Nikon Z 9 Noise/Static Visible Through Viewfinder and LCD

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PAUL50

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While night shooting, doing Astro photography, with the Nikon Z 9 at high ISOs and low shutter speeds, one of my two Nikon Z 9s showed very visible and noticeable noise/static in both the LCD and viewfinder. It begins at about 1/30 sec and gets progressively worse at slower shutter speeds, becoming prominent enough to make viewing the subject nearly impossible, particularly if I've also set the camera to the "Warm Display Colors" setting for night shooting. While my other Z9 to a lesser extent displays the same problem, I tested a Z 8, which does not display that problem even when set at "Bulb" and an ISO of 25,600. I am wondering if others have experienced this issue. Both cameras were recently returned to me from Nikon following maintenance and repair work and I assumed, since part of the process is supposed to be a thorough examination of the sensor, that the problem would have been identified and fixed. I've contacted Nikon about the problem and I'm awaiting a reply. Have any Z 9 users experienced the same problem? I'm wondering if it's normal at those settings or if I have a sensor problem since the Z 8 does not have the same problem. I first noticed it a couple months ago while attempting to shoot the Aurora Borealis in Grand Teton National Park. While it's only noticeable at night, or with the lens cap on the lens during the day, it most assuredly is also occurring in daylight, and since I will shoot at those lower shutter speeds when shooting landscapes, I'm concerned about the noise effect on the photos. I should note that the problem shows up even at the camera's native ISO of 64 and at 1/30 sec and so ISO would seem not to be the the primary issue. The forum's thoughts would be appreciated.
 
I haven't compared the Z8 and Z9 at night, but I think the first thing I'd do is make 100% sure the two Z9s are set the same. I'd take the Z9 that shows less noise / static and save its settings to a memory card and load them into the other one. There are just so many settings that having someone set slightly different on one camera might cause the issue. If, after syncing them up, it still happens, I'd think about contacting Nikon about it.
 
I haven't compared the Z8 and Z9 at night, but I think the first thing I'd do is make 100% sure the two Z9s are set the same. I'd take the Z9 that shows less noise / static and save its settings to a memory card and load them into the other one. There are just so many settings that having someone set slightly different on one camera might cause the issue. If, after syncing them up, it still happens, I'd think about contacting Nikon about it.
I haven't compared the Z8 and Z9 at night, but I think the first thing I'd do is make 100% sure the two Z9s are set the same. I'd take the Z9 that shows less noise / static and save its settings to a memory card and load them into the other one. There are just so many settings that having someone set slightly different on one camera might cause the issue. If, after syncing them up, it still happens, I'd think about contacting Nikon about it.

Honestly, sounds like you turned focus peaking on and it's showing up in the iso noise/etc when shooting in more extreme conditions.
Thank you, both @Steve and @Cameron T . I turned off the focus peaking on both cameras and that markedly reduced the noise and static in both the viewfinder and the LCD. I've put focus peaking into "My Menu" for use when I'm focusing manually. Frankly, I don't understand why that's the case since focus peaking is only supposed to work while the camera is set for manual focus. But, as Steve suggested, I put both cameras at the exact same settings and I now see with focus peaking off very substantially less noise, but noise nonetheless, beginning with both cameras at 1/5 sec and slower. With settings exactly the same, and focus peaking off, each camera displays similar patterns of noise. Interestingly, the Z 8 I tested showed no noise at all no matter the settings and no matter how low the shutter speed or how high the ISO. I'll be speaking with Nikon tomorrow. Thanks again to you both.
 
Focus peaking can be enabled if you manually adjust focus, even if you're not in manual focus mode (as in, not changing the switch on the lens/etc).

Why the z8 is different than the z9, I have no idea, but I don't have the issue you report on my z9. Or at least, I don't see any unexpected levels of noise/etc when I'm setting up.
 
Have you tried the Custom Settings/Shooting Display/View mode (photo lv)/Adjust for ease of viewing/Auto option instead of the Show Effects of Settings? (Custom settings d9) I've used this plus the Starlight view option successfully for Astro/Milky Way shooting to avoid the high levels of static noise on my Z8. I also have the Focus peaking display set to On.
 
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It makes sense that the viewfinder is noisier at longer exposure times, especially in low light. In order to maintain a reasonable refresh rate, gain (ISO) has to be higher than for the actual exposure. A viewfinder refresh rate of 1/5 s wouldn't be fun.
 
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