marlowtravelsoften
Active member
Thanks, I will try a different card. I ran a dskchk on the card and found 0 bad card sectors. Even still, I'll try a diff card.
Nikon z9 just froze, what is with that?
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Thanks, I will try a different card. I ran a dskchk on the card and found 0 bad card sectors. Even still, I'll try a diff card.
marlowtravelsoften
Active member
I tried a different card (same size and mfg) last night and the camera worked flawlessly all evening. I will take it out again over the next few days and see what happens. Being my 1 year Warranty expires here in the upcoming weeks, I went ahead and emailed Nikon just to document the issue and have it on file in the event it turns out to be something more serious.
Kissmykite
New member
Hi, New here but looking for others that have their Nikon Z9 freezing also, I found your forum.
I shoot very high volume sports and runway fashion 5000 to 10,000 shots a day for SI and others and my Z9 has frozen on many occasions during important shoots.
Im shooting full size RAW and JPEG to same card. All my cards are on Nikon's approved list for the Z9.
I was recently with over 50 fellow professional photographers at an event and those with Z9's I spoke with all had the freezing problem and since this was recent, all of us have ver 5 firmware.
Has anyone else contacted NPS? They know of the problem but no fix as of yet.
Anyone here here back from NPS?
Thank you, Tony
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Zof9
Member
I had issues with 4.1
Reinstalling the firmware fixed it.
5 has been fine for me.
I take 2000ish shots once a week
Some have suggested that using quick format most of the time, instead of the full format is also helpful. I used to have maybe a half dozen freeze ups a year shooting over 5000 frames a week. Since the 5.0 firmware and quick format, I have not had a problem. When I charge my battery in the camera, I pull it out for 15 secs and replace after charging. I do a full format maybe monthly.
Kjellis
Well-known member
My Z9 has been freezing up after the latest FW, I re updated the FW and it even got worse. Now I have updated to the latest FW 3 times and it seems to be working fine.
Are you sure the camera was locking up with different memory cards and not the same one? All of my Z9 lockups in recent years were tracked to one problem card that I retired but it took me a while and labeling my memory cards with a Sharpie to see the pattern.
Forgive me if you already do this, but after my camera (from the D 200 to D3 to D6 to Z9) gets soaked in a rain (or snow) I always (of course) wipe it dry with a cloth when I get home but also remove the battery and then put the camera in a dry pack with a couple of large silica sand packs (I've got the rechargable ones). Water getting into the gear (through the weather sealing) is one thing; condensation forming (e.g. water vapour) getting into the camera is quite another -- e.g. the gear is weather sealed not air tight. Cheers!
Calson
Well-known member
I have been experiencing this behavior since the days of floppy data disks. The device is engineered to write data as quickly as possible and so there is no write verification taking place and if the device is unable to write to a sector it simply stops at that point in the process.
Even with my "modern" computers if they cannot access a network drive they may fail to boot or take many minutes to time out and recover. This is especially true for computers using the Microsoft operating system with its lack of a controller mechanism as is found in Mac OS and with OS/2.
If a new card resolves the problem then return the card for replacement by the manufacturer. One advantage of ProGrade CFexpress cards at this time is that they will immediately send you a replacement memory card and not wait for the defective card to reach them first.
Even with my "modern" computers if they cannot access a network drive they may fail to boot or take many minutes to time out and recover. This is especially true for computers using the Microsoft operating system with its lack of a controller mechanism as is found in Mac OS and with OS/2.
If a new card resolves the problem then return the card for replacement by the manufacturer. One advantage of ProGrade CFexpress cards at this time is that they will immediately send you a replacement memory card and not wait for the defective card to reach them first.
ricardo00
Well-known member
Looks like you shoot more than I do but hasn't happened to me. Just a thought, maybe try only shooting RAW and see if it helps?
Kjellis
Well-known member
Good question. I’ve been using the same meory cards, Delkin Black, since I bought the camera.
So far it looks like the third upload of the FW has fixed the issue. But I have been shooting with the Z8 lately, really enjoying a lighter camera
I will take the Z9 to the test to really see if the freezing issue is gone.
Kissmykite
New member
Hi, I need the RAW and JPEG. It does happen less when not saving RAW and JPEG... Need both for work essential.
Have you tried saving RAW and JPG to different cards? If so, are you still having the problem? I realize that saving to different cards may make your workflow overly burdensome.
