Nikon D300 vs Sony Alpha 9 III

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D300 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.

Nikon D300 was introduced in March 2008 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 Nikon D300 over Sony Alpha 9 III.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 9 III over Nikon D300.

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

Nikon D300 has a 3.0" Fixed screen with 922k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 9 III has a 3.2" Fully Articulated screen with 2,360k dots resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Sony Alpha 9 III selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 9 III also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony Alpha 9 III) 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

Nikon D300 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderSony Alpha 9 III has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dots resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon D300 features a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.8 mm and a total area of 372.9 mm². Its native ISO range is 200 - 3,200 and expands to 100 - 6,400 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

Nikon D300 is equipped with EXPEED processor and can take pictures up to 4288 x 2848 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3216 x 2136, 2144 x 1424 with 3:2 aspect ratios. 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

Nikon D300 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony Alpha 9 III has Sony E lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D300 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. 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 on Sony Alpha 9 III

Sony Alpha 9 III has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Nikon D300 has a Mini Type C HDMI and Sony Alpha 9 III has a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D300 comes with EN-EL3e battery pack with battery life of 1000 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

Nikon D300 has a single CompactFlash (Type I/II, compliant with UDMA), MicroDrive card slot. Sony Alpha 9 III has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Nikon D300 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Sony Alpha 9 III has Electronic Global Shutter shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D300, and up to 1/80000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 9 III. Nikon D300 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 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

Nikon D300 has 51 focusing points and Sony Alpha 9 III has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points. Sony Alpha 9 III has detection range from -5 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D300 and Sony Alpha 9 III range from 0 to +20 EV and -5 to +17 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D300 and ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 9 III. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D300 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 9 III.

Flash

Nikon D300 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. 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 1/250 sec on Nikon D300 and 1/80000 sec on Sony Alpha 9 III.

Nikon D300 body has dimensions of 147 x 114 x 74 mm (5.79 x 4.49 x 2.91") and Sony Alpha 9 III body has dimensions of 136 x 97 x 83 mm (5.35 x 3.82 x 3.27"). Nikon D300 weighs 925 g (2.04 lb / 32.63 oz) and Sony Alpha 9 III weighs 678 g (1.49 lb / 23.92 oz).

Nikon D300

Sony Alpha 9 III

147 mm

114 mm

136 mm

97 mm

114 mm

97 mm

74 mm

83 mm