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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Photo General
- Photo Image Quality
- Pictures Sample Gallery
- Video General
- 4k Video
- Full HD Video
- Video Image Quality
- Storage And Connectivity
- Comments
Sony α7 III vs Nikon D780
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Sony α7 III
Nikon D780
Tested using Methodology v0.13
Updated Feb 24, 2025 06:15 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.13
Updated Feb 24, 2025 06:18 PM
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Body TypeSLR-Style
MirrorlessYes
Sensor SizeFull Frame
Body TypeDSLR
MirrorlessNo
Sensor SizeFull Frame
Variants
- a7 III (Black (Body Only))
- a7 III (Black W/ 28-70mm Lens)
- D780 (Black (Body Only))
- D780 (Black W/ 24-120mm f/4G ED VR Lens)
Our Verdict
Sony α7 III
Nikon D780
The Sony α7 III and the Nikon D780 are both enthusiast-oriented full-frame cameras, but they're different camera types. The Sony is a mirrorless camera with an electronic viewfinder that lets you see changes to exposure directly through the finder, while the Nikon is a DSLR with an optical viewfinder that gives you a lag-free, unfiltered view through the lens. The Sony is lighter and more portable and has a more reliable overall autofocus system. However, the Nikon has a longer battery life and a more intuitive menu system and controls.
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Black (Body Only)
a7 III
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D780
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Finding storeBlack W/ 28-70mm Lens
a7 III
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Finding storeBlack W/ 24-120mm f/4G ED VR Lens
D780
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Finding storeMain Differences forTravel Photography
Travel Photography
Threshold
Travel Photography
7.8
7.7
Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved
1/20 s
1/5 s
Portability
4.1
2.4
Full Comparison
Design
Portability
4.1
2.4
Portability Picture
Height
3.8" (9.6 cm)
4.6" (11.6 cm)
Width
5.4" (13.8 cm)
5.7" (14.6 cm)
Depth
3.1" (7.9 cm)
3.5" (8.8 cm)
Volume
63.9 in³ (1,046.6 cm³)
90.9 in³ (1,490.4 cm³)
Weight
1.43 lbs (0.65 kg)
1.85 lbs (0.84 kg)
Build Quality
8.0
8.5
Build Quality Picture
Body
Body Picture
Body Type
SLR-Style
DSLR
Water Resistance
No
Weather-Sealed
Mirrorless
Yes
No
Rugged
No
No
Hot Shoe
Yes
Yes
Customizable Button
Yes
Yes
Command Dial
3
2
Tripod Mount
Yes
Yes
Lens Mount
E-Mount
F Mount
Built-In Flash
No
No
Fastest Shutter Speed
1/8,000 s
1/8,000 s
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Ergonomics & Comfort
8.5
8.0
Hand Grip Picture
Hand Grip: Small Hand
Yes
Yes
Hand Grip: Medium Hand
Yes
Yes
Hand Grip: Large Hand
Yes
Yes
Hand Grip: Extra-Large Hand
No
Yes
Viewfinder
EVF Menu Picture
Viewfinder Type
Electronic
Optical
Advertised Coverage
100%
100%
Advertised Resolution
2.36 million dots
N/A
Advertised Magnification
0.78
0.7
Screen
6.7
8.0
Screen Picture
Screen Articulation Type
Tilting
Tilting
Screen Max Brightness
665 cd/m²
945 cd/m²
Advertised Resolution
0.92 million dots
2.36 million dots
Size
3.0" (7.5 cm)
3.2" (8.1 cm)
Touchscreen
Limited
Yes
Menu System
6.5
9.0
Screen Menu Picture
