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 a3500 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 a3500 has external dimensions of 128 x 91 x 85 mm (5.04 x 3.58 x 3.35″) and weighs 411 g (0.91 lb / 14.50 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 28mm narrower, 31mm shorter and 56mm thinner than Sony a3500.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 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 (179g ) than the Sony a3500 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 a3500 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 a3500 lenses.
Weight Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Thickness Comparison
Mirrorless Cameras
Weather Sealing
Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Sony Alpha a3500 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
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500'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, Sony a3500 has a 20.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features BIONZ image processor processor.
Below you can see the 1 J4 and a3500 sensor size comparison.
![Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 Cameras
As seen above, Sony a3500 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 Sony a3500 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 128 lenses for Sony a3500's Sony E 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 31 lenses for Sony E mount with IS.
| Lens Type |
# of Nikon 1 J4 Lenses |
# of Sony a3500 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
4 |
12 |
| Standard Prime |
2 |
18 |
| Wideangle Zoom |
1 |
7 |
| Wideangle Prime |
2 |
42 |
| Telephoto Zoom |
2 |
9 |
| Telephoto Prime |
n/a |
18 |
| SuperZoom |
2 |
8 |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
n/a |
2 |
| Macro Prime |
n/a |
8 |
| Perspective Control Prime |
n/a |
2 |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
n/a |
| TOTAL |
13 |
128 |
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 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 a3500 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 (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography
Sony a3500 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 (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography
Sony a3500 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
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Average Continuous Shooting: 4.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography
Sony a3500 for Daily Photography
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
411g
Body Thickness 85mm
Read the details
Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography
Sony a3500 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 (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
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 Sony a3500, 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 a3500 scores compare:
Nikon 1 J4
Ranked
#70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony a3500
Ranked
#78 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#339 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Nikon 1 J4 has a higher Overall Score than the Sony a3500 and would be our choice if we have to decide between these two cameras.
| General |
Nikon 1 J4 |
Sony Alpha a3500 |
| Brand |
Nikon |
Sony |
| Announced |
2014-04-10 |
2014-03-21 |
| Body Type |
Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CMOS |
| Size |
1" |
APS-C |
| Dimensions |
13.2 x 8.8 mm |
23.5 x 15.6 mm |
| Area |
116.16mm2 |
366.60mm2 |
| Megapixels |
18 megapixels |
20 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
5232 x 3488 |
5456 x 3632 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
12,800 ISO |
16,000 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 |
25 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Nikon 1 |
Sony E |
| Number of Available Lenses |
13 |
128 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Fixed type |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3" |
3" |
| Resolution |
1,037k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
None |
Electronic |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
n/a |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
n/a |
0.47x |
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 |
Optical |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
5.00 m (ISO 100) |
6.00 m (at ISO200 / 4m at ISO100) |
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
160s |
| 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 |
AVCHD, H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
232g |
411g |
| Dimensions |
100 x 60 x 29mm |
128 x 91 x 85mm |
| Battery Life |
300 shots |
470 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |