Nikon D3400 and Nikon D5300 are two entry level DSLR cameras that are equipped with precisely the same sensor size. What make them different are the detail specs they have. Overall, Nikon D5300 is equipped with higher specs than its little brother.
One question, should you buy Nikon D3400 or 5300?
In case you didn’t know, Nikon D5300 is not the latest version. Currently, this camera model has been replaced by D5500 and D5600. Be it D5300, D5500 or D5600 still use the same sensor. There are some new features added to newer versions.
Nikon D5300 itself was announced in October 2013 while D3400 was announced in August 2016. At the time of writing, Nikon hasn’t released the updated version of D3400. The most visible difference between Nikon D3400 and D5300 is the display. Nikon D5300 offers an articulated screen although doesn’t support touch operation, while D3400 doesn’t offer the same thing.
Of course, there are also some differences between these cameras other than screen. Including the ones related to the technical aspects of photography. Let’s figure out what features make them different by taking a look at the table below.
Specs comparison: Nikon D3400 vs Nikon D5300
[table id=50 /]Regarding the technical aspects of photography, triangle exposure is one of the most important thing. When applied to camera, this concept involves three camera settings: ISO, shutter speed and aperture. While aperture is determined by the lens you use, ISO and shutter speed are depending on your camera specs. Both Nikon D3400 and D5300 have the same ISO range as well as shutter speed range of 100 – 25600 and 1/4000 – 30.0, respectively.
However, D5300 can — in theory — perform better at taking the pictures moving objects. With the precisely same exposure triangle of setting, D5300 should be capable of generating photos with better focus. The reason is because this camera has more autofocus points than D3400. One of the benefits of autofocus point is to help your job in photographing moving objects. The more autofocus points a camera has, the better it in photographing moving object. In the context of this article, D5300 is the better.
When it comes to video recording capability, there is no difference between this cameras. They are not capable of recording 4K videos. The maximum video resolution these cameras can record is 1920 x 1080 with the frame rates of 60. Both cameras are already equipped with a sound recording.
| Nikon D3400
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Nikon D5300
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On the screen section, Nikon D5300 is also slightly better then its younger brother D3400. This camera model comes with a 3.2-inch articulated screen. It’s slightly larger than D3400 screen which only 3-inch. In addition, the screen of D5300 also has a tighter pixel density of 1037000 dots compared to 921000 dots belong to D3400. Be it Nikon D3400 or D5300 don’t offer touch screen display.
One section where Nikon D3400 is better than D5300 is the battery. Both cameras adopt the same technology of Li-ion for the battery, but the battery of D3400 has more capacity than D5300. On a single charge, the battery of Nikon D3400 can fire up the camera to take up to 1200 photos. The battery of D5300, on the other hand, is only capable of taking about 600 photos per charging. If you love the longer battery life of Nikon D3400 but need higher specs, you might can consider the D5600, the updated version of D5300 which is capable of taking about 970 photos per charging. Some features offered by D5300 that are not available on D3400 are exposure bracketing, white balance bracketing and GPS.
Sensor comparison: Nikon D3400 vs Nikon D5300
As mentioned on the opening paragraph of this article, Nikon D3400 and D5300 are two cameras with precisely the same sensor size. No different at all. So is the resolution. The sensor of these cameras has the sensor of 24.16 MP with the crop factor of 1.5. Take a look at the image we created below to see the difference between the sensor of Nikon D3400 and D5300 and you will find nothing is different, at all.
Body comparison: Nikon D3400 vs Nikon D5300
In addition to sensor, other aspect where D3400 and D5300 have in common is body dimension. Both cameras have the same body dimension as follows.
Photo results comparison: Nikon D3400 vs Nikon D5300
As the entry level DSLR cameras, the performance of Nikon D3400 and D5300 are not disappointing. They are capable of generating good photos. You can see the examples below to see how good the quality of the photos generated by these cameras. Just keep in mind that there are some factors affecting the quality of photos. On the technical factors, the lens you use as well as the settings also play an important role in determining the end results of the photos you take.
As usual, we have picked up some examples on Pixabay of the photos taken using both Nikon D3400 and D5300. You can also read the EXIF data of each photo to learn the used settings.
- Nikon D3400
- Nikon D5300
Conclusion
Both Nikon D3400 and D5300 are entry level DSLR cameras that are aimed at beginner photographers. The two have precisely the same sensor size. Even so, D5300 offers some features that D3400 doesn’t have. Like exposure bracketing, white balance bracketing and GPS.
Both Nikon D3400 and D5300 offer the same ISO range and shutter speed range of 100 – 25600 and 1/4000 – 30.0, respectively. D5300 — however — is a bit better at photographing moving object since it has more autofocus points. D5300 has the autofocus points of 39 while D3400 has only 11. One section where D3400 is better than D5300 is the battery life. On a single charge, you can use D3400 to take about 1200 photos, compared to D5300 which only cable of capturing about 600 photos.
Referring to the DxOMark score, thesecameras have a good quality as they earned high enough score during the DxOMark test. Nikon D3400 and D5300, respectively, earned the score of 86 and 83 during the DxOMark test. At the time of writing, Nikon D3400 is the entry level DSLR with the highest score on DxOMark. None of other entry level DSLRs — including from Canon — has the higher score than D3400.