Nikon Z8 vs Sony Alpha 1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon Z8 and the Sony Alpha 1, 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 Z8 was introduced in May 2023 and Sony Alpha 1 was introduced in January 2021. 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 Z8 over Sony Alpha 1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 1 over Nikon Z8.

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 Z8 has a 3.2" screen with 2,100k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 1 has a 3.0" screen with 1,440k dot resolution. Both have Tilting screens. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Both models feature 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 Z8 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Stacked CMOS Sensor

Nikon Z8 features a 45.7 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 64 - 25,600 and expands to 32 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 1 features a 50.1 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 576 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

The cameras have Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

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 Z8 is equipped with EXPEED 7 processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 5504 resolution. Sony Alpha 1 is equipped with Dual BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 8640 x 5760 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z8 has Nikon Z lens mount and Sony Alpha 1 has Sony E lens mount. Due to their Full Frame sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) 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 on Nikon Z8

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon Z8. 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

The cameras have a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) (6 stops of compensation in Nikon Z8 and 5.5 stops of compensation in Sony Alpha 1). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when cameras are 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 (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

Nikon Z8 and Sony Alpha 1 have built-in Bluetooth (version 5 on Nikon Z8) 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 Type-C inputs for data transfer and battery charging. Nikon Z8 has a Full Size HDMI and Sony Alpha 1 has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z8 comes with EN-EL15c battery pack with battery life of 330 shots and Sony Alpha 1 comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 530 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon Z8 has two card slots - one for CFexpress Type B / XQD and one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II). Sony Alpha 1 has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Nikon Z8 has Electronic shutter. Sony Alpha 1 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec on Nikon Z8, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 1. Nikon Z8 can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps. Sony Alpha 1 can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Nikon Z8 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 493 focusing points and Sony Alpha 1 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points. Nikon Z8 has detection range from -9 to +19 EV and Sony Alpha 1 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV. The ability to focus at as low as -9 EV is a feature exclusive to top-tier professional cameras.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon Z8 and Sony Alpha 1 range from -3 to +17 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 Z8 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 1.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Nikon Z8 and via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Sony Alpha 1. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon Z8 and 1/400 sec on Sony Alpha 1.

Nikon Z8 body has dimensions of 144 x 119 x 83 mm (5.67 x 4.69 x 3.27") and Sony Alpha 1 body has dimensions of 129 x 97 x 81 mm (5.08 x 3.82 x 3.19"). Nikon Z8 weighs 910 g (2.01 lb / 32.10 oz) and Sony Alpha 1 weighs 737 g (1.62 lb / 26.00 oz).

Nikon Z8

Sony Alpha 1

144 mm

119 mm

129 mm

97 mm

119 mm

97 mm

83 mm

81 mm