Nikon Z5 vs Nikon 1 J3

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z5 and the Nikon 1 J3, 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 Z5 was introduced in July 2020 and Nikon 1 J3 was introduced in November 2013. 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 Z5 over Nikon 1 J3.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Nikon 1 J3 over Nikon Z5.

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 Z5 has a 3.2" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Nikon 1 J3 has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 921k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Nikon Z5 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon Z5 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.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.80x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Nikon 1 J3.

Nikon Z5 features a 24.3 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Nikon 1 J3 features a 14.2 megapixel 1-inch CMOS sensor with dimensions of 13.2 x 8.8 mm and a total area of 77.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 160 - 6,400.

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 Z5 is equipped with EXPEED 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6016 x 4016 resolution. Nikon 1 J3 can take pictures up to 4608 x 3072 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z5 has Nikon Z lens mount and Nikon 1 J3 has Nikon 1 lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Nikon Z5 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. Due to 1-inch sensor in Nikon 1 J3 its crop factor is equal to 2.7x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 2.7.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 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 Nikon Z5

Nikon Z5 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 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 Z5

Nikon Z5 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.2) 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon Z5 has a Micro Type C HDMI and Nikon 1 J3 has a Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z5 comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 470 shots and Nikon 1 J3 comes with EN-EL20 battery pack with battery life of 220 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z5 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots. Nikon 1 J3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot.

Shutter

Nikon Z5 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Nikon 1 J3 has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon Z5, and up to 1/16000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/4000 sec with mechanical shutter on Nikon 1 J3. Nikon Z5 can shoot continuously up to 4.5 fps. Nikon 1 J3 can shoot continuously up to 15.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z5 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 273 focusing points and Nikon 1 J3 has Hybrid autofocus (phase detection/contrast-detect AF)
AF-assist illuminator system with 135 (41 cross-type) focusing points. Nikon Z5 has detection range from 3 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z5 ranges from -3 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon Z5 and ±3 range on Nikon 1 J3. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon Z5 and exposure lock and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon 1 J3.

Flash

Nikon 1 J3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 5.00 m. Nikon Z5 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 Z5 and 1/60 sec on Nikon 1 J3.

Nikon Z5 body has dimensions of 134 x 101 x 70 mm (5.28 x 3.98 x 2.76") and Nikon 1 J3 body has dimensions of 101 x 61 x 29 mm (3.98 x 2.4 x 1.14"). Nikon Z5 weighs 675 g (1.49 lb / 23.81 oz) and Nikon 1 J3 weighs 201 g (0.44 lb / 7.09 oz).

Nikon Z5

Nikon 1 J3

134 mm

101 mm

101 mm

61 mm

101 mm

61 mm