Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread

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Steve said:
LOL - Just got the same one a couple days ago! I figured they might be in short supply soon, if they aren't already!
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Me too! And the card reader to match. First CFExpress card I've gotten. Figure I can at least use it with my Z7ii until the Z9 arrives.
 
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If you are in the Boston area and want to see the Z9 Hunts is having a touch and try event. It's on Eventbrite so I imagine space is limited.

Edit #2, the reservation is for the presentation from Nikon but the camera will be there all day "***Seminar seating is limited but the cameras will be available to Touch & Try for the rest of the day."

www.eventbrite.com

The Hunt's Show: 11am-12pm: Nikon Z9 Touch and Try

Nikon Z9 Touch and Try!
www.eventbrite.com www.eventbrite.com
 
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My take from Matt Granger’s informative video is the buffer is a non issue for 95% of shooting situation.

If you need a bigger buffer than the 80 plus shots he was getting from the best card you can drop to HE* Raw or 15 fps and get vastly higher or an unlimited buffer.

It also seems ( from Ricci’s) video that the buffer clears almost instantly when you release the shuttler which is important in real world shooting.
 
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thelordofthelight said:
This is a very good test..with the fastest CFE cards the buffer is about 80 shots in 14bit compressed raw and it has an endless buffer at 15FPS.
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One additional note. 81 frames was achieved with a min write speed of 1500mbs. There are cards with 1700 currently and maybe a 1900-2000 maxed out in the horizon. As it stands with 81, and the instant buffer clearing, the buffer is really a non issue. Curious though, if he got a 1000 at 15 frames per second, perhaps the 1700 card would be fast enough at 20 frames to get over 150 plus.
 
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The other thing I thought was good about that video is he did the 15 and 12 fps lossless tests. I think it shows that there is a storage speed threshold, after which you're unlimited. I don't know if you can pick an arbitrary fps for h+, but it would be interesting to dial it up (or down) slowly till you get the sustained performance you want given your media. But either way, it looks like if you have a fast card you can simply pick 15fps and shoot till you get tired of it (which i don't think anyone has pointed out previously).
 
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PeterKelly said:
My take from Matt Granger’s informative video is the buffer is a non issue for 95% of shooting situation.

If you need a bigger buffer than the 80 plus shots he was getting from the best card you can drop to HE* Raw or 15 fps and get vastly higher or an unlimited buffer.

It also seems ( from Ricci’s) video that the buffer clears almost instantly when you release the shutter which is important in real world shooting.
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The key is getting a fast CFExpress card. With a fast card, you can get over 80 frames of lossless compressed RAW with ProGrade Cobalt, Delkin Black, or Wise Advanced. More importantly, it takes just 1.25 seconds to clear a full buffer with those cards, and a frame rate of 15 fps can shoot indefinitely without interruption.

With the slower cards like the ProGrade Gold, Lexar Gold, etc., the speeds are very different. Those cards have a maximum burst of 31-33 frames, it will take 2.25 seconds to clear the buffer, and speed needs to drop to 8 fps or lower for sustained shooting. These slower cards have a middle ground where you could shoot at 10-12 fps and have very reasonable performance with a burst of 5-9 seconds instead of just 1.6 seconds.
 
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EricBowles said:
The key is getting a fast CFExpress card. With a fast card, you can get over 80 frames of lossless compressed RAW with ProGrade Cobalt, Delkin Black, or Wise Advanced. More importantly, it takes just 1.25 seconds to clear a full buffer with those cards, and a frame rate of 15 fps can shoot indefinitely without interruption.

With the slower cards like the ProGrade Gold, Lexar Gold, etc., the speeds are very different. Those cards have a maximum burst of 31-33 frames, it will take 2.25 seconds to clear the buffer, and speed needs to drop to 8 fps or lower for sustained shooting. These slower cards have a middle ground where you could shoot at 10-12 fps and have very reasonable performance with a burst of 5-9 seconds instead of just 1.6 seconds.
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This was good to see as it shows my xqd cards will be sufficient backup cards (at least for my shooting) and that if buying CFExpress cards you should spend a little more to buy the fastest available. I am fairly satisfied with what I’m seeing from these tests.

