Nikon D5600 vs Sony Alpha 7R II

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D5600 and the Sony Alpha 7R II, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Nikon D5600 was introduced in November 2016 and Sony Alpha 7R II was introduced in June 2015. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon D5600 over Sony Alpha 7R II.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 7R II over Nikon D5600.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Nikon D5600 has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 1,037k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 7R II has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,229k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Nikon D5600 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Tilting screen makes Sony Alpha 7R II very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon D5600 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Nikon D5600 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinderSony Alpha 7R II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. Nikon D5600 has 95% coverage with 0.82x (0.55x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Sony Alpha 7R II has 100% coverage with 0.78x magnification.

Nikon D5600 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 366.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600. Sony Alpha 7R II features a 42.4 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 576 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

Sony Alpha 7R II has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Nikon D5600 is equipped with EXPEED 4 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4496 x 3000, 2992 x 2000 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Alpha 7R II is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 7974 x 5316 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like Full Frame (3:2 - 5168 x 3448, 3984 x 2656, 16:9 - 7952 x 4472, 5168 x 2912, 3984 x 2240), APS-C (3:2 - 5168 x 3448, 3984 x 2656, 2592 x 1728, 16:9 - 5168 x 2912, 3984 x 2240, 2592 x 1456) with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D5600 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony Alpha 7R II has Sony E lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D5600 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7R II its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on either of the cameras. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony Alpha 7R II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 4.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Nikon D5600

Nikon D5600 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC

Cameras have Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Nikon D5600 has a Mini HDMI and Sony Alpha 7R II has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D5600 comes with EN-EL14 battery pack with battery life of 820 shots and Sony Alpha 7R II comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 290 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D5600 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Sony Alpha 7R II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D5600 has Electronic shutter. Sony Alpha 7R II has Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D5600, and up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II. Cameras can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D5600 has 39 (9 cross-type) focusing points and Sony Alpha 7R II has 399 focusing points. Nikon D5600 has detection range from -1 to +19 EV and Sony Alpha 7R II has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D5600 and Sony Alpha 7R II range from 0 to +20 EV and -3 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D5600 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7R II.

Flash

Nikon D5600 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Sony Alpha 7R II has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon D5600 and 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II.

Nikon D5600 body has dimensions of 124 x 97 x 70 mm (4.88 x 3.82 x 2.76") and Sony Alpha 7R II body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 60 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.36"). Nikon D5600 weighs 465 g (1.03 lb / 16.40 oz) and Sony Alpha 7R II weighs 625 g (1.38 lb / 22.05 oz).

Nikon D5600

Sony Alpha 7R II

124 mm

97 mm

127 mm

96 mm

97 mm

96 mm

70 mm

60 mm