CameraDecision
  • CAMERAS
  • LENSES
  • TOOLS
    • Smart Find
    • 1-on-1 Comparison
    • Size Comparison
  • BRANDS
    • Sony Cameras
    • Canon Cameras
    • Nikon Cameras
    • Pentax Cameras
    • Fujifilm Cameras
    • Olympus Cameras
    • Panasonic Cameras
    • Leica Cameras
    • Samsung Cameras
  • BODY TYPE
    • Mirrorless Cameras
    • DSLR Cameras
    • Compact Cameras
    • Bridge Cameras
    • Waterproof Cameras

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77 Comparison

x
Camera to replace
Change

Nikon 1 J4

18 MP | 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon 1 J4
CHECK PRICE
CHECK PRICE
Change

Sony A77

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

Sony A77
CHECK PRICE
CHECK PRICE
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77 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 A77, which was introduced in October 2011 is a Advanced DSLR camera with a 24.0MP APS-C sensor. As you can see, A77 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 A77 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 A77 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2011-10-25
  • 24MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 50 - 16000 ( expands to 25600)
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 12 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in GPS
  • 732g. 143 x 104 x 81 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 Compare

Sony A77 was replaced by Sony SLT-A77 II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony SLT-A77 II vs Sony SLT-A77
Sony SLT-A77 II vs Nikon 1 J4

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77 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-A77
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 19 152 more focus points
Number of Cross Type Focus Points
105 vs 11 94 more cross type focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
1.037k dots vs 921k dots 12% higher resolution screen
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 12.0fps 48 fps faster
Weight
232 g vs 732 g 500 g lighter


Reasons to choose Sony SLT-A77 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
Max ISO
16.000 vs 12.800 25% higher Max ISO
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
470 shots vs 300 shots 170 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Flash Coverage
12.0m vs 5.0m 7m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area
15.28µm2 vs 6.36µm2 140% larger pixel area
Top LCD
Yes vs No Help viewing and changing settings easily
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies

Common Strengths of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony SLT-A77
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 12.0fps Fast shooting speeds
Common Weaknesses of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony SLT-A77
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77: 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 A77 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 A77 has external dimensions of 143 x 104 x 81 mm (5.63 x 4.09 x 3.19″) and weighs 732 g (1.61 lb / 25.82 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77. Nikon 1 J4 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 43mm narrower, 44mm shorter and 52mm thinner than Sony A77.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77.
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77 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 (500g ) than the Sony A77 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 A77 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 A77 lenses.

Weight Comparison

DSLR Cameras

1 J4
A77
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

DSLR Cameras

1 J4
A77
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

Thanks to the weather sealed body of A77, you can use this camera with more confidence under conditions where there is risk of exposure to water and dust compared to 1 J4.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3".

On the other hand, Sony A77 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 A77.
Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77: 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 A77 has a 24.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.

Sony A77'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 A77 sensor size comparison.

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A77 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 A77 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 A77 has an advantage over Nikon 1 J4 There are 143 lenses for Sony A77'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 A77 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 A77 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 A77 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon 1 J4 and Sony A77 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 A77 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 A77 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 A77 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: 12.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
11 Cross Type Focus sensors
19 Focus Points
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony A77 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
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
732g
Body Thickness 81mm
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony A77 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
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Built-in GPS
Read the details

Nikon 1 J4 vs Sony A77: 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 A77, 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 A77 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 A77
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #26 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked #95 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A77 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 A77 is the better camera overall.

Nikon 1 J4
Nikon 1 J4
CHECK PRICE

CHECK PRICE

Sony A77
Sony A77
CHECK PRICE

CHECK PRICE

Sony A77 vs Nikon 1 J4 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon 1 J4 Sony SLT-A77
Brand Nikon Sony
Announced 2014-04-10 2011-10-25
Body Type Rangefinder-style mirrorless Mid-size 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 16,000 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity - 25600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 160 ISO 50 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 19
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 1/8000s
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 1/250s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 60.0 fps 12.0 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 732g
Dimensions 100 x 60 x 29mm 143 x 104 x 81mm
Battery Life 300 shots 470 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None BuiltIn
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score not tested 78
DxO Color Depth not tested 24.0
DxO Dynamic Range not tested 13.2
DxO Low Light ISO not tested 801
Report a correction Report a correction


FOLLOW US


Most Popular Cameras
Nikon Z7
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Sony A6000
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Sony E Mount
Sony A7 III
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Sony E Mount
Fujifilm X-T3
26 MP | APS-C Sensor | Fujifilm X Mount
Canon R
30 MP | Full frame Sensor | Canon RF Mount
Sony A6400
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Sony E Mount
Nikon D5600
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Nikon F Mount
Nikon D850
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon F Mount
Top Rated Mirrorless Cameras
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $500
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $750
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $1000
Top Mirrorless Cameras Under $1500
Top Rated DSLR Cameras
Top DSLR Cameras Under $500
Top DSLR Cameras Under $750
Top DSLR Cameras Under $1000
Top DSLR Cameras Under $1500
Latest Cameras
Leica SL2-S
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Leica L Mount
Leica Q2 Monochrom
47 MP | Full frame Sensor | 28 mm
Fujifilm X-S10
26 MP | APS-C Sensor | Fujifilm X Mount
Nikon Z7 II
46 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Nikon Z6 II
25 MP | Full frame Sensor | Nikon Z Mount
Canon M50 II
24 MP | APS-C Sensor | Canon EF-M Mount
Sony A7c
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Sony E Mount
Panasonic S5
24 MP | Full frame Sensor | Leica L Mount
Copyright © 2020 by CameraDecision
About Feedback Privacy Cameras

Report a Correction