Now I wonder if there will be any issues with how hot some cards reportedly get.
 
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Mommacat said:
Apologies if this has already been asked, but do we know how customizable the Fn buttons or other controls are especially in regards to engaging different AF modes + AF ON? One of the things I really enjoyed on the Sony rentals and especially the Canon R5 rental was the ability to program the top right buttons (AF ON, AEL, etc.) to engage different AF modes by just sliding my right thumb. I do have my PV button programmed on my D500 for single point, as Steve demonstrated in one of his videos, but, for me, sliding the thumb is more comfortable. Also, I'm hoping it's a true toggle on/off as opposed to having to keep it engaged along with the AF ON button. Thank you!
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Quoted from DP Review - https://www.dpreview.com/articles/3230207217/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-nikon-z9?slide=16

And if you don't wish to scroll through AF modes and area modes, and simply directly engage them instead, the Z9 finally sees the return of one of our favorite features on recent Nikon DSLRs: the ability to assign custom buttons to 'AF area mode + AF-ON' in order to switch to and engage any AF area mode, instantly. This means 3D Tracking could be your default focus mode engaged by the shutter button, while AF-ON or a Fn button could be assigned to instantly engage Single Point or Auto Area AF for those moments you don't want subject tracking AF. When the action is quick and you don't have the time to fumble with buttons and dials, this way of working can be revolutionary.
 
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ccirelli said:
See Ricci's latest vid on YouTube, he goes over some cards in detail. Yes some get pretty hot. Others don't. In short - Delkin Devices Black card is the one you want in the Z9. Priced right, but now they're sold out everywhere 😆
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If you can't find Delkin Black then have a look for Delkin Power as they perform almost as well and as well as Prograde Cobalt. Plus they are cheaper to boot. Delkin doesn't list a guaranteed sustained min write for the Power cards like they do for the Black. However ssdreview's testing showed them neck and neck for sustained write and low temps. Delkin Black was mostly created to have a tougher casing like Sony Tough but I guess they also select the best chips for them to guarantee those min sustained writes.
 
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thelordofthelight said:
This is a very good test..with the fastest CFE cards the buffer is about 80 shots in 14bit compressed raw and it has an endless buffer at 15FPS.
Click to expand...

This is indeed the first test I see for this case - I was wondering myself.

I'm very glad that one has the option - 20 FPS for long bursts and fast clearing buffer, or 15fps for infinite buffer. And at 15FPS is still faster than the D6!

PeterKelly said:
My take from Matt Granger’s informative video is the buffer is a non issue for 95% of shooting situation.
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Exactly. Between 15FPS/unlimited and 20FPS/~80-ish buffer (with fast cards), all is good, for me at least. Well, it's actually above my needs and requirements, but I'll gladly take it 🙂

EricBowles said:
The key is getting a fast CFExpress card. With a fast card, you can get over 80 frames of lossless compressed RAW with ProGrade Cobalt, Delkin Black, or Wise Advanced. More importantly, it takes just 1.25 seconds to clear a full buffer with those cards, and a frame rate of 15 fps can shoot indefinitely without interruption.

With the slower cards like the ProGrade Gold, Lexar Gold, etc., the speeds are very different. Those cards have a maximum burst of 31-33 frames, it will take 2.25 seconds to clear the buffer, and speed needs to drop to 8 fps or lower for sustained shooting.
Click to expand...

I haven't thought about the buffer clearing for slower cards. It seems the different is more than 2× slower for the "other" cards overall, not only in initial burst size (as expected, in hindsight). So if you need/care about long bursts, then it makes sense to buy the (slightly?) more expensive cards.

This thread (and forum) continues to be a source of very useful information, thanks all!
 
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