We got this: https://www.kentfaith.com/fuji-lens-adapter/KF06.109_nikon-g-to-fuji-x-mount-adapter for exactly that application. It seems to work well with my son's XT3 and my lenses. We'll give it more of a trial when he's home for vacation.

This was taken outside of a high school in Bordeaux.

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Thanks for the welcome. What a friendly place!

It doesn't sound like your lens collection is compelling you stay with Nikon, let alone the DX format. That 50mm 1.8 is one of the best lenses ever made, but it's also one of the most common, and need not be a factor in your decision. As you've heard, a basic decision is mirrorless vs. DSLR. There are many great mirrorless cameras and systems in a variety of formats. Don't be put off by APS-C; Fuji's system, for example, produces beautiful images and is a hell of a lot of fun to use. I recently made a similar decision to move on from my Nikon D3200, and I went the opposite way, time-travelling to 2012: I bought a used D800 for 750€. It is still an amazing camera in terms of dynamic range and resolution, and I had acquired several Nikkor AF-D lenses that now autofocus again on the D800. The used market for Ais, AF, and AF-D lenses is huge, with many bargains out there. I just bought a 28-105 AFD zoom for 150€, and I am in total heaven with it. If you are a cheap bastard like me, think about this option.

If it has clock faces...

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It might not be clear that the ad is mounted on scaffolding. Selling advertising space is a common way to pay for restoration work on buildings in France. There have been some clever ads in that space, playing with the idea of the reflecting pool in front of this square, but this one is pretty gross!

One more thing to check out is the ability to easily transfer photos to a phone with WiFi or Bluetooth. I have no idea what the capabilities of the d3500 are there; a Fuji XT200, for example, has this and is going to be otherwise competitive with the d3500. I have it on good authority that 13 year-olds care about that sort of thing :)

You should be prepared for a long game here. We got a similarly nice camera (Panasonic Lumix LX7) for our son at that age, who lost all interest in photography 8 months later. He did take it up again and at 18 is a very serious photographer. Don't be hurt if things go that way.

The camera is great; I imagine some of the attraction is being able to share your gear with her. Otherwise you might consider something in the "advanced compact" class like the Lumix LX100. It's the successor to the LX7 and has a fantastic Leica lens.

Taken in Bordeaux in September 2020 as the COVID case rate started to climb again. Nikon d800 180mm 1/500 f7.1 ISO 500

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I'm Tim, an American living in Bordeaux, France. I grew up with photography -- my mother was a reporter for Life Magazine, and my parents set up a darkroom in our bathroom! I've dabbled for years, but during the Covid lock-down (confinement) here my son got very serious about photography and dragged me back into it. He's a Fujifilm user (XT-3); I bought a used Nikon d800 for a very reasonable price. I've having a ball with various Nikon lenses I've accumulated over the years. I mostly use darktable to edit my photographs.

Sunrise in Collioure


The miroir d'eau


place des Vosges, Paris