Nikon Z9vs A7C
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.
Compact Travel & Content Creation — A7C (2020): The A7C proves full-frame doesn't have to be bulky. Excellent battery life, reliable Eye AF and a vari-angle screen in a pocketable body is a compelling combination for travel and content creators. The A7C II improved on it, but the original remains a strong value buy.
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
A7C (2020)
- Travel photographers who want full-frame in the smallest possible body
- Content creators who need a flip screen and reliable Eye AF
- Photographers upgrading from APS-C who want to keep a compact kit
- Vloggers who need 4K and great battery life on the road
Quick take: The nikon z9 has the highest resolution at 46mp; the a7c is the most affordable; only the nikon z9 is weather sealed. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.
Full specifications
| Specification | Nikon Z9 (2021) | A7C (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £5,499 | £1,299 |
| Sensor | 45.7MP full-frame BSI stacked CMOS | 24.2MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS |
| Resolution | 45.7MP | 24.2MP |
| Video | 8K/30p RAW, 4K/120p, ProRes RAW | 4K/30p (oversampled), 1080p/120p slow-motion, S-Log2/S-Log3 |
| Autofocus | Subject detection AF, 493-point phase-detect | Phase-detect, 693 points, real-time Eye AF & animal AF |
| Stabilisation | 6-stop IBIS | 5-axis IBIS, 5 stops |
| Burst Rate | 20fps RAW / 120fps JPEG | 10fps with AF/AE tracking |
| Battery Life | 740 shots (CIPA) | ~740 shots (CIPA) — outstanding for a Sony mirrorless |
| Weight | 1340g body only | 509g (body, battery, card) |
| Dimensions | 149.0 × 149.5 × 90.5mm | 124.0 × 71.1 × 59.7mm |
| Weather Sealed | Yes | No |
| Viewfinder | 0.5" Quad-VGA OLED EVF, 3.69M dots, 120fps | None built-in — use rear screen or accessory EVF |
| Screen | 3.2" tilting touchscreen | 3.0" vari-angle touchscreen, 921k dots |
| Mount | Nikon Z-mount | Sony E-mount |
| Memory Cards | Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD | Single SD UHS-II |
| Connectivity | USB-C 3.2, HDMI full-size, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, LAN | USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 2), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC |
Suitability by genre
| Genre | Nikon Z9 | A7C |
|---|---|---|
| Sports & Action | — | |
| Wildlife | ||
| Photojournalism | — | |
| Vlogging & Video | — | |
| Landscape | — | |
| Travel | ||
| Video | — | |
| Portrait | — | |
| Street | — |
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