What new features would you want in a Z8/9ii

[wotan1]

I have to assume there is a second generation Z9 coming out of course followed by a second generation Z8.

The Z9 for me was a major game changer because it allowed a completely new approach to wildlife photography I never used to shoot in bursts but now I do that routinely.

So what changes or additions would we want?

Number one of course would be pre-capture in RAW with a precapture time of 2-3 seconds. Certainly enough to cover my reaction time which may be a second or two.

Of course improved autofocus.

A brighter and higher pixel display screen

Perhaps lighter but with the same physical dimensions

Do I need a higher resolution sensor?

Do I REALLY need faster than 20 FPS RAW?

I invite you to share your fantasies of what would be an ideal camera.

 

[Maurie_S]

I certainly hope you don't hold a driving licence with reaction times like that!
I think 1/2 sec pre-capture is plenty.

 

[wotan1]

I have done some work around reaction time and car braking. I think my estimates were based on how long it takes to bring the car to a stop.

 

[Maurie_S]

I now understand why you wear all that Armour!!

 

[JP Onstwedder]

Raw pre-capture would be great mostly because it would avoid having to change other camera settings.

No interest in more pixels or higher frame rates.

Ditching banks for a simpler U1/U2/etc. approach where we can choose what is included in the setting would be ideal.

Better and easier connectivity to internet services. E.g., slighter nicer in-camera editing and then posting directly to internet accounts.

Arca-Swiss grooves in the body for portrait and landscape orientation.

Easier interface for interval and time lapse shooting. More consistency in menu naming and maybe even an option for a simplified menu (“use” versus “configure”).

 

[AlanDB]

Ditching banks for a simpler U1/U2/etc. approach where we can choose what is included in the setting would be ideal.

^^^^ this ^^^^

(I say after spending way too many hours pouring through the two books on the Z9 by @Steve trying to get it all set up.)

 

[TurtleCat]

Not sure what would get me to actually pay to update my Z8 but these are some things I would like:

1. weight reduction
2. raw precapture
3. vertical and horizontal af sensitive points
4. every so often when I turn it on, it doesn’t turn on when the sensor block is in place. Fix that.
5. simplified af modes that do the right thing most of the time and leave the customization for when it is needed
6. smaller vertical grip that can use the Z9 battery

 

[Nimi]

Open gate
Built-in NDs
Red RAW
8K/120, 6k/240 internal with no time limit
Ability to save to external SSD

 

[John Navitsky]

Number one of course would be pre-capture in RAW with a precapture time of 2-3 seconds. Certainly enough to cover my reaction time which may be a second or two.

raw pre-capture, yes please. i’d settle for as little as a 1/4 second as that’s about my reaction time.

Of course improved autofocus.

yes please. this is my big thing. my subject matter is very uncooperative, i can always use better subject detection and af.

Do I need a higher resolution sensor?

no. but more dynamic range please! by a LOT. i’m hoping they’ll use some of the tech from RED to give us dramatically better dynamic range.

Do I REALLY need faster than 20 FPS RAW?

yes. when things are moving fast a lot can happen in 1/20 second. i’d happily run 30fps or maybe 40.

that said, computational processing would be nice, take a burst at 40 fps, and have the camera automatically cull based on the amount of movement.

 

[John Navitsky]

Ability to save to external SSD

this is a good one. lots of potential options around storage flexibility. directly save to ssd via usb4, easy ability to be hooked up as a usb storage device. fast and reliable wifi transfer options. maybe a built in m.2 nvme slot or two…

 

[John Navitsky]

c2pa.

did i mention c2pa?

we need c2pa!

 

[nmerc_photos]

more MP is always preferred. 50MP - 60MP would be great

raw precapture is a must. if they don't provide it in the next generation it'll be a huge let down

better AF

30-60 FPS

that's about it. we'll see how close to Sony A1 II comes to these specs, and that'll largely determine if I'm looking at being a Sony or Nikon shooter in the near future

 

[arbitrage]

My wish list:
1) RAW Pre-capture with Sony like levels of customization (why half ass this like Canon)
2) As many FPS as they can allow. Has to be 30 or higher to even consider it
3) 3rd control wheel. If not then at least let me define what each wheel does (I'd want SS and ISO on them)
4) Additional back buttons that fall under your right thumb
5) Zebras in stills
6) Lower the weight of the Z9 like Canon has managed in the R3 and R1. I like an integrated grip body but the weight of the Z9 is just unecessary.

 

[IainD]

I dont think I really need or want anything that it doesn’t already provide.

 

[DavidT]

My wish list:
1) RAW Pre-capture with Sony like levels of customization (why half ass this like Canon)
2) As many FPS as they can allow. Has to be 30 or higher to even consider it
3) 3rd control wheel. If not then at least let me define what each wheel does (I'd want SS and ISO on them)
4) Additional back buttons that fall under your right thumb
5) Zebras in stills
6) Lower the weight of the Z9 like Canon has managed in the R3 and R1. I like an integrated grip body but the weight of the Z9 is just unecessary.

So basically an a1

 

[arbitrage]

So basically an a1

Yep
But an A1II in an R3 body that can mount a Z400TC lens.

