SMB
Well-known member
HaHa. Shot with Nikon for 40 years. Switched to Sony 2 years ago and have been shooting with the a1 for three months. Glad to see Nikonians excited again, but you can have my Z9
Official Nikon Z9 Launch, Info, and Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Steve
- Start date
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What lens do you plan to use with your new Z9?
I think Nikon created a hit but I did find a couple things surprising.
As someone who has shot Nikon since the F5 and recently moved to Sony a1 system this year here are my takes.
I like the built in grip, the Z9 is a sexy camera for sure! I don't mind the add on grip of the a1 and not having a grip could have some advantages at times but I have never taken the grip off so for me Nikon made the better choice with larger battery and ergonomics I suspect will be amazing. Win Nikon
I love that Nikon kept the buttons that light up! I miss this with the a1 as I do a lot of astro work. Win Nikon
I love what Nikon did with the sensor protector and how fast it appears to turn on and off. Sony uses an actual shutter to close, it works, it is slow and I worry I might damage the shutter which will lead to a costly repair. I will give this design a win to Nikon
I like the extra diversity of the rear screen on the Z9. I do prefer the rear screen to stay behind the camera as I am not taking selfies or blogging. I would say this is mostly a push between Z9 and a1 but would give the slight nod to Nikon for the extra tilt function. Slight win Nikon
Dual CF Express B cards. I haven't had any issues with the CF Express A cards (I have 3 of them), they are expensive, now with ProGrade they have come down a little in price but very limited choices. Speed of the A have been fine but I would have preferred B cards for the extra speed, especially in downloading to the computer. However Sony design does offer the best of both worlds with dual slots that support both CFA and SD cards. Much better solution then what Canon did on R3 with 2 different slots and what Nikon has done with cameras such as D850. I have never liked having 2 different card formats in the same camera. I give this win by a hair to Sony for 2 card types in one slot but still would prefer B cards like the Z9 (part of this comes from I already had B cards and readers I had to sell and replace when I went to Sony).
FPS: Well this is a bit confusing and unknown just yet. From what I am seeing I think Sony is winning this for RAW shooters. For Jpeg shooters it is a push except for the 120FPS reduced MP files. I don't see me ever using this for my type of work but hey why not include it if you can, even if there is very very limited real world use by the masses. For now win Sony
AF: To early to know, from what it looks like I am guessing Sony is likely still ahead but the gap has sure closed. Win Sony for now but way to go Nikon!
Lenses: Native glass win Sony
Lenses part 2: Adaptable glass and diversity especially with tilt shift and super tele win Nikon
Flash Sync: Win Sony
The Z9 doesn't make me regret leaving, nor would it make me come back however Nikon is on the right track so that is great! I suspect for many the Z9 keeps them for leaving which is also great! We all want and need Nikon to survive and thrive and I see the Z9 as the first real step in that future. Now if Nikon comes out with a PF big boy lens like is now rumored I sure could see buying that single lens and a Z9 or its replacement (not knowing when you could even get one of the new lenses (took me years to get a 500PF)) and using it along side my Sony gear.
I can't wait to see Steve get some seat time with the Z9 and report on what he thinks.
Today is a history making moment for Nikon as it has killed the DSLR, I see no reason to not invest into this new future.
As someone who has shot Nikon since the F5 and recently moved to Sony a1 system this year here are my takes.
I like the built in grip, the Z9 is a sexy camera for sure! I don't mind the add on grip of the a1 and not having a grip could have some advantages at times but I have never taken the grip off so for me Nikon made the better choice with larger battery and ergonomics I suspect will be amazing. Win Nikon
I love that Nikon kept the buttons that light up! I miss this with the a1 as I do a lot of astro work. Win Nikon
I love what Nikon did with the sensor protector and how fast it appears to turn on and off. Sony uses an actual shutter to close, it works, it is slow and I worry I might damage the shutter which will lead to a costly repair. I will give this design a win to Nikon
I like the extra diversity of the rear screen on the Z9. I do prefer the rear screen to stay behind the camera as I am not taking selfies or blogging. I would say this is mostly a push between Z9 and a1 but would give the slight nod to Nikon for the extra tilt function. Slight win Nikon
Dual CF Express B cards. I haven't had any issues with the CF Express A cards (I have 3 of them), they are expensive, now with ProGrade they have come down a little in price but very limited choices. Speed of the A have been fine but I would have preferred B cards for the extra speed, especially in downloading to the computer. However Sony design does offer the best of both worlds with dual slots that support both CFA and SD cards. Much better solution then what Canon did on R3 with 2 different slots and what Nikon has done with cameras such as D850. I have never liked having 2 different card formats in the same camera. I give this win by a hair to Sony for 2 card types in one slot but still would prefer B cards like the Z9 (part of this comes from I already had B cards and readers I had to sell and replace when I went to Sony).
FPS: Well this is a bit confusing and unknown just yet. From what I am seeing I think Sony is winning this for RAW shooters. For Jpeg shooters it is a push except for the 120FPS reduced MP files. I don't see me ever using this for my type of work but hey why not include it if you can, even if there is very very limited real world use by the masses. For now win Sony
AF: To early to know, from what it looks like I am guessing Sony is likely still ahead but the gap has sure closed. Win Sony for now but way to go Nikon!
Lenses: Native glass win Sony
Lenses part 2: Adaptable glass and diversity especially with tilt shift and super tele win Nikon
Flash Sync: Win Sony
The Z9 doesn't make me regret leaving, nor would it make me come back however Nikon is on the right track so that is great! I suspect for many the Z9 keeps them for leaving which is also great! We all want and need Nikon to survive and thrive and I see the Z9 as the first real step in that future. Now if Nikon comes out with a PF big boy lens like is now rumored I sure could see buying that single lens and a Z9 or its replacement (not knowing when you could even get one of the new lenses (took me years to get a 500PF)) and using it along side my Sony gear.
I can't wait to see Steve get some seat time with the Z9 and report on what he thinks.
Today is a history making moment for Nikon as it has killed the DSLR, I see no reason to not invest into this new future.
I had the combo and found it outstanding!
Tigerbait1953
New member
Interesting thoughts. I've been shooting Nikon since the D1X and D1H (yr 2001) and I have NEVER seen them raise the price of any camera from launch regardless of popularity.
Utah Dave
New member
HaHa. Shot with Nikon for 40 years. Switched to Sony 2 years ago and have been shooting with the a1 for three months. Glad to see Nikonians excited again, but you can have my Z9
I'll take your Z9. I have too much nikon glass to switch. Sony really did a great job reinventing the industry. It's an incredible product.
Sony would need to drop the A1 price by $1000 and that does not count the cost of the grip. Doubt they will do it.
padrepaul
Well-known member
I'll use my existing F lenses; I own the 800 5.6 so that will be the main lens I'll use, probably 99.9% of the time on it for bird and wildlife photography. Hopefully works without any problems on the adaptor. Will be curious what the difference is with the new 800 that they'll have in a couple of years, the 800 is wonderful. I also own the 80-400 which is great for larger birds or shooting loons from a boat.
SMB
Well-known member
Yes but the grip fits all their "a" bodies, so if you have more than one body not such a big deal.
Mommacat
Active member
God I hope the do! I need another one
For sure! Figure add a battery and a grip and the Z9 is $1K less than the a1.
The Z9 does take two formats, CFE/b or XQD. Anyone who's been shooting high end Nikon likely already has XQD cards to get started with no additional expense.
I think I would go with the 100-400 along with the 24-70/f4…more on the long end for BIF and wildlife and losing the 70-100 range is small compensation for that.
Nice camera but at $6999.00 CAD plus 13% sales tax it's not going to happen.
John Navitsky
Well-known member
Some random thoughts:
1) I recently was shopping to add another CFE-b card and was looking at the Prograde cards and was tempted by the 1TB cards. Then I noticed they had two different versions of the CFE-b cards. Gold and Cobalt. Looking closer I realized the Cobalt offered significantly higher MINIMUM write speeds. It's easy to forget that the big speed written on all the advertising are MAXimum speeds. I ordered the Cobalt card even though it's only available in 650GB. I suspect we're all going to start paying closer attention to the CFE-b speeds now that we're getting cameras that can actually bump up against those limits.
