Z9 Teaser Trailer Just Dropped in Australia

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

https://www.nikon-image.com/sp/teaser_2021/

Riccitalks dissection refers...
Yes our first glimpse of the long awaited 100-400 S, then we see mostly the 70-200 f2.8S with a TC. There are 3 Fn buttons on camera right, front panel. Fn3 should be accessible shooting from the vertical grip. Nikon have explicitly revealed the Z9 shoots 8K for at least 1hr 20, and more indirectly it's clear without overheating. The location was probably deliberate for Shannon Wild to be sent by Nikon to record long clips of 8K footage in the heat of the S African lowveld in Sabi Sabi Private Reserve, southwest of Kruger NP (vehicle is badged for Inyati Camp)

Ricci does well to keep a straight face, as he must have had early access to this Teaser, and indeed finishes today's analysis with the promise to be back soon after Teaser 3 " shortly". He probably has prototypes of the Z9 and new lenses too! As an employee early access can only aid and abet his work in Nikon School creating promotional and educational material
 
Last edited:
https://www.nikon-image.com/sp/teaser_2021/

Riccitalks dissection refers...
Yes our first glimpse of the long awaited 100-400 S, then we see mostly the 70-200 f2.8S with a TC. There are 3 Fn buttons on camera right, front panel. Fn3 should be accessible shooting from the vertical grip. Nikon have explicitly revealed the Z9 shoots 8K for at least 1hr 20, and more indirectly it's clear without overheating. The location was probably deliberate for Shannon Wild to be sent by Nikon to record long clips of 8K footage in the heat of the S African lowveld in Sabi Sabi Private Reserve, southwest of Kruger NP (vehicle is badged for Inyati Camp)

Ricci does well to keep a straight face, as he must have had early access to this Teaser, and indeed finishes today's analysis with the promise to be back soon after Teaser 3 " shortly". He probably has prototypes of the Z9 and new lenses too! As an employee early access can only aid and abet his work in Nikon School creating promotional and educational material


Nikon taking at dig at Canon R5 I guess :D Nikon be like - Look people, we don't overheat in 8k unlike Canon R5.
 
Yeah, the real test for Nikon will be the AF. I would be a tad disappointed if one of the teasers is not about AF.

Also, as Nikon is supposedly using a non-Sony sensor for Z9, I am hoping the dynamic range & ISO performance is good unlike my experience with Canon sensors.
If articles online are to be believed, Nikon designs the sensor and Sony only fabricates it for them to Nikon’s design specs similar to TMSC building Apples M1 chip. They have also used other fabrication partners in the past.

I agree Canon hasn’t been as good in the past. Their APS-C sensors were terrible. I didn’t mind the full frame sensors, though not as good as others.
 
I'm not familiar with the guy that posted the commentary/analysis video but am amazed at how much detail he concluded/inferred from the video clip. That said I do agree that the lens in the first part of the video is a longer zoom. Based on the size and style of the lens hood my first impression was the 80-400G. But the promised 100-400 never entered my mind and surely they wouldn't use an old lens like that for a promo. So he may be right on the 100-400 speculation. I don't think the 200-600 would need the scalloped lens hood.

The single thing about the video that jumps out most at me is the size of the camera. Unless the woman has really tiny hands the Z9 looks every bit as big as previous DSLR flagship bodies.
 
I'm not familiar with the guy that posted the commentary/analysis video but am amazed at how much detail he concluded/inferred from the video clip. That said I do agree that the lens in the first part of the video is a longer zoom. Based on the size and style of the lens hood my first impression was the 80-400G. But the promised 100-400 never entered my mind and surely they wouldn't use an old lens like that for a promo. So he may be right on the 100-400 speculation. I don't think the 200-600 would need the scalloped lens hood.

The single thing about the video that jumps out most at me is the size of the camera. Unless the woman has really tiny hands the Z9 looks every bit as big as previous DSLR flagship bodies.
I believe Ricci works for Nikon. He already knows exactly what the Z9 is so when he infers from the videos they aren't guesses.
 
He is an employee of Nikon UK, but claims the videos are his opinions under his personal youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RicciTalks/about

Quote:

"Description

Hey everyone !

I'm Ricci

Iv been a Photographer and photography trainer for over 12 years

I currently teach photography at the Nikon school in the UK

This is a Personal YouTube Channel.

All my opinions are my own !"

And as a Nikon UK employee, Ricci has now reinforced these marketing messages. Ups the internet traffic, as in these forums and on NR etc
 
Good to run that down. He does a great job and I've wondered about his position.
He is an employee of Nikon UK, but claims the videos are his opinions under his personal youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RicciTalks/about

Quote:

"Description

Hey everyone !

I'm Ricci

Iv been a Photographer and photography trainer for over 12 years

I currently teach photography at the Nikon school in the UK

This is a Personal YouTube Channel.

All my opinions are my own !"

