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Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D Comparison

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Nikon 1 J4

18 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon 1 J4
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Canon 550D

18 MP | APS-C (22.3 x 14.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Canon 550D
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Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Nikon 1 J4, which was introduced in April 2014 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless camera with a 18.0MP 1" sensor whereas Canon 550D, which was introduced in April 2010 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 18.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, 550D is 4 years older than 1 J4. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Despite some fundamental differences of these two body types, Mirrorless cameras are becoming serious alternatives to DSLR cameras thanks to their size/weight advantages and recent improvements in their focus speeds , which makes this comparison even more interesting.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon 1 J4 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-04-10
  • 18MP - 1" CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 12800
  • Nikon 1 Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • 60 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 1,200 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 232g. 100 x 60 x 29 mm
  • Replaced Nikon 1 J3 Compare

Canon 550D Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2010-04-01
  • 18MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 6400 ( expands to 12800)
  • Canon EF/EF-S Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder
  • 4 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 530g. 129 x 98 x 62 mm
  • Also known as EOS Rebel T2i / EOS Kiss X4
  • Replaced Canon EOS 500D Compare

Canon 550D was replaced by Canon EOS 600D. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Canon EOS 600D vs Canon EOS 550D (EOS Rebel T2i / EOS Kiss X4)
Canon EOS 600D vs Nikon 1 J4

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon 1 J4 over Canon EOS 550D
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs Eye-Fi Connected Better connectivity
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Max ISO
12.800 vs 6.400 100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
171 vs 9 162 more focus points
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 4.0fps 56 fps faster
Weight
232 g vs 530 g 298 g lighter


Reasons to choose Canon EOS 550D over Nikon 1 J4
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Optical vs None Better framing and control
Battery Life
470 shots vs 300 shots 170 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage
13.0m vs 5.0m 8m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
18.54µm2 vs 6.36µm2 191% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon EOS 550D
Built-in Flash
Yes vs Yes Useful in low-light
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Max Resolution
18 MP vs 18 MP Bigger prints and more details
LCD Screen Resolution
1.037k dots vs 1.040k dots High resolution screens
Common Weaknesses of Nikon 1 J4 and Canon EOS 550D
In-body Image Stabilization
No vs No No Built-in stabilization
Fixed Screen
Fixed Type vs No No flexible viewing angles
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

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

1 J4
550D
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

1 J4
550D
Min
Average
Max

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.
Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D: Sensor Comparison

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.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

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

What types of Photography are Nikon 1 J4 and Canon 550D Good for?
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

POOR

Canon 550D for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
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

AVERAGE

Canon 550D for Street Photography

AVERAGE
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

GOOD

Canon 550D for Sports Photography

GOOD
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

AVERAGE

Canon 550D for Daily Photography

AVERAGE
232g
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
Read the details
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

POOR

Canon 550D for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
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

Nikon 1 J4 vs Canon 550D: OUR DECISION

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
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Canon 550D
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
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.

Nikon 1 J4
Nikon 1 J4
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Canon 550D
Canon 550D
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Canon 550D vs Nikon 1 J4 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
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
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