Canon EOS M3 vs Sony Alpha 9 III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS M3 and the Sony Alpha 9 III, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS M3 was introduced in February 2015 and Sony Alpha 9 III was introduced in November 2023. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS M3 over Sony Alpha 9 III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 9 III over Canon EOS M3.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS M3 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 9 III has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 2,360k dots resolution. Tilting screen makes Canon EOS M3 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Fully articulated screen makes Sony Alpha 9 III selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Both models feature touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dots resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.9x magnification.Canon EOS M3 does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Canon EOS M3 features a 24.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 12,800 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 9 III features a 24.6 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.6 x 23.8 mm and a total area of 566.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 250 - 25,600 and expands to 125 - 51,200 in boosted mode.

Sony Alpha 9 III has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS M3 is equipped with DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Sony Alpha 9 III is equipped with BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3936 x 2632, 3008 x 2000 with 1:1, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS M3 has Canon EF-M lens mount and Sony Alpha 9 III has Sony E lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Canon EOS M3 its crop factor is equal to 1.6x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 9 III its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 8 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Canon EOS M3, Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac/b/g/n 2.4/5 GHz on Sony Alpha 9 III) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in Bluetooth (version 5.0) which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Canon EOS M3

Canon EOS M3 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS M3 has a Mini HDMI and Sony Alpha 9 III has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS M3 comes with LP-E17 battery pack with battery life of 250 shots and Sony Alpha 9 III comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 530 shots with LVD
400 shots with viewfinder.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS M3 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Sony Alpha 9 III has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Canon EOS M3 has Electronic 1st curtain shutter. Sony Alpha 9 III has Electronic Global Shutter shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS M3, and up to 1/80000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 9 III. Canon EOS M3 can shoot continuously up to 4.2 fps. Sony Alpha 9 III can shoot continuously up to 120.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 30.0 fps with mechanical shutter.

Focusing

Canon EOS M3 has Hybrid CMOS AF III system with 49 focusing points and Sony Alpha 9 III has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points. Canon EOS M3 has detection range from +2 to +18 EV and Sony Alpha 9 III has detection range from -5 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 9 III ranges from -5 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS M3 and ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 9 III. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS M3 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 9 III.

Flash

Canon EOS M3 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 5.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Sony Alpha 9 III has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Shoe Mount or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/80000 sec on Sony Alpha 9 III.

Canon EOS M3 body has dimensions of 111 x 68 x 44 mm (4.37 x 2.68 x 1.73") and Sony Alpha 9 III body has dimensions of 136 x 97 x 83 mm (5.35 x 3.82 x 3.27"). Canon EOS M3 weighs 366 g (0.81 lb / 12.91 oz) and Sony Alpha 9 III weighs 678 g (1.49 lb / 23.92 oz).

Canon EOS M3

Sony Alpha 9 III

111 mm

68 mm

136 mm

97 mm

68 mm

97 mm

44 mm

83 mm