Z9 review by Photography Life Team

[fcotterill]

This link is shared in the long official Z9 thread, but many Nikonians will probably agree it deserves a dedicated thread.
They must have invested months of work in their testing and writing.

Nikon Z9 Review (Updated for Firmware v3.0)

An in-depth review of the professional Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera by Photography Life's team, with comparisons and lots of sample photos.

photographylife.com

 

[thelordofthelight]

A very nice and comprehensive review overall but I'm a bit confused about their take on the EVF:

"Nikon Z9 Viewfinder Blackout
At fast burst rates like 20 FPS, a common concern with cameras today is the question of viewfinder blackout, where the EVF or LCD go black each time a picture is taken. A similar concern is when cameras only show a slideshow (usually delayed) of the high-FPS photos that you’ve just taken, rather than a truly live view of the action. Both of these issues can make it difficult to follow along with fast-moving subjects like birds in flight, leading to missed photos.

The good news is that the Nikon Z9 does not have either of these particular issues, as I noted in the prior section of this review regarding the camera’s EVF. However, it does skip some frames in the EVF/LCD when you shoot a continuous burst of photos, making it seem like the camera is lagging or showing you a slideshow, even though it’s not.

Ultimately, you can track motion with the Z9 quite well in high-FPS situations, because there’s no blackout or significant lag. But the viewfinder experience isn’t totally smooth when you shoot a burst of photos, so it may be slightly tougher than normal to follow along with fast action. (At 30 FPS JPEG bursts, the problem is at its most obvious.)"
https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-z9/4#:~:text=Nikon Z9 Viewfinder,of these particular

I have not had any problems with the EVF at all and after the 120 hz update, it feels even better...

 

[jfredrick]

Very good organized review and fun read! I've always liked their articles and that the respond in the comment section.

 

[BillW]

A very nice and comprehensive review overall but I'm a bit confused about their take on the EVF:

"Nikon Z9 Viewfinder Blackout
At fast burst rates like 20 FPS, a common concern with cameras today is the question of viewfinder blackout, where the EVF or LCD go black each time a picture is taken. A similar concern is when cameras only show a slideshow (usually delayed) of the high-FPS photos that you’ve just taken, rather than a truly live view of the action. Both of these issues can make it difficult to follow along with fast-moving subjects like birds in flight, leading to missed photos.

The good news is that the Nikon Z9 does not have either of these particular issues, as I noted in the prior section of this review regarding the camera’s EVF. However, it does skip some frames in the EVF/LCD when you shoot a continuous burst of photos, making it seem like the camera is lagging or showing you a slideshow, even though it’s not.

Ultimately, you can track motion with the Z9 quite well in high-FPS situations, because there’s no blackout or significant lag. But the viewfinder experience isn’t totally smooth when you shoot a burst of photos, so it may be slightly tougher than normal to follow along with fast action. (At 30 FPS JPEG bursts, the problem is at its most obvious.)"
https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-z9/4#:~:text=Nikon Z9 Viewfinder,of these particular

I have not had any problems with the EVF at all and after the 120 hz update, it feels even better...

I think they meant that frames might be skipped when shooting bursts using slower shutter speeds.

I have not seen any issues with the EVF and bursts using the higher shutter speeds I generally use for birds in flight, including at 20 fps with HE* raw and 30 fps JPEG (including precapture).