Nikon Z7 vs Sony A7R III

Introduction

As you may know, I’ve done many other mirrorless camera comparisons and reviews before this. Thus, I decided to make a head-to-head comparison for these two remarkable mirrorless cameras. However, take in mind that these do not come at a cheap price, whereas they’re more premium oriented, in fact, they are high-end if you compare them to most other mirrorless cameras in the market.

Therefore, I don’t recommend these cameras for people who are just starting out, since they have a more sophisticated feature set, as well as performance. For people who have been using other cameras before, or for people who want to change from DSLR to a high-end mirrorless camera, then these would be the ideal choice for them.

Mirrorless cameras are called mirrorless simply because they came second in line, whereas DSLRs are the opposite version of a mirrorless camera. To be more specific, a mirrorless camera doesn’t use a reflective mirror, the light simply goes through the electronic viewfinder and that’s it. On the other hand, a DSLR camera just as the name suggests, is a digital single-lens reflective camera, so, you get the idea of it, right?

For those people who are really into the details, I’m going to explain everything about the Nikon Z7 and the Sony A7R III. I will point out even their slightest differences and details in order for you to have enough arguments to support your decision. With whatever decision you come up with, you can’t go wrong with either camera.

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Head To Head Comparison

Nikon Z7

If you’ve used Nikon cameras before, then you probably know that Nikon is a well-known brand especially for their cameras and lenses that capture more light than usual. Now, as for this particular camera, it’s pretty obvious that mirrorless cameras have a really unique design, boasting impressive performance and a combination of features and specs within a small compact body. Basically, these types of cameras have been a popular option for travelers worldwide for many years now, and because manufacturers are constantly bringing new cameras always with the latest technologies, they are going to remain as such even for the years to come.

Since we mentioned their unique design, let’s first point out some interesting facts about this camera’s design.

So, let’s just mention first that the camera boasts a high-quality magnesium alloy body which is also weather-sealed. It has a decent weight and a very compact size, however, don’t mind what we said that these cameras are more preferable for travel because this camera is also widely used for architecture, landscape, and studio photographers, so if you find yourself in one of these categories, you’re good to go.

I also like the textured spots of the body because they do not only deliver comfort while you hold the camera, but it also gives a great look to the overall appearance of the camera.

Now, when it comes to the LCD screen, there’s nothing bad you can find about it, since it has touchscreen capabilities, while the screen also has a flip-out design which helps greatly if you want to take shots from different angles and viewing positions. Therefore, the advantages of having a touchscreen LCD are so many, for example, you can swipe through photos and videos, navigate settings as easily as navigating a smartphone, pinch to magnify the image on-screen to check for critical sharpness, and so on. Simply put, it is a 3.2-inch LCD screen which 2.1-million dots, so you can already tell that you will get crystal clear and vibrant visuals.

Okay, enough said about the design, let’s jump now to the specifics and see what else this camera capable of.

For starters, the Nikon Z7 has a 45.7-megapixel sensor, which is not just more than enough, but it’s one of the most high-end sensor specifications in this category. Just by this, you already know what to expect, remarkable vibrancy and details.

Since we’re mentioning premium so much, let’s also not forget to mention that the Nikon Z7 has 4K video capabilities, which means you’ll have a video resolution of 3840×2160 at 30/25/24p, while the ISO range stretches from 64-25,600, but that’s not all, since you can also expand it to 102,400.

Furthermore, you can also shoot up to 9fps at full resolution with minimal shooting noise and without the need for an external battery pack. There’s also a Silent Mode option, but you can only shoot up to 8fps with no mechanical noise, nonetheless, it’s still great.

When it comes to the autofocus system, this particular camera has the industry-leading specs for this, featuring a 493-point On-Sensor PDAF, which covers 90% of the frame horizontally and vertically. Thus, you already get the idea that this camera is incredible when it comes to tracking fast-moving subjects, even to the far edges.

One of the most appealing features of this camera is also the Eye-Detection AF, it’s pretty useful, especially for portrait photography since it can capture portraits while tracking and locking on the subject’s eye not only with AF-S mode but also with AF-C(Continuous AF) mode, even if they keep changing their pose.

Moreover, in terms of connections, this particular camera has built-in Wi-Fi for image transfer with compatible smartphone devices or tablets, with a faster speed of up to 25 Mbps. Other than that, there is also built-in Bluetooth included, which connects automatically whenever your compatible smart device is in range.

Overall, this is a premium mirrorless camera that can serve well professionals, studio photographers, landscape or portrait photographers. If you have the budget for it, don’t hesitate to purchase it because you simply can’t go wrong with it.