2) Note Ricci's review of the 100-400 said image quality is basically the same as the 180-400. And that's with or without the Z 1.4 TC (to match the built in one on the 180-400). That's nuts. I've used the Sony 100-400 and it's an awesome lens, but I noticed the Nikon improved some operational/handling aspects of the lens. It looks like it doesn't extend as far as the Sony (keeping weight distribution better), and even though it sounds like a minor thing, it looks like they control the lens creep well and the Sony does not. The lens creep on the Sony was annoying.
3) I haven't really scrutinized the specs, but I'm getting the big battery is partially the reason for the weight. I wouldn't be surprised if the new battery weighs more than the old one either. It seems that _part_ of the reason use an integrated grip was to ensure you'd always have that big battery. So basically, they traded weight for battery performance which is something I can get behind.
-john
1) I recently was shopping to add another CFE-b card and was looking at the Prograde cards and was tempted by the 1TB cards. Then I noticed they had two different versions of the CFE-b cards. Gold and Cobalt. Looking closer I realized the Cobalt offered significantly higher MINIMUM write speeds. It's easy to forget that the big speed written on all the advertising are MAXimum speeds. I ordered the Cobalt card even though it's only available in 650GB. I suspect we're all going to start paying closer attention to the CFE-b speeds now that we're getting cameras that can actually bump up against those limits.
2) Note Ricci's review of the 100-400 said image quality is basically the same as the 180-400. And that's with or without the Z 1.4 TC (to match the built in one on the 180-400). That's nuts. I've used the Sony 100-400 and it's an awesome lens, but I noticed the Nikon improved some operational/handling aspects of the lens. It looks like it doesn't extend as far as the Sony (keeping weight distribution better), and even though it sounds like a minor thing, it looks like they control the lens creep well and the Sony does not. The lens creep on the Sony was annoying.
3) I haven't really scrutinized the specs, but I'm getting the big battery is partially the reason for the weight. I wouldn't be surprised if the new battery weighs more than the old one either. It seems that _part_ of the reason use an integrated grip was to ensure you'd always have that big battery. So basically, they traded weight for battery performance which is something I can get behind.
-john
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zule11
Active member
Here is another interesting video/review... It is in german, but mostly birds...
Not really the same thing but OK. I get it for those who have XQD but at the file size and speed you will need to upgrade anyway.
wsr
New member
Yes it works fine on the Z9
On the Morten Hilmer (page one video) he is using a 180-400 with the FTZ adapter on a Z(
Ekedar
New member
Watching the "question and answer" session with two European photographers. It's like watching a late night infomercial on an obscure cable TV network :-(.
Just pointing out you said two formats is a bonus. XQD is way faster than SD. So in either case there's an option for performance vs lower cost.
wsr
New member
Agreed!!
I am happy about the weight that will help balance a long telephoto and the ergonomics of the Z9 camera body vs the competition.
"So basically, they traded weight for battery performance which is something I can get behind."
Yep. I disagree. Not happy with Nikon's direction.
I watched the professional photographers lug around huge lenses and get in contorted positions, even one lying on rocks to shoot birds and reindeer. I do not see Joe average retiree now wildlife photographer do anything like that. The Z-9 is a professional camera not a semi-pro retired enthusiast camera whereas the Sony A1, while quite expensive, fills the bill quite nicely.
The crucial question for marketers is who is your target market? How big is the target market for Steves, Thom Hogans and the like?
Yep. I disagree. Not happy with Nikon's direction.
I watched the professional photographers lug around huge lenses and get in contorted positions, even one lying on rocks to shoot birds and reindeer. I do not see Joe average retiree now wildlife photographer do anything like that. The Z-9 is a professional camera not a semi-pro retired enthusiast camera whereas the Sony A1, while quite expensive, fills the bill quite nicely.
The crucial question for marketers is who is your target market? How big is the target market for Steves, Thom Hogans and the like?