Same herePrediction: At some point there will be AI tools to address the heat haze problem. They’ll be awful for a while and gradually improve.
I have a lot of photos saved for that happens.
Rumors: New Nikon Z9 Firmware Update With Enhanced AF Acquisition Coming Soon (or not 🙂)
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Cameron T
Well-known member
Heat haze has destroyed me so many times. Really unfortunate, and often I can't solve it irl by moving/etc.
A few years ago a farmer allowed a photography group I was a member of to photograph birds scavenging leftover corn following the harvest. I got what I thought was a nice shot of two crows perched on a wooden fence pecking at each other. Heat haze was the worst I’ve ever seen and ruined my shot.
Cameron T
Well-known member
Ouch. I lost a few good ones today of a new bird to it. And some of the badger.A few years ago a farmer allowed a photography group I was a member of to photograph birds scavenging leftover corn following the harvest. I got what I thought was a nice shot of two crows perched on a wooden fence pecking at each other. Heat haze was the worst I’ve ever seen and ruined my shot.
fcotterill
Well-known member
peculiar no mention of the z8 and z9. but i’ll be very happy if we see some movement on c2pa.
Nikon announced the development of a new Z6 III firmware update with C2PA Content Credentials support - Nikon Rumors
Today Nikon announced the development of a new Z6 III firmware update with C2PA Content Credentials support. Back in 2022 during the 2022 Adobe Max conference, Adobe announced a partnership between the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI) and Nikon to add content credentials in Photoshop for...nikonrumors.com
Nikon Will Add C2PA Content Credentials to the Z6 III by Next Year
Nikon announced that it is preparing a firmware update that will bring CAI C2PA content credentials to the Z6 III.
petapixel.com
Nikon Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 to Get Frame.io Integration Via NX Mobile Air
Nikon's Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 cameras will get Frame.io integration through the NX Mobile Air app by mid next year.
petapixel.com
John Navitsky
Well-known member
well, now i don’t know what to think. it certainly seems like they’re doing a fw update this month but that suggests c2pa isn’t till mid next year, so why even talk about it now. hrmph.
Whatever might be coming and when, it is over three months since the thread started on eighth July.
Kumarsnaveen
Member
Wow.. are you by chance Matt Patrick of Numega Bounds checker team ?
Nikon Will Add C2PA Content Credentials to the Z6 III by Next Year
Nikon announced that it is preparing a firmware update that will bring CAI C2PA content credentials to the Z6 III.
Nikon Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 to Get Frame.io Integration Via NX Mobile Air
Nikon's Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 cameras will get Frame.io integration through the NX Mobile Air app by mid next year.
Frame.io has potential. Looks like it's finally rolling out to the major manufacturers (Canon just announced it too). I've seen a demo which worked okay in a studio environment over strong wifi but gotten mixed results over cell (on a Fujifilm GFX).
No, Patrick is my first name, not my family name.
pxPHIL
New member
From my initial comment. Nikon Z9 pixel shift will not be strictly necessary for me...but...with my landscape photography in mind I would dearly love to have this option handy in my back pocket. Damn it.....the Z8 Zf and Z6-3 already have it. I'm feeling very left out ..and let down by this omission.
I have not felt the need for pixel shift with my Z9's. On the other hand focus shift is really useful.
I'm sure it'll be in the next update for the Z9. It's nice to have in there if you need it.
Henry Hudson did a comparison with adobe's super resolution function and it ending up being very close in end result, the may be something to give a shot with the Z9.
beano
Active member
I would love manual eye detect in both the z8/z9, same as what the zf/z6iii has. By far my preferred mode of shooting portraits.
Zof9
Member
Nikon Imaging Cloud maintenance completed.
Still no firmware update for z8 & 9
Next week anyone?
Still no firmware update for z8 & 9
Next week anyone?
beano
Active member
Haha, we are wishing for a new FW, sighNikon Imaging Cloud maintenance completed.
Still no firmware update for z8 & 9
Next week anyone?
Last edited:
Adriano
Member
Maybe our expectations are in general too high, but I have to admit I am a bit impatient and disappointed 
groob
Active member
Can’t say I am disappointed, given the remarkable post-launch support Nikon has given away for free (some of it was necessary to make Nikon competitive in AF performance, of course). I am itching to see another FW update, but I wonder if, at this point, they’ll just launch a Z9ii.Maybe our expectations are in general too high, but I have to admit I am a bit impatient and disappointed
I have no doubt there will be more firmware updates. They want to put the cloud service to use.
Whether they make any large further improvements in AF or add RAW support to pre-capture who knows.
I'm not mad at Nikon with how much support they've been providing for Z cameras in firmware compared to other brands. But they probably should continue as it builds loyalty to the brand. Fuji used to do this with the X100's by adding a new film simulation mode once in a while. It doesn't cost you much and people love it.
Whether they make any large further improvements in AF or add RAW support to pre-capture who knows.
I'm not mad at Nikon with how much support they've been providing for Z cameras in firmware compared to other brands. But they probably should continue as it builds loyalty to the brand. Fuji used to do this with the X100's by adding a new film simulation mode once in a while. It doesn't cost you much and people love it.
So the question is whether all those earlier rumors of an impending Z9 firmware upgrade are without foundation. We look at the fact that the imaging cloud went through maintenance and nothing happened with an upgrade.
Not having ANYTHING to do with my time, I continue to try to put this all into perspective. I come out with the following:
1. Clearly Nikon is planning to move its imaging cloud capability onto more cameras including the Z 8 and Z 9. You can't do that without a firmware upgrade.
2. We don't know the reason for the maintenance. One possibility is that you need to greatly expand the capacity of the system if you are going to bring all these other cameras in. Maybe they added a lot of additional cloud storage sites? Or maybe there have been firmware issues and the maintenance may be a part of the process.
3. Let's assume that even if the maintenance worked well you still need to test it out with all the camera firmware upgrades to make sure they all work. This could take some time to complete especially if they encounter problems.
4. Nikon will want this cloud service to work well out the gate so they may be taking extra precautions to make sure it happens.
5. They have taken a long time to try to get this program out. That tells me they have encountered technical problems and are trying to work through them.
Bottom line firmware upgrades are coming but no idea when.
I can say that because even a broken clock is right twice a day. If we wait for long enough a firmware upgrade will come out and then I can claim AHA I PREDICTED THA% WOULD HAPPEN.
I am retired and it is too rainy today to go out shooting. What else am I going to do with my time.
That's certainly possible, but I suspect not. I think there might be a more substantial update coming: content authentication, cloud, pixel shift (?), AF enhancements (?), something else (?)
We'll see in due time.
It is a bit unusual that both the Z8 and Z6iii have features that are not included in the Z9. More typically the Z9 has been at the cutting edge on features as you would expect for the flagship camera. that indicates to me that a Z9 update its going to happen. It probably would have happened already but for all these other issues. I agree that if the Z9 was hardware-incompatible with for instance imaging cloud they would still release the other uprades. The rumor that circulated indicated there was an incompatibility with the Z7ii they were trying to fix.
Cameron T
Well-known member
Yeah, that doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Why wait to release a flagship update if you're waiting for last gen hardware?
agree
Because the main reason for the update will be the cloud service. When you want to make a real splash with a new system wide feature you wait until its really ready across the whole system.
What I find intriguing (and havent heard mentioned yet) is the idea that the images uploaded to the cloud service will have all the data Nikon needs to fine tune their AF algorithms and subject detection. The Ai will be able to train on what people are actually shooting with Nikon cameras. I would expect to major advancements in Nikon's AF tuning at some point after the cloud service is up and running.