Thom Hogan

Note: this page will be updated several times on October 28 as I'm able to finalize some information. You'll see some initial <tk> (to come copy editor's mark) in the text I'll try to fill in as soon as possible.

TL; DR warning 

First we had rumors of its existence. Then a vague development announcement and a single photograph from the front. That was followed by a modest appearance at the Tokyo Olympics that revealed a little bit more about the body, as we could finally see most of the camera's back side. Next came more rumors, followed by a video teaser campaign from Nikon themselves, followed by more rumors. Today, however, the Nikon Z9 finally becomes reality. Nikon has officially announced the Z9.

At its base, the Z9 is Nikon's latest technologies and engineering for mirrorless stuffed into a D6-like body. The easiest part to get a grip on—literally—is the body. So let's start there.

Like the D6, the Z9 features both a vertical and horizontal grip position. That means not just a hand position, but somewhat complete replication of controls for both orientations (only one of the front Fn buttons is truly accessible during vertical use, and the return of the Focus mode button places it at the bottom of the camera when holding the camera vertically; no Focus switch, since that is done on the lenses now). As befits not having the big mirror box and all its disparate elements to house, the Z9 version of the dual-grip pro body style is smaller than the D6. Not by a huge degree, but enough to make a difference. Nikon is saying about 20% smaller in volume than a D6, but it's almost 48 ounces in weight; this is not a small body. 

As part of the mirrorless body conversion, a few things change from the D6. Specifically:

• The supplemental settings LCD on the back is gone.
• The primary button layout on the back now mimics the other Z models so that button placement is consistent.
• The Live View/Video mechanism moves up to encircle the DISP button.
• We have lost the Direction Pad lock. Update: you can program a button to lock focus.
• The card slot door interlock mechanism has changed to something more modern and is on the side of the camera.
• The Rear LCD now tilts, and can do so both horizontally or vertically, a new design for Nikon.
• The button cluster on the top left of the camera gains a button (flash control), and replaces the metering button with a drive button.
• Shapes and edges have all changed from the D6; the Z9 looks a bit more upright and square, even though it's somewhat smaller.

While that seems like a lot of change and some of you might expect me to start complaining about that, Nikon actually did a good job of bringing over the physical aspects of the D6 body while making it clearly a Z body. Nikon has wisely chosen to conform control positions to the established Z differences rather than just replicate the DSLR positions. What Nikon has avoided has been the "random" and perplexing control changes we have sometimes seen from them in the past. 

The new dual-tilt Rear LCD appears to be a nice touch, particularly since all the previous Nikon top-pro cameras with vertical grips have had fixed LCDs. So the top pro camera was last to get a tilting display from Nikon, but the Z9 goes beyond basic tilt by adding a more sophisticated mechanism than Nikon has previously used. You can tilt vertical or horizontally now (and combos). Seems appropriate to me, though I really need to test just how flexible it really is. Even better, the information on the display changes orientation now as you change how you're holding the camera. So not only do you get a tilt ability when using the vertical grip, you also get the UI elements rotated to the vertical view, too.

And yes, illuminated buttons are back, though I'm not sure they're as useful on the Z9 as on the D6 (finding the right left-hand column button on the D6 is tough in the dark; the Z9 doesn't have the same problem).

The only odd thing about the Z9 body is that Nikon didn't fully optimize the top right plate of the camera. The Top LCD doesn't fill the big flat space to the right of the viewfinder, leaving a fairly large area devoid of anything other than the sensor alignment marker and the model name stencil. I suspect Nikon didn't take advantage of this space for controls as that would have not been duplicated on the vertical grip side. Still, this area would have been an opportune spot to build in a possible cellular slide-in option. Maybe in the Z9 II ;~).

Internally, of course the changes start to stack up (pardon the pun). 

That begins at the 45mp image sensor, which is Stacked BSI in form, and an entirely new image sensor to the market. On first glance, Nikon appears to have kept all the things that made the D850/Z7/Z7 II image sensor so good, but brought that up to date by applying similar techniques to what Sony did with the original A9, and now A1. Nikon appears to have gone a bit further than Sony, too. Let's see if I can describe that properly.

