Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread

[John Navitsky]

i went to the camera store and all i got was this tee shirt

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Whiskeyman]

The 35,000 was a mistranslation by the writer. It's actually 3,500 a month. As for the 400,000 number, that doesn't add up. It would equate to roughy 2 billion in sales on the Z9 alone in a market that in total is valued at 12 billion.

Plus, as others have mentioned, it would put the Z9 at 10x the sales of the D3 in its first year. Not realistic. It's likely that the production is 3,500 a month and the pre-orders are 40,000.

Those numbers are much more likely. As they are, they have almost a year's production in preorders up to that point. Now the question to ask is exactly when the cameras went into initial production, and how many months head-start did they get on the initial release.

Hopefully, they've been finished with the physical designs for a while and have all production elements in place to produce many copies of the camera. Then, at some point they can implement the final software version and package these cameras for shipping to make a lot of people happy soon. They have to be very close to initial products being shipped from the factory; we're just over a month and ten days from the expected December 15 release date.

 

[Whiskeyman]

i went to the camera store and all i got was this tee shirt View attachment 27020

Nice score; did they give it to you for a pre-order?

I don't need any more t-shirts, nor do I need any more cameras, according to my wife.

Well she doesn't need more fabric, but that never stops her, either!

 

[Subutai]

Those numbers are much more likely. As they are, they have almost a year's production in preorders up to that point. Now the question to ask is exactly when the cameras went into initial production, and how many months head-start did they get on the initial release.

Hopefully, they've been finished with the physical designs for a while and have all production elements in place to produce many copies of the camera. Then, at some point they can implement the final software version and package these cameras for shipping to make a lot of people happy soon. They have to be very close to initial products being shipped from the factory; we're just over a month and ten days from the expected December 15 release date.

Agreed, and likely the initial surge of pre-orders is over and it will be a more consistent flow of new orders as the next month and a half passes. We'll see another surge of new orders once the hands on reviews from consumers comes in and the flood of youtube reviews that will follow.

At this rate, 6-12 months of waiting before being able to snag one within a few minutes of it hitting the shelves is very likely. You'll see them show up but it will be sparingly and they will be gone within minutes.

 

[John Navitsky]

Nice score; did they give it to you for a pre-order?

Just for showing. They were giving out 128GB CFE cards for pre-orders.

But the good part was hearing Rod Mar, who did the action/AF segment, speak. Turns out he’s a local sports photographer and action is kind of my thing so I kinda felt like he was my peeps.

He shot like 10k images the first day on two bars battery. In his talk he showed the Atmos footage while he shot which I really enjoyed seeing that and hearing him talk about it.

I had like zero expectations, I just went on a whim, but glad I did.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Just for showing. They were giving out 128GB CFE cards for pre-orders.

That is very nice of them. All I've got for my pre-order is a charge on my credit card!

 

[fcotterill]

Latest New updates on Thom's Z9 Page
Including link to this table of official specifications on cards for the Z9

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000044081&configured=1&lang=en_US

Also repeating this useful Table

Gotcha

RAW HE * is supposed to be amazing, 685 frames ... pretty impressive. One of the reviews I recently viewed said he was setting his Z9 to HE* and leaving it there as he couldn't tell the difference between lossless compressed and HE*.
From the Nikon site
View attachment 26982

 

[sid_19911991]

I was up at the tender hour of 0130 this morning - GMT+1 - for a zoom talk with Thom Hogan and Mark Comon (Paul's Camera, Torrence CA). Much information was covered, some useful insights new to me, so well worth the nocturnal event.

One point of interest is among the first feedback of the Z9 from Michelle Valberg; she says the 100-400 f4.5/5.6S gives excellent quality with the ZTC2 at f11, using 3D Tracking + Eye-Detect on the Z9. Some of these examples also include 500 f5.6E PF+T2 III, which is no less encouraging. She will probably have much more to say about this aspects this weekend. Part of the Discussion day is Online (and free to registrants):

Revealing the Soul Within with Michelle Valberg

From environmental and travel to studio-style portraiture, Michelle will walk us through her vision and process of capturing people and their personalities in a single frame.

creativephotoacademy.com

Part of the Discussion day is Online (and free to registrants):
https://creativephotoacademy.com/event/revealing-the-soul-within-with-michelle-valberg-1/2021-11-07/

I saw her pics in the video & in Instagram. The quality is not great I guess due to the 2x teleconvertor & f11 aperture. But I delighted to know that she was able to track small birds in flight with ease.

