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Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 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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Sony a3500

20 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony a3500
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Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 Comparison Overview

In this review, we will be comparing 1 J4 and a3500, two Entry-Level Mirrorless cameras from Nikon and Sony. Nikon 1 J4 has a 18.0MP 1" sensor whereas Sony a3500 has a 20.0MP APS-C sensor. Nikon 1 J4 was introduced to market in April 2014 and Sony a3500 was launched in March 2014. There is only 1 months difference between 1 J4 and a3500 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 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

Sony a3500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-03-21
  • 20MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 16000
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • Electronic viewfinder
  • 4 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 411g. 128 x 91 x 85 mm
  • Replaced Sony Alpha A3000 Compare

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon 1 J4 over Sony Alpha a3500
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs None Better connectivity
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Number of Focus Points
171 vs 25 146 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
1.037k dots vs 230k dots 350% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 4.0fps 56 fps faster
Weight
232 g vs 411 g 179 g lighter


Reasons to choose Sony Alpha a3500 over Nikon 1 J4
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
Max Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 18 MP 11% more pixels
Max ISO
16.000 vs 12.800 25% higher Max ISO
Battery Life
470 shots vs 300 shots 170 more frames with a single charge
Flash Coverage
6.0m vs 5.0m 1m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
18.50µm2 vs 6.36µm2 190% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR

Common Strengths of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony Alpha a3500
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 20 MP Bigger prints and more details
Common Weaknesses of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony Alpha a3500
In-body Image Stabilization
No vs Optical 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 Sony a3500: 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 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

1 J4
a3500
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

1 J4
a3500
Min
Average
Max

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 vs Sony a3500: Sensor Comparison

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.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500 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 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

What types of Photography are Nikon 1 J4 and Sony a3500 Good for?
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

POOR

Sony a3500 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 (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

AVERAGE

Sony a3500 for Street Photography

GOOD
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

GOOD

Sony a3500 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
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

AVERAGE

Sony a3500 for Daily Photography

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

POOR

Sony a3500 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 (23.5 x 15.6 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony a3500: 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 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
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #70 out of 126 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #327 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Sony a3500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
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.

Nikon 1 J4
Nikon 1 J4
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Sony a3500
Sony a3500
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Sony a3500 vs Nikon 1 J4 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
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
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