Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread

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FB101 said:
Those AF issues (lock on background or no reacquisition like you describe) do exist even with the A1 and time will tell if the Z9 got those issues resolved. We have seen each camera generation get better - Z6/7 were bad, Z6/7ii improved but still fairly plagued by the issues, R5 and A9ii both much improved but not failure proof, A1 a bit better still but not 100%. We'll have to see if the R3 and Z9 have solved that problem completely or not but with the A1 it usually happens to me once or twice per half-day of shooting
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The good part is it is easy to change modes through a button to get the focus as shown in the images below .The first one shows focus, the second one shows loss of focus in the same AF mode & the third one shows proper focus with a different mode
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Wrogu said:
I do not think they will. But even with small hickups mirrorrless af od superior to dslr and we should be happy with progress.

Not the best place to Ask but I am curious - anyone knows what the frequency od dslr af system was ? It had less sensors, maybe it was higher given it was an additional chip.
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I have been looking for that info (just out of pure intellectual curiosity) - but no luck so far.
 
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I keep seeing a lot of what I can only call fanboy-ism from folks who either upgraded a Sony system to the A1 or who switched from something else. Too many posts declaring that the a1 AF is flawless, perfect, never misses, and such nonsense. Yes, it is very good and an improvement over previous Sony models and most everything before the Z9…but there are numerous less rabid folks who are well respected in the industry who say otherwise while agreeing it is very good. The Z9 appears to be…from a variety of well qualified pre release testers…also very good.
That said…there are a lot of reasons to pick brand A over B or C and vice versa…but today pretty much all of them are just fine for most practical purposes and better is often the enemy of good enough.

I wish we could see less strand bashing overall…probably a forlorn hope though.
 
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I certainly will never claim the A1 is flawless for AF. I'm hoping the Z9 can nail similar things as the A1 has for me over the past 6 months...things like these....

August 27, 2021-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

August 27, 2021.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker-11 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker-3 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
 
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I would hope the Z9 has the ability to lock and track focus as shown with the Eagle coming from the blue background to the highly contrast background and still staying focused on the Eagle. That’s a good example of what I’m looking for with my Raptor photography.
 
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Neil Laubenthal said:
I keep seeing a lot of what I can only call fanboy-ism from folks who either upgraded a Sony system to the A1 or who switched from something else. Too many posts declaring that the a1 AF is flawless, perfect, never misses, and such nonsense. Yes, it is very good and an improvement over previous Sony models and most everything before the Z9…but there are numerous less rabid folks who are well respected in the industry who say otherwise while agreeing it is very good. The Z9 appears to be…from a variety of well qualified pre release testers…also very good.
That said…there are a lot of reasons to pick brand A over B or C and vice versa…but today pretty much all of them are just fine for most practical purposes and better is often the enemy of good enough.

I wish we could see less strand bashing overall…probably a forlorn jope though.
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The Indian still matters. The a1 has a lot of focus mode options and it takes time to learn a camera and what works best for different situations. All camera brands share this. I never used 3D on my Nikon bodies, imagine if I judged them only in this mode. After spending 9 months using the a1 my hit rate and over all af performance has greatly improved and it’s well over 98% reliable which is much better than on day one. The camera hasn’t changed but my understanding of how it works sure has. No camera is 100% perfect but the new flagships from the big 3 are getting really close. Imagine in 10 years what af performance will be like!
 
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iustin said:
For what is worth, B&H just got the Delkin Black 512GB in stock. I've been stalking their site for a week+ now, since the Delkin black cards seem to run the coolest.
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They've got the 128GB cards back in stock, too. Price seems to be up by about US $30m per unit when purchased singly.

If I didn't have an order in with a local outlet, I'd order one or two of them.

Edit: Nevermind, they're OOS again, on backorder. But the 64GB card is in stock as of a few moments ago.
 
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Beautiful...i think that last GIF is something you posted in FM and I ws thinking that's one of the first tests I'd like to do with the Z9 as soon as I get it..thecamerastoretv had a presentation with Chris Ogonek from Nikon Canada where they showed a sequence of 400 plus images of a raptor approaching the camera straight. That test was very impressive. Now the only difference is, unlike the test performed by @arbitrage which represents real world performance, we don't know if that raptor sequence was a more controlled test nevertheless a good indicator of what it can do.

arbitrage said:
I certainly will never claim the A1 is flawless for AF. I'm hoping the Z9 can nail similar things as the A1 has for me over the past 6 months...things like these....

August 27, 2021-2.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

August 27, 2021.jpg by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker-11 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr

ezgif.com-gif-maker-3 by Bird/Wildlife Photos, on Flickr
Click to expand...
 
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Haven't used a D6 but based on my experience with D500/D850, both those cameras are capable of doing something similar. By something similar I mean, I found the group area AF to be exceptional with BIF/ fast action so I have been successful with similar use cases. With the 3D af on Nikon DSLRs, I have never had consistent results. Of course there's a massive difference in the FPS and buffer (D850) vs the A1 that has to be accounted for..which means, the D500/850 can do somewhat ok but with less no of frames/ wing positions to choose from.

Hut2 said:
Serious question, can a D6 do this consistently?
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Swallows and those tiny little birds are a completely different story..with my DSLRs I'd be lucky if I could even get one in the frame :) so I've not even ventured in to that category after a couple of frustrating attempts. I think this is where the excellent automatic tracking modes in the mirrorless cameras are going to be of immense use.

