The Nikon D3300 is a fantastic entry-level DSLR camera that is super friendly for beginners.
With its powerful 24MP APS-C sensor, Expeed 4 processor, upgraded 1080/60p video recording, 5 fps shooting in burst mode, and an ISO range of up to 12800, it’s got everything you need in a camera.
It also makes for an excellent blogging camera!
Perfect for beginners but still suitable for professionals and experienced photographers, we love the D3300.
But if you’re looking to step up your game and specialize in specific types of photography, getting a new lens might be a good idea.
Don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of lenses on the market today. With the right research and guide, you’ll get your ideal lens in no time!
Today, we’ll look at the top 15 lenses for the Nikon D3300, categorized by type.
Want a quick answer? Check out the Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 DX!
When picking out the right lens for your Nikon D3300, here are some factors to consider…
The first one would be focal length, which is denoted in millimeters and determines how far the sensor is from the lens’ center. This is also what affects the magnification of your images.
For instance, a long lens can zoom in farther, making it perfect for shooting subjects from a distance. Meanwhile, a short lens can fit a wider angle in one scene and is more suitable for landscapes and architecture.
Another important feature of a lens is its maximum aperture. This is measured by a number and influences the amount of light that can enter the lens, and therefore its low light performance.
The larger the number, the narrower the aperture, and the less it’s able to photograph in low light. On the other hand, a smaller number (like f/1.8) means the aperture can open wider.
Don’t ignore the size and weight of your lens, especially because the D3300 is a pretty light DSLR camera. You don’t want anything too big and bulky if you’re planning to travel around a lot, and make sure that your equipment can all fit into your camera backpack.
However, some lenses will naturally be less portable due to their more complex sensors and larger mechanics. Especially longer lenses like telephoto!
The Nikon D3300 does not come with image stabilization, which means it might be worth looking for a lens that is fitted with a good stabilization.
This will make taking good, blur-free shots much easier, even if you’re working handheld and in darker conditions. And yes, gimbals are great for producing pro-level content, but sometimes you need simplicity and convenience!
Another important part from buying a camera lens is the budget. How much do you want to spend on the lens, on top of the camera itself?
If photography is your main job or a part of it, it will probably pay off to invest in a good quality and high-end lens. But if you’re just starting out or only dabbling in photography, it may be wise to choose something more affordable and all-round!
Another thing to pay attention to is the lens construction, which includes its build quality and ruggedness. It’s always great to have a well-built lens that can last you for years.
Not to mention weather-sealing, which can be a huge plus if you’re going to be shooting outdoors a lot. Some lenses come with dust, moisture, and even splash resistance.
Lastly, you should know what type of lens you need before buying them. It’s going to make the whole process faster too as you’ll only need to look at specific lenses.
Do you want a versatile everyday lens or a more particular type, like a macro lens? Whatever it is, take a look at some of the most popular lens types below!
There are several common types of Nikon D3300 lenses, including:
Perhaps the most basic type of lens you’ll find is the standard prime lens. It has a fixed focal length that you cannot zoom in or out, which may not sound versatile, but can produce the sharpest, highest resolution photos.
Moreover, prime lenses are often more lightweight and compact, which means they’re a favorite among travel bloggers who still want to capture the most stunning, high-quality images while on the road.
On the flip side, there’s the standard zoom lens which has a variable focal length that you can change. As it’s zoomable, it can be very easy to reframe your scene without physically changing your position.
We love zoom lenses for their versatility, and an everyday zoom lens allows you to capture almost anything. With just one lens, you can cover a wide range of situations.
It’s technically possible to capture portraits with whatever lens, but special portrait lenses usually have a flattering focal length and wide aperture. The first allows you to reproduce the facial features realistically, while the latter is useful for creating gorgeous background blurs.
Some portrait lenses are longer so you can focus only on the subject’s face, while others are shorter and can also capture the background in crisp details.
A macro lens refers to lenses that can produce life-sized or 1:1 magnification, and is great at capturing extreme details in impressive sharpness. Common subjects of macro photography are flowers, bugs, insects, textiles, and even water droplets.
This lens type typically has a close minimum focus distance that allows you to maintain sharp focus even when you’re super close with the subject.