Nikons changes allow for improvement of the bandwidth between the individual chips in the stack, and that has resulted in a very fast 4ms sensor read time (the Sony A1 was the previous best; some say it's 4.2ms). In essence, the effective full frame exposure time is about equivalent to a 1/270 second mechanical shutter, with the rolling shutter being about the same as the blades of a mechanical shutter when used above 1/250 second. Thus, the need for the mechanical shutter just isn't there, so Nikon removed it. That means no mechanical shutter to wear out.

In conjunction with the new image sensor, we also get a change in the filter layer that sits just above it. It appears the dual-coating Nikon is referring to is mostly to suppress dust buildup. One of the layers is a new anti-static material, the other is a fluorine-based coating on the top of the layer.

We also get a new EXPEED processor, now EXPEED7. Nikon is claiming 10x the performance than before, though it's unclear how that was measured.

The Z9's shutter is all electronic. As noted above, there's a very fast sensor read time, which gives the Z9 the ability to sync with a flash at 1/250 and a top speed of 1/32000. In essence, Nikon has electronically matched the speed of a physical shutter, so the physical shutter was no longer necessary. A simple shutter curtain does close when lenses are removed from the camera in order to protect the image sensor. We do get 900 second maximum shutter speed.

Some might be disappointed by the fact that the maximum frame rate is 20 fps for "normal" still photography. But the Sony 30 fps that everyone gets so excited about has a lot of caveats associated with it, whereas Nikon's 20 fps doesn't. Plus Nikon has another answer: a 30 fps mode that produces 45mp JPEG files, plus a 120 fps mode that produces 11mp files. Coupled with 8k video, these fast still options mean that you better have plenty of large capacity storage cards ;~). Speaking of cards: inside the Z9 are two CFExpress Type B card slots. While they live in the right side of the body, as usual, Nikon changed the door mechanism from the D5/D6 style. There's still an interlock, but it's not as fiddly as the old DSLR one.

The big question, of course, is whether all this sensor/processor/shutter change imparts significant performance improvements. The short answer, according to Nikon, is yes they do. 

Video works at up to 8K/30P in the camera as shipped, with an 8K/60P mode promised for a firmware update. 8K is derived from the full sensor, and can record for just over two hours under normal conditions. Video can be recorded internally as 10-bit Prores 422 HQ, 10-bit H.265, or 8-bit H.264 internally, and N-Log and HLG are both supported. The future firmware update also promises internal 12-bit raw recording, as well. 

Both 4K (UHD) and 1080P get the same 120 fps max rate, also full frame and 10-bit 4:2:2 max. Nikon is promising other video improvements coming in the future.

Let's move over to the light gathering side: the new image sensor has a base ISO of 64, extendable to 25600 (plus LO, and HI1, HI2). This is  basically the Z7 II configuration, which isn't a terrible starting point, but those wanting a true high-ISO tuned image sensor probably will be initially disappointed in the specifications (but probably not the implementation). Image size is again 8256 x 5504, with a DX crop producing about a 19mp image.

Personally, I was curious as to how AF-area modes would be handled on the Z9, as Nikon made a substantive change with the D6 that doesn't get talked about nearly enough: the addition of 11 Group mode choices. Unfortunately, Group still isn't present in the Z9. In it's place we have three Dynamic-area AF choices, plus the addition of 3D-tracking AF (the remaining choices are all carried over from the current Z cameras). Human, cat, and dog detection has been improved, now finding eyes further from the camera than before, as well as doing head/torso recognition when the eyes aren't visible. Plus now we get a machine-learning derived detection of birds, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trains, and airplanes.

The Z9 incorporates a redesign to the Nikon menu system, long overdue. One interesting option is the ability to design what is overlaid on the display, rather than picking from three or four predetermined options. Another thing I noted is that Nikon has opted to provide us a better way of selecting/pushing images than even the D6 has.

However, note that some features of the Z9 are being held for a planned firmware update. Nikon had a lot to do to get the Z9 out quickly while struggling with pandemic restrictions both at home and in their foreign plants and suppliers; it didn't all quite get done, so some features are "coming soon..." Those include internal 12-bit raw recording.

