompressed HDMI output. Photography Blog's 1920 × 1280 movie caption conflicts with Nikon's 1920 × 1080 specification; DPReview introductory VGA listing conflicts with the own maker specification |
| Audio | Built-in mono microphone with adjustable sensitivity and linear PCM recording; no external microphone input. Photography Blog describes stereo sound, differing from Nikon’s technical specification | Built-in mono microphone; 3.5 mm external stereo input and headphone output; adjustable microphone sensitivity |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical | Optical |
| Screen size | 3″ | 3.2″ |
| Screen dots | 921,000 | 921,000 |
| Touchscreen | – | No |
| Tilting screen | – | No |
| Display detail | Fixed 3-inch TFT; approximately 921000 dots in the US, rounded to 920000 in Japan; 170° viewing angle and approximately 100% coverage; dots count subpixels | Fixed 3.2-inch TFT, approximately 921000 dots USA/global or 920000 Japan; 170° viewing angle, approximately 100% coverage and automatic brightness adjustment; top status LCD, BM-12 protective cover and live view |
| Viewfinder detail | Pentamirror; approximately 95% coverage, 0.85× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity and 18 mm eyepoint | Pentaprism, approximately 100% FX coverage, 97% DX/1.2× and 100% vertical/97% horizontal 5:4 in Japan; USA gives 97% both axes for 5:4. Approximately 0.7× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity, 17 mm eyepoint, grid display and depth-of-field preview; current USA calls it a pentamirror, conflicting with the combined Japan pentaprism specification |
| Connections and design | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 1550 photographs | 900 photographs |
| Body weight | 365 g (better) | 900 g |
| Release detail | Nikon Japan records first sale on 28 September 2018; global announcement on 30 August 2018 | April 2012 release month; Nikon Japan records actual first sale on 12 April, with global announcement dated 7 February. The regional day does not establish earliest worldwide sale; this model was co-marketed with D800 |
| Recording media | One SD/SDHC/SDXC slot; UHS-I support for SDHC/SDXC | One Type I CompactFlash slot with UDMA and one SD/SDHC/SDXC slot with UHS-I; overflow, backup, RAW/JPEG split and copying between cards |
| Ports | Hi-Speed Micro-USB and HDMI Type C; no wired accessory terminal, external microphone socket or infrared remote receiver | USB 3.0 Micro-B, mini HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, PC sync and 10-pin remote/GPS terminal; optional UT-1 provides wired LAN |
| Wireless connections | Bluetooth 4.1 with SnapBridge; automatic transfer of two-megapixel JPEGs and smartphone time/location synchronisation. Nikon’s updated announcement supports Bluetooth remote still capture using SnapBridge 2.5, manual original-JPEG transfer, and excludes RAW/movie transfer; no Wi-Fi | No built-in Wi-Fi or GPS; optional WT-4 networking or WT-5 with UT-1, GP-1 GPS and WR-R10 with WR-A10 adapter or WR-1 remote. Current Japan lists later accessory support |
| Battery life detail | EN-EL14a rechargeable lithium-ion battery; approximately 1550 photographs per charge under CIPA testing with Bluetooth disabled | EN-EL15, approximately 900 CIPA shots; optional MB-D12 takes EN-EL15, EN-EL18 with BL-5 cover or eight AA cells. Japan gives 1400 shots for grip EN-EL18 or 1000 with alkaline AA, without simultaneously counting the body's battery |
| Charging | External MH-24 charger; optional EH-5c/EH-5b AC adapter with EP-5A power connector | External MH-25 charger; optional EH-5b AC adapter with EP-5B connector |
| Dimensions | Approximately 124 × 97 × 69.5 mm | Approximately 146 × 123 × 81.5 mm Japan; current USA gives 144.78 × 121.92 × 81.28 mm |
| Weight detail | Approximately 365 g body only or 415 g including battery and SD card, excluding body cap | Approximately 900 g body only; 1000 g with battery and SD card, excluding body cap |
| Materials | Slim monocoque body structure with a deeper grip and most operational buttons grouped on the right of the rear panel | Magnesium-alloy body with dust/water-resistant sealing |
| Colours | Black | Black |
| In the box | EN-EL14a battery, MH-24 charger, AN-DC3 strap, BF-1B body cap and DK-25 eyecup | EN-EL15, MH-25, DK-17 eyepiece, UC-E14 USB cable and clip, AN-DC6E strap, BM-12 monitor cover, BF-1B body cap, BS-1 shoe cover and ViewNX 2 CD-ROM (Japan D800E package) |
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