 

[sid_19911991]

Owners of Z i & ii series are still hoping for AF improvement & I find no mention of these any where in Z9 discussions I think Nikon owes them an explanation .Past can not be just wished away

A Nikon representative confirmed that the Z9 expeed 7 processor is 12 times faster than 2 expeed 6 processors combined. So I doubt Z6 ii & Z7 ii will get much better.

 

[sid_19911991]

is it just me or does he clip a lot of the birds' wings in many of these photos? And it doesn't appear to be intentional.

Not intentional. IMO. The birds would have flown towards him & he would have failed to zoom out of his 100-400 with tc.
The good news is he was able to focus up close birds in flight even with a tc on. It seems like he has shot in some cloudy weather. I guess the AF is robust.

 

[EricBowles]

I saw her pics in the video & in Instagram. The quality is not great I guess due to the 2x teleconvertor & f11 aperture. But I delighted to know that she was able to track small birds in flight with ease.

I can promise you the quality of Michelle's images is great. Certainly enough for publication. With the Z6ii her keeper rate was down, but she does not crop much if any. She has very good technique, and by staying back from her subject is able to work the subject for longer and plan for any action. She relies heavily on IBIS as her shutter speeds are remarkably slow at times. The flight shots are often on take off or landing, so fast focus and fast frame rate are very useful.

One of the common threads I've seen with the top photographers is they shoot a lot of low percentage shots knowing that the ones they keep are remarkable. They are looking for head position, interaction, wing position, or even a glance of light in the right place.

 

[Rob M]

Good to see that the Z9 has bird eye tracking AF, question is whether Nikon will upgrade the Z6 & Z7 to have that capability.

 

[fcotterill]

Read this on a dpr thread:
computer translated = about 3, 500 Units/months = ~42 000 Units/ year

https://release.nikkei.co.jp/attach/620626/02_202110291012.pdf

View: original size

.. according to this online translation:

Wow! 400k in orders... impressive! Good for Nikon!

If I order now... 11 month wait time :(

 

[Hatch1921]

@fcotterill That is more realistic Now the question is...how many people ordered one and will follow through with the payment. I'm still evaluating the A1 and haven't placed an order, if I go for the Z9, I'm in for a wait ..which isn't horrible...the D850 has served me well. : ) Just happy for Nikon and I hope they sell of ton of these.

Hatch

 

[monu123]

The firmware update regarding buffer performance is in fact in Nikon's original press release, but it's at the very bottom, so people might have missed it.

The link to the press release: https://www.nikon.com/news/2021/1028_mirrorless_01.htm

*2 says that a 'future firmware update within this year will further enhance this function'.

The good thing is that by the time the Z9s have started shipping, which I believe is mid-December, this firmware update should have come out, or at least will be very close to release according to Nikon.
I'm assuming "further enhanced" means a larger buffer, or maybe faster buffer clearing?

 

[ssheipel]

I found this in one of the leaked specs on NR;


"Continuous shooting speed: Low speed continuous shooting: Approximately 1 to 10 frames / sec, High speed continuous shooting: Approximately 10 to 20 frames / sec, High speed frame capture (C30): Approximately 30
Frame / sec, High Speed Frame Capture (C120): Approximately 120 frames / sec"


Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2021/10/28/nikon-z9-detailed-specifications-leaked.aspx/#ixzz7AthuZ62s

Nikon did a video on the 'hidden' features of the Z9 (some of the little things missed in the hype of the big stuff) and I think it's in that video where they go over the frame rate choices; there are several.

 

[fcotterill]

3,500 / month does indeed look credible, as translating the html version of this pdf (on Google Chrome) reveals it appears to be an official press release by Nikon Corp [appended]
https://release.nikkei.co.jp/attach/620626/02_202110291012.pdf

@fcotterill That is more realistic Now the question is...how many people ordered one and will follow through with the payment. I'm still evaluating the A1 and haven't placed an order, if I go for the Z9, I'm in for a wait ..which isn't horrible...the D850 has served me well. : ) Just happy for Nikon and I hope they sell of ton of these.

Hatch

Release overview

Product name	Nikon Mirrorless Camera " Z 9"
price	open price
Released during the period	Scheduled for 2021
Planned production volume	Initial monthly production of about 3.5 thousand units

Reservations acceptance of selling in Japan , 11 May 2 days 10 to start than at.
Main Features length
1. 1. Various decisive moment reliably capture of the subject strongest Nikon history of AF performance and ultra-high-speed photography by excellent algorithm using a deep learning of the new development, traditional person, dog, in addition to the cat, a new bird, bicycle, bike, car, train, the corresponding world most be on a plane to the subject of 9 is possible to detect the type of subject to ※ 1 . Furthermore, if you set the subject detection to auto, you can detect all these subjects without the hassle of changing the settings. " Eye AF " can detect smaller eyes than ever before. In situations where the eyes and face cannot be detected, such as in the back, the head and torso are automatically detected . The AF area mode is the first Nikon mirrorless camera to be equipped with the popular " 3D- tracking" that has been installed in digital SLR cameras for many years . It is possible to keep focusing on the target subject even in a scene with a lot of movement. In addition, "dynamic click AF " is also the focus point of different sizes ( S / M / L equipped with a), to compose the shot and take the picture
Sometimes perfect. In the still image shooting, world's fast ※ 2 120 frames / possible second of continuous shooting is "high-speed frame calibration Petit turbocharger + " ※ 3 by, a moment that can not be captured by the naked eye about 1100 can be taken with high pixel of million pixels I will .
*1 subject detection is Waidoeri A AF ( S ), ( L ), Otoeri A AF , 3D- tracking, target add tail AF operates in (video mode only) .* 22021 years 10 May 28 , 2010, in the Pre Release of mirror-less camera. According to Nikon research .* 3AF / AE tracking. Fixed to JPEG NORMAL . The number of recordable frames that can be shot is less than that of high-speed continuous shooting. We recommend using the recommended card. There is also a setting that can shoot a still image of about 45 million pixels at about 30 frames per second .
2. Nikon's highest- ever video performance to meet a variety of video production needs Efficient heat dissipation design allows the world's longest video of approximately 125 minutes to be recorded on a memory card inside the camera body at 8K UHD / 30p . When combined with the NIKKOR Z lens of the " S-Line " * 1 , which boasts excellent resolution, it demonstrates high depiction performance in every corner of the screen. In addition , 4K UHD / 120P / 60P / 30P also supports . Since you can shoot 4K UHD / 120p videos without screen cropping, you can edit videos with the same angle of view even if you shoot at different frame rates . Nikon's original " N " with 10bitLog ”, HLG ( Hybrid Log-Gamma ) * 2 Supports recording. Furthermore, the recording format " ProRes 422 HQ also pair to" respond ※ 3 and, to meet needs of a wide range of video production. In addition , 9 types of subject detection also support video recording.
Order to continue to meet the user's video production needs, in a future firmware update , 8K over more than over 8K / 60p -containing non- 12bit RAW installation of video in the camera recording function, is scheduled corresponding to the operation and functionality improvements in movie shooting ..
* 1 "S-Line "is , NIKKOR Z in a grade that has been set in the lens, the Nikon own design guidelines and quality management has been clear with high standards, and delivers a particularly high level of optical performance .*2 This can be selected only when "Video recording file format" is " H.265 10-bit ( MOV )" .※ 3 full LumpurHD / 30P , 25P , 24P except , 4K UHD / 60P corresponding to.
2

