Nikon Z9 To Have Canon R5 Specs, Out in ’21

Following new rumors about Canon and Sony flagship mirrorless designs, a “reliable source” contacted NikonRumors post indicates the coming flagship-level mirrorless camera from Nikon is coming. Like Canon’s, it will probably be at least a year before it’s seen.

The specs looked an awful lot like those of the R5, which – in fairness – are hard to top. Forum dwellers trying to come up with additional specs for a “flagship” version of that Canon release have come up short for anything that might justify a significant price differential. Video overheating could be improved with internal recording, but people serious about video typically record externally anyway.

The Nikon body would have a 46 MP sensor, shoot at 20 frames per second, have tracking autofocus akin to the Sony A9 Mark II and use a high resolution EVF with little blackout. Cameras designed around 8K video capability would naturally have a 46 MP sensor. Not mentioned in the spec list is overheating envelopes; mechanical shutter frames per second; bit depth at 20 frames per second; a 4K mode that uses the whole sensor; a flippy screen; or whether or not it would have IBIS.

The latter two items seem to be very useful features that some pros associate with non-pro cameras, so this can be fraught for flagship camera designers.

The feature listed that the Canon R5 does not have is internal GPS. The price would be about 50 percent more.