Z9 documentation

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

I

ianh

New member
Member's gallery
Hi, I've just put in an order for a Z9+180-600. The cost is probably around the same as i've previously spent on cameras in total over my fairly lengthy lifetime; and moving up from a straightforward, traditional DSLR setup (D7500+200-500), i'm a little nervous about coping with a high-end beast...

Of course, i'll be getting Steve's Z9 setup guide, but wondered if anyone had thoughts about additional documentation? (I have the Nikon autofocus DSLR edition; worth getting the mirrorless edition?) I see that there's a daunting dozen manuals for download on the Nikon site; any recommendations for the key items? (Sure, i could just download them all and decide for myself, but a head start would be appreciated.)

Finally, i'd be glad of any thoughts about "must-have" camera/lens accessories...i've always gone for a clear filter, a neoprene lens wrap, and 'body armor'. Oh, and i already have a couple of Delkin Black 325Gb cfexpress cards, that i'm really hoping no-one is going to tell me were a bad choice...

Thanks, ian
 
Member's gallery
I also suggest all of Steve's books. If you have a flash or plan to buy one to use on your Z9, get Thom Hogan's guide to the Z9. He has a whole section on flash that covers different flash models. Make sure you download from Nikon the Z9 Reference Guide. And there may be other guides at the Nikon Z9 page that might help you too.
 
Member's gallery
Welcome to the forum Ian.

I've had a Z9 for almost two years now (coming from a D850, D500 and Z7II). It's a great camera and well worth learning.

You might find Thom Hogan's ebook guide to the Z9 useful. I have both Thom's guide and all of Steve's books. They are complementary in my experience. Thom's guide is generally more comprehensive than Steve's setup guide, as it is not focused on settings for wildlife.

I tend to read Steve's books all the way through. I used to do that with Thom's books. Now I tend to read the sections on AF and customization, as well as what is new and different (e.g., pre-capture). After that, I use it as a reference to look up items as questions come up.

Both Steve and Thom update their books from time to time as firmware changes. Steve is particularly fast on this.

One thing that I really like about Steve's and Thom's books is that they do not simply tell you what to set and do. They talk about why to do it (or not do it) and the trade-offs involved. I also like the fact that both Steve's books and Thom's guides are in electronic form. I keep copies on my iPad, which is very convenient when traveling.

As to Nikon's material -- I have downloaded most of it onto my iPad. The user guide and reference guide can be useful, although they are not as well written as Steve's and Thom's books. Some of the more specialized stuff may or may not be interesting to you. I find the charts showing the available customization options by button useful
(although not always up to date).

There will be a learning curve coming from a DSLR. Keep at it. You will want to study the Z9's AF system, as it is different than that of a Nikon DSLR, especially if you do wildlife photography. Focus initially on what you need to learn for your photography. As you go forward, you will also want to spend time on customization choices available to you -- individual programmable buttons, the i-Menu and My Menu. There is a lot more customization available with the Z9 than with the D7500. You are likely to find your views about the best setup may change as you use the Z9. I'm still tweeking things and also use different settings (via settings banks) for different subjects -- wildlife, landscape, astro, general....

There is a lot to take in, going from a D7500 to the Z9. I would not try to learn everything at once. And this forum is a good place for questions -- it's generally helpful and friendly.

Good luck.
 
Member's gallery
BillW said:
Welcome to the forum Ian.

I've had a Z9 for almost two years now (coming from a D850, D500 and Z7II). It's a great camera and well worth learning.

You might find Thom Hogan's ebook guide to the Z9 useful. I have both Thom's guide and all of Steve's books. They are complementary in my experience. Thom's guide is generally more comprehensive than Steve's setup guide, as it is not focused on settings for wildlife.

I tend to read Steve's books all the way through. I used to do that with Thom's books. Now I tend to read the sections on AF and customization, as well as what is new and different (e.g., pre-capture). After that, I use it as a reference to look up items as questions come up.

Both Steve and Thom update their books from time to time as firmware changes. Steve is particularly fast on this.

One thing that I really like about Steve's and Thom's books is that they do not simply tell you what to set and do. They talk about why to do it (or not do it) and the trade-offs involved. I also like the fact that both Steve's books and Thom's guides are in electronic form. I keep copies on my iPad, which is very convenient when traveling.

As to Nikon's material -- I have downloaded most of it onto my iPad. The user guide and reference guide can be useful, although they are not as well written as Steve's and Thom's books. Some of the more specialized stuff may or may not be interesting to you. I find the charts showing the available customization options by button useful
(although not always up to date).

There will be a learning curve coming from a DSLR. Keep at it. You will want to study the Z9's AF system, as it is different than that of a Nikon DSLR, especially if you do wildlife photography. Focus initially on what you need to learn for your photography. As you go forward, you will also want to spend time on customization choices available to you -- individual programmable buttons, the i-Menu and My Menu. There is a lot more customization available with the Z9 than with the D7500. You are likely to find your views about the best setup may change as you use the Z9. I'm still tweeking things and also use different settings (via settings banks) for different subjects -- wildlife, landscape, astro, general....

There is a lot to take in, going from a D7500 to the Z9. I would not try to learn everything at once. And this forum is a good place for questions -- its generally helpful and friendly.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Thanks., Bill, that's sage (and much appreciated) advice. Last time i got one of Thom's guides was, i think, when i got a D200 (my first DSLR). I'll check out what he has, in addition to Steve's books....think i'm going to have a lot of reading over Christmas :)
 
Member's gallery
Ian: I don’t have a Z9. I have a Z8 which I like, but I would have preferred a Z9, but the extra $1,500 was a deal killer for me. I also have the 180-600. I came from a D850 and the Nikkor 200-500. The Delkin Black 325GB cards work great in the Z8, and I have heard good things from Z9 shooters using them in the Z9. There is definitely a learning curve with a mirrorless camera, and I am still getting up to speed. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different AF modes and subject detection. I have Steve’s book on the Z8 and Z9 and I can definitely recommend it, especially for wildlife shooters. I also have Thom Hogan’s book, which is also very good.

