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 Sony A550 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). Sony A550 has external dimensions of 137 x 104 x 84 mm (5.39 x 4.09 x 3.31″) and weighs 632 g (1.39 lb / 22.29 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 37mm narrower, 44mm shorter and 55mm thinner than Sony A550.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A550 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A550 Camera Size Comparison - Back View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550 Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A550 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550 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 (400g ) than the Sony A550 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 Sony A550 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 Sony A550 lenses.
Weight Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 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 Sony A550's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".
On the other hand, Sony A550 features a
Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Nikon 1 J4 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A550.
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, Sony A550 has a 14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and A550 sensor size comparison.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A550 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A550 has a 3.1x 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 Sony A550 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 143 lenses for Sony A550's Sony/Minolta Alpha 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. Sony A550 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 Sony A550 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
4 |
20 |
| Standard Prime |
2 |
9 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
11 |
| Wideangle Prime |
2 |
18 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
26 |
| Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
12 |
| SuperZoom |
2 |
19 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
4 |
| Macro Prime |
n/a |
12 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
10 |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
2 |
| TOTAL |
13 |
143 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A550 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
Sony A550 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Sony A550 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Sony A550 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 Continuous Shooting: 7.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Sony A550 for Daily Photography
Large APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Large Body
632g
Body Thickness 84mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Sony A550 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 (23.4 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
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 Sony A550, 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 Sony A550 scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony A550
Ranked
#36 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked
#273 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony A550 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, Sony A550 is the better camera overall.
| General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Sony |
| Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2009-12-09 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
Compact SLR |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
1" |
APS-C |
| Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
23.4 x 15.6 mm |
| Area |
116.16mm2 |
365.04mm2 |
| Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
14 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
4592 x 3056 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
12,800 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
160 ISO |
200 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 |
Sony/Minolta Alpha |
| Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
143 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Tilting |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,037k dots |
922k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
None |
Optical (pentamirror) |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
95% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.53x |
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 |
Sensor-shift |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
12.00 m |
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/160s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
60.0 fps |
7.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
1920 x 1080 |
None |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
n/a |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
232g |
632g |
| Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
137 x 104 x 84mm |
| Battery Life |
300 shots |
480 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
not tested |
66 |
| DxO Color Depth |
not tested |
21.9 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
not tested |
11.8 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
not tested |
807 |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |