Nikon Z5II / Sony α9 III (ILCE-9M3)

Nikon Z5II: Z5II · 1680 · black body

Sony α9 III (ILCE-9M3): α9 III ILCE-9M3 body; the VG-C5 vertical grip is sold separately. The α9 (ILCE-9) and α9 II (ILCE-9M2) are earlier models with different sensors.

SpecificationNikon Z5IISony α9 III (ILCE-9M3)
Release year20252023
Announcement / availability3 April 2025 / April 2025 Nikon—
Sensor35.9 × 23.9 mm full-frame CMOS; 24.5 MP effective Nikon35.6 × 23.8 mm full-frame stacked Exmor RS CMOS with global shutter; about 24.6MP effective for stills, 20.3MP for video

A global shutter reads every row at once, so the skew seen on row-by-row sensors with spinning propellers, golf clubs or fast pans does not occur.

Sony
Photo dimensions6048 × 4032 · 24.4 MP recorded Nikon—
ProcessorEXPEED 7 Nikon—
MountNikon Z; F lenses require a compatible adapter Nikon—
CardsTwo SD slots; UHS-II SDHC/SDXC Nikon—
Photo formats14-bit NEF RAW, JPEG, HEIF Nikon—
Viewfinder0.5-inch OLED; approximately 3.69 million dots; 0.8× Nikon—
Rear display3.2-inch; approximately 2.1 million dots; vari-angle touch Nikon—
StabilizationFive-axis sensor shift Nikon—
Stabilization rating7.5 stops at centre; 6 stops at periphery

CIPA 2024 with 24–120 mm f/4 S at telephoto/NORMAL; not a guarantee for every shot.

Nikon		—
AutofocusHybrid phase/contrast; 3D tracking NikonFast Hybrid AF; 759 phase-detection points for stills, 627 for video Sony
Photo ISO100–64000 standard Nikon—
ShutterMechanical, electronic first curtain, electronic; 1/8000–30 s Nikon—
High-speed burstC30: up to 30 fps JPEG; electronic

Not the RAW burst rate; rolling shutter can occur.

Nikon		—
4K video3840 × 2160; 60/50/30/25/24p

60/50p uses DX crop; full-width option at 30p.

Nikon		—
RAW video12-bit N-RAW; FX 4032 × 2268, up to 30p Nikon—
Other videoH.265 8/10-bit; H.264 8-bit; N-Log and HLG Nikon—
ConnectionsUSB-C SuperSpeed; HDMI Type D; 3.5 mm microphone and headphones Nikon—
BatteryEN-EL15c · 7 V / 2280 mAh NikonNP-FZ100; about 400 shots with the viewfinder and 530 with the screen (CIPA); charging and power over USB PD Sony
Dimensions134 × 100.5 × 72 mm Nikon—
Weight620 g body only; 700 g with battery and card Nikon—
Processor and ISO—BIONZ XR; ISO 250–25600 for stills (expanded 125–51200)

A base ISO of 250 means the lowest-noise setting is higher than on cameras with an ISO 100 base.

Sony
Burst and shutter—About 120 fps (Hi+), blackout-free; electronic shutter only, 1/80,000–30 s

Sony says AF/AE tracking continues at 120 fps. Speed Boost switches to a preset higher rate with one button during shooting; Pre-Capture keeps up to 1 second recorded before the shutter is pressed.

Sony
Flash sync—Up to 1/80,000 s (electronic); 1/500 s

Thanks to the global shutter, flash can be used even at the fastest shutter speed without switching to high-speed sync.

Sony
In-body stabilisation—5-axis sensor shift; 8.0 stops (CIPA)

The figure is measured with the FE 50mm F1.2 GM on pitch/yaw only.

Sony
Viewfinder and screen—0.64-type OLED viewfinder, 9,437,184 dots, 0.90x; 3.2-type 2,095,104-dot touchscreen (multi-angle)

The viewfinder refreshes at 60/120/240 fps. The screen tilts up 98°, down 40°, swings 180° to the side and rotates 270°.

Sony
Video—Up to 4K 119.88p; XAVC S (8-bit 4:2:0 or 10-bit 4:2:2), XAVC HS (10-bit 4:2:2), XAVC S-I 4K 59.94p (600 Mbps)

XAVC HS is H.265-based, producing smaller files at the same quality but needing a stronger computer to edit. XAVC S-I records intra-frame only, easier to edit but with large files.

Sony
Card slots—Two slots; each takes SD (UHS-I/II) or CFexpress Type A

CFexpress Type A cards are better suited to clearing the buffer quickly when shooting RAW at 120 fps.

Sony
Connectivity—USB-C 10 Gb/s (USB 3.2); plus Multi/Micro USB; 1000BASE-T wired LAN; Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5 GHz); Bluetooth 5.0; Type-A HDMI

Wired LAN is used to send photos quickly to agencies at sports and news events. Full-size HDMI gives a sturdier connection in the field than micro HDMI.

Sony
Size and weight—About 136.1 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm; about 702 g with battery and card (body only 617 g) Sony