3. 3. Conventional finder appearance of more than new technology " R Eal - Live Viewfinder "
Newly developed lamination type CMOS sensor and new image processing engine " EXPEED 7 Dual Stream technology in cooperation with" electronic view finder ( EVF display image) or for picture display, simultaneous separate still image data for recording It is possible to process. Unlike conventional blackout-free shooting, which displays the same image so that the viewfinder image does not disappear, the actual movement of the subject is always displayed. There is no display skipping, and you can check the movement of the subject without interruption. Since it is displayed smoothly even when continuous shooting is repeated in a short time, you will not miss a momentary photo opportunity even in a scene such as sports where you are shooting a fast-moving subject. In addition, the world's best in the finder ※ of 3000Cd / M 2 corresponding to the luminance new Quad-VGA adopted the panel. You can easily check the subject even when shooting outdoors in strong sunlight .
※ 2021 years 10 May 28 , 2010, in the Pre Release of mirror-less camera. According to Nikon research .
Four. And usability to support professional of the video representation reliable vertical become Nikon's first horizontal 4 equipped with the image monitor of axis tilt type, vertical position, to achieve the high operability of high-angle and low-angle shooting regardless of the lateral position .. In addition, the user interface of still image live view automatically switches to vertical display during vertical shooting, making it easy to check and operate the display. In addition, "Nico down D6 " ( 2020 year 6 robustness and and dust-proof and drip-proof performance of the May release) equivalent of Nikon best-in-class, minus the scan 10 to achieve a cold ability to operate But ℃, harsh environment of professional Supports shooting with. The world's fastest ※ by the scan rate, the rolling shutter distortion world's small ※ kept to, achieve a mechanical shutter-less.
It can be used without worrying about the life of the mechanical shutter. In addition, equipped with a lock on the body Uchite shake mechanism, power source OFF to prevent inadvertent sensor shaking of at the time, to suppress the damage to the sensor by shaking, such as when running on a bad road .
※ 2021 years 10 May 28 , 2010, Pre Release of 3000 in million pixels or more of the image sensor mounted in the mirror-less camera. According to Nikon research .
Five. Other Features length
• NIKKOR Z pull out the performance of the lens, the effective pixels to exert an overwhelming sense of resolution number 4571 Man stroke element• non-pressure contraction RAW equivalent image quality about 1/3 high efficiency to achieve in the following file size rate RAW ※ 1 pair in response• JPEG format and RAW is also in the form of about 20 frames / sec. At 1000 frames or more on ※ 2 take high-speed continuous shooting shadow• as dust measures of the sensor, the world 's first ※ 3 In addition to employing a double coat, tower the sensor shield mounting• ISO 64 with 1/32000 representation area of the bright lens by the combination of shutter speed of seconds expansion Large• Equipped with a "silent mode" that is effective for reducing camera shake correction ( VR ) sound inside the body and in the lens . Stage and press conference, quiet shooting is also acceptable in the shooting, such as a wedding function• volume of portrait photography electronic shutter sound indicating the start of image capture timing on the subject in such a 3 configurable in stage performance• 8K UHD suitable moving image and high-speed continuous shooting of high pixel, ideal for high-speed writing of CFexpress (Type B) vs. response• 1000 BASE-T Yes using the line LAN and built-in non- line LAN equipped with, support a number of communication functions door• even while adopting the vertical position grip design of integrated, "Nico down D6 in volume with respect to" about 20 percent of miniaturization actual current*1 When "High efficiency" is set. When "high efficiency ★" is, conventional non-pressure contraction RAW of about one-half will be in the file size of .* 2 Attached lens "NIKKOR Z 50mm f / 1.8 S ", the memory card " ProGrade Digital COBALT 1700R 325GB If you use ". During " RAW + JPEG " or " JPEG + JPEG " split recording, the continuous shooting time is approximately 3 seconds . Further improvements are planned with a firmware update within 2021 .* 32021 years 10 May 28 , 2010, in the Pre Release of mirror-less camera. According to Nikon research.
3
Main Specifications

Model	Interchangeable lens digital camera
Lens mount	Nico down Z mount
Number of effective pixels	45.71 million pixels
Shooting element child	35.9 × 23.9Mm rhino 's CMOS sensor (Nico down FX format)
Recording medium body	CFexpress card ( Type B ), XQD card de
ISO sensitivity (recommended exposure index )	ISO 64 ~ 25600 (step width : 1/3 , 1 can be changed to a step) , ISO 64 to about 0.3 , 0.7 , 1 stage ( ISO 32 desensitizing equivalent) , ISO 25600 to about 0.3 , 0.7 , 1 -stage , 2 steps ( equivalent to ISO 102400 ) sensitization, automatic sensitivity control possible
Focus point door	493 points ※ still image mode, the image pickup range enclosed FX , single-point door AF at the time
Video recording pixel count / frame rate	・7680 × 4320 ( 8K UHD ): 30p / 25p / 24p・3840 × 2160 ( 4K UHD ): 120p / 100p / 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p・1920 × 1080 : 120p / 100p / 60p / 50p / 30p / 25p / 24p
Image monitor	Tilt formula 8 cm / 3.2 inch TFT LCD monitor (touch panel), approximately 2.1 million dots, viewing angle 170 °, field of view of about 100% , brightness adjustable (manual Le 11 step), color customizable, aspect tiltable
Dimensions (W x H x D)	Approximately 149 x 1 49.5 x 9 0.5 mm
mass	Approximately 1340g (including battery and memory card, excluding body cap and accessory shoe cover), Approximately 1160g (main unit only)

Data in the specification, except where otherwise there stated , CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) complies with the standards or guidelines .
● Nikon Homupe di https://www.nikon.co.jp/● Nikon and video Division Homupe di https://www.nikon-image.com/ information that has been published in this press release is available on the day of the release.