Guide Mode
Yes
Yes
App Name
Imaging Edge Mobile
Nikon SnapBridge
Built-In Lens
0.0
0.0
Aperture Vs Focal Length
Maximum Aperture
No built-in lens
No built-in lens
Max Aperture (Full-Frame Equivalent)
N/A
N/A
Minimum Focal Length
N/A
N/A
Maximum Focal Length
N/A
N/A
Max Focal Length (Full-Frame Equivalent)
N/A
N/A
Optical Image Stabilization
No
No
Light Falloff Picture
Luminance
N/A
N/A
Light Falloff
N/A
N/A
Sensor
Sensor Type
BSI CMOS
BSI CMOS
Advertised Effective Pixels
24.2 MP
24.5 MP
Processor
BIONZ X
EXPEED 6
Sensor Size
Full Frame
Full Frame
Extended ISO Minimum
50
50
Native ISO Minimum (Base ISO)
100
100
Native ISO Maximum
51,200
51,200
Tested Firmware
Version 3.10
1.02
Battery
9.4
8.8
Battery Type
Sony NP-FZ100
Nikon EN-EL15b
USB Charging
Yes
Yes
Power Delivery While Recording
Yes
Yes
Advertised Battery Life In Photo
610 photos
2,260 photos
Tested Battery Life In Video
137 min
95 min
Photo General
Photo Shooting Speed
7.3
6.5
Low Speed Continuous
4 fps
4 fps
High Speed Continuous
10 fps
7 fps
Silent Shooting Continuous
9 fps
4 fps
Raw Buffer Size
40 Photos
100 Photos
JPEG Buffer Size
164 Photos
100 Photos
Buffer Empty Time
10 s
3 s
Photo AF-C Tracking
6.8
6.6
Autofocus Tracking Shots
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
Run 01
AF-C Tracking 01
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
50%
53%
Usable Focus Hit Rate
85%
67%
Photo AF-C Center Point
10
9.1
Autofocus Center Point Shots
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
Run 01
AF-C Center Point 01
Perfect Focus Hit Rate
100%
88%
Usable Focus Hit Rate
100%
100%
Photo Image Stabilization
7.3
9.0
Stabilization Slideshow
Minimum Shutter Speed Achieved
1/20 s
1/5 s
In-Body Image Stabilization
Yes
No
Photo Image Quality
Photo RAW Dynamic Range
9.0
9.1
Dynamic Range Scene
Dynamic Range At Base ISO
11.2 f-stops
11.2 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/500s Exposure Time
9.8 f-stops
10.1 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/2000s Exposure Time
8.0 f-stops
9.3 f-stops
Dynamic Range At 1/4000s Exposure Time
7.3 f-stops
7.6 f-stops
Photo RAW Sharpness
8.9
8.4
Sharpness Scene Crop
Vertical Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
1,993 LW/PH
2,098 LW/PH
Horizontal Edge MTF50 At Base ISO
2,541 LW/PH
1,839 LW/PH
Photo RAW Noise
7.9
8.6
Noise Scene Crop
Noise Vs Exposure Time
SNR 18% At 1/8 Exposure Time (125 ms)
34.5 dB
35.7 dB
SNR 18% At 1/30 Exposure Time (33 ms)
32.6 dB
34.4 dB
SNR 18% At 1/125 Exposure Time (8 ms)
28.7 dB
30.9 dB
SNR 18% At 1/500 Exposure Time (2 ms)
23.4 dB
26.1 dB
Pictures Sample Gallery
Video General
Video Features
Full HD Video
Yes
Yes
4k Video
Yes
Yes
6k Video
No
No
Clean HDMI Output
Yes
Yes
Advertised Max Chroma Sampling Over HDMI
4:2:2
Not Advertised
Advertised Max Bit Depth Over HDMI
8 bits
10 bits
Log Picture Profile
Yes
Yes
Recording Light
No
No
Audio
Audio Test Sample
Audio Recording
Stereo
Stereo
Microphone Level Display
Yes
Yes
Video File Format And Compression
MP4 H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
Yes
MP4 H.265 / HEVC
No
No
MOV H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
No
Yes
MOV H.265 / HEVC
No
No
AVCHD H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC
Yes
No
All-I Compression
No
No