Nikon Z7 Sample Images:

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Sony A7R III

Now, this one comes with a slightly higher price than the Nikon Z7, but do they really differ in terms of specs and performance? We’re about to see. I’ve seen many people call the A7 series entry-level, don’t let them fool you, it’s definitely not an entry-level camera. Having an incredible resolution, sensitivity, dynamic range, processing speed, and shooting response further enhanced, the A7RIII pack’s pro-style operability into a strong, compact body to give you greater flexibility to take brilliant shots in any situation and can capture once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

To start off the right way, let’s mention first some interesting facts about the design.

In terms of the design, this particular camera features the company’s latest-generation mirrorless body design, it has refined controls and designs that enable the camera for easier operation and easier handling. Basically, the camera fits perfectly in your hands since it has an improved grip size which makes it comfortable to hold and easier to shoot. You’ll find the button layout decent with easy-to-reach controls, while the textured spots will also give extra points to the comfort, but that’s not all, they also greatly impact the camera’s overall appearance.

The LCD screen is also pretty impressive, boasting a standard size of 3-inches and with the typical 1.44-dot stat, this touchscreen LCD will deliver detailed results with vibrancy and sharpness. If you’ve been reading my other reviews, then you probably know that I’m a huge fan of flip-out designed LCDs, which in this case, we have that here. The A7RIII’s touch-sensitive screen is really useful since you can focus point and examine magnified images in playback.

Okay, but what about the performance?

Sony A7R III has a 42.4MP BSI CMOS sensor which gives absolutely superb results, with stunning levels of detail even in low sensitivities, and it also provides perfectly usable images at much higher settings than you might expect. Therefore, you can choose between setting up the camera for an ISO range of 12,800 or even ISO 25,600. But let’s make this clear, the ISO range stretches from 100-32,000, but it can also be expanded to 50-102,400.

What you’ll also like is the 10fps continuous shooting performance, which is pretty amazing because this enables the camera for incredible tracking abilities even for fast-moving subjects.

When it comes to the autofocus performance, well, even though this camera has a higher price than the Nikon Z7, it’s still slightly weaker than Z7. To be more precise, it features hybrid autofocus with 399 phase-detection points, whereas the Nikon Z7 had a 493-point AF system.

In terms of video quality, well, you get the standard Full-HD recording method, but that’s not all since the Sony A7R III also includes 4K video capture. 4K is one of the main reasons why I don’t recommend these cameras to people that are just starting out, because these are pretty high-end features and performance, and they can more accommodate professional photographers that really need 4K.

One of my favorite features of this camera is the Pixel Shift Multi Shooting allows the camera to deliver an overwhelming resolution, color fidelity, and texture reproduction in order to capture the exact vibe and moment of subject and environment.

In terms of connections, there is also built-in Wi-Fi here, you can connect to a smartphone or tablets but while using the free Sony”s PlayMemories Mobile app, which is compatible with both Android and iOS. This also allows for remote camera controls with a live view display.

This is a camera that is popular with product photographers. It is used by professional photographers that offer product photography services.

To conclude, considering the fact that this camera comes with a slightly higher price than the Nikon Z7, I have to admit that it doesn’t offer many different specs and performance from Nikon, but nonetheless, it’s a great all-rounder with exceptional image quality, so this one is definitely a must-have if you’re looking for a high-end mirrorless camera.

Sony A7R III Sample Images:

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Nikon Z7 vs Sony A7R III Feature Comparison

	Nikon Z7	Sony A7R III
Camera Type	Mirrorless	Mirrorless
Megapixels	45.7	42.4
ISO Range	64-25,600(102,400)	100-32,000(50-102,400)
Flip-Out Screen	Yes	Yes
AF Points	493 AF points	399 AF Points
Viewfinder	Yes	Yes
Touchscreen	Yes	Yes
Video Recording	Yes	Yes
Sensor Size	CMOS	Full-Frame CMOS

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Conclusion

As we reached the end of this article, by now, I believe you have enough arguments to support your decision on which camera is most suited for you.

Nonetheless, we’re still going to define them which is better in which situation, so, to start with the Nikon Z7, I would recommend this camera to studio professionals, still photography or portrait photography shooter. However, this does not mean that the camera is not good for videography, in fact, due to its 493-point AF system, and its 4K capabilities, this camera is also great for people who intend to use it for video capture. In other words, this camera is the perfect all-rounder for semi-professionals and professionals.

As for the Sony A7R III, well, as you can see, they are pretty much the same with Nikon Z7, now, even though this camera comes with a slightly higher price, I still think that Nikon Z7 is better than the Sony A7R III, but not by much. Nonetheless, this camera would be the perfect addition for travelers, vloggers, landscape shooters, sports and wildlife.

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