Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000
91 Imaging
39 Features
56 Overall
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69 Imaging
62 Features
54 Overall
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Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 10MP - 1" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 6400
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Nikon 1 Mount
- 234g - 106 x 61 x 30mm
- Revealed January 2012
- Newer Model is Nikon 1 J2
(Full Review)
- 20MP - APS-C Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 100 - 16000
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony E Mount
- 411g - 128 x 91 x 85mm
- Revealed August 2013
- Successor is Sony a3500
Photography Glossary Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Overview
Lets take a deeper look at the Nikon 1 J1 and Sony A3000, both Entry-Level Mirrorless digital cameras by rivals Nikon and Sony. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the 1 J1 (10MP) and A3000 (20MP) and the 1 J1 (1") and A3000 (APS-C) posses different sensor measurements.
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music videoThe 1 J1 was manufactured 19 months earlier than the A3000 which makes them a generation apart from one another. The two cameras feature different body design with the Nikon 1 J1 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A3000 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.
Before we go straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a short view of how the 1 J1 grades vs the A3000 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.
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Here is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon 1 J1 & Sony Alpha A3000. The entire galleries are provided at Nikon 1 J1 Gallery & Sony A3000 Gallery.
Reasons to pick Nikon 1 J1 over the Sony A3000
| 1 J1 | A3000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen resolution | 460k | 230k | Clearer screen (+230k dot) |
Reasons to pick Sony A3000 over the Nikon 1 J1
| A3000 | 1 J1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revealed | August 2013 | January 2012 | More recent by 19 months |
Common features in the Nikon 1 J1 and Sony A3000
| 1 J1 | A3000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manually focus | Very exact focusing | |||
| Screen type | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed screen | |
| Screen size | 3" | 3" | Same screen measurements | |
| Selfie screen | Neither offers selfie screen | |||
| Touch friendly screen | Neither offers Touch friendly screen |
Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Physical Comparison
For those who are intending to lug around your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and proportions. The Nikon 1 J1 offers physical dimensions of 106mm x 61mm x 30mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.2") along with a weight of 234 grams (0.52 lbs) and the Sony A3000 has measurements of 128mm x 91mm x 85mm (5.0" x 3.6" x 3.3") having a weight of 411 grams (0.91 lbs).
Analyze the Nikon 1 J1 and Sony A3000 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the 1 J1 against the A3000.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the 1 J1 and A3000 is 91 and 69 respectively.
Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Sensor Comparison
Normally, it's tough to picture the difference between sensor measurements purely by reading specs. The visual underneath will give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the 1 J1 and A3000.
As you can plainly see, both the cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The 1 J1 because of its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field tougher and the Sony A3000 will offer you greater detail due to its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs way more aggressively. The older 1 J1 is going to be behind with regard to sensor innovation.
Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Screen and ViewFinder
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Nikon 1 J1 vs Sony A3000 Specifications
| Nikon 1 J1 | Sony Alpha A3000 | |
|---|---|---|
| General Information | ||
| Company | Nikon | Sony |
| Model | Nikon 1 J1 | Sony Alpha A3000 |
| Type | Entry-Level Mirrorless | Entry-Level Mirrorless |
| Revealed | 2012-01-20 | 2013-08-27 |
| Physical type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless | SLR-style mirrorless |
| Sensor Information | ||
| Processor Chip | - | BIONZ image |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor size | 1" | APS-C |
| Sensor measurements | 13.2 x 8.8mm | 23.5 x 15.6mm |
| Sensor surface area | 116.2mm² | 366.6mm² |
| Sensor resolution | 10 megapixel | 20 megapixel |
| Anti aliasing filter | ||
| Aspect ratio | 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
| Full resolution | 3872 x 2592 | 5456 x 3632 |
| Max native ISO | 6400 | 16000 |
| Minimum native ISO | 100 | 100 |
| RAW files | ||
| Autofocusing | ||
| Focus manually | ||
| Touch to focus | ||
| Autofocus continuous | ||
| Single autofocus | ||
| Autofocus tracking | ||
| Autofocus selectice | ||
| Center weighted autofocus | ||
| Multi area autofocus | ||
| Live view autofocus | ||
| Face detection autofocus | ||
| Contract detection autofocus | ||
| Phase detection autofocus | ||
| Number of focus points | 135 | 25 |
| Lens | ||
| Lens mounting type | Nikon 1 | Sony E |
| Total lenses | 13 | 121 |
| Focal length multiplier | 2.7 | 1.5 |
| Screen | ||
| Screen type | Fixed Type | Fixed Type |
| Screen size | 3 inch | 3 inch |
| Screen resolution | 460 thousand dots | 230 thousand dots |
| Selfie friendly | ||
| Liveview | ||
| Touch display | ||
| Screen tech | TFT LCD | TFT LCD |
| Viewfinder Information | ||
| Viewfinder type | None | Electronic |
| Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
| Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.47x |
| Features | ||
| Lowest shutter speed | 30s | 30s |
| Highest shutter speed | 1/4000s | 1/4000s |
| Highest silent shutter speed | 1/16000s | - |
| Continuous shooting rate | 10.0fps | 3.0fps |
| Shutter priority | ||
| Aperture priority | ||
| Manual mode | ||
| Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
| Change white balance | ||
| Image stabilization | ||
| Inbuilt flash | ||
| Flash range | 5.00 m | 6.00 m (at ISO200 / 4m at ISO100) |
| Flash settings | Auto, On, Off, Red-eye, Slow sync, Rear curtain | Flash off, Auto flash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync. |
| External flash | ||
| Auto exposure bracketing | ||
| White balance bracketing | ||
| Highest flash synchronize | 1/60s | 1/160s |
| Exposure | ||
| Multisegment metering | ||
| Average metering | ||
| Spot metering | ||
| Partial metering | ||
| AF area metering | ||
| Center weighted metering | ||
| Video features | ||
| Video resolutions | 1920 x 1080 (60, 30 fps), 1280 x 720 (60 fps), 1072 x 720 (60 fps) 640 x 240 (400), 320 x 120 (1200) | 1920 x 1080 |
| Max video resolution | 1920x1080 | 1920x1080 |
| Video format | MPEG-4, H.264 | AVCHD, H.264, MP4 |
| Microphone support | ||
| Headphone support | ||
| Connectivity | ||
| Wireless | None | None |
| Bluetooth | ||
| NFC | ||
| HDMI | ||
| USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
| GPS | None | None |
| Physical | ||
| Environmental sealing | ||
| Water proof | ||
| Dust proof | ||
| Shock proof | ||
| Crush proof | ||
| Freeze proof | ||
| Weight | 234g (0.52 lb) | 411g (0.91 lb) |
| Physical dimensions | 106 x 61 x 30mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.2") | 128 x 91 x 85mm (5.0" x 3.6" x 3.3") |
| DXO scores | ||
| DXO All around score | 56 | 78 |
| DXO Color Depth score | 21.5 | 23.7 |
| DXO Dynamic range score | 11.0 | 12.8 |
| DXO Low light score | 372 | 1068 |
| Other | ||
| Battery life | 230 images | 470 images |
| Type of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
| Battery model | EN-EL20 | NP-FW50 |
| Self timer | Yes | Yes (2-sec. or 10-sec. delay) |
| Time lapse shooting | ||
| Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC card | - |
| Card slots | Single | Single |
| Launch cost | $625 | $398 |