D6vs Sony A9 III
Nikon
D6 (2020)
Starting from £3200 new
Best for Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography
View D6
Sony
Sony A9 III (2023)
Starting from £5999 new
Best for Sports & action professionals
View Sony A9 III
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.
Sports & Action Professionals — Sony A9 III (2023): A paradigm-shifting camera — the global shutter eliminates every rolling shutter limitation that has constrained action photography for years.
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
Sony A9 III (2023)
- Professional sports photographers who need zero blackout and 120fps burst
- Wildlife photographers who demand the most advanced Sony AF available
- Photojournalists who need flash sync at any shutter speed
- A9 II owners upgrading to the world's first full-frame global shutter
Quick take: The sony a9 iii has the highest resolution at 25mp; the d6 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | D6 (2020) | Sony A9 III (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,200 | £5,999 |
| Sensor | 20.8MP full-frame BSI CMOS | 24.6MP full-frame Exmor RS CMOS (global shutter) |
| Resolution | 20.8MP | 24.6MP |
| Video | 4K UHD 30fps | 4K/120p, 4K/60p, 1080p/240p |
| Autofocus | Multi-CAM 3500FX III — 105 AF points, all cross-type | AI subject recognition AF, 759-point phase-detect |
| Stabilisation | — | 8-stop IBIS |
| Burst Rate | 14fps mechanical | 120fps blackout-free electronic |
| Battery Life | ~3580 shots (CIPA) | 530 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1450g (body only) | 703g body only |
| Dimensions | 160 × 163.5 × 92mm | 136.1 × 96.9 × 82.9mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.72× magnification, 100% coverage | 0.64" Quad-XGA OLED EVF, 9.44M dots |
| Screen | 3.2" fixed touchscreen, 2.36M dots | 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen |
| Mount | Nikon F mount | Sony FE (E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD slots | Dual CFexpress Type A / SD UHS-II |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Ethernet (built-in), USB 3.1 | USB-C 3.2, HDMI A, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | D6 | Sony A9 III |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | ||
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| 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