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 Pentax K-r 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). Pentax K-r has external dimensions of 125 x 97 x 68 mm (4.92 x 3.82 x 2.68″) and weighs 598 g (1.32 lb / 21.09 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 25mm narrower, 37mm shorter and 39mm thinner than Pentax K-r.
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r.
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r.
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r Size
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 (366g ) than the Pentax K-r 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 Pentax K-r 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 Pentax K-r lenses.
Weight Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Pentax K-r 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 Pentax K-r'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 has a 18.0MP 1" (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 4 processor. On the other hand, Pentax K-r has a 12.0MP APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Prime II processor.
Nikon 1 J4's sensor provides 6MP more than Pentax K-r's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and K-r sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r Cameras
As seen above, Pentax K-r has a 3.2x 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 Pentax K-r has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 151 lenses for Pentax K-r's Pentax KAF2 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. Pentax K-r has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. On the other hand, Nikon 1 J4 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 7 lenses for Nikon 1 mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.
Lens Type |
# of Nikon 1 J4 Lenses |
# of Pentax K-r Lenses |
Standard Zoom |
4 |
22 |
Standard Prime |
2 |
20 |
Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
12 |
Wideangle Prime |
2 |
24 |
Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
21 |
Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
12 |
SuperZoom |
2 |
15 |
Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
3 |
Macro Prime |
n/a |
14 |
Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
8 |
Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
TOTAL |
13 |
151 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Pentax K-r 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
Pentax K-r 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 (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Pentax K-r 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 (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Large Body
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Pentax K-r 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
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/6000s
9 Cross Type Focus sensors
11 Focus Points
Average Continuous Shooting: 6.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Pentax K-r for Daily Photography
Large APS-C (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
598g
Body Thickness 68mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Pentax K-r 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 (23.6 x 15.8 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
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 Pentax K-r, 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 Pentax K-r scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Pentax K-r
Ranked
#33 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked
#241 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Pentax K-r 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, Pentax K-r is the better camera overall.
General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Pentax K-r |
Brand |
Nikon |
Pentax |
Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2011-03-11 |
Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Compact SLR |
Sensor |
|
|
Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
Size |
1" |
APS-C |
Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
23.6 x 15.8 mm |
Area |
116.16mm2 |
372.88mm2 |
Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
4288 x 2848 |
Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
12,800 ISO |
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
25600 ISO |
Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
200 ISO |
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity |
- |
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 |
11 |
Lens |
|
|
Manual Focus |
|
|
Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
Pentax KAF2 |
Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
151 |
Screen |
|
|
Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
Size |
3" |
3" |
Resolution |
1,037k dots |
921k dots |
Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
Viewfinder |
None |
Optical (pentamirror) |
Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
96% |
Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.57x |
Photography Features |
|
|
Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/4000s |
1/6000s |
Max Electronic Shutter |
1/16000s |
n/a |
Shutter Priority |
|
|
Aperture Priority |
|
|
Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
Custom White Balance |
|
|
Image Stabilization |
No |
Sensor-shift |
Built-in Flash |
|
|
Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
12.00 m (at ISO 100) |
Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/180s |
External Flash |
|
|
Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
6.0 fps |
Multi-Segment |
|
|
Average |
|
|
Spot |
|
|
Partial |
|
|
AF-Area |
|
|
Center Weighted |
|
|
AE Bracketing |
|
|
WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
1280 x 720 |
Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
Motion JPEG |
Microphone Port |
|
|
Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
Environmental Sealing |
|
|
Weight |
232g |
598g |
Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
125 x 97 x 68mm |
Battery Life |
300 shots |
470 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
Timelapse Recording |
|
|
GPS |
None |
Optional |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
72 |
DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
22.9 |
DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
12.4 |
DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
755 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |