I Really Really want a Z9

[agrumpyoldsod]

The other point that I would make to the OP is that for the products mentioned almost any camera from any brand should be sufficient. When not making large prints even a lowly point and shoot or phone cam are many times more than required. Technique and composition are much more important than the camera body.

NOT when shooting wildlife or other subjects at long distance in low light when the combination of a bright 400-500-600 or longer focal length lens, a great sensors with huge DR and low SNR AND high FPS is needed. An iPhone or similar simple cannot do it, not can lower performance camera bodies or slower focusing lenses.
The correct term is Right Tool for the Right Job -- and sometimes a Z9 or A1 and big lenses are the right tools.
The number of times I see the shoots of many spoiled on safari by driver's of one or two vehicles with customers who only have smartphones AND have to be very close to get anything remotely useable distresses me greatly.

 

[Cameranut]

I didn't mean smartphones. But for small photos like shown on the items the OP is making, I don't believe most customers would notice the difference in a FF shot vs a 1/2.3 sensor camera shot at 500mm-1,000mm equiv. with good technique.

 

[arbitrage]

I all but stopped using the 500PF currently due to the fact that the majority of what I am able to image at my local lake is too far away and I crop 98%+ of my images currently. I keep grabbing the Sigma 150-600mm mostly set at 500mm, but even though it is not as sharp as the 500PF it has the versatility to zoom as needed for the rare times A bird is closer. But once I get to an area the birds are closer I will use the 500PF more.

Did you mean to say "mostly set at 600mm"? I don't see why you'd use the inferior Sigma if you are setting it to 500mm which is the same as your 500PF.

I don't know if you've done a comparison between the FOV of the Sigma at 600 vs the 500PF at 500? But typically those zoom lenses are not a true 600 where as the prime is probably a true 500. That Sigma may only be 550-560 which is really not a big enough difference to use the inferior lens IMO. Even the renowned internal zoom Sony 200-600 is around 560mm at typical bird shooting distances.

Regardless, I'd certainly wait for the Z8 announcement tomorrow at 8AM EDT. If it really is a full on Z9 with stacked sensor in a D850 sized body then I would save some $$ and get that over the bulky/heavy Z9.

If it was me I'd sell off the D500 and 150-600. Buy an F mount 1.4TCIII. Use the 500PF on the Z8 with the 1.4TC as needed. The MILCs do a lot better with the TCs compared to the DSLRs.

 

[markymark]

Jeff I get a giggle out of advice for how to survive if the poop hits the fan globally. If I gave a toss I would buy a bunker, and fill it with tins of rice pudding. Then again I'd probably forget where it was :(

If the poop hits the fan I’d stay in that pub you just bought

 

[AstroEd]

Going by this maybe I need to wait until I can truly afford the Z9 without going more in debt… since my main desire is to learn better Birds in flight and will need as many shots of the action as possible and this real time demo of the capabilities is imaging motion way slower than a bird… since the z8 fills the buffer so fast I think I need to wait.

 

[StefanSC]

I do recommend you read the pinned comment on that video...

It basically says: Writing to CFExpreas card only, the Z8 and Z9 have the same buffer. It's only when using both the CFE and SD cards at the same tine that the Z8 loses on buffer.

 

[John Navitsky]

i would actually just say ignore that video. run just cfe-b if you want fast performance. if you need to run in backup mode, get the z9. i would more or less ignore that sd slot

 

[AstroEd]

I missed that, ty.. thats actually good news as I am used to only using one card in my D500.

 

[MJR]

I think now would be the time to pick up a used Z9 since there are so many people looking to sell their Z9 to get a Z8. Despite what the hype said about the Z8 being the same speed and buffer as the Z9 its not. Matt Granger said "
SPOILER ALERT... the Z8 is NOT as fast as the Z9... The buffer isn't as good and SD cards are not fast enough for a high resolution + high speed camera
His comparison between the Z8 vs the Z9 can be seen here.

Matt Granger - Nikon Z8 vs Z9 - Buffer, Speed and Action testing

No - the Z8 is NOT as fast as the Z9... The buffer isn't as good and... SD cards are not fast enough for a high resolution + high speed camera ?‍♂️ Ni...

mattgranger.com

 

[fcotterill]

A video best ignored, it was discussed earlier in a parallel thread.

 

[John Navitsky]

@MJR note it’s misleading. the only penalty is if you select the sd card as a place to write data, either directly or as a backup. if you just use the cfe-b card, there’s no penalty. if you NEED the ability to run in backup you probably want the z9 as sd speeds are very slow, relatively speaking