Have you given any thought to how you plan to carry your Z9. I attached a Kirk plate (5 1/4") with a QD release to the 180-600, and I use a Peak Design Slide strap with a Kirk QD connector to attach to the Kirk plate to carry the Z8 and 180-600. It works for me. In any event, you will probably get much unsolicited advice as to the "preferred" method of carry. Good luck with the purchase. No doubt, it is a big investment, but I think you are probably good for at least 10 year's worth of shooting with that set-up, if not longer.
 
Member's gallery
Welcome to the forum, Ian.

Congratulations on the new toys; I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun with that setup. It looks like you have things covered pretty well. The only two suggestions I would make:
  • I personally wouldn't put a clear filter on the front of the lens. They offer so little added value in terms of protection versus the potential image quality loss. I think Steve might even have a video somewhere about this (vaguely remember something).
  • As usual, the stock Nikon (and most other brands as well to be fair) lensfoot leaves a lot to be desired. I always recommend upgrading to a solid third-party option (with arca-swiss support).
 
Member's gallery
Hi Ian, and welcome.

In addition to what's mentioned above, I'd suggest a look at Hudson Henry's Youtube videos on Z9 setup and memory bank usage. Even if you don't end up setting up the memory banks like he does in the video, the discussion and inset videos of how hybrid autofocusing can work were very useful to me in understanding the possibilities and potential of a very complex device.

As for must have accessories, I am a big fan of Kirk's arcaswiss plates/brackets that have a quick detachment (QD) socket that allows one to replace the neckstrap with a Magpul rifle sling.

Enjoy your new gear!

jim
 
Member's gallery
Welcome to the Z9.

I have been involved in photography for many decades. I can say categorically that the Z9 is the most advanced and capable camera I have ever owned or operated.

The Z9 is an extraordinarily complex and nuanced professional quality instrument. There are a large variety of choices available to you though its complex menu system. Steve's guides are particularly excellent at getting to the heart of what you should know and how best to set things up for your uses. The Thom Hogan guide is also excellent but his materials can be rather long.

I would start with Steve's guides, you have gotten a capable telephoto zoom lens which tends to point towards interest in wildlife photography.

I would pay particular attention to navigating the autofocus system. Figure out what you will want to use, get it set up correctly, configure some custom button and i menu settings and you are ready to roll. Steve is very helpful here.

Get quality CF Express B cards (2) for the camera. Strongly recommend you go for either Delkin Black or Prograde cobalt. This camera is capable of extreme data transfer speeds and you want cards that can handle the speed.

Yes it's intimidating at first but I predict you will love this camera.
 
Member's gallery
I have both the Z8 and Z9. Came from a D850 and love the Z9. I have all of Steve's books, reasonably priced and great value for all the info they contain. Coming from DSLR, I wonder if perhaps you might like the FTZ II, I used my 500PF for a long while before getting Z lenses. I have other DSLR lenses I'd like to try with the FTZ to see how well they work. My 500PF was great.

Delkin cards are great and the Black is exceptional so I think you're good there.

There's lots of forums here with all kinds of info and advice on what others found worked well for them.

Welcome to the land of mirrorless, I hardly look at my old DSLR cameras now.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
I strongly recommend Steve's excellent eBooks. Plus I think Thom Hogan's Z9 eBook is excellent; you'll learn about a lot of the nuts and bolts of the camera beyond operating it.
 
Member's gallery
canyonlight said:
I strongly recommend Steve's excellent eBooks. Plus I think Thom Hogan's Z9 eBook is excellent; you'll learn about a lot of the nuts and bolts of the camera beyond operating it.
Click to expand...
Just looked at Thom Hogan's book. Must be really special since I can get two of Steve's books for the price of that one book of Thom's. I'll just stick with Steve.
 
Member's gallery
Steve's Books ! ... I have Thom Hogans Z9 book and would not buy it again his writing is a bit error prone and just does not click with me but it obviously does with others.

I have 2 Z9's and use the Z800pf 95% of the time. I have the Z180-600 but I just need the longer focal lenght the majority of the time. I have a few people and landscape lenses that get the other 5% of the work.

I had filters high end filters but have not put them on my new Z mount lenses. Lens hoods give me the protection I need and the coatings on the lenses are a breeze to keep clean. I still have some CPL's and ND's but have not used them in several years as my photographic pursuits have narrowed themselves down in the last 12 years since I started.

I also have abandoned neoprene lens wraps and body armor ... just a hassle always in the way and add bulk and I just found them not really usefull for my run and gun birding pursuits.

I used the Delkin Blacks for years and Delkin Black 325 GB in my Z9's until just the last month. I have switched now to ProGrade CFexpress™ Type B 4.0 Memory Card (Gold) 512GB faster no buffering and more bang for the buck. ProGrade CFexpress Type B single-slot USB4.0 card reader pairs great with them and less finicky about dowloading to my mac studio just works fast and no ejection problems as I have had with Delkin and their reader on the newer macs.
 
Member's gallery
Patty15 said:
Just looked at Thom Hogan's book. Must be really special since I can get two of Steve's books for the price of that one book of Thom's. I'll just stick with Steve.
Click to expand...
Thom's book is worth reading I think for a better understanding of the how/why, while Steve's is largely more practical.

They're complimentary.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top