Meanwhile the EVF has changed on the Z9, as well. While still having 3.69m dots, it also is live, allowing for blackout free reproduction at 20 fps, and far brighter than any previous mirrorless camera EVF. Nikon keeps referring to the EVF as "live," implying some sort of Genlock capability. In their initial documentation they point to a dual stream directly from the image sensor, one to the EVF, one to the EXPEED processor. Plus, the EVF has a new Starlight View mode (to -9.5EV with f/1.2 lens).

Connectivity is a strong point with the Z9. Besides Ethernet (10BaseT), we have the full suite of other things that were in the D6: USB 3.2, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth, and the usual HDMI, mic input, headphone output, PC Sync, and 10-pin connectors. Like the D6, the Z9 also gets a built-in GPS, though this time with full GNSS capability, as well. If there's anything missing, it would be an additional electrical contact system buried in the hot shoe (ala Sony and Canon). Given the big body size, I would have preferred mini-XLR to the consumer microphone jack, too.

Software is changing, too: NX MobileAir is a new mobile device app for managing and transferring images in the field. NX Tether is a new tethering program. Both products will work with some previous Nikon cameras, as well.

The Z9 is powered by the EN-EL18 battery, now in its latest form (EN-EL18D, which provides a bump to 10.8v, 3300mAh over the C's 10.8v, 2500mAh). This provides 740 shots CIPA with the LCD, 700 with the EV. However, CIPA is, as I've described before, almost a test of "active time," not shots taken. Nikon is claiming that in burst photography use (e.g. sports and wildlife), you're more likely to see over 5000 images per charge (amusingly, that's only five full buffers ;~). USB Power Delivery is supported, so the camera can be be charged or operated via USB-C. 

The price for the Z9 body is US$5500. Cameras are expected to ship in late November or by mid December.

At the US$5500 price point, the Z9 will be mostly compared to the 24mp Canon R3 and 50mp Sony A1. I'm sure a lot of Internet chatter will be wasted on the faux claim that the Canon should be the better low light camera versus the Z9 and A1 being the better video cameras. I think that misses the point. 

Sony was right in targeting the A1 as the all-around, do everything camera, and Nikon is essentially duplicating that with the Z9, though will a more robust body and the usual Nikon touches. I used the following list before (when I wrote about the Canon R3), but it's worth repeating here:

• Canon R3 — 24mp, 30 fps, 6K, tough large body build, US$6000
• Canon R5 —45mp, 20 fps, 8K, small body build, US$3900
• Nikon Z9 —  45mp, 30 fps, 8K, tough large body build, US$5500
• Sony A1 — 50mp, 30 fps, 8K, small body build, US$6500
• Sony A9 Mark II — 24mp, 30 fps, 4K, small body build, US$4500

The interesting point to be made here is that Nikon was the originator of the two-pro body idea (D1h/D1x up through the D5/D850). Canon and Sony have essentially duplicated that approach, but Nikon currently doesn't at the top level. Nikon simply doesn't have the "speed" camera with a lower pixel count, though they now have a truly competitive all-around camera. I'm not expecting Nikon to fill in that missing camera; the Z6 III might end up playing some of that role, but I'm not expecting a Z9h or Z8 to fill that role. At least any time soon.

Why not? It basically boils down to image sensors. Nikon's volume is now low enough that they can't afford to be profligate with image sensors. The Nikon mirrorless line currently sports five different sensors, and is likely to get two or three more down the line. But the needs of those new sensors are going to be at (1) bumping up APS-C, (2) matching Sony's A7 Mark IV full frame, and (3) providing a high pixel count option with the Z7 III or Z8. I'm betting that Nikon doesn't try to match the R3/A9 models.

It should be noted that Nikon is being Nikon with the Z9. While they've stretched their technologies into new abilities, they've also catered to the legacy user, as well. The round 10-pin is still right out front on the Z9, and Nikon is so reluctant to drop that connection that they make the WR-R11 wireless accessory in two different forms, even though both are essentially 10-pin (one the more modern rectangular connector, the other the older round one). 