Hut2 said:
Not that I am very good but I never had results like this with my D850 or D500, yes a few frames but not like this and never with Swallows. One thing that amazed me when I got the A1 was how consistent it was grabbing focus on swallows. Sure made it easier to keep them in the frame. Next summer I hope to spend more time with it.
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Neil Laubenthal said:
I keep seeing a lot of what I can only call fanboy-ism from folks who either upgraded a Sony system to the A1 or who switched from something else. Too many posts declaring that the a1 AF is flawless, perfect, never misses, and such nonsense. Yes, it is very good and an improvement over previous Sony models and most everything before the Z9…but there are numerous less rabid folks who are well respected in the industry who say otherwise while agreeing it is very good. The Z9 appears to be…from a variety of well qualified pre release testers…also very good.
That said…there are a lot of reasons to pick brand A over B or C and vice versa…but today pretty much all of them are just fine for most practical purposes and better is often the enemy of good enough.

I wish we could see less strand bashing overall…probably a forlorn jope though.
Click to expand...
What about Nikon fanboys who find nothing wrong with AF with Z series for fast action wild life.
Since I found Z series AF is not good for fast action I bought A1 & am pretty happy with it.I did not wait for Z9 since it is heavy for my hands
I will also be buying a Z 8 to pair it with 500 PF when ever it comes .
I judge cameras on merits wrt what I shoot & not because it is Canon Nikon or Sony .
 
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Venkatesh VT said:
What about Nikon fanboys who find nothing wrong with AF with Z series for fast action wild life.
Since I found Z series AF is not good for fast action I bought A1 & am pretty happy with it.I did not wait for Z9 since it is heavy for my hands
I will also be buying a Z 8 to pair it with 500 PF when ever it comes .
I judge cameras on merits wrt what I shoot & not because it is Canon Nikon or Sony .
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Using the correct focus mode greatly helps with the AF on the Zs as it does with other cameras. For most things I don’t have a problem with the AF. It isn’t as fast at acquiring focus as my D500 and I understand that can be an issue for BIF but once you have focus it seems to keep up well. I don’t know that I would call someone a fanboy for not having an issue with the AF. This isn’t to say the AF on the A1 isn’t light years ahead, but I find the AF of the current Z cameras as adequate for most fast action wildlife. The real issue becomes the viewfinder with just a little too much blackout and a touch of lag.

how much less does an A1 + 200-600mm weigh compared to a Z9 + 500mm PF + FTZ?
 
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More info on Z9 AF from 13.00 onwards. There's one portion where the AF box size seems to change depending on the subject type/ sub type..like a cockpit of an airplane..

Also from 19.00 Chris talks about the real live EVF and shows an amazing example of airplanes
 
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Thanks, yes for once less hype. It is very good to see the Z9 has rubber control dials. Another confirmation on the reliability of the AF; first overview i've seen of Timelapses, HDR, Multiple Exposures et, including Timelapse in 8K RAW - taken over 90 mins. Another spinoff of no overheating in the Z9

shaned said:
Some in-camera detail with less hype.

Click to expand...
 
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Nikon are certainly getting max mileage out of the examples and account by Michelle V, and many of us have proably seen this earlier

first section of ~30 mins has details with examples of the AF, menu settings to indicate frame captures when shooting Silent, and EVF. the more useful information starts after about 2min preamble.
Yes, the finer details Chris O mentions about the AF reveal yet more including hierarchical structuring of AI algorithms (mentioned by Thom H) and autonomous switching across subject categories. EVF example is certainly impressive



thelordofthelight said:
More info on Z9 AF from 13.00 onwards. There's one portion where the AF box size seems to change depending on the subject type/ sub type..like a cockpit of an airplane..

Also from 19.00 Chris talks about the real live EVF and shows an amazing example of airplanes
Click to expand...
 
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Going through all the images across different forums/ image threads where A1/A9/Z6/7 images are posted, one thing is certain. In the hands of skillful/ competent photographers, all the cameras shine. A1/A9II in particular (Z6/7 etc. to a lesser degree i.e. except sustained action) show us the best of what a great tool plus a skillful photographer can accomplish. But what it also shows is that no matter how good the tools are, if the one that is operating those are not skillful/ competent, the outcome is the same regardless of the cameras/ lenses used.

abc123brian said:
Using the correct focus mode greatly helps with the AF on the Zs as it does with other cameras. For most things I don’t have a problem with the AF. It isn’t as fast at acquiring focus as my D500 and I understand that can be an issue for BIF but once you have focus it seems to keep up well. I don’t know that I would call someone a fanboy for not having an issue with the AF. This isn’t to say the AF on the A1 isn’t light years ahead, but I find the AF of the current Z cameras as adequate for most fast action wildlife. The real issue becomes the viewfinder with just a little too much blackout and a touch of lag.

how much less does an A1 + 200-600mm weigh compared to a Z9 + 500mm PF + FTZ?
Click to expand...
 
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Whiskeyman said:
They've got the 128GB cards back in stock, too. Price seems to be up by about US $30m per unit when purchased singly.

If I didn't have an order in with a local outlet, I'd order one or two of them.

Edit: Nevermind, they're OOS again, on backorder. But the 64GB card is in stock as of a few moments ago.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if I jumped the gun buying the 512GB (it's a bit too large for my needs), since none others were in stock yesterday. But I checked now, and again nothing in stock. At all, none of the sizes.

I'm amazed that something so non-common and expensive like high-capacity CFE cards are dissapearing as soon as they are restocked. It looks like there's a lot of pent-up demand, which is strange as I thought almost everybody just shoots with their phone nowadays :)
 
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