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Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6

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Nikon D1

3 MP | APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) CCD Sensor

Nikon D1
$5,130.00
or
BUY
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Nikon Z 6

25 MP | Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Nikon Z 6
$1,996.95
or
BUY
Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Nikon cameras cameras with different body types: Nikon D1, which was introduced in November 2000 is a Pro DSLR camera with a 3.0MP APS-C sensor whereas Nikon Z 6, which was introduced in August 2018 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 25.0MP Full frame sensor.

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.

Let's have a brief look at the main features of Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Nikon D1 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2000-11-27
  • 3MP - APS-C CCD Sensor
  • ISO 200 - 1600
  • Nikon F Mount
  • 2″ Fixed Type Screen
  • Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • No Video Mode
  • 1200g. 157 x 153 x 85 mm

Nikon Z 6 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2018-08-23
  • 25MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 51200
  • Nikon Z Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.2 Tilting Screen
  • 3690k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 12.0 fps continuous shooting
  • 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 675g. 134 x 101 x 68 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Nikon D1 was replaced by Nikon D1X. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon D1X vs Nikon D1
Nikon D1X vs Nikon Z 6

Reasons to choose Nikon D1 over Nikon Z 6
Max Shutter Speed 1/16000s vs 1/8000s faster shutter speed
Sensor Pixel Area 140.21µm2 vs 35.25µm2 297% larger pixel area
Flash Sync Port Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
Reasons to choose Nikon Z 6 over Nikon D1
Wireless Connection Built-In vs None Better connectivity
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift vs None All the lenses are stabilized
Articulating Screen Yes vs No Flexible shooting positions
Touch Screen Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Face Detection Focus Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Max Sensor Resolution 25 MP vs 3 MP 733% more pixels
Max ISO 51.200 vs 1.600 3100% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size 3.2 vs 2″ 1.2 inches larger display
LCD Screen Resolution 2.100k dots vs 130k dots 1515% higher resolution screen
Viewfinder Coverage 100% vs 96% More accurate viewfinder
Continuous Shooting 12.0fps vs 5.0fps 7 fps faster
Weight 675 g vs 1200 g 525 g lighter
Microphone Port Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Timelapse Recording Yes vs No creative shooting
Price $1,997 vs $5,130 $3,133 cheaper
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 vs None Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Bluetooth Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Smartphone_remote control Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
Common Strengths of Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6
External Flash Shoe Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder Yes (Optical) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support Yes vs Yes Better image quality
LCD Screen Size 2″ vs 3.2 Large display
Top LCD Display Yes vs Yes Help viewing and changing settings easily
Common Weaknesses of Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6
Built-in Flash No vs No Require external flash
Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6: Physical Specs Comparison

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6. Nikon Z 6 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 23mm narrower, 52mm shorter and 17mm thinner than Nikon D1.

Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6 Camera Size Comparison - Front View

Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6 Detailed Size Comparison

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon Z 6 is significantly lighter (525g ) than the Nikon D1 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 Nikon Z 6 has a Full frame sensor and Nikon D1 has a smaller APS-C sensor, Nikon D1's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Nikon Z 6 lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

D1
Z 6
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

D1
Z 6
Min
Average
Max
Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6: Sensor Comparison

Nikon D1 has a 3.0MP APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm ) sized CCD sensor . On the other hand, Nikon Z 6 has a 25.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Expeed 6 processor.

Nikon Z 6's sensor provides 22MP more than Nikon D1'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 D1 and Z 6 sensor size comparison.

Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6 Sensor Size Comparison


As seen above, Nikon Z 6 has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Nikon D1. 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.

What types of Photography are Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Nikon D1 and Nikon Z 6 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 D1 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon Z 6 for Portrait Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 3.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 25.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Nikon D1 for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon Z 6 for Street Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details

Nikon D1 for Sports Photography

GOOD

Nikon Z 6 for Sports Photography

EXCELLENT
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/16000s
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Focus Points
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Fast Continuous Shooting: 12.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
273 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Nikon D1 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon Z 6 for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
Large Body
1200g
Body Thickness 85mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
675g
Body Thickness 68mm
Read the details

Nikon D1 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Nikon Z 6 for Landscape Photography

GOOD
Large APS-C (23.7 x 15.5 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 3.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 25.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details


Nikon Z 6 vs Nikon D1 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 Nikon D1 has an advantage over Nikon Z 6 There are 299 lenses for Nikon D1's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 5 lenses for Nikon Z 6's Nikon Z lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Nikon Z 6 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 D1 doesn't have this feature so you have to buy a lens with optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 88 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.

Lens Type # of Nikon D1 Lenses # of Nikon Z 6 Lenses
Standard Zoom 33 2 (2 Full Frame)
Standard Prime 20 1 (1 Full Frame)
Wideangle Zoom 32 1 (1 Full Frame)
Wideangle Prime 46 1 (1 Full Frame)
Telephoto Zoom 51 n/a
Telephoto Prime 42 n/a
SuperZoom 30 n/a
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 8 n/a
Macro Prime 25 n/a
Perspective Control Prime 11 n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime 1 n/a
TOTAL 299 5 (5 Full Frame)
Nikon D1 vs Nikon Z 6: 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 D1 and Nikon Z 6, 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 D1 and Nikon Z 6 scores compare:

Nikon D1
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #22 out of 24 in Large SLR" cameras
Ranked #841 out of 1168 in all Cameras
Nikon Z 6
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #3 out of 119 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #7 out of 1168 in all Cameras

Nikon Z 6 is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon D1 in all criterias.
It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money

Nikon D1
Nikon D1
$5,130.00

Nikon Z 6
Nikon Z 6
$1,996.95

Nikon Z 6 vs Nikon D1 Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Nikon D1 Nikon Z 6
Brand Nikon Nikon
Announced 2000-11-27 2018-08-23
Body Type Large SLR" Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Price $5,130.00 $1,996.95
Sensor
Type CCD CMOS
Size APS-C Full frame
Dimensions 23.7 x 15.5 mm 35.9 x 23.9 mm
Area 367.35mm2 858.01mm2
Megapixels 3 megapixels 25 megapixels
Max Resolution 2000 x 1312 6048 x 4024
Max Native Light sensitivity 1,600 ISO 51,200 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity - 204800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 200 ISO 100 ISO
Min Boosted Light Sensitivity - 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 n/a 273
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Nikon F Nikon Z
Number of Available Lenses 299 5
Screen
Type Fixed type Tilting
Size 2″ 3.2
Resolution 130k dots 2,100k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution no electronic viewfinder 3,690k dots
Viewfinder Coverage 96% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.53 0.8
Photography Features
Max Shutter Speed 1/16000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Max Flash Sync 1/500s no built-in flash
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps 12.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution None 3840 x 2160
Video Formats n/a MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity None Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 1200g 675g
Dimensions 157 x 153 x 85mm 134 x 101 x 68mm
Battery Life n/a 330 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None None
DxO Sensor Scores
Report a correction Report a correction
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