Regular site visitors will have noted that in this run-up to the Z9 announcement I've made several comments about lenses. In particular, 14-200mm is not enough. While Nikon also announced the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S lens plus a development announcement for the 400mm f/2.8 S with the Z9, my comments about Nikon's 200mm+ lens lineup still stand: not good enough. The only good news is that Sony is not that far ahead in the telephoto game (nor is Canon), and we have the FTZ Adapter to tide us over for the time being. I really don't like multiple mounts in play with heavy lenses, though, to the point where I—along with a lot of other Nikon pros—are going to have to make a decision soon: go all mirrorless, or keep of feet in the DSLR world.

As to the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6, this looks much like we were all hoping for: no reduction in aperture at the long end, Lens Fn buttons, the LED distance display, all the other high-end S trimmings, yet about the same length (collapsed) as the 70-200mm f/2.8. If it lives up to the S designation optically, a lot of Nikon Z System users are going to be very happy. Of course, the price is US$2699, which some will find on the high side. I still expect that this lens will be in short supply for some time, though, as it represents the one true telephoto option with reach beyond 200mm.

The 400mm f/2.8 being a development announcement isn't a surprise. Nikon has the 2022 Winter Olympics to deal with. I'm pretty sure that the first round of 400mm's are being built to provide plenty of supply for NPS lending at the Beijing games in February. Plenty of Nikon photographers at the games will have a Z9 at that point, the rest will want to borrow one, and they'll all need long glass for most of the venues. Exotics are only made in the range of 200-300 units a month. The risk would be that putting the 400mm on sale there wouldn't be enough to fully stock the NPS booth in Beijing. So I suspect Nikon is building that inventory first, and won't start selling the 400mm f/2.8 to the public until the NPS stocks are full. 

But more to the point about missing telephoto options, Nikon's one unique lens line, the Phase Fresnel (PF) lenses, has not moved over to the Z-mount yet. I don't get that. How difficult is it to simply build out the same lens with a different mount? True, Z-mount PF lenses would be out of stock from day one, but that's actually no different than happened with the F-mount versions ;~). 

Finally, we have the 24-120mm f/4 S to talk about. While this lens doesn't save a lot of size from the 24-70mm f/2.8, it does save weight and gives you that critical 70-120mm focal range some require. The 24-120mm f/4 S doesn't have a DISP LED  and extends while zooming, though. Price is US$1099. Surprised that it's 24-120mm and not the 24-105mm on the road map? So were most of us. It's unclear why Nikon thought it was important to hide the actual parameters of the lens.

While I know a lot of you have been waiting for a 24-105mm or 24-120mm with high optical capability—basically the substitute for a superzoom that lives on the camera all (most) of the time—I don't think about the extended mid-range zoom that way. Indeed, I haven't since I first heard what Art Wolfe was doing early in the digital era. 

There is a need for a trio of lenses that aren't f/2.8, and which extend the focal range. For instance, the common f/2.8 trio covers 14-200mm, and maybe 280mm and 400mm with teleconverters. But those lenses tend to be big and heavy. Having an f/4 trio that extends beyond that 14-200mm range easily is of high interest to traveling photographers who want flexibility, but need to save size and weight overall. So, think of it this way: 14-30mm f/4, 24-120mm f/4, 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. That's an incredibly flexible trio, each of which actually covers more range than the f/2.8 trio, so each lens doesn't get taken off the camera quite as often, either. Ultimately, though, Nikon needs a 70-200mm f/4 to offer the smaller/lighter option directly. Right now, we just have a "more flexible" option. Note, however, that all the "f/4" trio are extending lenses, while the f/2.8 trio is mostly non-extending with zoom.

Both new lenses are not expected to ship in 2021, unfortunately. 

Next up, we have the new FTZ II adapter to talk about. This adapter is really just a redesigned FTZ, leaving off the tripod mount. Nikon claims that this was done mostly for better handling when using the vertical grip, as the original FTZ's "hump" would fall where you probably want to put your hand.

