Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread

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O said:
I can understand Jarrod's attempt to show a situation of vignetting the way he has, how ever it also may have to do with his settings.
Why you would want to shoot like this i don't know. You could do this with a D850 or Z7 Z7 II, D800 D810 D7800 D71000 why would you even need tracking are we that lazy or lacking skill.
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Try the task of photographing birds from a boat pitching around on a lake and then you'll understand.
 
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Ken Miracle said:
Video is fun for me to watch and is a combo of many things ... good microphones ... noise free very smooth focusing lenses ... fluid heads for support etc.. I played with it have the Rode mikes and other gear and took a few pretty good videos but did not enjoy doing it so I just quit. If I want a video it is surpising what my I phone 11 pro will do and even have a DJI OSMO powered gimbal etc. took classes shot some fun stuff still not my thing. So I have done viedeo for about 3 years.

But I am so old fashioned I did Instagram and did not like it's phone focus. So I decided to focus on what I liked, and not what sold, gathered followers, monotized you tube or instagram etc.. after all I am retired :) So for me my thing is birding and bird ID photography and a few other wildlife and occasional found images. I still believe in never saying never and never saying always :) However I doubt if at 73 I will ever go back to any form of serious video. But as you I do appreciate Nature etc... but I will leave that up to others to do for me to enjoy. So video not a serious concern for "me" when looking at a camera.
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It is awesome that you are shooting birds at 73. I am pretty sure I would be dead much before that. 😄

I don't shoot video in a traditional way. I like shooting at 120 fps, handheld. Audio not a priority. Rolling shutter & camera shake automatically gets reduced.

Here is a vid I shot of a black-shouldred kite successfully hunting a mouse.

I used a Nikon Z6 & 500pf. Handheld & manual focus. 1080 p 120 fps.

 
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sid_19911991 said:
It is awesome that you are shooting birds at 73. I am pretty sure I would be dead much before that. 😄

I don't shoot video in a traditional way. I like shooting at 120 fps, handheld. Audio not a priority. Rolling shutter & camera shake automatically gets reduced.

Here is a vid I shot of a black-shouldred kite successfully hunting a mouse.

I used a Nikon Z6 & 500pf. Handheld & manual focus. 1080 p 120 fps.

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Cool video! Yes I chase birds a lot and since I sold my D6 and D500 right now I am using my D850 and 600mm f/4 E as my primary birding rig ... I have not used a tripod or monopod for other than static testing of a new camera or lens in about 3 years. I find my 500 pf a bit to light and whippy for my shooting style but can make it work. I was a competitive target shooter (heavy bull barreled rifles) in the past and shot sporting clays for years so used to holding steady on a sitting bird or swinging with a flying one. And at 73 I have to lift weights, do high intensity interval training and core foundation exercises to keep on keeping on.
 
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Hut2 said:
. Were the old ones good enough? Yes! but the new ones are better, sharper, cleaner overall. You can go through his IG account and see the difference.
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Very true.While I am no Mark Smith When I got 500 PF my shots certainly got better.When I got A1 I found I am getting better & better quality in my photos.
My keeper rates have also improved .I did find a lighter body,Better AF & AF tracking ,Black out free shooting , better Customisation & a high frame rate does help( which ever brand it is)
 
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Ken Miracle said:
Cool video! Yes I chase birds a lot and since I sold my D6 and D500 right now I am using my D850 and 600mm f/4 E as my primary birding rig ... I have not used a tripod or monopod for other than static testing of a new camera or lens in about 3 years. I find my 500 pf a bit to light and whippy for my shooting style but can make it work. I was a competitive target shooter (heavy bull barreled rifles) in the past and shot sporting clays for years so used to holding steady on a sitting bird or swinging with a flying one. And at 73 I have to lift weights, do high intensity interval training and core foundation exercises to keep on keeping on.
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That's cool & inspiring. The world needs more birders/nature photographers. Keep rocking.
 
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Hut2 said:
I am using Mark Smith as an example. When he switched from D850 to some other brand with Eye AF and tracking his quality went up drastically imo. Were the old ones good enough? Yes! but the new ones are better, sharper, cleaner overall. You can go through his IG account and see the difference.
He has a Z9 on order. I look forward to seeing his results. I don't expect them to be significantly better or worse than what he is shooting now though. But it is awesome to see it! IMHO
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People can easily give reasons sighting that he got better etc. The fact is, the new gear helped Mark get better shots. Period. He initially shot with 200-600 which is insanely sharp. Now the 600 f4 is peerless in terms of sharpness. But not a fan of Mark's composition though. Love his video footage way more.
 
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Well I did it. Now, like many of you, the waiting game begins (although the FTZ II mount is in stock and ready for shipping)

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Interesting video, its in japanese but subtitles with auto translate helps to some extent. At about 8.25 he compares the compressed Raw vs HE* and HE formats on an under exposed image. I can see some loss in quality with the HE (lossy) but the compressed raw and HE* are so close.

 
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Agreed. I think this pretty much reflects what we have seen in all the videos. Maybe not sticky enough like A1 or R3 but in the same ball park and some firmware tweaks could iron this out.

Hut2 said:
Here is a better written review of the night.

". . . This was just a crap lighting situation that really pushes all cameras to the extreme. . ."

Nikon Z9 First Real World Thoughts from a Concert | Fro Knows Photo

The Starting Line, December 17th 2021, Franklin Music Hall. Philadelphia PA. (click here for full-res exported jpegs with all meta data https://bit.ly/3srd1HA ) This was the first concert I got to shoot with the Nikon Z9. The lighting at this venue is not very good, as you can see, there was not...
froknowsphoto.com
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thelordofthelight said:
I thought he only mentioned about the AF being faster on the canon RF compared to Nikon Z lenses in general. Did he talk about sharpness too? He says the eye AF is a bit 'jumpy' on the Z9 compared to Sony/Canon.
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Eye AF being jumpy is probably a setting. Normally you want AF as fast as possible for stills, but for video that looks awful. But fast AF means it's not as sticky - so it's a balance. If Eye AF is jumpy but it is moving to the face, you're probably still getting every frame in focus.

I don't think he's taken the time to learn the camera. I'd put him in the intermediate or novice category at this point when it comes to the Z9. He has not spent enough time with a Z7ii or Z6ii to have a fast learning curve. He's probably advanced when it comes to the A1 because that's what he's using.

For real assessment, you probably want to look for someone who has spent enough time to optimize settings and how to get the most out of the camera - the way most owners would use it. You don't spend $6000 on a camera and expect a point and shoot or iPhone.

I have to give him credit for publishing feedback during his learning curve. It just needs to be recognized for what it is.
 
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[QUOTE="Hut2, post: 129569, member: 5211
Nikon thinks enough of his ability to give him 2 so far....lol
[/QUOTE]

Or so Equipment Failure is not claimed.

He's likely to earn enough from balanced reviews and ongoing use of the Z9 to make it worth buying two. :)
 
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