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Nikon Z9vs KF

GearFrame · Updated March 2026

Nikon Nikon Z9 Nikon Nikon Z9 (2021) Starting from £5499 new Best for Professional sports & wildlife View Nikon Z9
VS
Pentax KF Pentax KF (2022) Starting from £700 new Best for Landscape & Outdoor View KF

GearScore™ Verdict — Which should you buy?

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.

Landscape & Outdoor — KF (2022): The Pentax KF is a rare thing — a weather-sealed DSLR with in-body stabilisation and an articulating screen at an accessible price. Video is modest at 1080p/60p, but for outdoor and landscape photographers who prefer optical viewfinders and want real weather sealing, the KF delivers in a format that is increasingly hard to find.

↓ Full specifications below

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

KF (2022)

  • Outdoor and landscape photographers who want weather sealing at an accessible price
  • DSLR users who want IBIS and an articulating screen without switching systems
  • Pentax K-mount lens collectors who want a modern body for their glass
  • Photographers who prefer the natural feel of an optical viewfinder

Quick take: The nikon z9 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the kf is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.

Full specifications

Specification Nikon Z9 (2021)KF (2022)
Price £5,499 £700
Sensor 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS 24.2MP APS-C CMOS
Resolution 45.7MP 24.2MP
Video 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW 1080p/60p
Autofocus Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect SAFOX 13 phase-detect AF with 11 points
Stabilisation 6-stop IBIS In-body Shake Reduction (SR II), up to 5.5 stops
Burst Rate 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG 6fps
Battery Life 740 shots (CIPA) ~410 shots (CIPA)
Weight 1340g body only 643g (body only)
Dimensions 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm 131.0 × 101.0 × 76.0mm
Weather Sealed Yes Yes
Viewfinder 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps Optical pentamirror, 0.95× magnification, ~100% coverage
Screen 3.2" tilting touchscreen 3.0" fully articulating touchscreen, 1.04M dots
Mount Nikon Z-mount Pentax KF-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, LAN USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Genre Nikon Z9KF
Sports & Action
9.0
6.0
Wildlife
9.0
7.5
Photojournalism
9.0
Vlogging & Video
7.0
4.5
Landscape
7.0
8.5
Travel
4.0
8.0
Portrait
7.5
Casual
7.5
Street
6.0

GearScore™ suitability scores are based on aggregated purchaser reviews weighted by photography genre. See how scores are calculated →

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