Overall, except for the lens situation Nikon is now in a good place for Nikon pro and prosumer full frame users that want to start or completely make a transition to mirrorless. More so than most of the Internet discussion seems to think:

• The Z5 is an incredible bargain for the price conscious. It's arguably the best entry full frame mirrorless option available, and best at its price point. The D600/D610 user should feel comfortable moving to it.
• The Z6 II takes on the D700/D750/D780 crowd quite well, and especially so if you stick to 5.5 fps and below.
• The Z7 II takes on the D8xx crowd well, with the primary exception once again being that 5.5 fps threshold.
• The Z9 definitely takes the D3/D4/D5/D6 user into a new era, with new performance and capability.

That's a solid four-camera full frame lineup with enough options for everyone. And no, focus is not sub-par on any of these models, though that Z5 does tend to struggle some in very low light. (I made this comment on sansmirror about the Sony A7 Mark IV announcement, and I'll repeat it here: I'm amused at how many influencers and YouTubers are suddenly changing their story about Sony autofocus, particularly on the A7 Mark III. I've said it all along: Nikon's Z6 II focus abilities are state-of-the-art, but must be studied some to master completely. Likewise, the Z7 II autofocus is better than the A7R Mark IV's, in my opinion. But note my 5.5 fps caveat, above. At faster frame rates, you can't compose securely enough on motion to hold focus with the Nikon's. You generally can on the Sonys, but they'll miss focus more often than is suggested by the influencers. Don't believe me? Try this article, which jibes with my experience.) 

Canon's now at five cameras, with three of them needing updates to stay competitive. Sony's at a six camera lineup, but no longer has the clear technology advantages they once had in mirrorless, nor do they have a solid entry camera that's competitive (in my opinion an A7 II isn't). And, of course, you can't completely ignore Panasonic, though it's a little unclear where they're headed with their full frame lineup. 

So mirrorless users have plenty of choice. Which, starting today, also includes a top-end, state-of-the-art camera from Nikon. 

Which brings me to the final point for this article: the Z9 is going to be in short supply for some time once it begins shipping to customers at the end of November. I'm betting that even some NPS Priority Purchasers will have to wait a bit to get their Z9. The demand for a high-performance Nikon mirrorless camera is likely beyond what Nikon could possibly produce quickly, despite the steep price of entry. So, a bit of advice based upon past experience with popular Nikon launches:

• If you are an NPS member, order via the NPS Priority Purchase program. Log into your account and submit a request, then link up with your local dealer to lock it in. First come, first served.
• If you're not an NPS member, get on your local Nikon authorized pro dealer's wait list. If that list is too long (3 people ahead of you would probably be too long if you need a camera in the next couple of months), call around to smaller city pro authorized dealers and see if they have a shorter list you can get on. Unfortunately, those lists will likely fill up fairly fast, too. 
• Failure to do the above means you'll be deep in the waiting game. How deep depends upon which queue you get into and when (sooner is better than later, local is better than national). Big Internet retailers such as Adorama, Amazon, and B&H generally don't get the number of units necessary in the first few shipments that would allow them to deliver to what will be long wait lists. You certainly should get onto those wait lists if you're not in a hurry; you'll get your camera when they get it for you from Nikon. Which could be in one month, three months, or even six months as happened in one previous hot release. 
• Perform a serious validation check. Do you really need a Z9, or would a Z6 II or Z7 II actually suffice for you? Get over your FOMO. The Z6 II and Z7 II are really good cameras. There's a modest learning hurdle to get over in order to extract their best performance, particularly in mastering the focus system, but I have no significant complaints about my II's. I've used them for everything from landscape to event to sports to wildlife, and have been quite happy in doing so. The Nikon Ambassadors haven't been lying to you: most of them have these Z II's in their bags and are enjoying using them. Sure, the Ambassadors will probably all add Z9's, but they were productive prior to getting that model.

Finally, this: assuming the ship date stays where it is, a couple of days after the Z9 arrives I'll be on a plane to Africa with it for testing. Three safaris and a wedding, believe it or not. 

As with the last big Nikon introductions, I'll be presenting the Z9 with Mark Comon at Paul's Photo via a free Zoom-inar on the evening of November 2nd. We'll answer as many of your questions about the camera and the Z System lenses as we can (we're both busy sourcing as much additional information as we can). If you want to sign up for that free Z9 event, click here. 

Update: corrected AF-ON button reference to DISP.

Support this site by purchasing from the following advertiser: