Nikon D80 vs Sony Alpha 7 III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D80 and the Sony Alpha 7 III, 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 D80 was introduced in September 2006 and Sony Alpha 7 III was introduced in February 2018. 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 D80 over Sony Alpha 7 III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 7 III over Nikon D80.

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 D80 has a 2.5" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 7 III has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 922k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Sony Alpha 7 III very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 7 III also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony Alpha 7 III) 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 D80 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderSony Alpha 7 III has a built-in 0.5" Electronic viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. Nikon D80 has 95% coverage with 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Sony Alpha 7 III has 100% coverage with 0.78x magnification.

Nikon D80 features a 10.2 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.8 mm and a total area of 372.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 1,600 and expands to 100 - 3,200 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 7 III features a 24.2 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.8 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 566.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode.

Sony Alpha 7 III 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 D80 can take pictures up to 3872 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 2896 x 1944, 1936 x 1296 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Alpha 7 III is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6000 x 3376, 3936 x 2624, 3936 x 2216, 3008 x 1688, 3008 x 2000 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D80 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony Alpha 7 III has Sony E lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D80 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 7 III 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.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 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 on Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III has a built-in Wi-Fi 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 Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III has a built-in Bluetooth 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 on Sony Alpha 7 III

Sony Alpha 7 III has 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 inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D80 comes with EN-EL3e battery pack and Sony Alpha 7 III comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 610 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D80 has a single SD/SDHC card slot. Sony Alpha 7 III has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I).

Shutter

Nikon D80 has Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter. Sony Alpha 7 III has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D80, and up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7 III. Nikon D80 can shoot continuously up to 3.0 fps. Sony Alpha 7 III can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D80 has Sony Alpha 7 III has 693 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7 III has detection range from -3 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7 III ranges from -3 to +20 EV 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 D80 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7 III.

Flash

Nikon D80 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 13.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Standard ISO hot-shoe contact with safety lock. Sony Alpha 7 III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Intelligent Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon D80 and 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7 III.

Nikon D80 body has dimensions of 132 x 103 x 77 mm (5.2 x 4.06 x 3.03") and Sony Alpha 7 III body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91"). Nikon D80 weighs 668 g (1.47 lb / 23.56 oz) and Sony Alpha 7 III weighs 650 g (1.43 lb / 22.93 oz).

Nikon D80

Sony Alpha 7 III

132 mm

103 mm

127 mm

96 mm

103 mm

96 mm

77 mm

74 mm