Approaching the Scene 039: Nikon vs Sony Autofocus Showdown

This month during my Charleston, South Carolina workshop I took advantage of the opportunity to pit the two top-gun sports, action and wildlife cameras against one another in an autofocus tracking test. My good friends D.C. and David shoot action with the Sony A9 and Nikon D5 respectively and photographing birds in flight at the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey was a great opportunity to compare the two.

These two cameras are built for similar work, but couldn't be more different beasts. Sony's A9 is a powerful compact mirrorless body while the D5 is Nikon's great beast of a pro build DSLR. While I know mirrorless autofocus is developing incredibly quickly, I've been skeptical of the current crop of mirrorless cameras keeping up with the best of optical autofocus from Nikon. The results in South Carolina surprised me. Check it out.

[Scottyman]

Nikon needs a mirrorless capable of competing with the A9 for wildlife. The Z6 and 7 AF doesn't even come close.

[SilatShooter]

The A9 is really amazing. It's the best camera I've ever used. The no-viewfinder blackout and silent shutter are game changers.

[SanoyNimbus]

I am glad you mentioned the pair Z6+D850 ... that is the one I got right now. I recently sold my D500, since it have been collecting dust since I got the Z6 in December 2018. I might regret it. But I cannot afford more than two cameras. ... :( I am looking forward to the firmware update this May!

Thanks for the video!

[klackon]

I have used two cameras in tandem for many years, mostly Canon. Until a few months ago, however, I owned a Nikon D500 + Nikkor 300mm f4 PF ED VR + TC14EIII + Nikkor 200 - 500mm f5.6 + Sigma 180mm f2.8 OS macro. My second system comprised a mirrorless Olympus EM1 mark II + Oly 300 mm f4 + 1.4TC + Oly 12 - 100mm f4. At the time they were perfect for me. I actually preferred my EM1.2, I felt the AF was pretty close to the D500 and the tracking superior to the D500. The Olympus ProCapture option works beautifully and fps is also superior. Unfortunately, the weight of both systems was begining to wear me down. I walk for up to 7 hours/15 miles a day, 5 days a week; so I had to look for a replacement. I chose a Sony A9 and Sony A7III + Sony 100 - 400mm G Master + 2 x TC and a Sony 90mm f2.8 macro. The A9 is simply stunning and the A7III is no slouch. I now have no back or hip pain after spending 7 hours in the countryside and can even mow the grass etc., after I return home. Not only are the A9 and A7III marvellous for wildlife/macro photography, the cameras a lenses make for considerable weight saving over DSLR systems. Moving to Sony was the right choice for me.

[jasonspannagel]

Swapped out my D4s and D850 for a Z6 and Z7. Been shooting a lot of sports with them and don’t really miss the DSLRs at all at this point. Haven’t shot the Sony’s, but anticipate the new Nikon firmware making them even better. As they are I can work with them, but would like to see them creep up a bit on Sony who just keeps pushing the envelope.

[Noealz]

Man I live in South Korea and that picture of the southern style BBQ really throws me back - it's hard to come across that kinda good food over here :/

[thomaskauffman]

Hudson, I have a Nikon D5200 with a Nikon 18 to 300mm lens. I'm having trouble with focus. Could be a combination of my need for reading glasses and possibly the lens or camera having autofocus issues. Do cameras and/or lenses need adjusting from time to time and if so does that mean a trip to the Nikon repair center. Pricy i would imagine. Any thoughts on my problems?

[MrChristopherwren]

I'm always anticipated to watch the Nikon review.

[michaelvail]

I enjoyed the comparisons - have to give Nikon mirrorless a little more time. I'll be in SC this coming September and look forward to the two locations you mention. FYI, I purchased a 500 AH recently based on what I learned in your videos. So far I love the simplicity/efficiency - anybody looking for a BH55 in great condition? Thank you for the details including the components needed and links.

[karn]

Hi Hudson! I’ve been on the verge of converting to sony, but on the way I decided to spend more time learning my nikon cameras before giving up my nikon gear. The short story is that I’m having a hard time since I’ve improved! If I didn’t love shooting wildlife I might have switched a couple of years ago. I did, however, rent the sony 100-400 and paired it with the sony A7riii, which I own. I took it out on a local refuge visit (Ridgefield!) after creating a profile based on settings recommended by Mark Galer. My results were very good, at least as good, if not better than with my D500/300PF combo. The A7riii is no slouch at 10 FPS (I believe with compressed raw), and the buffer isn’t bad. And you can shoot it in crop mode. I find it a fantastic all around camera. By the way, the D500/300PF combo is a great light weight kit, and is what keeps me with Nikon. I really enjoy your videos, keep it up!

[CountryCharmPEI]

Hudson, love your Approaching the Scene videos. I watch them all and learn a ton every video. The one thing I would really like to see is a video like this one but include the Canon R and RP. I know Nikon shooters tend not to associate with Canon shooters, LOL, but have a lot of Canon Glass I would really like an your opinion or any associates that you might have, on the Canon entries into mirrorless. Keep these great videos coming and some day I hope to take part in one of your workshops.
Glenn from PEI

[thoughtprovoking]

Thanks for this. How would you compare the viewfinder between the z6 and a9?

[DavisTibbz]

Hi, what camera used to film this video?

[sadenb]

Sony A9 is the king of fast cameras. People who are loyal to a brand will remain loyal to a brand but I got to say that the A9 is a whole different beast altogether.

[noonsound]

New subscriber, love your videos and presentation style. 👍👍😊

[shaolin]

The A9 doesn't keep up..I destroys the competition

[jpdj]

About buying a Z camera, David in the clip said "I am holding out". I am holding out too. Nikon need to seriously step up their firmware development. I saw a TEDx video of a guy who wrote an efficient recognition algorithm and said he put it in the public domain. I guess they are living on an island, those Nikon people. I do not understand why they developed the Noct lens - manual focus, huge and heavy. When they could have spent the money to a couple new primes. Nikon san, just make sure the Z lenses are future-proof in resolution and have zero CA. And, I want consistency in color tone across the product range.

[terrylwilliams]

What... 'Z6 or Z7' can't compare to those two. I love my Z6 and almost feel out of my chair when you said that. 'Bad Hudson'.