 

[John Navitsky]

Not intentional. IMO. The birds would have flown towards him & he would have failed to zoom out of his 100-400 with tc.
The good news is he was able to focus up close birds in flight even with a tc on. It seems like he has shot in some cloudy weather. I guess the AF is robust.

they showed some evf footage and it looked like that was the last frame as the bird approached, right before it went out of frame. i think they were trying to show the af could hold on challenging af situations like something super close in. Rod had similar kind of stuff where the camera kept tracking as the cyclist approached and was just leaving the frame, super close - head and shoulders only

 

[Whiskeyman]

That doesn’t seem profitable. Hopefully they sell a lot of ZFC

That's close to $231M US in a year, which will likely go down in subsequent years, but hopefully not so much that it becomes unprofitable to keep the line open.

No telling how much they have tied up in R, D & M costs for the Z9. Hopefully they can sell enough to make some profit on this camera... And then roll some of the developmental research into other cameras and thus help overall profitability over the next few years.

As far as the ZFc, my guess is that it will do best outside the US, as other retro cameras seem to have done.

hard to imagine that buffer clearing faster that it does now, wow

I think their ultimate goal would be to never get to the point where the photographer has to wait for the buffer.

I'm already spending a lot of time at the computer after a shoot to review and process files shooting at nine-to-twelve frames a second and limiting my burst length due to buffer limits. I can't wait rolleyes until I end up with ten times as many frames to review after a shoot, expecially if the AF works so well that OOF shots are much lower in occurence than I now see. (OOF is one of the first criteria I use for culling an image from a shoot.)

 

[sid_19911991]

I can promise you the quality of Michelle's images is great. Certainly enough for publication. With the Z6ii her keeper rate was down, but she does not crop much if any. She has very good technique, and by staying back from her subject is able to work the subject for longer and plan for any action. She relies heavily on IBIS as her shutter speeds are remarkably slow at times. The flight shots are often on take off or landing, so fast focus and fast frame rate are very useful.

One of the common threads I've seen with the top photographers is they shoot a lot of low percentage shots knowing that the ones they keep are remarkable. They are looking for head position, interaction, wing position, or even a glance of light in the right place.

I personally didn't like the pics. Nothing to do with the camera or the lens. Nothing against Michelle either.

 

[Whiskeyman]

$231M doesn’t go far these days.

Sad, but true at that level.

I once had a guy working for me who won about $40M US, after taxes, in the Powerball Lottery. Only $40M... poor guy!

 

[thelordofthelight]

Here is my understanding of the buffer update. So there are 2 aspects to buffer, 1. No of files limit, which for the Z9 at 14 bit compressed raw is around 80-82 files. 2. After the 80-82 limit when you let go of the shutter, how fast does the buffer clear?

Based on Matt Granger's video, 2 already seems to be fantastix as the buffer seems to clear almost instantly. The rumours about buffer improvements in future was more related to point 1 above, which is to increase the buffer file limit from 80 range to something higher.

hard to imagine that buffer clearing faster that it does now, wow

 

[DavidT]

Oh boy. Nikon rumors saying 3,500 a month not 35k.
https://nikonrumors.com/2021/11/06/...nxHo_Nam9nZS4gpNRhMjrTVkPJ0tUBMGKkDWsXzfrgIIk

 

[padrepaul]

Oh boy. Nikon rumors saying 3,500 a month not 35k.
https://nikonrumors.com/2021/11/06/...nxHo_Nam9nZS4gpNRhMjrTVkPJ0tUBMGKkDWsXzfrgIIk

That's a little disheartening, but I believe the pre orders were also off so it's 40,000 not 400,000. That being said a lot of unknowns; how many do they have already ready to go, how many pre-orders will drop out; will NPS orders be able to fulfilled on the first "wave"?

I'm very excited and can't wait; vidoes are great, hype is great, but until I'm actually using it it's all just hype. However if you're invested in Nikon you aren't moving systems, so not much you can do but just wait. Hopefully they have a sense of what they need to do and they'll start filtering in, and we get a bit more than "shipping by the end of the year" but shops and people know with a sense when they can reasonably expect to be using it based on where they are in line and more info comes out. Waiting stinks but not much we can do.

 

[jeffnles1]

Oh boy. Nikon rumors saying 3,500 a month not 35k.
https://nikonrumors.com/2021/11/06/...nxHo_Nam9nZS4gpNRhMjrTVkPJ0tUBMGKkDWsXzfrgIIk

Neither number seems to pass the sniff test. 35,000 per month sounded like a lot of cameras. However, 3,500 a month is only 40,000 a year and that sounds low. That really does not sound like enough to make the manufacturing setup and R&D worthwhile. If 100% of the price was profit that is 231,000,000 which is a lot of change but in the corporate world, it's not all that much.