Nikon D3S vs Sony A77

Nikon D3S advantages over Sony A77

• Lens selection
  Excellent vs Good
  Better lens selection gives you more options
• Larger sensor
  35mm vs APS-C
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Bigger pixels
  ~ 8.46 vs 3.95 microns
  Better low-light and dynamic range (all else equal)
• Fast startup
  ~0.30 vs 0.8 sec
  Faster startup lets you catch the moment
• Higher effective ISO

  Higher effective ISO

  Maximum effective ISO is an estimate of the highest sensitivity at which a camera can capture excellent quality photos.

  Cameras with higher effective ISO will be better choices for indoor photography, night shooting, and indoor sports photography, especially if you intend to make large prints.

  You can learn more at our glossary entry.

  Maximum effective ISO test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  D3S test data on DxO Mark A77 test data on DxO Mark
  3,253 vs 801 iso
  Take photos in low light with less noise
• Longer stills battery life
  More info

  Longer stills battery life

  Cameras with longer battery life can take more photos before exhausting their batteries.

  Special note: The measurement standard for battery life stipulates that if a camera has an internal flash, it must be used for 50% of photos taken. For this reason, comparisons of one camera with an internal flash to another without will not be comparable

  4200 vs 530 shots
  Capture more photos
• Dual card slots
  Yes vs No
  Gives you more storage flexibility
• Bigger JPEG buffer
  90 vs 17 shots
  Take more JPEG shots before waiting (burst mode)
• Bigger RAW buffer
  41 vs 14 shots
  Larger buffer for RAW shots (burst mode)
• Higher extended ISO
  102400 vs 16000 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility