- Over a year after it's release
and I still can't stop thinking about this camera.
At nearly three pounds or 1,340 grams,
the Nikon Z9 is a beast with more buttons
and features that I've been able to test
in the nearly two months that I've had with it,
but this camera's about so much more than that.
With the Z9 Nikon finally put itself
in the professional mirrorless camera race,
and in a lot of ways this camera's now winning.
Before we get started buds,
there's one kind of issue here.
Whenever I edit a full frame, I put the sound
that that camera shutter makes when you see a photo
from that camera.
So for example, in this video it'll kind of be like this.
Nikon, you owe me an apology.
This camera's fake shutter sound is awful.
What is that?
It's like a bad chirp.
This camera, it doesn't have a mechanical shutter.
It only has an electronic shutter,
so it doesn't really make a sound
when you take a photo.
Nikon, in place of that, put this fake sound in,
that's so bad.
There is this video of Nikon representatives
in Japan clicking the shutter and you hear a meow.
(shutter blaring)
That's sweet,
that also makes me think that maybe down the line
we'll be able to customize our shutter sounds
or at least I hope so.
It'd be nice to have some like old Nikon shutters in there.
So maybe like an F5 or a D1X.
Come on, that would be sick.
All right, on with the video.
The design of the Z9 is nothing new.
Nikon has used similar hardware layout
on its top of the line professional models
since the 35 millimeter Nikon F5 film body
that was released in 1996.
Same circle viewfinder ring, same dial layout, same grips,
same power button, and even the same battery compartment.
It changed where the camera's nameplate is
and the touch of red accent stylings
but those may be the biggest visual departures
and there's good reason for the same design.
The F5 informed the layout of the Nikon D1
that was released in 1999.
The D1 was Nikon's first DSLR the company designed
and built entirely in-house.
And it set the tone for Nikon's step
into the professional digital era of photography.
The single digit D-line of Nikon's was a beloved system,
and 23 years later that same hardware design
is the best part of the Z9.
Nikon did exactly the opposite of what all other
mirrorless camera manufacturers have been doing for years.
Instead of going compact, it made a heavy, bulky,
chunky ass mirrorless camera.
Canon does have the EOS R3 that has a tall body
but that camera is $500 more expensive, one pound lighter
and it's specs are not nearly as peak camera as the Z9s.
The Z9 has a new full frame 45.7 megapixels
stacked CMOS sensor.
That thanks to a new XPEED-7
image processor can shoot raw photos
at 20 frames per second for well over a thousand frames.
Assuming you're using a fast enough card.
There's also improved auto focus
with readings up to 120 frames per second
and a 3D focus tracking mode that allows for faster
more accurate subject tracking across the frame.
Mirrorless cameras ushered in the age
of incredible auto focus, but unfortunately Nikon
and their Z series thus far has always lagged behind Sony,
the king of auto focus.
With the Z9, though Nikon has taken huge strides forward
in this department except in low light.
I find that the camera often hunts for subjects
and it's doing a pretty good job here
but in my experience out in the real world,
I find that I have a lot of trouble finding folks
if they're underexposed.
In good light though, Nikon has really improved
how well it holds onto subjects as they move
across the frame.
And I especially love the small arrows that appear next
to the boxes that are around my eyes.
To show that you can switch between which eyes and focus.
In post, there's an impressive amount of room
for recovery in the highlights regardless of ISO.
But once you're shooting over 8,000 ISO,
recovering details in the shadows
gives photos of film S grain,
the information is there but the grain
takes all of the sharpness away.
Now, your exposure folks, because even with the Z9
you won't be able to bring
those high ISO shadows back at night.
When properly exposed, blacks are deep and sharp,
colors are true to life and the detail level
is simply unreal.
But none of that is shocking.
It's 2023 and high-end mirrorless cameras
take really incredible photos.
So what is important is how this camera
feels wildly different to use.
Unlike most mirrorless cameras,
the Nikon Z9 is not particularly easy to use
but that's a good thing.
This camera really forces you to get to know it first
and more importantly, it forces you to make it your own.
There are lists upon lists of features that can be mapped
to any one of nine customizable buttons
within four custom setting banks.
I mean, look at the custom button function chart
for this camera.
Insane.
Most folks will find this confusing
and overcomplicated, fair.
If you're not comfortable with camera menus
or you simply don't wanna nerd out
over camera settings or you just don't have $5,500
then this camera is not for you.