4k Video
4k Video Frame Rate
7.2
8.5
240 fps In 4k
No
No
120 fps In 4k
No
No
60 fps In 4k
No
No
30 fps In 4k
Yes, with a Crop
Yes
24 fps In 4k
Yes
Yes
4k Crop At Max Available fps
1.165 x
1 x
4k Video Internal Recording
7.8
7.8
Bitrate Maximum In 4k
100 Mbps
120 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In 4k
60 Mbps
120 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In 4k
4:2:0
4:2:0
Bit Depth In 4k
8 Bit
8 Bit
Record Time Limit In 4k
30 min
30 min
Overheat Recording Interruptions in 4k
0
0
4k Video Autofocus Performance
8.9
7.3
4k Object Tracking Video
Object Tracking In 4k
9.7
7.3
4k Face Tracking Video
Face Tracking In 4k
9.5
8.0
Face Detection In 4k
Yes
Yes
Eye Detection In 4k
No
No
4k Video Quality
8.2
8.5
4k Sample Low Light Video
Low Light Capability In 4k
7.5
8.0
4k Test Scene Extract
Test Scene Extract In 4k
8.9
9.0
4k Video Rolling Shutter Effect
6.4
5.7
Rolling Shutter Video in 4k
4k Rolling Shutter
5.7°
7.0°
Full HD Video
FHD Video Frame Rate
9.5
9.5
240 fps In FHD
No
No
120 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
60 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
30 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
24 fps In FHD
Yes
Yes
FHD Crop At Max Available fps
1 x
1 x
FHD Video Internal Recording
7.7
7.8
Bitrate Maximum In FHD
100 Mbps
120 Mbps
Bitrate Minimum In FHD
16 Mbps
12 Mbps
Chroma Sampling In FHD
4:2:0
4:2:0
Bit Depth In FHD
8 Bit
8 Bit
Record Time Limit in FHD
30 min
30 min
FHD Video Autofocus Performance
9.0
7.2
Object Tracking Video
Object Tracking In FHD
10
7.3
FHD Face Tracking Video
Face Tracking In FHD
9.5
7.9
Face Detection In FHD
Yes
Yes
Eye Detection In FHD
No
No
FHD Video Quality
9.1
7.5
FHD Sample Low Light Video
Low Light Capability In FHD
9.0
7.5
FHD Test Scene Extract In FHD
Test Scene Extract In FHD
9.2
7.5
FHD Video Rolling Shutter Effect
7.5
7.5
Rolling Shutter Video in FHD
FHD Rolling Shutter
3.0°
3.0°
Video Image Quality
Video Dynamic Range
8.3
6.9
Video Dynamic Range Waveform
Video Dynamic Range Slideshow
Strict SNR Max Dynamic Range
7.04 stops
9.83 stops
Lenient SNR Max Dynamic Range
10.50 stops
9.83 stops
Background Floor Max Dynamic Range
13.92 stops
9.83 stops
Luminosity Patch Detection
7.9
7.2
Luminosity Patch Detection Chart
Above Middle Gray
5.17 stops
4.98 stops
Below Middle Gray
9.09 stops
8.26 stops
Storage And Connectivity
Storage
Card Slot Picture
Card 1 Slot
SD Card UHS-II
SD Card UHS-II
Card 2 Slot
SD Card UHS-I
SD Card UHS-II
Inputs / Outputs
9.5
9.5
Input Picture
USB
USB-C
USB-C
HDMI
Micro (Type D)
Mini (Type C)
Headphones
Yes
Yes
Microphone
Stereo
Stereo
Wi-Fi
Yes
Yes
Bluetooth
Yes
Yes
Check Price
Black (Body Only)
a7 III
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Finding storeBlack (Body Only)
D780
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Finding storeBlack W/ 28-70mm Lens
a7 III
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Finding storeBlack W/ 24-120mm f/4G ED VR Lens
D780
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Finding store
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Sony α7 III
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Sony α7 III vs Nikon D780: Main Discussion
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