There’s also the wide-angle lens, which as its name suggests, can capture a scene from a wide and vast perspective, letting you fit more of a scene in one frame. Wide-angle lenses are mainly used to shoot sprawling landscapes, tall architecture, wide interiors, and group photos.
We also think the wide-angle excels for street and astro photography, especially if it has a wide aperture.
Have you ever seen paparazzis and sports photographers with their humongous lenses? Those are most likely telephoto lenses, designed for long distance photography thanks to their powerful zoom capabilities.
A telephoto lens is larger, heavier, and more expensive than most other lenses. But they’re really great for shooting wildlife, events, and weddings.
Last but not least, let’s talk about specialty lenses! These are lenses with exaggerated features that are usually reserved for more creative uses, and may not appeal to the general user.
One example is the fisheye lens. Its ultra-wide-angle perspective can produce very dramatic shots.
Minimum focus distance: 0.45 m
Focal length: 18-300 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 77 mm
Weight: 830 g
Size (diameter x length): 83 x 120 mm
A brilliant all-round lens that we’d recommend to any Nikon D3300 user is the Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 DX, a powerful zoom lens to cover every imaginable shooting situation.
It’s got a long reach that can give you amazing telephoto close-ups as well as beautiful wide-angled images. This lens also produces sharp HD videos—a dream lens for every photographer and videographer.
The Nikon VR image stabilization ensures 3.5 stops of blue-free photos, which can be useful for when you’re shooting handheld.
Meanwhile, the other technologies offer superb optics, including the Aspherical and Extra-low Dispersion glass elements for excellent contrast and reduced flare and ghosting.
Not to mention the Silent Wave Motor that delivers impressively fast but silent autofocus!
All in all, this is what you should go for if you want to do it all without having to constantly change your lenses.
Minimum focus distance: 0.3 m
Focal length: 35 mm
Maximum aperture: f/1.8
Filter diameter: 52 mm
Weight: 200 g
Size (diameter x length): 70 x 52.5 mm
If you prefer a prime lens for your everyday photography, we’d recommend the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX.
It’s a much smaller and more lightweight alternative, which is great if you want to travel around with it and don’t need powerful telephoto capabilities.
This lens is especially great for portrait, landscape, and street photography, while its f/1.8 Maximum aperture is fantastic in low light.
Plus, it produces gorgeous background blurs!
It also comes with a fast and quiet focusing, and is pretty affordable, especially when you consider its outstanding optics.
At just 200g, we think this really is the perfect lens to take on any of your trips, including to places like Sri Lanka.
Minimum focus distance: 0.49 m
Focal length: 18-200 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 72 mm
Weight: 560 g
Size (diameter x length): 77 x 96.5 mm
The Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G is another excellent zoom lens you might want to check out. It’s cheaper than the Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 DX, but is still impressive in its quality.
With a great 11x zoom range, you can use this for landscapes as well as portraits and telephoto
The Vibration Reduction ensures clear and crisp images every time, and this is useful for handheld shooting.
In addition to excellent AF performance, it also features Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating for better light transmission and consistent colors.
Plus, the decent build quality is good enough to last you a while!
While it’s not necessarily the lightest lens for the D3300, it’s still compact enough that it’s great to travel with!
Minimum focus distance: 0.28 m
Focal length: 18-55 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 52 mm
Weight: 210 g
Size (diameter x length): 70.5 x 74 mm
The Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G is a super lightweight and compact zoom lens that’s great for those on a budget.
Although affordable, it can give you clear photos and videos with high contrast, while the 3.1x zoom range is versatile enough to cover various shots, from portraits to sceneries.
We also love its close 0.28m minimum focusing distance, which allows you to get up close with your subject.
With Nikon’s signature Super Integrated Coating, you’ll get minimal ghosting and flare. Whereas the ED glass element ensures reduced chromatic aberration and enhanced optics.
One of its main downsides is the narrow aperture, although it’s decent enough that you can still capture bright images in relatively low light.
Minimum focus distance: 0.8 m
Focal length: 85 mm
Maximum aperture: f/1.8
Filter diameter: 67 mm
Weight: 350 g
Size (diameter x length): 80 x 73 mm
When it comes to portrait lenses, few can beat the Nikon 85 mm f/1.8G. It’s one of our go-to choices for several cameras, including the Nikon D3300.
This medium telephoto lens is especially great for human subjects and works amazingly well in low light.
