Nikon Z8vs A7R II
Nikon
Nikon Z8 (2023)
Starting from £3999 new
Best for Sports, wildlife & hybrid professionals
View Nikon Z8
Sony
A7R II (2015)
Starting from £799 new
Best for Portrait, landscape & studio photography
View A7R II
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Sports, Wildlife & Hybrid Professionals — Nikon Z8 (2023): Z9 performance in a compact body — 45MP, 8K/60p RAW, and 20fps burst without the bulk or price of the flagship.
Portrait, Landscape & Studio Photography — A7R II (2015): The A7R II transformed the A7R series — adding IBIS, 4K video, BSI sensor tech, and phase-detect AF in one generation. A landmark Sony camera.
Who should buy what
Nikon Z8 (2023)
- Professional photographers who want Z9 capability in a smaller body
- Wildlife and sports shooters who want 8K RAW and 120fps burst
- Z6 III or Z7 II owners upgrading to pro-grade performance
- Hybrid professionals who need the best Nikon video and stills in one body
A7R II (2015)
- Landscape and architecture photographers who want 42MP with IBIS for handheld shooting
- Portrait and studio photographers who need high resolution with improved AF reliability
- Sony FE system users who want a capable high-resolution body at a used price
- A7R I owners who need the stabilisation, 4K, and improved AF the original lacked
Quick take: The nikon z8 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the a7r ii is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Nikon Z8 (2023) | A7R II (2015) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,999 | £799 |
| Sensor | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS | 42.4MP Full-Frame BSI CMOS Exmor R |
| Resolution | 45.7MP | 42.4MP |
| Video | 8K/60p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW | 4K/30p (S35 or full-frame), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect | 399 phase-detect + 25 contrast-detect AF points, face detection |
| Stabilisation | 6-stop IBIS | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 4.5 stops (first A7R with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG | 5fps |
| Battery Life | 330 shots (CIPA) | ~290 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 910g body only | 625g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 144.0 × 118.5 × 83.0mm | 126.9 × 95.7 × 60.3mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.78× magnification |
| Screen | 3.2" tilting touchscreen | 3.0" tilting LCD, 1.23M dots (no touch) |
| Mount | Nikon Z-mount | Sony FE (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD | Single SD UHS-I slot |
| Connectivity | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth | USB, Wi-Fi, NFC |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Nikon Z8 | A7R II |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Landscape | ||
| Portrait | ||
| Travel | ||
| Architecture | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
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Camera family history