Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs.
In this section, We are going to illustrate Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Nikon 1 J4 has external dimensions of 100 x 60 x 29 mm (3.92 x 2.36 x 1.12″) and weighs 232 g (0.51 lb / 8.18 oz) (including batteries). Canon 550D has external dimensions of 129 x 98 x 62 mm (5.08 x 3.86 x 2.44″) and weighs 530 g (1.17 lb / 18.70 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 29mm narrower, 38mm shorter and 33mm thinner than Canon 550D.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Nikon 1 J4 is significantly lighter (298g ) than the Canon 550D which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.
Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Canon 550D has an APS-C sized sensor and Nikon 1 J4 has a smaller 1" sensor, Nikon 1 J4's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Canon 550D lenses.
Weight Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Canon EOS 550D (EOS Rebel T2i / EOS Kiss X4) provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections: Top Mirrorless Cameras with Weather Sealing Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.
Both Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D have 18.0 MP resolution sensors but Nikon 1 J4's sensor is 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) and Canon 550D's sensor is APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm ).
Since Canon 550D's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Nikon 1 J4.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and 550D sensor size comparison.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D Cameras
As seen above, Canon 550D has a 2.9x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 J4. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Canon 550D has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 326 lenses for Canon 550D's Canon EF/EF-S mount, on the other hand there are only 13 lenses for Nikon 1 J4's Nikon 1 lens mount.
Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 7 lenses for Nikon 1 mount and 112 lenses for Canon EF/EF-S mount with IS.
| Lens Type |
# of Nikon 1 J4 Lenses |
# of Canon 550D Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
4 |
40 |
| Standard Prime |
2 |
19 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
37 |
| Wideangle Prime |
2 |
49 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
58 |
| Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
43 |
| SuperZoom |
2 |
28 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
7 |
| Macro Prime |
n/a |
28 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
16 |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
1 |
| TOTAL |
13 |
326 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.
Nikon 1 J4 for Portrait Photography
Canon 550D for Portrait Photography
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Canon 550D for Street Photography
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Canon 550D for Sports Photography
Fast Continuous Shooting: 60.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
105 Cross Type Focus sensors
171 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Canon 550D for Daily Photography
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Large Body
530g
Body Thickness 62mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Canon 550D for Landscape Photography
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Large APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D, below you can find their scores in five different aspects.
Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.
Here is a summary of how Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Canon 550D
Ranked
#37 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked
#277 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Canon 550D is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon 1 J4 in all criteria except one: Portability.
If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Nikon 1 J4. Otherwise, Canon 550D is the better camera overall.
| General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Canon EOS 550D |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Canon |
| Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2010-04-01 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Compact SLR |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
1" |
APS-C |
| Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
22.3 x 14.9 mm |
| Area |
116.16mm2 |
332.27mm2 |
| Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
18 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
5184 x 3456 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
6,400 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
12800 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
100 ISO |
| RAW Support |
|
|
Autofocus |
|
|
| AF Touch |
|
|
| AF Continuous |
|
|
| AF Single |
|
|
| AF Tracking |
|
|
| AF Selective |
|
|
| AF Center |
|
|
| AF Multi Area |
|
|
| AF Live View |
|
|
| AF Face Detection |
|
|
| AF Contrast Detection |
|
|
| AF Phase Detection |
|
|
| Number of Focus Points |
171 |
9 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
Canon EF/EF-S |
| Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
326 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,037k dots |
1,040k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
None |
Optical (pentamirror) |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
95% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.55x |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/4000s |
1/4000s |
| Max Electronic Shutter |
1/16000s |
n/a |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
13.00 m |
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/200s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
4.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
1920 x 1080 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Eye-Fi Connected |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
232g |
530g |
| Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
129 x 98 x 62mm |
| Battery Life |
300 shots |
470 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
66 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
22.0 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
11.6 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
807 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |