Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread

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I am just a blue collar guy and I wasn't trying to break it down but I do agree, that would probably save some costs. It still kinda blows my mind. Someone else mentioned it is all about future glass sales. Could be I don't know but I do know that costs these days are crippling.
Definitely glass. I personally am moving everything over to mirrorless. I’m selling everything I have except my 500 F4 and I just got a new 14-24 2.8 z and the 50mm 1.2 z. I may, and that’s a big may, sell my d850 in the meantime and get a z7ii while I wait for the Z9 because I’ll want a small carry around for everything other then wildlife. Especially landscapes. So I think it’s not just about one item like the Z9 but the eco system.
 
Definitely glass. I personally am moving everything over to mirrorless. I’m selling everything I have except my 500 F4 and I just got a new 14-24 2.8 z and the 50mm 1.2 z. I may, and that’s a big may, sell my d850 in the meantime and get a z7ii while I wait for the Z9 because I’ll want a small carry around for everything other then wildlife. Especially landscapes. So I think it’s not just about one item like the Z9 but the eco system.
I have replaced my short glass already. Order Z9 but have an Africa Trip in early Feb. If I get the Z9 in time I'll sell by d850 and/or D6. Already have Z7 II.
 
I have replaced my short glass already. Order Z9 but have an Africa Trip in early Feb. If I get the Z9 in time I'll sell by d850 and/or D6. Already have Z7 II.
Yea, I am right there with you. I pre-ordered the Z9 back in March (#4 in the queue) and also ordered in the first minutes off the NikonUSA website to give me a better shot at getting an early fulfillment. I plan on keeping my 500 prime only and with the current sale on some lenses, I got what I needed now rather than wait to take delivery of the Z9. I rented the z7ii last week and I couldn't believe how small it was! I was always planning on getting one but assumed I would wait a year. However, I think I will get it now and sell my d850. The z7ii looked awesome with the 50mm 1.2 but I hated using the z7ii for BIF when I rented it but fingers crossed I won't have to wait too long for the Z9.
 
Not the entire answer, for sure, but I would imagine manufacturing costs per unit are lower if you do not need a mirror mechanism (same as A1) and shutter mechanism (different than A1). Both are complex, precise and I expect expensive.

Also the reduction in buffer memory. I think the price reduction vs the d6 is directly attributed to cost savings due to smart engineering choices which also makes it tough for the competition because they probably can’t afford to follow nikon’s pricing, or if they do, it’ll probably reduce their margin
 
I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts that Z series AF is not as good as D 500/D 850 for wild life .I had also said that Nikon should bring them up par with its Dslr AF .I was trolled for this & now NR has posted that one more firmware upgrade has been announced for Z6 & likes to bring it at par with Z6 ll & likes
There are numerous comments in NR by people rushing to apply the firmware.
I rest my case & sincerely hope Nikon brings up Zii series also at par with D850/500 in the near future.


I get you. I get the cold shoulder often too. A lot of the people even here are brand fan boys. People get so tribalistic.

I shoot Nikon, but one has to call a spade a spade irrespective of the brand. I have a Z6 ii, its eye AF even for slow subjects is not reliable. I bought only to shoot video. Nikon DSLRs have the best AF for action amongst DLSRs.

People simply don't get the nuance but get triggered by any constructive criticism.
 
Serious question, can a D6 do this consistently?


I have used the D6 a few times. Its AF is faster & perhaps about 30-40% more sticky than a D500, but even with Group AF (which is the best AF in Nikon DLSRs), it won't help you shoot small tiny birds in flight easily, but can consistently do well with slightly bigger birds like Myna, pigeons etc. D6 AF is arguably the best in DSLRs.

However, if there is no background clutter, one can use the full auto mode on the D6, & easily focus swallows in flight consistently. But you can't be too close. One needs to give enough room & then crop.
 
