Nikon D850 vs. Sony Alpha a7R III
Comparison
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| Nikon D850 | Sony Alpha a7R III | ||||
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Megapixels
45.70
42.40
Max. image resolution
8256 x 5504
7952 x 5304
Sensor
Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
35.9 x 23.9 mm
35.9 x 24 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera.
Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the
sensor, the better the image quality.
Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.
Learn more about sensor sizes »
Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.
Learn more about sensor sizes »
Actual sensor size
Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
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| Nikon D850 | Sony Alpha a7R III | |
Surface area:
| 858.01 mm² | vs | 861.60 mm² |
Difference: 3.59 mm² (0.4%)
Alpha a7R III sensor is slightly bigger than D850 sensor (only 0.4% difference).
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.
The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered.
The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.
Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 1.41 µm² (7%)
A pixel on Sony Alpha a7R III sensor is approx. 7% bigger than a pixel on Nikon D850.
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one
square cm of the sensor.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers,
click here.
Specs
Nikon D850
Sony Alpha a7R III
Total megapixels
46.89
43.60
Effective megapixels
45.70
42.40
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 64-25600 (extends to 32-102400)
Auto, 100-32000 (expandable to 50-102400)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Highlight-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV, 1 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Optical (pentaprism)
Electronic
White balance presets
14
10
Screen size
3.2"
3"
Screen resolution
2,359,000 dots
1,440,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC/XQD
SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS PRO Duo
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
EN-EL15a lithium-ion battery
NP-FZ100 lithium-ion battery
Weight
915 g
657 g
Dimensions
146 x 124 x 78.5 mm
126.9 x 95.6 x 73.7 mm
Year
2017
2017
Choose cameras to compare
Popular comparisons:
Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Nikon D850 diagonal
w = 35.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 35.90² + 23.90² | = 43.13 mm |
Sony Alpha a7R III diagonal
w = 35.90 mm
h = 24.00 mm
h = 24.00 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 35.90² + 24.00² | = 43.18 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
D850 sensor area
Width = 35.90 mm
Height = 23.90 mm
Surface area = 35.90 × 23.90 = 858.01 mm²
Height = 23.90 mm
Surface area = 35.90 × 23.90 = 858.01 mm²
Alpha a7R III sensor area
Width = 35.90 mm
Height = 24.00 mm
Surface area = 35.90 × 24.00 = 861.60 mm²
Height = 24.00 mm
Surface area = 35.90 × 24.00 = 861.60 mm²
Pixel pitch
Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the
next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
| Pixel pitch = | sensor width in mm | × 1000 |
| sensor resolution width in pixels |
D850 pixel pitch
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 8280 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 8280 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 35.90 | × 1000 | = 4.34 µm |
| 8280 |
Alpha a7R III pixel pitch
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 7976 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 7976 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 35.90 | × 1000 | = 4.5 µm |
| 7976 |
Pixel area
The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
D850 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.34 µm
Pixel area = 4.34² = 18.84 µm²
Pixel area = 4.34² = 18.84 µm²
Alpha a7R III pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.5 µm
Pixel area = 4.5² = 20.25 µm²
Pixel area = 4.5² = 20.25 µm²
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
One could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = ( | sensor resolution width in pixels | )² / 1000000 |
| sensor width in cm |
One could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = | effective megapixels × 1000000 | / 10000 |
| sensor surface area in mm² |
D850 pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 8280 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (8280 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 5.32 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (8280 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 5.32 MP/cm²
Alpha a7R III pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 7976 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (7976 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 4.94 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (7976 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 4.94 MP/cm²
Sensor resolution
Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher
than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications.
Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula.
For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.
1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.
2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.
2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
| (X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000 → |
|
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
D850 sensor resolution
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 45.70
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 5520 × 1.5 = 8280
Resolution vertical: X = 5520
Sensor resolution = 8280 x 5520
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 45.70
| r = 35.90/23.90 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 5520
Sensor resolution = 8280 x 5520
Alpha a7R III sensor resolution
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 42.40
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 5317 × 1.5 = 7976
Resolution vertical: X = 5317
Sensor resolution = 7976 x 5317
Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 42.40
| r = 35.90/24.00 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 5317
Sensor resolution = 7976 x 5317
Crop factor
Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal
of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
| Crop factor = | 43.27 mm |
| sensor diagonal in mm |
D850 crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.13 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1 |
| 43.13 |
Alpha a7R III crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.18 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1 |
| 43.18 |
35 mm equivalent aperture
Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture
with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).
D850 equivalent aperture
Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for
fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for
Nikon D850, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Nikon D850 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Nikon D850 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Alpha a7R III equivalent aperture
Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for
fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for
Sony Alpha a7R III, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Sony Alpha a7R III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Sony Alpha a7R III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
More comparisons of Nikon D850:
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