Nikon is back in the game with their new Z9 mirrorless camera

For the last couple of years I’m really enjoying photographing with my sturdy Nikon D850 DSLR camera. But just like the transition from film to digital, we’re in a transition to a new type of camera at this very moment: the mirrorless camera. In the last couple of years a real battle has been going on between the 3 most popular camera brands: Canon, Sony and Nikon. Who was able to deliver the best and smartest camera body?

Sony has been developing mirrorless cameras for years longer, and Canon has brought the fantastic R5 and R6 to the market within no time, a true technological jump catching up with Sony. Unfortunately, Nikon stayed miles behind. The autofocus worked way slower and accurately, and when it comes to technological and software advancement, Sony and Canon were way ahead. Every now and then rumors kept popping up, saying that Nikon has lost the game, that Nikon was a sinking ship and that there was no way that Nikon would be able to catch up with the rest. Many photographers have jumped ship from Nikon to Sony or Canon, and truth be told: I’ve seriously considered jumping to another brand as well.

Coming soon: the Nikon Z9

But there it was: the long awaited announcement for the Nikon Z9… The new flagship camera of Nikon, a mirrorless camera built for the professional who asks the utmost of a camera. And as per usual, the flagship comes with the built in battery grip for a longer battery life and for easier capture of portrait oriented photos.

One thing that immediately captures the attention, is the pricing of the Z9… Compared to the A1, Sony’s flagship camera, the price for the newly announced Z9 starts at € 1.300,- cheaper! But how does the Z9 perform? And is Nikon really back in the mirrorless camera race?

45,7 Megapixel sensor

Another really interesting feature of this camera is the amount of megapixels of this camera: it’s the same as the Z7II and the popular D850 DSLR. Extraordinary, because the flagship cameras often sport sensors with less megapixels to guarantee the high speed of the camera. The fact that Nikon chooses a sensor with this amount of megapixels, shows they have full confidence in their own technology: high speed and details (so bigger file sizes) coming together in the Z9. This makes that the number 1 Nikon camera is not only suitable for sport photographers, but also for many other types of photographers, who usually wouldn’t look at the flagship camera body, because they often need a higher megapixel sensor.

This is also the very first time that I’m watching a high end flagship camera with curiosity: a lot of speed, top of the line autofocus AND a high megapixel sensor? Now you’ve got my attention!

No more mechanical shutter

The fastest sensor scan speed of all the current mirrorless cameras: banding and rolling shutter should not be a problem anymore for this electronic shutter.

An advantage of this fact is that you can take photographs incredibly inconspicuously. Because this electronic shutter works perfectly well with flash photography, this could in fact be a very popular camera for wedding, funeral and press photographers, if the weight isn’t an issue.

I must say, it is incredibly strange to shoot at 120 FPS, but not hear a single shutter sound going on. Fortunately, they have built in several shutter noises to choose from, so your camera will be able to make that trusted rattling sound during those bursts!

Sensor protection

With mirrorless cameras, the mechanical shutter usually helps to protect the sensor. Because the mechanical shutter is not present within this camera, Nikon has made a sensor shield: durable plastic plates that cover the sensor when the camera’s turned off. These plates are more durable than a mechanical shutter and they are super fast. With other cameras, it can take up to 3 seconds to fully protect the sensor. Because of this, it’s usually useful to wait a few seconds before switching a lens. Because the sensor shield is super fast to cover (and uncover) the sensor, you can immediately start to change your lens when you have turned down your camera. An extra piece of protection against dust and accidental touch!

Another sensor protection mesurement is the VR Safety Lock: the sensor can be locked in place. This means that the sensor won’t shake around when you’ve got your camera in your camerabag and you’re for example on a really rocky road. Due to the sensor stabilisation, other cameras will have the sensor moving to and fro in the camera during those moments. Locking the sensor when the camera is not in use will lengthen the life of your sensor and the mechanics around it.

Video

Very special about this camera, is that it’s not only optimized for capturing stills. There has also been a lot of attention toward it’s video capabilities. At launch, the Z9 will be able to capture 8K film at 24p and 30p. Nikon announced that it will be possible to film for over 2 hours continuously in 8K at 30p, without any overheating problems. This will be plenty for almost all filming scenarios!

