Sony a7S III vs. Nikon Z7
Comparison
| change cameras » | |||||
|
vs |
|
|||
| Sony a7S III | Nikon Z7 | ||||
| check price » | check price » | ||||
Megapixels
12.10
45.70
Max. image resolution
4240 x 2832
8256 x 5504
Sensor
Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
35.6 x 23.8 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 »
|
|
vs |
|
| 1 | : | 1.01 |
| (ratio) | ||
| Sony a7S III | Nikon Z7 | |
Surface area:
| 847.28 mm² | vs | 858.01 mm² |
Difference: 10.73 mm² (1%)
Z7 sensor is slightly bigger than a7S III sensor (only 1% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations.
There is a 2 year gap between Sony a7S III (2020) and Nikon Z7 (2018).
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: 51.05 µm² (271%)
A pixel on Sony a7S III sensor is approx. 271% bigger than a pixel on Nikon Z7.
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
Sony a7S III
Nikon Z7
Total megapixels
12.90
46.89
Effective megapixels
12.10
45.70
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80-102400 (extends to 40-409600)
Auto, 64-25600 (extends to 32-102400)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Highlight-weighted, Spot
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
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/8000 sec
1/8000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
Electronic
Electronic
White balance presets
10
12
Screen size
3"
3.2"
Screen resolution
1,440,000 dots
2,100,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
4264x2408 (60p)
3840x2160 (30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC/MS Pro Duo/CFexpress
XQD
USB
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
USB 3.0 (5 GBit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
NP-FZ100 lithium-ion battery
EN-EL15b rechargeable Li-ion battery
Weight
614 g
585 g
Dimensions
128.9 x 96.9 x 69.7 mm
134 x 100.5 x 67.5 mm
Year
2020
2018
Choose cameras to compare
Popular comparisons:
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha a7R III
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha A7 III
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony a7C
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony a7R IV
- Sony a7S III vs. Fujifilm X-T4
- Sony a7S III vs. Canon EOS R5
- Sony a7S III vs. Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha 7S II
- Sony a7S III vs. Canon EOS R6
- Sony a7S III vs. Nikon Z6
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha a6400
Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height
| Diagonal = √ | w² + h² |
Sony a7S III diagonal
w = 35.60 mm
h = 23.80 mm
h = 23.80 mm
| Diagonal = √ | 35.60² + 23.80² | = 42.82 mm |
Nikon Z7 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.
a7S III sensor area
Width = 35.60 mm
Height = 23.80 mm
Surface area = 35.60 × 23.80 = 847.28 mm²
Height = 23.80 mm
Surface area = 35.60 × 23.80 = 847.28 mm²
Z7 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 |
a7S III pixel pitch
Sensor width = 35.60 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4260 pixels
Sensor resolution width = 4260 pixels
| Pixel pitch = | 35.60 | × 1000 | = 8.36 µm |
| 4260 |
Z7 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 |
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 |
a7S III pixel area
Pixel pitch = 8.36 µm
Pixel area = 8.36² = 69.89 µm²
Pixel area = 8.36² = 69.89 µm²
Z7 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.34 µm
Pixel area = 4.34² = 18.84 µm²
Pixel area = 4.34² = 18.84 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 |
a7S III pixel density
Sensor resolution width = 4260 pixels
Sensor width = 3.56 cm
Pixel density = (4260 / 3.56)² / 1000000 = 1.43 MP/cm²
Sensor width = 3.56 cm
Pixel density = (4260 / 3.56)² / 1000000 = 1.43 MP/cm²
Z7 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
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
a7S III sensor resolution
Sensor width = 35.60 mm
Sensor height = 23.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 2840 × 1.5 = 4260
Resolution vertical: X = 2840
Sensor resolution = 4260 x 2840
Sensor height = 23.80 mm
Effective megapixels = 12.10
| r = 35.60/23.80 = 1.5 |
|
Resolution vertical: X = 2840
Sensor resolution = 4260 x 2840
Z7 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
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 |
a7S III crop factor
Sensor diagonal in mm = 42.82 mm
| Crop factor = | 43.27 | = 1.01 |
| 42.82 |
Z7 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).
a7S 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 a7S III, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Crop factor for Sony a7S III is 1.01
Crop factor for Sony a7S III is 1.01
Z7 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 Z7, take the aperture of the lens
you're using and multiply it with crop factor.
Since crop factor for Nikon Z7 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
Since crop factor for Nikon Z7 is 1, the equivalent aperture is aperture.
More comparisons of Sony a7S III:
- Sony a7S III vs. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
- Sony a7S III vs. Nikon D850
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony A7 IV
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony a1
- Sony a7S III vs. Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha a9 II
- Sony a7S III vs. Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H
- Sony a7S III vs. Sony Alpha a6000
- Sony a7S III vs. Canon EOS 90D
- Sony a7S III vs. Canon EOS R
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.