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Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Comparison

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Sony A7S

12 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A7S
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Nikon S9500

18 MP | 1/2.3″ (6.16 x 4.62 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Nikon S9500
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Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Sony A7S, which was introduced in April 2014 is a Pro Mirrorless camera with a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Nikon S9500, which was introduced in January 2013 is a Small Sensor Superzoom camera with a 18.0MP 1/2.3" sensor. There is 14 months difference between A7S and S9500 so we don't expect to see a huge technology difference between these two cameras but it would still give an advantage to younger A7S, especially in sensor tech.

Comparing an interchangeble lens camera to a fixed lens camera is a bit tricky but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7S Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-04-06
  • 12MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 409600
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3 Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 489g. 127 x 94 x 48 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Nikon S9500 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2013-01-29
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 125 - 1600
  • 25-550 mm Zoom Lens
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3" Fixed Type Screen
  • 7.5 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 240 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • Built-in GPS
  • 205g. 110 x 60 x 31 mm
  • Replaced Nikon Coolpix S9300 Compare

Sony A7S was replaced by Sony Alpha 7S II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Sony Alpha A7S
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Nikon Coolpix S9500

Nikon S9500 was replaced by Nikon Coolpix S9700. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Nikon Coolpix S9700 vs Nikon Coolpix S9500
Nikon Coolpix S9700 vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Nikon Coolpix S9500
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs No Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs No very handy for portraits
Max ISO
409.600 vs 1.600 25500% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Resolution
1.230k dots vs 614k dots 100% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/1500s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
360 shots vs 230 shots 130 more frames with a single charge
Manual Exposure
Yes vs No better exposure control
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
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing
Yes vs No Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone


Reasons to choose Nikon Coolpix S9500 over Sony Alpha A7S
Image Stabilization
Optical vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
GPS
BuiltIn vs None track your location
Max Sensor Resolution
18 MP vs 12 MP 50% more pixels
Number of Focus Points
99 vs 25 74 more focus points
Continuous Shooting
7.5fps vs 5.0fps 2.5 fps faster
Weight
205 g vs 489 g 284 g lighter

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Nikon Coolpix S9500
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Nikon Coolpix S9500
Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500: 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 Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Nikon S9500 has external dimensions of 110 x 60 x 31 mm (4.33 x 2.36 x 1.22″) and weighs 205 g (0.45 lb / 7.23 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500. Nikon S9500 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 17mm narrower, 34mm shorter and 17mm thinner than Sony A7S. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Nikon S9500 has a built-in lens but Sony A7S doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7S, its thickness will increase significantly.

Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500.

Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500.
Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon S9500 is significantly lighter (284g ) than the Sony A7S which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on A7S, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over S9500 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7S and Nikon S9500's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.

On the other hand, Sony A7S features a Tilting screen where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels whereas the Nikon S9500 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Nikon S9500 has a 18.0MP 1/2.3" (6.16 x 4.62 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor .

Nikon S9500's sensor provides 6MP more than Sony A7S'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 A7S and S9500 sensor size comparison.

Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7S has a 30.1x Larger sensor area than Nikon S9500. 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 Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 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.

Sony A7S for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Nikon S9500 for Portrait Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Image Stabilization
Small 1/2.3″ (6.16 x 4.62 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Sony A7S for Street Photography

GOOD

Nikon S9500 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
Fast Lens at Wide: f
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3″ (6.16 x 4.62 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details

Sony A7S for Sports Photography

GOOD

Nikon S9500 for Sports Photography

POOR
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Image Stabilization
Fast Continuous Shooting: 7.5fps
99 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
550 mm Tele Lens
Fast Lens at Tele: f
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1500s
Poor Battery Life: 230 shots
Read the details

Sony A7S for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon S9500 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Compact Body
205g
22.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3″ (6.16 x 4.62 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Nikon S9500 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
Very High Resolution Sensor: 18.0MP
Built-in GPS
25 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3″ (6.16 x 4.62 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7S vs Nikon S9500: 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 Sony A7S and Nikon S9500, 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 Sony A7S and Nikon S9500 scores compare:

Sony A7S
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #39 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #71 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Nikon S9500
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #325 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #967 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon S9500 in all criteria except one: Portability. Nikon S9500 is significantly smaller than Sony A7S. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Nikon S9500. Otherwise, Sony A7S is the better camera overall.

Sony A7S
Sony A7S
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Nikon S9500
Nikon S9500
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Nikon S9500 vs Sony A7S Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7S Nikon Coolpix S9500
Brand Sony Nikon
Announced 2014-04-06 2013-01-29
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor
Type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Size Full frame 1/2.3"
Dimensions 35.8 x 23.9 mm 6.16 x 4.62 mm
Area 855.62mm2 28.46mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 18 megapixels
Max Resolution 4240 x 2832 4896 x 3672
Max Native Light sensitivity 409,600 ISO 1,600 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 125 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 25 99
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens Focal Range no lens 25-550 mm (22×)
Screen
Type Tilting Fixed type
Size 3 3"
Resolution 1,230k dots 614k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% n/a
Viewfinder Magnification 0.71x n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/1500s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No Optical
Built-in Flash
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps 7.5 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC n/a
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 489g 205g
Dimensions 127 x 94 x 48mm 110 x 60 x 31mm
Battery Life 360 shots 230 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording With Downloadable App
GPS None BuiltIn
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 87 not tested
DxO Color Depth 23.9 not tested
DxO Dynamic Range 13.2 not tested
DxO Low Light ISO 3702 not tested
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