Sony a1 vs Nikon Z9 vs Canon R3: Which Camera Should You Buy? (2024)

This video is the Ultimate Flagship Camera Battle. Which one is the right one for you, the Sony a1, Nikon Z9 or the Canon EOS R3. My goal with this video is to give you the pros and cons of each camera and help you decide which one might be the right one for you. Everything is based on my Real World Usage of each of these cameras.

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[froknowsphoto]

Which will you take? Right now I'm taking the R3, that's changed slightly since filming this video. The Sony a1 and R3 are a toss up for me depending on the situation.

[Strodav]

I have been invested in Nikon since 2016 with 5 bodies ( Z9, D850, D500, D800, D7200) and a lot of glass including the trinity, a 600mm f/4, some other telephotos and a bunch of fast primes. I pre-ordered the Z9 on the day of announcement and it came a couple of weeks ago. The Z9 is an amazing camera with the most important features to me being the AF system, ibis, and ability to use my AF-S f-mount glass. It is the right decision for me.

[bobylob]

I used a Z6ii a few weeks ago for the first time after shooting on a Nikon DSLR for several years and it blows my mind. I don’t doubt that the Z9 is even more mind blowing and I can’t wait to get my hands on one.

[therealscoobydoo]

Don't own a Z9 or any mirrorless, but I work with photographers who use all 3 of the cameras you compared. What I hear consistently is that the Z9 is the only one that works as well with native and non-native lens. I know a Z9 user who owns both the native 70-200 and the 5-year-old Tamron 70-200 G2 and he can't tell the difference. The A1 and the R3 users have had inconsistent results with non-native lenes. That's a really big deal for those of us who have invested a lot in their lens collection. I am an 850 user; I don't think either of these cameras produce better image quality than my 850; however, their autofocus capability is almost unreal. With the Z9 you are getting the best of the 850 and the D5.

[JessDemant]

Hi Jared, I will never consider changing brand because the big three are constantly changing places in the battle to be the best, so my advice is, just switch from a DSLR system to mirrorless system, and then choose the mirrorless brand there at that point appeals to you the most, it's that simple!
Cheers
Jess

[danieljung]

Given that Nikon now has the ability to AUTO focus MANUAL lenses with the Techart adapter is pretty insane for those of us with a lot of old Nikon manual lenses or really any manual lens from Leica or Canon. To me, the sensor distance for Nikon letting you adapt any lens greatly expands why it's a great system.

[mrCetus]

I think it is worth mentioning that the A1 mshutter can sync up to 1/400 in FF and 1/500 in crop mode. That is likely the most advanced mech shutter ever built a very valuable feature and probably a good chunk of the added cost of the A1. I often use non HSS strobes and it can be very useful to sync faster for more control over ambient light or freezing action in hybrid lighting conditions.

[baljindersinghsidhu]

For me, It's always Nikon Z9, reliability, badass design, quality pictures, video functions, and much more to say. I'm a Nikon fan here..❤👌👌🧨🧨💥💥

[wdZo]

I'm sticking with Nikon. I was manual tracking subjects last month so I'm cool with slightly less sticky AF. Seems to win in most other categories.

[theartofimaging]

Nikon users can have the best of both worlds: Using a D850 with optical viewfinder which is still preferred for nature and wildlife photography as it don't need any power consumption or a super modern mirrorless Z 9 for great video or action work. Both systems don't exclude each other and can be used easily in parallel.

[mike_s_media]

I actually went with the alpha 1 for a multitude of reasons but to keep it simple, I'm already on the Sony platform and have a decent handful of lenses. I will say if I were starting based off of one of these three though that I would still choose the alpha 1 over the R3 for the higher resolution. It helps to have the larger image size when I need to do a crop in on live action and wildlife shots. However, they are all outstanding performers and the real differences are so minute that I don't think anyone would go wrong with any of these systems!

[nickwilliams]

As a Sony shooter I would love the rear screen from the Nikon. You did not mention flash sync speed which is a big check mark for Sony. I do wish I could set the photos per seconds. Stacked sensors are great for weddings I just wish I had more control over the speed

[MaverickChristian]

I'm going with none of the above because they're all too expensive for me. 😜 Given the option though I'd choose the a1 simply because I have so much glass invested in the Sony system. At this point, which to choose depends on which system you've spent money on lenses.

[thomastarner]

Z9 here, I'm set for F mount glass and I have seen a couple reviews that stated the auto focus speed differences for adapted f-mount glass was negligible or actually improved even with TC's added. I've been a Nikon shooter from the start shooting D500, D810, D850 and soon to be adding a Z9.

[LT]

Z9 for me. Best value and I still think Nikon's files look the best.

[gwilliams]

I am a former longtime Canon and Nikon pro user (40 years using both brands) . But I will stay with my Sony A1, A7SIII, A7RIV and my host of E-mount lenses from Sony, Sigma and Tamron, thank you. My Sonys fulfill all my professional and personal needs. Not switching back to Nikon or Canon. But I do wish them well with their Z9 and R3 as true competition keeps them all innovating. Cheers and thanks Jared. Give a shout out to Brandon and all the folks at Allen's for me, ok. Still my fav dealer.

[carlkristensen]

The Z9 for me because of the lenses I have. But also for the focus-stacking ability, wich is awesome for both landscape- and macro photography, not to speak of foodphotography. Not sure if Canon has that or not, but to my knowledge, Sony does not have it. And then there is the raw files! Z9, no doubt.

[angelfoto]

The Nikon EVF is build around user experience while the Sony one is build to be impressive in a spec sheet

[phphoto]

Hi Jared - Like you said, it really doesn’t matter wich camera you use. But I’ll stick with Nikon - because of the quality of the files. I find the nikon files so beautiful and sexy - So I can easily live with the lesser focus tracking and 20 frames a second. That is not a dealbreaker for me 👍🏼

[rumporridge]

Was waiting for this one Jared thanks.