D6vs A9
Nikon
D6 (2020)
Starting from £3200 new
Best for Professional Sports, Press & Wildlife Photography
View D6
Sony
A9 (2017)
Starting from £1999 new
Best for Professional sports, wildlife & action photography
View A9
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 & Action Photography — A9 (2017): The camera that changed professional photography — the A9's 20fps blackout-free burst and silent shutter proved mirrorless had definitively surpassed the DSLR.
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
A9 (2017)
- Sports photographers who want the original 20fps mirrorless at a lower used price than the A9 II
- Wildlife photographers who need blackout-free burst with fast, reliable tracking
- Sony FE system users who want a professional sports body
- Photographers interested in the camera that changed the industry
Quick take: The a9 has the highest resolution at 24mp; the a9 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | D6 (2020) | A9 (2017) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,200 | £1,999 |
| Sensor | 20.8MP full-frame BSI CMOS | 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked BSI CMOS Exmor RS |
| Resolution | 20.8MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 4K UHD 30fps | 4K/30p, 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Multi-CAM 3500FX III — 105 AF points, all cross-type | 693 phase-detect + 25 contrast-detect, real-time eye/body tracking |
| Stabilisation | — | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops |
| Burst Rate | 14fps mechanical | 20fps (blackout-free, silent electronic shutter with full AF/AE) |
| Battery Life | ~3580 shots (CIPA) | ~650 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1450g (body only) | 673g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 160 × 163.5 × 92mm | 126.9 × 95.6 × 63.0mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | OVF 0.72× magnification, 100% coverage | EVF, OLED 3.69M dots, 0.78× magnification, 60fps refresh (blackout-free) |
| Screen | 3.2" fixed touchscreen, 2.36M dots | 3.0" tilting touchscreen |
| Mount | Nikon F mount | Sony FE (full-frame E-mount) |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD slots | Dual SD UHS-II slots |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Ethernet (built-in), USB 3.1 | USB, Wi-Fi 5GHz, Bluetooth, HDMI |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | D6 | A9 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Wedding & Events | ||
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — |
GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →
More comparisons with D6
Camera family history