Nikon Z6 III vs. Sony A7 IV
Comparison
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| Nikon Z6 III | Sony A7 IV | ||||
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Megapixels
24.50
33.00
Max. image resolution
6048 x 4032
7008 x 4672
Sensor
Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
35.9 x 23.9 mm
35.9 x 23.9 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 Z6 III | Sony A7 IV | |
Surface area:
| 858.01 mm² | vs | 858.01 mm² |
Difference: 0 mm² (0%)
Z6 III and A7 IV sensors are the same size.
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations.
There is a 3 year gap between Nikon Z6 III (2024) and Sony A7 IV (2021).
All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
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: 9.04 µm² (35%)
A pixel on Nikon Z6 III sensor is approx. 35% bigger than a pixel on Sony A7 IV.
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 Z6 III
Sony A7 IV
Total megapixels
26.79
34.10
Effective megapixels
24.50
33.00
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100-64000 (extends to 50-204800)
Auto, 100-51200 (expandable to 50-204800)
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, Highlight-weighted, Spot, Average
Exposure compensation
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
900 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Electronic
White balance presets
7
7
Screen size
3.2"
3"
Screen resolution
2,100,000 dots
1,036,800 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
6048x3402 (60p/50p/30p/25p/24p)
3840x2160 (60p/50p/30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC, CFexpress Type B / XQD
SD/SDHC/SDXC, CFexpress A
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
EN-EL15c Li-ion battery
NP-FZ100 lithium-ion battery
Weight
670 g
658 g
Dimensions
138.5 x 101.5 x 74 mm
131.3 x 96.4 x 79.8 mm
Year
2024
2021
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Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Nikon Z6 III diagonal
w = 35.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 35.90² + 23.90² | = 43.13 mm |
Sony A7 IV diagonal
w = 35.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
h = 23.90 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 35.90² + 23.90² | = 43.13 mm |
Surface area
Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.
Z6 III 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
A7 IV 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
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 |
Z6 III pixel pitch
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6062 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 6062 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 35.90 | × 1000 | = 5.92 µm |
| 6062 |
A7 IV pixel pitch
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor resolution width = 7035 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 7035 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 35.90 | × 1000 | = 5.1 µm |
| 7035 |
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 |
Z6 III pixel area
Pixel pitch = 5.92 µm
Pixel area = 5.92² = 35.05 µm²
Pixel area = 5.92² = 35.05 µm²
A7 IV pixel area
Pixel pitch = 5.1 µm
Pixel area = 5.1² = 26.01 µm²
Pixel area = 5.1² = 26.01 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 |
Z6 III pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 6062 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (6062 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 2.85 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (6062 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 2.85 MP/cm²
A7 IV pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 7035 pixels
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (7035 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 3.84 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.59 cm
Pixel density = (7035 / 3.59)² / 1000000 = 3.84 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
Z6 III sensor resolution
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.50
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4041 × 1.5 = 6062
Resolution vertical: X = 4041
Sensor resolution = 6062 x 4041
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.50
| r = 35.90/23.90 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 4041
Sensor resolution = 6062 x 4041
A7 IV sensor resolution
Sensor width = 35.90 mm
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 33.00
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4690 × 1.5 = 7035
Resolution vertical: X = 4690
Sensor resolution = 7035 x 4690
Sensor height = 23.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 33.00
| r = 35.90/23.90 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 4690
Sensor resolution = 7035 x 4690
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 |
Z6 III crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.13 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1 |
| 43.13 |
A7 IV crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 43.13 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1 |
| 43.13 |
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).
Z6 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
Nikon Z6 III, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Nikon Z6 III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Nikon Z6 III is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
A7 IV 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 A7 IV, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Sony A7 IV is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Sony A7 IV is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Enter your screen size (diagonal)
My screen size is
inches
Actual size is currently adjusted to screen.
If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.
If your screen (phone, tablet, or monitor) is not in diagonal, then the actual size of a sensor won't be shown correctly.