Sony a9 III vs Nikon D500

This is a full comparison between the cameras Sony a9 III and Nikon D500. We compare them by looking at the categories you see below.

Sony a9 III

Nikon D500

Manufacturing

Sony a9 III is manufacturered by Sony but Nikon D500 is from Nikon. Both Sony and Nikon are well known brands though.

Sony a9 III were released 2023 and Nikon D500 was released 2016. That is a 7 years difference. In tech, this period can be of interest since technology is always improving, etc.

Camera	Released
Sony a9 III	2023
Nikon D500	2016

Type of camera

Sony a9 III is a Mirrorless camera while Nikon D500 is a DSLR camera. More information about their differences will come soon.

Sensors / crop factor

These cameras have different sensors. Sony a9 III has a "Sony Full Frame"-sensor while Nikon D500 has a "Nikon DX"-sensor, and their difference in sensors will also affect the crop factor and experience focal length. See the table below.

Camera	Focal length, 50mm f/1.8 **
Sony a9 III	50 mm Full-frame sensor No crop factor/focal length multiplier
Nikon D500	75 mm Nikon DX sensor Crop factor/focal length multiplier by * 1.5

** Experienced focal length when using a lens such as a common "50mm f/1.8"

Learn more about crop factor and focal length multiplier here:
Camera selection can affect the focal length (Sony)
Camera selection can affect the focal length (Nikon)

Resolution

Sony a9 III has a 25,2 MP (Megapixels) resolution while Nikon D500 has 21 MP. If we break down this in more detail this is the data behind the numbers:

Camera	Megapixels
Sony a9 III	25,2 MP 24000000 pixels 6000 x 4000
Nikon D500	21 MP 20668416 pixels 5568 x 3712

Sony a9 III has a 16 % larger resolution than Nikon D500. This could give you more details in the picture but also a possibility to crop more in the pictures, afterward while editing the pictures, if needed that is.

ISO range

Nikon D500 has a larger ISO-range than Sony a9 III. Nikon D500 has an ISO range that stretches from 100 to 51200 while Sony a9 III has 125 to 51200.

Camera	ISO Range
Sony a9 III	125-51200
Nikon D500	100-51200

Autofocus and lens compatibility

Both of these cameras have a built-in autofocus motor. Some lenses, that support autofocus, do not have an autofocus motor of their own but this won't cause any problems with these two cameras.

Here is a complete overview of which lenses work with each camera:
Lens compatibility chart for Sony a9 III
Lens compatibility chart for Nikon D500

Pictures per second

Depending on what you are shooting the FPS, or frames/pictures per second, can definitely be of interest. Sony a9 III can shoot up to 120 pictures per seconds and Nikon D500 can shoot up to 10 pictures per seconds.

Camera	FPS (Frames per second)
Sony a9 III	120
Nikon D500	10

Ability to record movies

It is becoming more and more popular to record movies with digital cameras.

In this case, both Sony a9 III and Nikon D500 can shoot movies.

Weight

The weight of the camera can be an extremely important factor, especially if the camera is about to be used, or carried around, for several hours at a time.

Nikon D500 weighs 860 gr (equal to 1.9 lb) which is 39% heavier than Sony a9 III and its 617 gr (or 1.36 lb).

Camera	Weight
Sony a9 III	617 gr 1.36 lb
Nikon D500	860 gr 1.9 lb