Serious question, can a D6 do this consistently?
I had a D6 but just sold it. Only if you are proficient with the camera and pick the correct AF area for the subject (single point for big birds, group or custom group something the D850 and D500 do not have and it really works great for mid size and small birds) or set up with the right situation the two small song birds probably leaving or coming into a feeder and not something I happen to do. I have never done the video type of composite shown and that is not in camera that I am aware of on the Sony but I do not know so can not make a comparison to those. Will the D6 lock on track and hold BIF even with background issues, flying through or behind trees etc. yes it did that well if you had the camera set correctly for the blocked shot AF response ie. Focus tracking with lock on to delayed at 3, 4 or 5. From what I ready from @Steve comparisons between D6 and Sony A1 I would say that it is much easier with the A1 to do it consistently than with the D6 assuming you have set up the A1 per steve and others suggestions. From all I could read and see it appears that the Z9 also should make it easier. So I sold the D6 and have the Z9 on pre order. In the meantime I am using the D850 and while miss the custom group it is no slouch at BIF.
 
The bottom video of the duck is 150 frames converted to gifs
No way my D850 would do that but my A1 easily locks and tracks subjects that are reasonably framed such as the duck.

Sounds like D6 was great but You are gonna be so happy when you get the Z9
The bottom video of the duck is 150 frames converted to gifs
No way my D850 would do that but my A1 easily locks and tracks subjects that are reasonably framed such as the duck.

Sounds like D6 was great but You are gonna be so happy when you get the Z9
My D850 ... holds focus with similar settings as the D6 quite well once focus is established but it is not nearly as good at initial acquisition and has more of a challenge by far on straight on incoming than the D6 or even my old D4S had. Yup looking forward to the Z9.
 
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This may have been mentioned.... Nikon emphasizes the Z9 is synchronizing IBIS with certain lenses - synchro VR - stated in latest Firmware 1.20 for the 70-200 f2.8S

Changes from Firmware Version 1.10 to 1.20
  • • Added support for the following features when the lens is mounted on a Z 9:
    • - Camera and lens VR are synchronized for improved vibration reduction (synchro VR).
    • - When an option other than Non-linear is selected for Custom Setting f9 (Focus ring rotation range), the focus ring responds linearly to focus changes between the minimum focus distance and infinity, regardless of the speed with which the ring is rotated.
  • • Fixed an issue that in rare instances would result in hybrid autofocus halting at the minimum focus distance during contrast-detect AF.
 
BIRD Photography | NIKON Z9 | Adapted Lenses

Worked well for me because he stated up front he was at best an intermediate bird photographer. What worked for me was the adapted long lenses he used and the TC's ... his comments on the lenses were pretty much what I expected but happy to see and hear the results ... I would like to have him have a 600mm f/4E and looking forward to using mine on the Z9. I liked the fact that he used the Tamron 150-600 G2 and my experience with my copy on DSLR's was that is did best locked in at 600mm unlike other variable focal length lenses I had used. And f/8, like many lenses was the sweet spot for the Tamron 150-600G2 so best in good light. My experience also was the Tamron is faster focusing than the Nikon 200-500 but could also be a copy to copy situation for me since my 200-500 was worked on 3 times under warranty by Nikon and was still not as fast to focus as my Sigma 150-600 sport or my Tamron 150-600 G2 and of course none of these were as fast as my 500 pf or 600 f/4E.
 
I liked the EVF in BIF, it looks fluid. Bird eye af on perched birds look similar to Sony/Canon but BIF tracking needs bit more testing as i feel the subject (guess black kite) is quite at a distance and kites are dark birds with dark eyes. Would be interested in seeing BIF AF performance of birds with lighter eyes at closer distance.
 
He has used Auto area AF for BIF shots :-( Wish he used 3D tracking instead...there are lot of variables in question including the black kite which itself is a tough target for BEAF as the bird is dark with dark and not so prominent eyes..

I reviewed the RAW images using NX Studio and turned off all the picture control settings and what is interesting though is there are couple of shots with ISO 5600 and ISO 4500 and these files are very much like the D850 maybe slightly nicer noise pattern and not much color cast.

Also, the 500PF with 1.4TC (both those high ISO shots) are surprisingly good.

Omg, that has to be the worst Z9 AF video that I have seen. (Not blaming the equipment)

There was barely any footage for starters...
 
He has used Auto area AF for BIF shots :-( Wish he used 3D tracking instead...there are lot of variables in question including the black kite which itself is a tough target for BEAF as the bird is dark with dark and not so prominent eyes..