10-Bit N-log and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) will be available in-camera, and codecs like H.265 (HEVC), ProRes 433 HQ10 en H.264/MPEG-4 AVC to cater to different workflows. Another cool fact is that Nikon has already announced that there will be a (free) update in 2022, that will enable 8K video at 60p in a new 12-bit N-Raw and 12-bit ProRes RAW format. This update will also contain other pro-level features, which still have to be announced.

Another feature is Synchro-VR: here the sensor stabilisation will be combined with the VR (Vibration Reduction) of the lens for additional stabilisation. This means even more stabilised hand held footage. Along with the autofocus options like eye AF, this camera will certainly be fit for video work.

Built for speed

One of the areas where the Z6II and Z7II were heavily criticized, was the autofocus regarding the automatic autofocussing on moving subjects. With the new EXPEED 7 processor, this problem seems to have been dissipated: finally the autofocus is up to par with the newer Sony and Canon cameras! Super fast and tack sharp focus on the subject.

In the Continuous Shooting mode, the camera can shoot 20 FPS in full resolution RAW format. During such a burst, the camera will keep tracking the subject. This means the focus will get adjusted as necessary, so your subject will be tack sharp in every picture.

Nikon heeft ook 2 nieuwe functies geïntroduceerd, waardoor je nóg snellere bursts kan vastleggen. Zo kan je in volledige resolutie JPG’s ook 30 FPS schieten, en in 11 megapixel formaat zelfs fotograferen met bizar hoge snelheid van 120 FPS. Veel mensen fotograferen liever in RAW, maar stel je voor dat je een sportfotograaf bent, de camera met de Wifi hebt aangesloten en live alle foto’s al doorstuurt naar jouw persbureau. JPG’s hebben een kleiner formaat waardoor dit kan, en bovendien is een JPG foto ook al een eindproduct.

Nikon also introduced 2 new functions, which makes it possible to capture even faster bursts. One of the options is to capture full resolution JPG images at 30 FPS, but even more mind blowing is the option to capture 11MP photos at a whopping 120 FPS. Many people prefer to photograph in RAW, but imagine being a sports photographer, having your Wifi connected and sending all photos live to your agency while capturing the most perfect moments. These 11MP files have way smaller file sizes making this possible, and of course JPG is a finished product. The agency would be able to immediately post these perfect sports moments online right after they happened!

For news sites and many types of prints you don’t need a higher resolution than 11MP. The 120 FPS give you the opportunity in for example sports to capture the precise moment of a tennis ball touching the racket. This super fast moment will be a guaranteed capture at 120 FPS. And another great thing: the automatic subject tracking will still work during these bursts. Fun fact: when you scroll through these photos in Lightroom, it will look like you’re watching a slow motion movie of the action.

And the beauty of these fast burst possibilities: when your memory cards are fast enough (they exist) in High Efficiency ★, you won’t even run into buffering issues when you want to shoot more than 1.000 shots without lifting your finger. Lossless compressed you will be able to shoot about 80 full RAW images before the shooting slows down a little, but lift your finger and the buffer is almost instantly cleared. This is exactly why Nikon chose to use 2 CF-Express cardslots in this camera. A SD-card simply isn’t fast enough to cope with these speeds and file sizes. A smart decision!

Ps. Just to put this into perspective… In the days of film, you’d have a “big roll of film” if 36 photos could be made with one roll. Incomparable with the modern tech. 2 Seconds of burst photography in RAW and you’ve exceeded the maximum amount of photos on such a film roll!

The return of old functions & buttons

With the transition from DSLR to mirrorless cameras, we said goodbye to a few functions and buttons. But there’s good news: Nikon has made some changes to this camera that will maken DSLR photographers feel right at home with this camera. Not only the 3D Tracking has returned, but also the round function-packed button on top and to the left side of the camera and the focus mode button near the lens at the front. With these extra function buttons you can change your settings even faster. This way, you won’t have to search for all the settings in the quick menu (i-button). Super useful!

The long awaited return of the round function-packed button on the top left!

Viewfinder and LCD screen

Super useful: you can shoot limitless in burst mode without getting annoyed at what you see: the viewfinder screen will never lower in resolution or refresh rate. Regardless of what or how you shoot, the refresh rate will stay on a solid 60 FPS. This means that you will never notice a difference of quality in your viewfinder, wether you shoot slow paced or at 120 FPS burst mode. This will make the experience of using this camera so much smoother.

Another fun fact: this camera has a little tweak that makes capturing portrait oriented photos a little more ideal. The information about your camera settings will also rotate with you when you rotate the camera a quarter turn. This way you can always easily check your settings, without them still being written in landscape orientation. Note: this is a setting. If you don’t see this happening, scroll through your menu and make sure this setting is turned on.

