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Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 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 A65

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

Sony A65
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Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 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 Sony A65, which was introduced in November 2011 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 24.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, A65 is 3 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 Sony A65 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 A65 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-11-15
  • 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 12800 ( expands to 25600)
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in GPS
  • 622g. 132 x 97 x 81 mm

Sony A65 was replaced by Sony SLT-A68. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony SLT-A68 vs Sony SLT-A65
Sony SLT-A68 vs Nikon 1 J4

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Nikon 1 J4 over Sony SLT-A65
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs Eye-Fi Connected Better connectivity
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Number of Focus Points
171 vs 15 156 more focus points
Number of Cross Type Focus Points
105 vs 3 102 more cross type focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
1.037k dots vs 921k dots 12% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 10.0fps 50 fps faster
Weight
232 g vs 622 g 390 g lighter


Reasons to choose Sony SLT-A65 over Nikon 1 J4
Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
LCD Screen
Fully Articulated vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
GPS
BuiltIn vs None track your location
Max Sensor Resolution
24 MP vs 18 MP 33% more pixels
Battery Life
560 shots vs 300 shots 260 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Flash Coverage
10.0m vs 5.0m 5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
15.28µm2 vs 6.36µm2 140% larger pixel area
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies

Common Strengths of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony SLT-A65
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 24 MP Bigger prints and more details
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 10.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Common Weaknesses of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony SLT-A65
Environmental Sealing
No vs No not suitable for tough conditions
New4
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65: 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 A65 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 A65 has external dimensions of 132 x 97 x 81 mm (5.2 x 3.82 x 3.19″) and weighs 622 g (1.37 lb / 21.94 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 32mm narrower, 37mm shorter and 52mm thinner than Sony A65.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65.
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 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 (390g ) than the Sony A65 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 A65 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 A65 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

1 J4
A65
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

1 J4
A65
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Nikon 1 J4 nor Sony SLT-A65 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 A65's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Sony A65 sports a Fully Articulated screen which you can change the angle and position of the screen almost freely, making it possible to shoot from waist or over the head levels, and especially very useful for shooting selfies and video. Nikon 1 J4's LCD screen is a fixed type which provides almost no flexibility in shooting positions compared to A65.
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65: 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 A65 has a 24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.

Sony A65's sensor provides 6MP more than Nikon 1 J4'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 A65 sensor size comparison.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A65 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 A65 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 A65 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 143 lenses for Sony A65'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 A65 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 A65 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

What types of Photography are Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A65 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 A65 for Portrait Photography

GOOD
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: 24.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A65 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
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
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Large Body
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony A65 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
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
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
3 Cross Type Focus sensors
15 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 560 shots
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A65 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
Large Body
622g
Body Thickness 81mm
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A65 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: 24.0MP
Live-view
Built-in GPS
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A65: 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 A65, 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 A65 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 A65
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #8 out of 78 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #122 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A65 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 A65 is the better camera overall.

Nikon 1 J4
Nikon 1 J4
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Sony A65
Sony A65
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Sony A65 vs Nikon 1 J4 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon 1 J4 Sony SLT-A65
Brand Nikon Sony
Announced 2014-04-10 2011-11-15
Body Type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact SLR
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 24 megapixels
Max Resolution 5232 x 3488 6000 x 4000
Max Native Light sensitivity 12,800 ISO 12,800 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity - 25600 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 15
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Nikon 1 Sony/Minolta Alpha
Number of Available Lenses 13 143
Screen
Type Fixed type Fully Articulated
Size 3" 3"
Resolution 1,037k dots 921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 2,359k dots
Viewfinder Coverage n/a 100%
Viewfinder Magnification n/a 0.73x
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) 10.00 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/160s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 60.0 fps 10.0 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 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Eye-Fi Connected
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 232g 622g
Dimensions 100 x 60 x 29mm 132 x 97 x 81mm
Battery Life 300 shots 560 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None BuiltIn
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 74
DxO Color Depth not tested 23.4
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 12.6
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 717
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