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Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Comparison

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Sony A7R III

42 MP | Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) BSI-CMOS Sensor

Sony A7R III
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Nikon 1 AW1

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

Nikon 1 AW1
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Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing A7R III and 1 AW1, two Mirrorless cameras from Sony and Nikon. Sony Alpha A7R III is a Pro Mirrorless class camera and Nikon 1 AW1 is a Entry-Level Mirrorless class camera.

Sony A7R III was introduced to the market in October 2017 and Nikon 1 AW1 was launched in September 2013. As you can see, 1 AW1 is 4 years older than A7R III. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Here is a brief look at the main features of the Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7R III Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2017-10-25
  • 42MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor
  • No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter
  • ISO 100 - 32000 ( expands to 50 - 102400)
  • Sony E Mount
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 3.00" Tilting Screen
  • 3686k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 10.0fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 657g. 127 x 96 x 74 mm
  • Weather-sealed Body
  • Replaced Sony Alpha A7R II Compare

Nikon 1 AW1 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2013-09-19
  • 14MP - 1-inch CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 160 - 6400
  • Nikon 1 Mount
  • 3.00" Fixed Type Screen
  • 60.0fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • 1200fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in GPS
  • 356g. 114 x 72 x 37 mm
  • Weather-sealed Body

Sony A7R III was replaced by Sony Alpha A7R IV. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Sony Alpha A7R III
Sony Alpha A7R IV vs Nikon 1 AW1

Let's read on in the following sections in order to better understand in detail how the Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 compare and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.


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Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7R III over Nikon 1 AW1
Wireless Connection
Built-In vs Optional Better connectivity
In-built Image Stabilization
Sensor-shift vs None Sharper images at longer focal lengths and slow shutter speeds
LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fixed Type Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs No Better for flash photography
Touch Screen
Yes vs No Easy control of camera functions
Viewfinder
Electronic vs None Better framing and control
Sensor Resolution
42 MP vs 14 MP 200% more pixels
Max ISO
32.000 vs 6.400 400% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
425 vs 135 290 more focus points
LCD Resolution
1.440k dots vs 921k dots 56% higher resolution screen
Max Mech. Shutter
1/8000s vs 1/4000s faster mechanical shutter
Battery Life
650 shots vs 220 shots 430 more frames with a single charge
Microphone Port
Yes vs No High quality audio recording option
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Timelapse Recording
Yes vs No creative shooting
Color Depth
26.0 vs 20.2 higher color depth
Dynamic Range
14.7 vs 10.9 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO
3523 vs 428 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area
20.43µm2 vs 8.20µm2 149% larger pixel area
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
Flash Sync Port
Yes vs No Connect off-camera flash
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Pixel Shift High-Res Mode
Yes (169. 6) vs No Increased resolution with pixel shift
Bluetooth
Yes vs No Connect your camera to other devices via Blueetooth
Storage Slot
2 vs 1 Extra storage slot
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone
UHS Card Support
UHS-II vs none Read/Write in High Speeds
USB Version
USB 3.1 Gen 1(5 GBit/sec) vs USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) Faster Data transfer from the camera
Animal Eye AF Tracking
Yes vs No Easily lock and track focus on animals
Webcam Function
Yes vs No Use your camera as a Webcam
Anti Flicker
Yes vs No Reduced uneven color and exposure under flickering light
Eye Tracking Focus
Yes vs No Autofocus system locks on the eye and tracks the subject
CHECK A7R III PRICE


Reasons to choose Nikon 1 AW1 over Sony Alpha A7R III
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
GPS
BuiltIn vs None track your location
Continuous Shooting
60.0fps vs 10.0fps 50 fps faster
Weight
356 g vs 657 g 301 g lighter
CHECK 1 AW1 PRICE

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs Yes shoot at tough conditions
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1
Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1: Physical Specs and Body Features Comparison

Size and weight are big decision factors when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, we are going to illustrate the Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7R III has external dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91″) and weighs 657 g (1.45 lb / 23.17 oz) (including batteries). Nikon 1 AW1 has external dimensions of 114 x 72 x 37 mm (4.47 x 2.81 x 1.46″) and weighs 356 g (0.78 lb / 12.6 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front-view size comparison of the Sony A7R III and the Nikon 1 AW1. Nikon 1 AW1 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 13mm narrower, 24mm shorter and 37mm thinner than Sony A7R III.

Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the Nikon 1 AW1 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of the Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1.

Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the Nikon 1 AW1 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1.
Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of the Sony A7R III and the the Nikon 1 AW1 Size

Weight is another important factor, especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Nikon 1 AW1 is significantly lighter (301g ) than the Sony A7R III 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 also have to take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Sony A7R III has a Full frame sensor and Nikon 1 AW1 has a smaller 1-inch sensor, Nikon 1 AW1's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7R III lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7R III
1 AW1
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7R III
1 AW1
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1's LCD screens have the same diagonal size of 3.00 inches.

On the other hand, Sony A7R III 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 1 AW1 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7R III.


Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7R III has a 42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Nikon 1 AW1 has a 14.0MP 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features EXPEED 3A processor.

Sony A7R III's sensor provides 28MP more than Nikon 1 AW1'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.

Another difference between these two cameras is that Sony A7R III's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.

Below you can see the A7R III and 1 AW1 sensor size comparison.

Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7R III has a 7.4x Larger sensor area than Nikon 1 AW1. 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.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

Both Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, A7R III has scored 100, 49 points higher than 1 AW1.

Model Overall Color Depth Dynamic Range Low-light ISO
Sony A7R III 100 26.0 bits 14.7 Evs 3523 ISO
Nikon 1 AW1 51 20.2 bits 10.9 Evs 428 ISO
Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

The number of available lenses is a big deciding factor when choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that the Sony A7R III has an advantage over the Nikon 1 AW1. There are 191 lenses for the Sony A7R III's Sony E mount, but on the other hand, there are only 13 lenses for the Nikon 1 AW1's Nikon 1 lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. Sony A7R III has a big advantage in this regard because it has a sensor based image stabilization (IS) which means that all the lenses mounted to this body will be stabilized. A7R III's built-in Image stabilization system is effective for compensating vibration up to 5.0-stops according to CIPA standards.
On the other hand, Nikon 1 AW1 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 Sony A7R III Lenses # of Nikon 1 AW1 Lenses
Standard Zoom 19 (14 Full Frame) 4
Standard Prime 34 (21 Full Frame) 2
Wideangle Zoom 14 (11 Full Frame) 1
Wideangle Prime 57 (39 Full Frame) 2
Telephoto Zoom 17 (15 Full Frame) 2
Telephoto Prime 26 (20 Full Frame) n/a
SuperZoom 10 (2 Full Frame) 2
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 2 (0 Full Frame) n/a
Macro Prime 9 (8 Full Frame) n/a
Perspective Control Prime 2 (2 Full Frame) n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime n/a n/a
TOTAL 191 (132 Full Frame) 13

What types of Photography are Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 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 A7R III for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Nikon 1 AW1 for Portrait Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Street Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon 1 AW1 for Street Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
Read the details
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

Sony A7R III for Sports Photography

GOOD

Nikon 1 AW1 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Image Stabilization
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 10.0fps
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
425 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 650 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Read the details
Fast Continuous Shooting: 60.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
135 Focus Points
Average Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
No Built-in Viewfinder
Poor Battery Life: 220 shots
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Nikon 1 AW1 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
657g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details
Environmental Sealings
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
356g
Read the details

Sony A7R III for Landscape Photography

GOOD

Nikon 1 AW1 for Landscape Photography

POOR
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Built-in GPS
Average sized 1″ (13.2 x 8.8 mm) sensor
Average Resolution Sensor: 14.0MP
Read the details

Sony A7R III vs Nikon 1 AW1: 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 A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 69 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 A7R III and Nikon 1 AW1 scores compare:

Sony A7R III
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #12 out of 111 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #13 out of 1260 in all Cameras
Nikon 1 AW1
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #73 out of 135 in Rangefinder-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #351 out of 1260 in all Cameras

Sony A7R III is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon 1 AW1 in all criteria except one: Portability. Nikon 1 AW1 is significantly smaller than Sony A7R III. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Nikon 1 AW1. Otherwise, Sony A7R III is the better camera overall.

Sony A7R III
Sony A7R III
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Nikon 1 AW1
Nikon 1 AW1
CHECK PRICE

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Nikon 1 AW1 vs Sony A7R III Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7R III Nikon 1 AW1
Brand Sony Nikon
Announced 2017-10-25 2013-09-19
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Size Full frame 1-inch
Dimensions 35.9 x 24 mm 13.2 x 8.8 mm
Area 861.60mm2 116.16mm2
Megapixels 42 megapixels 14 megapixels
Max Resolution 7952 x 5304 4608 x 3072
Max Native Light sensitivity 32,000 ISO 6,400 ISO
Max Boosted Light Sensitivity 102400 ISO -
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 160 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 425 135
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E Nikon 1
Number of Available Lenses 191 13
Screen
Type Tilting Fixed type
Size 3.00" 3.00"
Resolution 1,440k dots 921k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder Resolution 3,686k dots no electronic viewfinder
Viewfinder Coverage 100% n/a
Viewfinder Magnification 0.78x n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/4000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Built-in Image Stabilization Sensor-shift No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 5.00 m (at ISO 100)
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/60s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 10.0 fps 60.0 fps
Multi-Segment Metering
Average Metering
Spot Metering
Partial Metering
AF-Area Metering
Center Weighted Metering
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Optional
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 657g 356g
Dimensions 127 x 96 x 74mm 114 x 72 x 37mm
Battery Life 650 shots 220 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS None Built-in
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 100 51
DxO Color Depth 26.0 20.2
DxO Dynamic Range 14.7 10.9
DxO Low Light ISO 3523 428
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