Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Nikon D3400 with the new 18-55mm and 70-300mm AF-P lenses cannot be beat at the current price ($500). The D3400 camera body and compact and light for a DSLR. The 18-55mm lens is what you would expect from a kit lens and has VR (vibration reduction, the Nikon version of image stabilization). The 70-300mm is great for when you need more reach and is fast focusing. Nikon sells a VR version of the 70-300mm lens, however, they included a non-VR version in this package. That is disappointing, as the image stabilization would be helpful at longer zooms at slower shutter speeds. I plan to use this lens primarily for outdoor sports with faster shutter speeds, so it won't make much of a difference for me, but it would be nice to have the VR for indoor or low light outdoor situations. Also, Nikon has added software to this camera so it will not function with 3rd party batteries installed. I learned this the hard way and will be sending back the 3rd party batteries I purchased. However, I've been told that there are new 3rd party batteries that have found a way around this. I'm waiting for mine to arrive to confirm this. I've attached some sample images I took from both lenses on the D3400 from a trip to the zoo's Festival of Lights. I used the 70-300mm for most of the outdoor animals while the sun was up, then switched to the 18-55mm for indoor animals and to take pictures of the lights (using a monopod) once the sun went down.