Another highlight is the focusing mode, which lets you change between AF and manual focus simply by turning the focus ring. There’s no lag time at all!
Not to mention that it can produce beautiful bokeh—always a huge plus when shooting portraiture.
Moreover, you can use it for recording HD videos, and the silent autofocus won’t add any background noise to your footage.
Minimum focus distance: 0.45 m
Focal length: 50 mm
Maximum aperture: f/1.8
Filter diameter: 58 mm
Weight: 185 g
Size (diameter x length): 72.1 x 5.4 mm
The Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is what we’d consider the best nifty fifty lens for the D330, thanks to its outstanding versatility for everyday photography.
The 50mm focal length is perfect for portraits, but we also love using this for other shots.
It’s also super compact and lightweight, making it a fantastic lens for traveling!
This lens comes with Super Integrated Coating for minimal flare and more efficient light transmission, which will produce consistent coloration.
Another reason we love it is the creamy bokeh you can get, so you can achieve beautiful images with the subject standing out from the blurred background.
Minimum focus distance: 0.163 m
Focal length: 40 mm
Maximum aperture: f/2.8
Filter diameter: 52 mm
Weight: 235 g
Size (diameter x length): 68.5 x 64.5 mm
Three types of macro lenses include short, medium, and long, and the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 Micro is the best short macro lens you’ll find for the D3300.
It comes with a rounded 7-blade diaphragm and a pretty wide aperture, which together deliver beautiful bokeh.
There’s also the Silent Wave Motor with its precise and silent autofocus, as well as high resolution and gorgeous contrast.
Plus, the Nikon 40mm f/2.8 has a good focal length that lets you capture wide-angle shots in addition to close-up macros.
Of course, its compact and lightweight design makes it nice to bring on any trip.
Minimum focus distance: 0.286 m
Focal length: 85 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 52 mm
Weight: 355 g
Size (diameter x length): 73 x 98.5 mm
For the overall best macro lens, the winner today is the Nikon 85mm f/3.5 Micro DX.
This versatile medium telephoto macro lens is great for close-ups, macro shots, and even portraits.
Although the f/3.5 aperture is not the widest you can get, this lens has Vibration Reduction image stabilization, which is useful when you’re shooting handheld.
Most importantly, the life-sized reproduction ratio is ideal for macro photography
From flowers, insects, leaves, and even portraits, you name it!
Moreover, it’s got the Silent Wave Motor for fast and quiet focusing, as well as Extra-low Dispersion glass elements to ensure the best sharpness and color reproduction.
Minimum focus distance: 0.24 m
Focal length: 10-24 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 77 mm
Weight: 460 g
Size (diameter x length): 82.5 x 87 mm
The Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 is a great wide-angle lens with a versatile zoom range, which can cover different types of landscape and architectural shots.
The 10mm range can cover a 109-degree angle of view, which is almost fisheye! This creative edge can be fun to experiment with.
With a close minimum focus distance of just 0.24m, it’s easy to fit in a wide perspective in a tight space.
This lens also takes decent HD videos! And thanks to Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor, you’ll get fast autofocus that’s also accurate and silent.
Minimum focus distance: 0.22 m
Focal length: 10-20 mm
Maximum aperture: f/4.5
Filter diameter: 72 mm
Weight: 230 g
Size (diameter x length): 77 x 73 mm
Another wide-angle lens we’d recommend is the Nikon 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6 DX. It’s even much smaller and more lightweight, at only 230g!
It’s super convenient to travel with, including to places with breathtaking sceneries like Bali.
It’s got the perfect focal range to capture anything from landscapes and cityscapes to interiors and large group photos.
In addition to fast and quiet autofocusing, the Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization makes your video footage smooth and professional-like.
It can also be useful to get close to your subjects (up to 0.22m) when you’re shooting in small spaces.
The three AS lens elements minimize distortion, while the Super Integrated Coating ensures no lens flare and ghosting.
Minimum focus distance: 0.3 m
Focal length: 11-16 mm
Maximum aperture: f/2.8
Filter diameter: 77 mm
Weight: 555 g
Size (diameter x length): 84 x 89 mm
And when it comes to shooting beautiful night skies, you do have to use a wide-angle lens, but make sure that it has a wide aperture! Like the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.