Kissmykite
New member
Thank you, but it has to be on the same card so I can hand it to the client and have another for overflow. Best regards.
O
Well-known member
My feeling is, this freezing matter is not brand or camera specific, Nikon, Sony, Fuji, Canon and so on have the issues.
Deleting images in camera has been tipped as a should never do ? as it can cause card - camera missing hole issues causing reading issues, so i am told.
If that's the case why don't camera makers say so or put out a bulletin.
Today in general avoiding issues with new devices or electronics is like a lucky dip, some loose many win, when that ratio tips the wrong way manufacturers may act if forums or social media exposes issues.
The issue is fair to assume a combination of camera design and card manufacturing design, in both areas QC also still plays a critical roll, and sometimes it lapses on both sides compounding or confusing issues.
Is it a faulty card or the camera synergy imperfection that causes the card to become corrupted, is it unreasonable to ask why should the customer need to deal with all this and the consequences ?? Is the card repairable reformat able, well Pro Grade Refresh seems to be available............
- or is it the innocent user action of deleting images in camera that has been tipped as a should never do ? as this can cause card - camera missing hole issues causing the camera card reading mishap issues, so i am told, If that's the case why not say so.
Bottom line, regardless of the cause, there shouldn't be an issue at this level of product and price point, sorry many will disagree with me and that's perfectly fine.
I feel many users simply have been desensitized to the issues and tolerate freezing as that's what computers do or computer oriented cameras do, Z8, Z9, A1, Fuji, Canon, yada.
Its not till a disaster hits you that hey things really matter and can hurt, living in fear going forward that the moment your waiting for may suddenly be effected or lost, that's the real issue.
Excuses, ignorance, perceptions, don't fix things. Your Clients ask you why did you miss the key moment, OH why did we have to do several video takes over again because you camera froze, Or we cant re do our wedding vows again...........
The issue clearly is
1) the camera's
2) the cards
3) a combination of both
4) use protocol error, the do and the don't do
The common element is the camera maker and card maker both need to work together effectively, In Nikon's case i have been led to believe that they did their card research and software development work using Pro Grade cards, unless i misunderstood. After a while Nikon gave approval to some other brand cards to be used in Nikon Pro level cameras.
The issues of the Z9 turning to a brick has diminished somewhat with significant firmware updates, some cards have had their share of hit and miss issues, some with straight out QC issues, Unacceptable at $600 AUD a card.
The problem is Not the camera or card as much as its the customer being effected at a critical moment or let down in the field. Is pulling the battery a solution, yes it seems in many cases it has worked and has become the norm now, for some its been a occasional issue then no more there after, and for some a serious issue.
Ok the camera manufactures say its the cards and user protocol or card quality, HMMM.
Card manufactures say it can be the user protocol, and being keen to keep the reputation in tact are quick to give a replacement card if they feel their cards have been corrupted or damaged HMMM.
Is this why Pro Grade have this Refresh tool available that seems to be a solution till the camera manufacturers catch up with firmware solutions who knows.
Pro Grade has or is doing a stellar job with support, tools and protocol instructions.......i have no experience with other product brands.
Pro Grade has a Refresh Pro card tool, FREE as i was told in BCF, its a very clever tool.........
Will it fix my issues, i am told by others it will as long as i follow the protocol, in my case, time will tell.
Has card use protocol changed, well i learnt a lot, Using this Pro Grade Refresh tool, on my Cobolt cards the health check was clear and the cards were 100% clean, the cards where fully sanitized stripped back to OM specification, then the latest update was installed, Pro Grade even has the same tool for the card reader with firmware updates.
the latest firmware was updated, a tick of success.
Importantly the cards are then installed in the camera, then formatted to that camera before taking a photo, this all gave the cards a new refreshed life.
Just don't Delete images in camera, it has been tipped as a should never do ?
Ok from here on in if there is any issue with freezing or issues reoccurring etc going forward, would it not then point the issue is in the camera, a reasonable assumption i feel.
Regardless of the issues being the card or the camera or a combination there of it shouldn't be up to myself or the customer to be dealing with the issues and consequences or even subjected to the issues especially at this level of product and price point, sorry its unacceptable.
The public over expects from governments so politicians over promise, what actually eventuates is a lucky dip.
