Nikon Z9vs A6500
Sony
A6500 (2016)
Starting from £649 new
Best for Travel, street & versatile everyday photography
View A6500
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 & Versatile Everyday Photography — A6500 (2016): The first Sony APS-C with IBIS — the A6500 added in-body stabilisation, touch AF, and a far deeper buffer to the A6300's already strong formula.
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
A6500 (2016)
- Travel photographers who want IBIS in a compact weather-sealed E-mount body
- A6300 owners who need the stabilisation or touch AF the A6300 lacked
- Street and documentary photographers who want a capable compact with weather sealing
- Sony E-mount shooters looking for a capable used body at an accessible price
Quick take: The nikon z9 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the a6500 is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Nikon Z9 (2021) | A6500 (2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £5,499 | £649 |
| 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), 1080p/120p |
| Autofocus | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect | 425 phase-detect + 169 contrast-detect AF points, face/eye detection |
| Stabilisation | 6-stop IBIS | IBIS — 5-axis, up to 5 stops (first Sony APS-C with IBIS) |
| Burst Rate | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG | 11fps |
| Battery Life | 740 shots (CIPA) | ~310 shots (CIPA) |
| Weight | 1340g body only | 453g (with battery and card) |
| Dimensions | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm | 120.0 × 66.9 × 53.3mm |
| 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" fully articulating touchscreen |
| 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, Bluetooth |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Nikon Z9 | A6500 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 →
More comparisons with Nikon Z9
Camera family history