And while you'll still be able to take stunning photos
without fully harnessing each and every facet
of this camera's customizability,
you'll not be getting the most out of the system
because this camera
it's for working professional photographers
who will undoubtedly make the most of every feature
and learn how to use it as a tool to do their jobs.
Or it's for lucky camera nerds like me
who just wanna find the fastest way
to take really high quality photos.
And it's that that inspired me
to carry this camera everywhere
despite it weighing an absolute ton.
And this body shape, it makes perfect sense
when you think about the incredibly long lenses
that a lot of professional photographers
will put on this thing.
There's customizable buttons for just about every finger.
There's rubber flaps that are a bit hard to open
but make it feel really secure.
I've used this camera in all sorts of weather conditions
and never once worried about damaging it.
There's a 3.2 inch LCD screen that comes out real far,
feels real sturdy, and definitely clears the eye piece.
You can also rotate it 90 degrees, which is super sweet
but you unfortunately can't rotate it
to face the front of the camera.
Maybe on the next one Nikon?
There's also really deep contours
and a good rubber matte finish to the side.
My coworker Antonio recently reviewed
the Sony A7R5.
And while that camera has incredible specs
it's contours are uncomfortable for long periods of time.
I think any hand would feel comfortable
holding the Nikon Z9.
My two complaints about the hardware with this camera
is that the card slot cover is stiff
to the point of being hard to open.
And everything about this body shape lends itself
to putting long lenses on the front to balance it out
something that a wildlife photographer
or sports photographer might use.
But as a video first person,
this body shape just didn't inspire me
to take video with it.
So the Nikon Z9 can shoot 12-bit 8K 60 frames per second,
or 4K 120 frames per second in N RAW
which is Nikon's raw video format.
You can also shoot in pro res raw 10-bit
up to 5K 30 frames per second.
That puts other flagship specs
from Sony's A1 or Cannon's R5 to shame.
Nikon is in a unique position though,
unlike its competitors, Sony, Cannon, even Panasonic
it doesn't have any dedicated video camera lines
so it can throw all its top end photo
and video specs into one camera.
The AK footage from the Z9 is crisp, clear
and will absolutely devour card and hard drive space.
The larger problem though is that I edit in Premiere Pro
and Adobe does not yet support the NEV file format
that the NRO Kodak produces.
So I thought I would shoot in the highest ProRes option,
which is 4k, but I found that the oversampled 4K
was ever so slightly not as crisp
as the H-265 AK UHD footage.
So I ended up filming in 10-bit H-265 AK
24 frames per second in NLOG.
So if you have the computing power, the hard drive space
and the right editing software,
or you just want to transcode all your footage,
which bless your soul then the AK NRAW footage
from the Z9 is going to look incredible.
But for me, until Adobe supports NEV files,
I'm gonna be sticking to the H-265 10-bit footage
which has the added bonus of smaller file sizes.
Something noticeable is that the system turns on quickly
and you can begin recording immediately,
but the record button is small
and can be hard to completely press down.
I ended up reverse triggering or starting to record
when I thought I was stopping a lot.
The only way to know your recording is a red box
that comes up around the screen or a very small green LED
on the back of the camera.
It would be great to have another LED on the top,
or even the front.
Previous cameras in the Z lineup
were less than impressive when compared
to their competition.
Felt like Nikon was always chasing and never catching
and I had almost written the brand off entirely
in the mirrorless world when they announced the Z9.
And even then I was skeptical that the Z9
would, you know, really make a mark here.
But when I opened the box
and I felt the heft of this camera,
I felt the familiar button layout.
And as soon as I started using it
I knew that Nikon was onto something.
Mirrorless cameras have historically always felt small,
fragile and increasingly dumbed down
for more mainstream audiences.
The Z9 is different in all of those departments
and while that makes it not the right camera for many folks
it serves the working professional audience
that seeks the most badass camera money can buy
in order to do their job.
Not to mention the specs of the Z9
are simply out of this world,
but Nikon didn't stop with the release of the Z9.
Since its release,
they have been rolling out firmware updates
that while back in April added AK internal recording
and have increased auto focus speeds.
Not to mention all the lenses that they're putting out.
There's been a whole host of telephoto lenses
that are both massive and fast that sports photographers
and wildlife photographers are gonna love.
And man, it's all of this that has made me so excited
about the Z9 and it makes me even more excited
to see how the competition's gonna answer.
So clearly my biggest issue with this camera
is the fake shutter sounds.
So here's what we thought might be better shutter sounds.