Nikon D500 vs Sony Alpha 9

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D500 and the Sony Alpha 9, 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 D500 was introduced in January 2016 and Sony Alpha 9 was introduced in April 2017. 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 D500 over Sony Alpha 9.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 9 over Nikon D500.

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 D500 has a 3.2" screen with 2,359k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 9 has a 3.0" screen with 1,440k dot resolution. Both have Tilting screens. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so 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

Nikon D500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderSony Alpha 9 has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,686k dot resolution. They both have 100% coverage.

Nikon D500 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 1,640,000 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 9 features a 24.2 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 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 204,800 in boosted mode.

Sony Alpha 9 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 D500 is equipped with EXPEED 5 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4176 x 2784, 2784 x 1856 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Alpha 9 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon D500 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony Alpha 9 has Sony E lens mount. Due to APS-C sensor in Nikon D500 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 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.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon D500

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon D500. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 9

Sony Alpha 9 has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). 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 Sony Alpha 9) 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

Nikon D500 and Sony Alpha 9 have built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE on Nikon D500, version 4.1 on Sony Alpha 9) 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

Cameras have 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. Nikon D500 has a Mini HDMI and Sony Alpha 9 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D500 comes with EN-EL15 battery pack with battery life of 1240 shots and Sony Alpha 9 comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 650 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D500 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for CFexpress Type B / XQD. Sony Alpha 9 has Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) card slots.

Shutter

Nikon D500 has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Sony Alpha 9 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D500, and up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 9. Nikon D500 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Sony Alpha 9 can shoot continuously up to 20.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D500 has 153 (99 cross-type) focusing points and Sony Alpha 9 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 693 focusing points. Nikon D500 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV and Sony Alpha 9 has detection range from -3 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D500 and Sony Alpha 9 range from -4 to +20 EV and -3 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D500 and exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 9.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Nikon D500 and via Intelligent Hot Shoe or PC Terminal to Sony Alpha 9. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on both cameras.

Nikon D500 body has dimensions of 147 x 115 x 81 mm (5.79 x 4.53 x 3.19") and Sony Alpha 9 body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 63 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.48"). Nikon D500 weighs 860 g (1.90 lb / 30.34 oz) and Sony Alpha 9 weighs 673 g (1.48 lb / 23.74 oz).

Nikon D500

Sony Alpha 9

147 mm

115 mm

127 mm

96 mm

115 mm

96 mm

81 mm

63 mm