 

[Lee R]

Honestly not sure any of these things would convince me to fork over another $3500 plus.

There’s really nothing I’ve run into that I can’t capture pretty easily with the Z8.

RAW precapture is nice but not something I’ll pay another Z8 price for. HE RAW can basically shoot forever so I’ve been able to just shoot through any expected movement and get shots. Culling just ends up like scrolling a YouTube video for the moment and sending that one for upload. JPEG precapture isn’t the end of the world in good lighting.

I might skip the next one and wait for the Z8iii to make a bigger leap forward.

What I would honestly like the most is being able to setup in camera editing to do what Lightroom can and not have to bother with Lightroom. That would save me a lot of time as I’m not a huge fan of editing photos at a desk. I’d prefer the camera have the ability to get it right at the time the shot was taken by letting me have that level of output control from the start.

Having 30/60/120 fps modes I have very rarely used more than 20fps. It would be nice to have more RAW options but 20 is still pretty fast.

I think we’re in a sort of diminishing returns phase of cameras until another shift in tech happens. They’ll get a little faster frame rate wise and the subject detection will refine to more subjects but It’s hard for me to think of something I’ve been hard pressed to shoot well so far with the current Z8.

More money for more lenses I think and wait and see a generation after the next probably.

If Nikon dropped a rangefinder in the spirit of the Zf that would for sure steal my money though. Or a 45mp Zf ii.

 

[Alistair]

Opengate, 32 bit audio with super-quiet preamps, oversampled 4k/120, 8k/60 or higher 10 bit NLog, shutter angles, same size but 300-400g lighter but not at expense of thermal dissipation, controls better able to keep out sand and grit, improved but still secure card door, more toggleble recall shooting states, 30fps full raw with pre-capture. Z9iii: +hybrid global shutter.

 

[flashpixx]

I might skip the next one and wait for the Z8iii to make a bigger leap forward.

Yep, I think so too

 

[Lee R]

It would be interesting if Nikon ends up dropping a 45mp+ global shutter in the Z9ii.

At some point someone’s going to add iPhone like computational stuff once the processors price drops to where they can put something as powerful as the iPhones in a camera.

 

[fcotterill]

• Stacked Sensor with Cross-type AF points not restricted to one set(s) of colour pixels - solves Closest Subject Priority glitches;
• Real-Time Clipping - highlights and shadows;
• Auto VR, which allows refined control over maximum shutter speed that switches VR off;
• Higher EVF resolution - Z6 III spec;
• Focus-Stacking Burst mode, which captures a batch of images over preset focus distance, eg 20 HE*RAW frames covering 10 cm at 120fps from initial AF position;
• PreCapture RAW at up to 60 fps (also available in High-speed burst mode);
• High Speed Burst eg 5 seconds at 120fps with options to use with both PreCapture and/or Focus-Stacking Burst
• Expanded Custom Menu options;
• RSF Hold improved - allow at least 3 different RSF Setups/Bank, and add missing features especially camera Mode - S,A,M;
• Depth of Field Bracketing with constant exposure (using Auto ISO);
• Capture RAW Stills in video (even if jpg feed);
• Auto Lock vertical controls Auto Locks when camera horizontal (menu option)

 

[wotan1]

AI assistance with menu setups: The camera calculates what you typically shoot and suggests solutions that work better (AI Steve Perry in the camera)

By the way do we REALLY know that Steve Perry is not actually AI?

AI auto-detects subject ID settings

 

[AlanB313]

What I want is a new version of the z9 to come out soon, so that the current models go on clearance lol... Or lots of nice used ones flood the market. Just kidding...

 

[thelordofthelight]

All from @fcotterill‘s list plus:
1. Customizable focus distance limiter
2. Unlimited button customization like in Sony cameras
3. Ability to take backups directly on to SSDs without needing a PC
4. More FPS/Buffer options - At least 40 FPS in compressed Raw, 50-60 in HE*, 70-80 in HE and so on…

• Stacked Sensor with Cross-type AF points not restricted to one set(s) of colour pixels - solves Closest Subject Priority glitches;
• Real-Time Clipping - highlights and shadows;
• Auto VR, which allows refined control over maximum shutter speed that switches VR off;
• Higher EVF resolution - Z6 III spec;
• Focus-Stacking Burst mode, which captures a batch of images over preset focus distance, eg 20 HE*RAW frames covering 10 cm at 120fps from initial AF position;
• PreCapture RAW at up to 60 fps (also available in High-speed burst mode);
• High Speed Burst eg 5 seconds at 120fps with options to use with both PreCapture and/or Focus-Stacking Burst
• Expanded Custom Menu options;
• RSF Hold improved - allow at least 3 different RSF Setups/Bank, and add missing features especially camera Mode - S,A,M;
• Depth of Field Bracketing with constant exposure (using Auto ISO);
• Capture RAW Stills in video (even if jpg feed);
• Auto Lock vertical controls Auto Locks when camera horizontal (menu option)

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Combine all of the above with the ability to teleport itself to the location of my choosing, find my object(s) of interest, determine the most pleasing composition, hibernate until the light is perfect and take images from 40 different perspectives; teleport itself back, select the best N images from the inventory, process those with noise through Pure Raw 4 and import them into Capture 1.