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 A7R III and Nikon D850 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 D850 has external dimensions of 146 x 124 x 79 mm (5.75 x 4.88 x 3.11″) and weighs 1015 g (2.24 lb / 35.80 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850. Sony A7R III is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 19mm narrower, 28mm shorter and 5mm thinner than Nikon D850.
![Sony A7R III vs Nikon D850 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850.
![Sony A7R III vs Nikon D850 Camera Size Comparison - Back View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 Size and Weight - Back View
Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850.
![Sony A7R III vs Nikon D850 Camera Size Comparison - Top View]()
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 Size
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Sony A7R III is significantly lighter (358g ) than the Nikon D850 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 both Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 have the same Full frame sized sensor, their lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will be similar in size and weight.
Weight Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Thickness Comparison
DSLR Cameras
Weather Sealing
Both A7R III and D850 have weather sealings in their body, making them resistant to water and dust.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Nikon D850's 3.2 LCD screen is slightly larger than Sony A7R III's 3 screen.
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 D850 has a 46.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Expeed 5 processor.
Another similarity between these two cameras is that both Nikon D850 and Sony A7R III sensors lack anti-alias (Low-Pass) filters. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moire occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the A7R III and D850 sensor size comparison.
![Sony A7R III vs Nikon D850 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 Cameras
Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 have almost the same sensor size so none of them has any significant advantage over other in providing control over depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
At Camera Decision, we also look at Dxo Mark sensors when available as we think it is a good indicator of image quality.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Sony A7R III |
100 |
26.0 bits |
14.7 Evs |
3523 ISO |
|
Nikon D850 |
100 |
26.4 bits |
14.8 Evs |
2660 ISO |
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 D850 has an advantage over Sony A7R III There are 309 lenses for Nikon D850's Nikon F mount, on the other hand there are only 126 lenses for Sony A7R III's Sony E 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 to compensate vibration up to 5.0-stops according to CIPA standards.106 lenses for Nikon F mount with Optical Image Stabilization features.
| Lens Type |
# of Sony A7R III Lenses |
# of Nikon D850 Lenses |
| Standard Zoom |
12 (9 Full Frame) |
33 (17 Full Frame) |
| Standard Prime |
18 (9 Full Frame) |
21 (18 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Zoom |
7 (6 Full Frame) |
33 (17 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Prime |
41 (25 Full Frame) |
48 (46 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Zoom |
9 (7 Full Frame) |
53 (43 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Prime |
18 (14 Full Frame) |
45 (44 Full Frame) |
| SuperZoom |
8 (1 Full Frame) |
30 (6 Full Frame) |
| Wideangle Fisheye Prime |
2 (0 Full Frame) |
8 (3 Full Frame) |
| Macro Prime |
8 (7 Full Frame) |
26 (23 Full Frame) |
| Perspective Control Prime |
2 (2 Full Frame) |
11 (11 Full Frame) |
| Telephoto Mirror Prime |
n/a |
1 (0 Full Frame) |
| TOTAL |
126 (80 Full Frame) |
309 (228 Full Frame) |
Now let's compare some sample lenses from each mount with typical Focal ranges for Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 to see how these lenses compares:
Fast Standard Zoom Lenses
Fast Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
Fast Normal Prime Equivalent Lenses
Fast Wideangle Zoom Equivalent Lenses
24-105mm f4 Equivalent Lenses
Super-Tele Zoom Equivalent Lenses
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7R III and Nikon D850 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
Nikon D850 for Portrait Photography
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
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 46.0MP
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Sony A7R III for Street Photography
Nikon D850 for Street Photography
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
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
No Image Stabilization
Large Body
Read the details
Sony A7R III for Sports Photography
Nikon D850 for Sports Photography
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
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 7.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
99 Cross Type Focus sensors
153 Focus Points
Good Battery Life: 1840 shots
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Sony A7R III for Daily Photography
Nikon D850 for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Anti Flicker feature
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
657g
Body Thickness 74mm
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Large Body
1015g
Body Thickness 79mm
Read the details
Sony A7R III for Landscape Photography
Nikon D850 for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 42.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
Large Full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 46.0MP
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Read the details
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 D850, 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 A7R III and Nikon D850 scores compare:
Sony A7R III
Ranked
#4 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#4 out of 1219 in all Cameras
Nikon D850
Ranked
#1 out of 94 in Mid-size SLR cameras
Ranked
#15 out of 1219 in all Cameras
Sony A7R III is the clear winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Nikon D850 in all criteria. It has better general image quality, more features, more compact body and offers more value for the money
| General |
Sony Alpha A7R III |
Nikon D850 |
| Brand |
Sony |
Nikon |
| Announced |
2017-10-25 |
2017-08-24 |
| Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Mid-size SLR |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
BSI-CMOS |
BSI-CMOS |
| Size |
Full frame |
Full frame |
| Dimensions |
35.9 x 24 mm |
35.9 x 23.9 mm |
| Area |
861.60mm2 |
858.01mm2 |
| Megapixels |
42 megapixels |
46 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
7952 x 5304 |
8256 x 5504 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
32,000 ISO |
25,600 ISO |
| Max Boosted Light Sensitivity |
102400 ISO |
102400 ISO |
| Min Native Light sensitivity |
100 ISO |
64 ISO |
| Min Boosted Light Sensitivity |
50 ISO |
32 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 |
153 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Sony E |
Nikon F |
| Number of Available Lenses |
126 |
309 |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Tilting |
Tilting |
| Size |
3 |
3.2 |
| Resolution |
1,440k dots |
2,359k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Optical (pentaprism) |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
3,686k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
100% |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.78x |
0.75x |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/8000s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
Sensor-shift |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Max Flash Sync |
n/a |
1/250s |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
10.0 fps |
7.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
3840 x 2160 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S |
MPEG-4 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
Built-In |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
657g |
1015g |
| Dimensions |
127 x 96 x 74mm |
146 x 124 x 79mm |
| Battery Life |
650 shots |
1840 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
|
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
100 |
100 |
| DxO Color Depth |
26.0 |
26.4 |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
14.7 |
14.8 |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
3523 |
2660 |
|
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