EOS-1D X Mark IIIvs Nikon Z9
Canon
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
Starting from £3500 new
Best for Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography
View EOS-1D X Mark III
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Professional Sports, Wildlife & Press Photography — EOS-1D X Mark III (2020): Canon's DSLR masterpiece — 20fps live view, 5.5K RAW, 191 cross-type AF points, and dual CFexpress. Almost certainly the finest optical viewfinder camera ever made.
Professional Sports & Wildlife — Nikon Z9 (2021): The Z9 redefined what professional mirrorless could be — no mechanical shutter, 45MP stacked BSI, and 8K RAW in the most rugged Z body.
Who should buy what
EOS-1D X Mark III (2020)
- Sports and wildlife photographers with a Canon EF lens collection
- Professionals who prefer the optical viewfinder experience
- Press photographers who need 20fps, weather sealing, and Ethernet
- Canon historians who want to mark the end of the EOS-1D DSLR era
Nikon Z9 (2021)
- Professional sports, wildlife and photojournalism photographers
- Nikon D6 or D850 users making the final switch to mirrorless
- Those who need the fastest, most reliable AF Nikon has ever made
- Professionals who need a flagship body with no mechanical shutter
Quick take: The nikon z9 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the eos-1d x mark iii is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | EOS-1D X Mark III (2020) | Nikon Z9 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,500 | £5,499 |
| Sensor | 20.1MP full-frame CMOS | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS |
| Resolution | 20.1MP | 45.7MP |
| Video | 5.5K RAW, 4K 60fps (crop), 4K 60fps (full-frame via firmware) | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW |
| Autofocus | 191-point all cross-type OVF AF; 525-point Dual Pixel CMOS AF (Live View) | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | — | 6-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | 16fps mechanical, 20fps live view | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG |
| Battery Life | ~2850 shots (CIPA) | 740 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1250g (body only) | 1340g body only |
| Dimensions | 158 × 167.6 × 82.6mm | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.76× magnification, 100% coverage | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps |
| Screen | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen, 4.15M dots | 3.2" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Canon EF | Nikon Z-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B slots | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.2, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2, Ethernet | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | EOS-1D X Mark III | Nikon Z9 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Portrait | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Street | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Travel | — |
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