The LCD screen can also tilt in many different directions. Because of this feature, you can see your back screen from all different angles. This isn’t just available for landscape oriented photos, but also for portrait orientation. This way you can easily take a picture from a super low (or high) angle.

When shooting portrait orientation, low angles will not be a problem for this LCD screen

Sturdy quality

We are used to the fact that Nikon flagship cameras can take a beating, and the Z9 doesn’t disappoint in this area as well. The camera is built like a tank, and of course it has complete Weather Sealing. This means that you can use the camera in less than ideal circumstances. This could be in the rain for example, but this weather sealing also comes in handy with flying mud clumps. The build quality is absolutely up to par with the D6 (maybe even better), and add the phenomenal subject-tracking autofocus on top and you can go all out, even on a muddy track. The Z9 will have you covered!

Conclusion

This is what we’ve all been waiting for and the Z9 is precisely what Nikon needed to be looked at as a great option for professional photographers who like to work with the best of the best. Even if you decide not to jump ship to Nikon, this development is great news for you: Nikon puts the competition on edge. This will encourage Canon and Sony to develop even better cameras!

This camera will also be ideal for the Nikon photographers who have waited patiently for Nikon to develop a full-fledged mirrorless camera. Aside from these users, this camera can persuade other brand camera users as well to work with a Nikon camera. This is one amazing camera, absolutely worth to check out. And all that at this price… Well done, Nikon!

Nikon Z9 specifications

Sensor: 45,7 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor
- Full frame (sensor size: 23,9mm × 35,9mm)
Stills:
- Size stil images: 8256 × 5504 pixels
- .NEF (14-bit) lossless compressed
- .NEF High Efficiency★ en .NEF High Efficiency for smaller file sizes
Video: 8K/30p
- 8K/60p 12-bit RAW will come in 2022 firmware update
- 4K/120p en 4K/30p also possible
- 10-bit, N-Log, HLG
- ProRes RAW HQ will come in 2022 firmware update
Lens mount: Nikon Z-mount (full frame)
ISO: 64-51200
- Expandable to ISO 32-102400
Shutter: completely electronic. There is no mechanical shutter
- The fastest sensor scan speed of all the current mirrorless cameras: banding and rolling shutter shouldn’t be a problem anymore for this electronic shutter
- Shutter speed from 900 seconds (15 minutes) to 1/32000 seconds
- Flash sync speed: 1/200 seconds
Autofocus: 493 autofocus points, of which 405 for Automatic Field-AF, up to -5EV low light sensitivit, with AI learning
- Face and eye tracking
- Animal tracking, birds as well
- Unique: vehicle tracking
- 3D Tracking
Shooting speed (FPS):
- 20 FPS in RAW
- 30 FPS in full resolution JPG
- 120 FPS in 11 MP JPG
Sensor stabilisation: yes, 5-axis, up to 6 stops more light
- Synchro-VR possible: combine with the VR (Vibration Reduction) of the lens for even more stabilisation
Super quick sensor protection
- VR Safety lock: the sensor can be locked in place. No sensor wiggeling around in the camera body while (for example) in a car with the camera turned off
- Durable plastic protection for the sensor whenever the camera is turned off, to give extra protection against dust and touch
Viewfinder: 3,69M dots OLED electronical viewfinder, 60 FPS refresh rate
- Lower resolution than competitors, but constant: autofocus & burst photography do not lower the refresh rate and resolution of the viewfinder, in contrast to competitors
- No black out during capturing the photos
LCD: 3.2 inch/81,28mm touch screen
- Multi axis tilty screen
- 2.1M dots
Memory storage: Dual card slot: space for 2 memory cards
- Both card slots: CF-Express (type B), both slots also compatibel with XQD
Processor: EXPEED 7
Battery: Nikon EN-EL-18D, 740 clicks
- Up to 5.000 clicks with burst photography
- In-camera charging via USB
- Compatible with older EN-EL-18 batteries, but camera and charger can only load the EN-EL-18B & newer batteries.
Body specifications:
- Size: 149mm × 150mm × 91mm
- Weight: 1340g (memory cards & battery included)
- Complete weather sealing: suitable for less than ideal circumstances, like rain or flying mud
- Material: metal (aluminium)
Price at launch: € 5.999,-