D6vs Nikon Z9
Nikon
D6 (2020)
Starting from £3200 new
Best for Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography
View D6
GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?
Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography — D6 (2020): Nikon's final and finest DSLR — the D6 brought 105 all-cross-type AF points, 14fps, and built-in LAN to the F mount. The last word in optical viewfinder photography.
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
D6 (2020)
- Sports, wildlife, and press photographers who prefer an optical viewfinder
- Professional Nikon shooters with a substantial F-mount lens collection
- Photojournalists who need built-in LAN for wire transmission
- Nikon system professionals seeking a used flagship at under-new-price value
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 d6 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | D6 (2020) | Nikon Z9 (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,200 | £5,499 |
| Sensor | 20.8MP full-frame BSI CMOS | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS |
| Resolution | 20.8MP | 45.7MP |
| Video | 4K UHD 30fps | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW |
| Autofocus | Multi-CAM 3500FX III — 105 AF points, all cross-type | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | — | 6-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | 14fps mechanical | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG |
| Battery Life | ~3580 shots (CIPA) | 740 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1450g (body only) | 1340g body only |
| Dimensions | 160 × 163.5 × 92mm | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.72× magnification, 100% coverage | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps |
| Screen | 3.2" fixed touchscreen, 2.36M dots | 3.2" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Nikon F mount | Nikon Z-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD slots | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Ethernet (built-in), USB 3.1 | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | D6 | Nikon Z9 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | — | |
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | — | |
| Landscape | ||
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| 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