Petapixel comparing "Flagship" cameras

[AlphaWorld]

Chris Niccolls chose to compare the Canon R1 / Nikon Z9 / Sony A1 II. I guess by choosing the most expensive camera from each maker.

I think that's a mistake.

Maybe the theory was "if you can only have one camera...", but I think that's a mistake, because if you can only afford one camera, why would you be buying one of these cameras? The smart thing to do would be to spend less on the body and more on glass.

If you want the best camera for a specific purpose, and you are willing spend the price, then maybe you would be focussing more particularly on your needs, and not trying to buy a "do absolutely everything" camera.

So, if you want a high speed camera (that which gets called a "sports" camera), then my picks as flagships are:

• Canon R1
• Sony A9 III
• Nikon Z9, I guess?

If you want a higher resolution high speed camera then my picks as flagships are:

• Canon ? - they don't have a modern 1Ds body - is it the R5 II?
• Sony A1 II
• Nikon Z9

If you want a higher resolution camera without needing high speed, then choices seem not to be flagship-priced:

• Canon R5 II
• Sony A7RV
• Nikon Z8

My point is that Sony doesn't offer a single "flagship" camera - Sony has diversified their range so individual models can offer a more nuanced set of features. Canon doesn't really have a single flagship either (and in the past it has been more obvious - remembering the 1Ds and 1D series, or the 1DX and 5D series). Nikon does have an obvious flagship in the Z9, but even they offer a choice by having the Z8.

Rather than comparing the R1 vs Z9 vs A1 II, I think it makes more sense to nominate a photographic category, then pick cameras from each brand. For some categories, it might be smart to pick a couple of cameras from each brand - wedding photography, for example, where an A9 III and either an A1 II or an A7RV would be my choices.

Chris Niccolls did try to address this to a limited extent, but he did depict this as a showdown between a single model from each maker (I suspect that may have been a directive).