Nikon Z9vs A6300
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.
Travel, Street, Wildlife & 4k Video — A6300 (2016): The camera that proved Sony APS-C was serious — world's fastest AF at launch, uncropped 4K, and 11fps in a compact weather-sealed body.
Who should buy what
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
A6300 (2016)
- Travel and street photographers who want compact weather-sealed performance
- Wildlife photographers who need fast phase-detect AF in a lightweight body
- Content creators who want uncropped 4K in a compact E-mount body
- Sony E-mount users looking for an affordable used body with excellent image quality
Quick take: The nikon z9 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the a6300 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Nikon Z9 (2021) | A6300 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £5,499 | £449 |
| Sensor | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS | 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS |
| Resolution | 45.7MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW | 4K/30p (full pixel readout, no crop), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points — world's fastest at launch (0.05s) |
| Stabilisation | 6-stop IBIS | None |
| Burst Rate | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG | 11fps |
| Battery Life | 740 shots (CIPA) | ~400 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1340g body only | 361g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 48.8mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | Yes |
| Viewfinder | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps | EVF, OLED 2.36M dots, 0.70× magnification |
| Screen | 3.2" tilting touchscreen | 3.0" tilting LCD, 921k dots (no touch) |
| Mount | Nikon Z-mount | Sony E-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, NFC |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Nikon Z9 | A6300 |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | ||
| Wildlife | ||
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | ||
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Street | — | |
| Portrait | — |
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