And as a Nikon UK employee, Ricci has now reinforced these marketing messages. Ups the internet traffic, as in these forums and on NR etc
 
Yes - he's an instructor for Nikon School. He often gets pre-production lenses, but pre-production cameras and long lenses are not going to be floating around even for a few days. With the D5 there was a road show and the cameras were in very short supply. The people who are doing these teaser programs typically have a week or less, no manual, and only some basic guidance from the techs about what's new and what to try.

The Z9 observations were pretty clear. The lens struck me as being particularly large when she got out of the vehicle - about 3 hand widths in length plus the hood. That would be nearly 11-12 inches. It looked to me like it's got a larger front element than the 70-200 - maybe 82mm?

There are three Fn buttons on teh front of the camera - like the D6 - and a Fn4 button on the back left below the Qual/Mode dial.
 
Am I only who found the Z9 teaser 2 video a tad bit too yellowish?
I get a feeling it was rushed as speculated by Tom Hogan.
The egret (white bird) in the Z9 teaser is surprisingly very soft.

I found the Z6 1080 p slow motion video released by Nikon miles better. Your thoughts?

 
Yes - he's an instructor for Nikon School. He often gets pre-production lenses, but pre-production cameras and long lenses are not going to be floating around even for a few days. With the D5 there was a road show and the cameras were in very short supply. The people who are doing these teaser programs typically have a week or less, no manual, and only some basic guidance from the techs about what's new and what to try.

Yah, Ricci Chera is a major presence in Nikon UK beyond teaching. His videos are stated to be a group effort with a fellow colleague in Nikon School - canny corporate outreach.

He's become one of the staff manning the Nikon stand at the Rutland Birdfair, Photography Show etc. He has several time made the visit down to Grays of Westminster, Pimlico, from the Nikon offices in Piccadilly to participate in at least 3 of their livestreams to discuss new cameras. Understandably, as that rare species the Nikon-Only dealer, GoW enjoys a cosy relationship with Nikon. In his own words on inaugural appearance live with GoW.
And he's the go to expert within Nikon for technical questions about camera operations, setup etc:
https://nikonschool.co.uk/behind-the-lens/meet-the-nikon-school-experts-ricci-chera

https://nikonschool.co.uk/

The Z9 observations were pretty clear. The lens struck me as being particularly large when she got out of the vehicle - about 3 hand widths in length plus the hood. That would be nearly 11-12 inches. It looked to me like it's got a larger front element than the 70-200 - maybe 82mm?
Yes, more like a 500 f5.6 PF, but a zoom obviously. Hopefully it has a 89mm window at least: thus a f4.5. Sadly it looks a bit too narrow to be +100mm for f4. Anyway this lens does appear to me distinctly wider than the silhouette on the Roadmap.

Z Nikkor Roadmap Feb2021 annotated NR.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Am I only who found the Z9 teaser 2 video a tad bit too yellowish?
I get a feeling it was rushed as speculated by Tom Hogan.
The egret (white bird) in the Z9 teaser is surprisingly very soft.

It looked fine to me, but the WB was intentionally warm due to the time of day.

Every new release promotion of Nikon cameras and lenses is rushed. The photographer typically has a week to complete the job or less, with very little advance notice. They have to learn the camera and come up with interesting and fresh content that demonstrates the capability of the gear. There is no manual. In these locations, there is normally nobody to call and ask if you have questions about the equipment - you have to figure it out. You get the gear they send - and complement that with your own gear. There is none of your normal software to process images, so it needs to be shot in formats that are ready to process. For stills, that means JPEG. Normally there is another release of a longer video showing more detail and "behind the scenes". There is more production time for that video.

I found the egret exceptional - something that can't be readily done today. It was 8k video shot after sunset in extremely low light. I looked at it frame by frame. It seemed to be shot with a slower shutter speed to get enough light and speed up action. It might have been a little soft for a few frames, but you could see the eye on the fish being eaten and the water drops were blurred by motion. I suspect the softness was mainly because there was no contrast in the low light and because the shutter speed was slowed.
 
Yes, more like a 500 f5.6 PF, but a zoom obviously. Hopefully it has a 89mm window at least: thus a f4.5. Sadly it looks a bit too narrow to be +100mm for f4. Anyway this lens does appear to me distinctly wider than the silhouette on the Roadmap.

I wonder how accurate those silhouettes will end up being? The 400 looks way too long compared to the 600 but I guess if only the 400 gets the built in TC and not the 600 that could make sense. The 200-600 looks about right compared to the 600 if we look at Sony's version and their 600.

That 100-400 doesn't look any wider than the 70-200 but I think shows the extra step in the barrel that Rici points out in the image used as his video's thumbnail.
 
I wonder how accurate those silhouettes will end up being? The 400 looks way too long compared to the 600 but I guess if only the 400 gets the built in TC and not the 600 that could make sense. The 200-600 looks about right compared to the 600 if we look at Sony's version and their 600.

That 100-400 doesn't look any wider than the 70-200 but I think shows the extra step in the barrel that Rici points out in the image used as his video's thumbnail.

The 80-400 is 8.5 inches, but would have an FTZ on the Z camera making it closer to 10.5 inches. That's close to the 11-12 inches I estimate the lens in the video would be based on three times her hand width. I don't believe the mock-up on the road map has enough precision to rely on completely, but it does have similar bevels sections and is close to the 10+ inches of the 70-200.
 
Hey - I just hope Nikon breaks the cycle and makes a Z camera that has an autofocus system suitable for fast action ala Delaware Wildlife (Birds); and when my 500 f4 G is attached with the FTZ or the FTZII it performs as good or better than it does on a D500. I don't expect 30 fps but certainly more than 10 fps. I don't expect it to focus faster from close to infinity on the Z9 but certainly not noticeably slower than on my D500s. While I still feel snookered into spending around $6500 for a mirrorless camera (due to AF deficiencies with current Z cameras) given what I already have with Nikon, ranging from fisheye to 500 plus 4 SB910's and another 4 SB910 clones and a host of other Nikon specific gear, I will be better off than switching. Old technology flippy floppy screens and all the video you can drink does not even enter my thought process. For me it boils down to AF performance for action photography (BIF) and how my lenses work on the Z9.
Sure I will look to add new Z lenses in the future and take advantage of their better optics and mechanical performance. But to get me to stay with Nikon I need a solid AF system for fast action and I need my existing lenses to work to their capability.
 
It looked fine to me, but the WB was intentionally warm due to the time of day.

Every new release promotion of Nikon cameras and lenses is rushed. The photographer typically has a week to complete the job or less, with very little advance notice. They have to learn the camera and come up with interesting and fresh content that demonstrates the capability of the gear. There is no manual. In these locations, there is normally nobody to call and ask if you have questions about the equipment - you have to figure it out. You get the gear they send - and complement that with your own gear. There is none of your normal software to process images, so it needs to be shot in formats that are ready to process. For stills, that means JPEG. Normally there is another release of a longer video showing more detail and "behind the scenes". There is more production time for that video.

I found the egret exceptional - something that can't be readily done today. It was 8k video shot after sunset in extremely low light. I looked at it frame by frame. It seemed to be shot with a slower shutter speed to get enough light and speed up action. It might have been a little soft for a few frames, but you could see the eye on the fish being eaten and the water drops were blurred by motion. I suspect the softness was mainly because there was no contrast in the low light and because the shutter speed was slowed.


Yeah, you could be right. I guess she didn't have the time or software to colour correct it.
 
No need to fret nor lose any sleep - if one can afford this camera, the Z9 will likely outperform the photographer, in that failures will be far outweighed by the 4" behind the camera and mixing up fingers and thumbs etc ;) ;) :) :)

Announcing the Z9 development , the Press Release in March stated 8K (and it is now clear the Z9 packs in 8K plus more):

"Nikon Corporation (Nikon) is pleased to announce the development of the first flagship model for which the Nikon Z mount has been adopted: The Nikon Z 9. The full-frame (Nikon FX-format) mirrorless camera is scheduled for release in 2021, and represents a significant leap in technology and performance. The Z 9 brings together Nikon's groundbreaking technologies to deliver the best still and video performance in Nikon history, meeting the advanced needs of professionals across a wide range of genres. It utilizes a newly developed FX-format stacked CMOS sensor and new image-processing engine. In response to the growing needs of professionals, advanced enthusiasts and cinematographers, it includes support for 8K video recording as well as various other video specifications that fulfill diverse needs and workflows. The Z 9 embodies ultimate usability as a tool offering users an unprecedented imaging experience, from capture to workflow, exceeding that of previous digital-SLR and mirrorless cameras."​

It's timely to look back to Nikon's promises in this interview a few days prior to this official confirmation to the press. Executive, Keiji Oishi was explicit :

"...How far away is a mirrorless equivalent to the D6?
A flagship Nikon Z-series mirrorless camera can be expected within the year, and is being developed with the goal of surpassing the D6. It will respond to the advanced needs of professionals. The upcoming model will debut a newly developed high-resolution stacked CMOS sensor. While this camera will be a major technological leap for still photographers of a wide variety of genres, our engineers are considering powerful video features such as 8K that respond to the needs of all kinds of content creators and professionals.
 
Last edited:
Further follow up to the 2nd Teaser, in the March interview, Nikon's Keiji Oishi emphasized -

"....though we simply say '8K', this feature encompasses several user needs, whether it be to shoot video that is as high definition as it gets; to cut out footage into 4K video; or to generate high-definition still image cutouts to avoid missed photo opportunities. 8K [minimum 36mp, edit] offers flexibility in a time where the line between still photography and video is becoming thinner and thinner."​
 
Back
Top