I reviewed the RAW images using NX Studio and turned off all the picture control settings and what is interesting though is there are couple of shots with ISO 5600 and ISO 4500 and these files are very much like the D850 maybe slightly nicer noise pattern and not much color cast.

Also, the 500PF with 1.4TC (both those high ISO shots) are surprisingly good.
Thank you for checking the raw images.
 
I have used the D6 a few times. Its AF is faster & perhaps about 30-40% more sticky than a D500, but even with Group AF (which is the best AF in Nikon DLSRs), it won't help you shoot small tiny birds in flight easily, but can consistently do well with slightly bigger birds like Myna, pigeons etc. D6 AF is arguably the best in DSLRs.

So you are routinely missing 4 shots out of 10 with the D500 that you are getting with the D6? I have a hard time buying that. In specific tricky situations absolutely, but not as an overall and absolute statement unless the only thing you take pictures are swallows. I wouldn't even make that claim on the A1 over the D500 and I shoot both.

The D6 is undeniably better than the D500, it will get you shots the D500 cannot get but unless you are an extremely specialized type of shooter, the D500 doesn't fail 40% of the time.
 
So you are routinely missing 4 shots out of 10 with the D500 that you are getting with the D6? I have a hard time buying that. In specific tricky situations absolutely, but not as an overall and absolute statement unless the only thing you take pictures are swallows. I wouldn't even make that claim on the A1 over the D500 and I shoot both.

The D6 is undeniably better than the D500, it will get you shots the D500 cannot get but unless you are an extremely specialized type of shooter, the D500 doesn't fail 40% of the time.
I would say the only time my D6 approached being that much better than my D500 was on small "Say's Phoebe" sized birds or fast moving falcons or hawks etc. using the customized group setting on the D6 that is not available on my D500 or D850. It took some experimenting to get the custom group size and configuration I wanted and I had the prv button set to push and go to regular group from single and the fn1 button to push and go to my custom group.
 
He has used Auto area AF for BIF shots :-( Wish he used 3D tracking instead...there are lot of variables in question including the black kite which itself is a tough target for BEAF as the bird is dark with dark and not so prominent eyes..

I reviewed the RAW images using NX Studio and turned off all the picture control settings and what is interesting though is there are couple of shots with ISO 5600 and ISO 4500 and these files are very much like the D850 maybe slightly nicer noise pattern and not much color cast.

Also, the 500PF with 1.4TC (both those high ISO shots) are surprisingly good.
On the second part of the video he shots bif he uses 3D, I guess he tried both.
 
BIRD Photography | NIKON Z9 | Adapted Lenses

I think the real challenge for bird photographs with A1/ Z9 / R3 kind of cameras would be small birds in bushes & not BIFs.
I am saying this after shooting A1 with 200 600 for the past 3 weeks extensively.
I could lock on even small birds in flight & get proper shots all the time compared to small birds in bushes where I could get focus around 90 percent only specially for dark looking birds .This kind of situation occurs mostly when the birds eye is completely obscured or even partly obscured ( while it is sitting inside the foliage).This gotbfurther compounded in bad light situations.
While I solved the problem by moving around a little or chaging the AF tracking mode this is one area where the algorithm may require fine tuning for distuinguishing a bird from the foliage .It would a pretty difficult task indeed.
 
I think the real challenge for bird photographs with A1/ Z9 / R3 kind of cameras would be small birds in bushes & not BIFs.
I am saying this after shooting A1 with 200 600 for the past 3 weeks extensively.
I could lock on even small birds in flight & get proper shots all the time compared to small birds in bushes where I could get focus around 90 percent only specially for dark looking birds .This kind of situation occurs mostly when the birds eye is completely obscured or even partly obscured ( while it is sitting inside the foliage).This gotbfurther compounded in bad light situations.
While I solved the problem by moving around a little or chaging the AF tracking mode this is one area where the algorithm may require fine tuning for distuinguishing a bird from the foliage .It would a pretty difficult task indeed.

Hmmm interesting. But would you say it is fast enough to focus birds in foilage or do you need to switch to single point af mode ?
 
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