Use your camera follow carefully the protocol’s reformatting cards and cameras, learn to pull batteries to unlock you high end pro camera, offer all the excuses to your clients or re book your $15 K trip for one or like me $30 k for two again next year when either the camera or card company may have firmware fixes for you. or you take a camera that has a reputation of not suffering issues, could that be your IPhone LOL.
A photographer enthusiast or professional spending a lot of serious money on high end gear wants to be able to simply make photos.
Only an opinion
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Warren D
Well-known member
I've had issues with one of my Z9's (the early one) but not the other. The issue seems to be confined to a 325 gb Delkin Black card. Talking to Delkin, I re-formatted in camera using the full format. Delkin recommends this once in a while. They also had me re-format on the computer. Neither seemed to make a difference and they replaced the card. I have 2 other 325 Delkin Blacks that have not been troublesome. The one in question was the oldest, being over a year old. Either a bad sector or possibly a firmware issue. My issue started right after I installed fw 5.0.
I did notice that it happened more predictably after the card was about 50% full. The first few thousand shots were ok, but after that, the lock ups seemed to increase as more shots were added. I have not filled the replacement card so hard to say for sure if it is a card issue.
Kissmykite
New member
Even with Prograde and the most expensive cards with yhe fastest read/ write speeds it happens. It's horrible not knowing when the Z9 will fail but it does and it's the lost shots and time that are gone forever.
Or is it possibly sometimes other things?
The camera cannot be nitrogen filled as with some binoculars to prevent internal condensation etc forming inside; otherwise it would not be possible to change lenses, cards or batteries.
Another possibility is not keeping the lens mount, lens throat and battery contacts clean with the result they can fail to work as intended over time.
So far, I have not had a problems with the Z8 or 9 but appreciate some have.
Whether those experiencing occasional problems would have fewer issues if they followed Nikon's guidance to avoid condensation, keeping electrical contacts clean etc is unknown.
Some have reported problems with a specific card, successfully replaced under warranty - something outside of Nikon's control.
I like others recognise this type of occasional problem is not exclusive to Nikon, or to cameras.
As cameras cannot be made airtight and not everyone cleans all electrical contacts perhaps once a month and before a critical shoot or takes care to avoid sudden temperature changes it seems difficult to completely avoid occasional issues while at the same time keeping cameras relatively light weight, relatively compact and relatively affordable.
O
Well-known member
You make some very valid points, protocols followed, certainly helps.
Parfumeur
Active member
After 4 weeks of no Z9 lock up, today July 6, 2024, the Z9 locked up on me around 2pm during an eventing show (started at 8a). Had to pull the battery. Settings were intact... thank goodness!
Z9, firm 5.00, Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S updated firm 1.22, Nikon battery ~40 remaining charge, SanDisk 512GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B (in the past also locked up with Delkin Black).
Any recent other Z9 users with the Z9 lock up issue? (Yes, I know, as per PVA, it's the user's fault!... but what is the user doing wrong?)
Never had a lock up with other Nikon DSLR or mirrorless M1X or OM-1 mark II which track better, just low megapixels.....
Z9, firm 5.00, Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S updated firm 1.22, Nikon battery ~40 remaining charge, SanDisk 512GB Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B (in the past also locked up with Delkin Black).
Any recent other Z9 users with the Z9 lock up issue? (Yes, I know, as per PVA, it's the user's fault!... but what is the user doing wrong?)
Never had a lock up with other Nikon DSLR or mirrorless M1X or OM-1 mark II which track better, just low megapixels.....
Users are stating "lock up". Does this mean no buttons work, cannot turn camera off and on?
O
Well-known member
Parfumeur
Active member
Yes, on/off switch does not work... I did some on line search, and someone said if you wait you on off switch works again.... Grrrrrrrrrrrr, I do not have that luxury, or I miss shots.
Warren D
Well-known member
In my cases, yes. All functions stop and the only way to turn the camera off/reset function is to pull and re-insert the battery. My last episode was about a month ago while doing an air to air photo shoot of antique airplanes. Happened repeatedly, maybe 5 times. It would work fine for several bursts and then lock up. I'd clear the lock up and it would be good for a few more bursts then rinse and repeat. More than a few missed shots.......that was the most repeatable the issue has been, it was previously very hit or miss.
I've never had a lock up prior to FW 5.0. Just sayin'..........
O
Well-known member
If you don't have trust you have nothing.