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Sony a1 @ $6,500: http://SDPio/a1
Sony 600mm f/4 @: $13,000 http://SDP.io/S600GM
Canon R5 @ $3,000: http://SDP.io/R5
Canon 600mm f/4 @: $13,000 http://SDP.io/C600III

Professional wildlife photographers Chelsea & Tony Northrup review the 3 ultimate wildlife camera & lens setups: the Sony a1 with the Sony 1.4X teleconverter and the Sony 600mm f/4 lens (totaling $21,050), the Canon R5 with the Canon RF 1.4X teleconverter and the Canon RF 600mm f/4 lens (totalling $16,850) and the Nikon Z9 with the Nikon 600mm f/4 TC S lens ($21,400).

Their results will surprise some people! Canon's R5 setup is the least expensive by a $4,200 margin, but the older Canon R5 does lag behind in some key ways: it's limited to 20 FPS raw (and only while the battery has over a 60% charge), and those raw files have pretty severe rolling shutter. Still, it's capable of producing amazing, professional-grade results, and it's the best we have for Canon wildlife until the rumored Canon R1 finally shows up.

The Sony a1 is almost as old, but it's held-up much better. It's the only camera here that can do 30 FPS raw stills, and Sony's subject-detection is the best when shooting stills. However, the Sony a1 doesn't do animal eye detect in video, even with the latest firmware update installed, and that's a huge disappointment. Even though it's the most expensive camera in the lineup, it lacks some key features of the Nikon Z9, including GPS and 8k/60 raw video. The Sony's memory cards are slower and more expensive, too. However, the Sony has the best viewfinder and the Sony setup is the lightest of the three.

The Nikon Z9 is the youngest in the lineup. Though it was released in December of 2021, it won our 2023 Camera of the Year award for the firmware updates that greatly improved its autofocus performance. Now, the Z9's wildlife autofocus is pretty similar to the Canon R5 and the Sony a1. Nikon hasn't held back any features, and we found the GPS and 8k/60 raw video to be extremely useful. The single feature that put it over the top is the built-in teleconverter in the 600mm f/4 lens, which made it much easier to get closer to faraway subjects without potentially ruining unexpected up-close opportunities, such as when a bird flies directly towards you.

0:00 Introduction
0:47 Price (Cost)
2:17 Weight
4:23 Still frames per second (FPS)
4:40 Rolling shutter problem with Canon R5
5:11 Buffering
5:58 Precapture (Pre-Release Burst) with Nikon Z9
6:30 Adorama Promo
7:14 Weather Sealing
7:28 Video capabilities, 8k, and slow-motion
9:16 Electronic Viewfinder Resolution
10:19 Menu systems & user interfaces
10:59 GPS in Nikon Z9
11:13 Lack of anti-theft capabilities
11:47 Sharpness & resolution
14:01 Autofocus & Subject Detection
14:27 Summary & Winners