Designed as an ultra-wide zoom lens with a fast f/2.8 aperture, it’s a fantastic lens that performs well in low light.
This is because the depth of field is easy to control, even in manual shooting.
It offers excellent optics thanks to the two aspherical glass elements and two Super-Low Dispersion glass elements. They ensure excellent resolution and contrast throughout the image.
Not to mention the anti-reflective multi-layer coating for less reflection!
Minimum focus distance: 1.2 m
Focal length: 70-300 mm
Maximum aperture: f/4.5
Filter diameter: 67 mm
Weight: 680 g
Size (diameter x length): 80.5 x 146 mm
Moving on to the telephoto range, we can’t recommend the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 enough!
It features good image quality, excellent autofocusing, and VR image stabilization that will make your long distance photography much easier.
Whether photos or videos, you’ll have a fun time shooting sports, action, weddings, wildlife, and even concerts.
While this lens is quite long and bulky, its weight of 680g is actually not bad for its powerful telephoto zoom.
Plus, the stepping motor (AF-P) ensures faster and more silent focusing.
And despite the narrow aperture, we love how its nine-blade rounded diaphragm can produce creamy and smooth bokeh!
Minimum focus distance: 0.3 m
Focal length: 30 mm
Maximum aperture: f/1.4
Filter diameter: 62 mm
Weight: 435 g
Size (diameter x length): 74.2 x 63.3 mm
The Sigma 30mm F1.4 Art DC HSM is the lens to go for if you want to experiment with the creamiest and most natural background blurs.
It’s got a really wide aperture of f/1.4, which is perfect for shooting in low light, while the rounded 9-blade diaphragm helps in creating bokeh.
The 30mm focal length also offers a natural angle of view that can be ideal for portraits, while it’s still wide-angled enough for wider perspectives.
Thanks to the double aspheric lens, your photos will be free of coma and spherical distortion.
Moreover, it comes with a hood and AF/MF switch to ensure intuitive use, whereas the hypersonic motor delivers speedy and quiet autofocus.
Minimum focus distance: 0.39 m
Focal length: 18-200 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: 62 mm
Weight: 430 g
Size (diameter x length): 70.7 x 86 mm
The Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM is an excellent travel lens, mostly because of its super versatile and useful focal range.
Its powerful 7x zoom range is packed in an impressively compact build, and can be used for different shots: landscape and sceneries, telephoto, portraits, street, and even some macro shots.
This lens also has a remarkable optical performance with high resolution!
It’s got a compact Optical Stabilizer unit with Thermally Stable Composite for a precise and high-quality construction.
Minimum focus distance: 0.3 m
Focal length: 8 mm
Maximum aperture: f/3.5
Filter diameter: -
Weight: 417 g
Size (diameter x length): 75 x 74.8 mm
Finally, the Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 is a great fisheye lens for the Nikon D3300.
This ultra-wide-angle lens can produce a 180-degree angle of view for a dramatic and exaggerated perspective.
Its hybrid aspherical lenses and multi-layer coating ensure sharp photos with reduced lens flare and ghosting.
This lens also comes with a built-in petal-type lens hood!
While it doesn’t feature any AF, the manual focus is actually great for exploring this unique perspective and angle.
The Nikon 35mm f/1.8G DX is the best prime lens for the Nikon D3300 as it’s inexpensive, lightweight and compact, and super versatile. You can use this for different types of photography, and it also performs well in low light!
Yes, the Nikon D3300 is still a good camera in 2022, as it’s an affordable and versatile DSLR camera that comes with a decent kit lens.
The D3300 uses the Nikon F lens mount. There are hundreds of native lenses for this mount, but you can also try out some of the third-party lenses that we’ve recommended above.
The Nikon 85mm f/3.5 Micro DX is probably the best macro lens for the Nikon D3300
great medium telephoto macro lens with excellent optics and impressive sharpness, which is always important when shooting extreme close-ups.
The Nikon D3300 is a crop sensor camera, which means it puts a crop factor to any photos that it takes for a smaller field-of-view.
That’s all for today!
We hope you’ve found this helpful in choosing the right Nikon D3300 lens for you.
From portrait to wide-angle lenses, we’ve covered them all.
Can you think of any other that we’ve missed?
Which lens are you getting?
Let us know in the comments below!
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