Nikon Z9 Preview – Movie Camera or Still Camera?
Although the release date is still scheduled for 2021, I heard that the actual machine’s pre-exhibition started at “Nikon Plaza Tokyo” and immediately touched on the charm of the flagship machine.
The actual machine experience was held in a dedicated corner by appointment.
First of all, from the appearance review. I asked for a special request and compared it with other models.
From the left are “Z7 II + Power Battery Pack MB-N11”, “Z9”, and “D6”.
The height is not so different from that of the Z7 II with a battery, but the width is slightly larger, so there is a sense of stability when placed. The button layout around the lens mount is similar to the D6, and it seems it can be combined with the D6.
Next is the upper part. Is the thickness between Nikon Z7II and Nikon D6? As with previous models, the grip is firmly made, so there is no discomfort when holding it.
The upper LCD is larger than the Z7II and can display more information. Like the D6, the remaining memory card is now displayed even when the power is off. Since it handles a large amount of data, the card remaining amount display that can be seen before turning on the power is a nice point.
Like the D6, the back is arranged so that it can be handled with the same operation feeling as the horizontal position, even when shooting in the vertical position.
I was only interested in the button on the upper left. All previous models had a play button, but on the Z9, it was a lock button with a key mark. Fortunately, it was possible to assign buttons using the function, so if you use multiple Nikon machines, you may want to customize them.
The eyepiece has also been changed to a round shape, which is the tradition of flagship models. However, the connector part has a unique shape, and it seems difficult to share accessories with previous models.
Next, let’s look at the functional parts of the Z9.
First of all, the Z9’s big point is that it has become a completely electronic shutter machine without a shutter unit.
As a result, in addition to enabling faster continuous shooting, there are advantages, such as not having to worry about the durability of the shutter unit. Still, the rolling phenomenon in fast subjects remains uncertain.
When I asked the staff about this area, as you can see in the example photo below, they were not worried about the high-speed processing by installing the newly developed stacked CMOS sensor and the new image-processing engine EXPEED 7.
On the other hand, the shutter sound was useful and motivated me to shoot. The electronic shutter sound, which can be adjusted in 3 steps, covered this.
Nikon Z9 specifications
| Image formation | |
| Lens mount | Nikon Z |
| Type of | CMOS |
| Effective pixels | 45.7 million |
| Format | Full frame |
| The size | 35.90 x 23.90 mm |
| Crop | 1.0x |
| Frame aspect ratio | 1: 1, 3: 2, 16: 9 |
| Color depth | 14 bit |
| Stabilization on the sensor | Yes, 5-axis |
| Photography | |
| Max. permission | 8256 x 5504 |
| File format | JPEG, RAW |
| Continuous shooting | 20fps RAW, 30fps JPEG |
| Filming | |
| Recording modes | H.265 4: 2: 2 10-bit UHD 8K / 4K ProRes 422 HQ 4: 2: 2 10-bit UHD 4K H.265 4: 2: 0 8-bit UHD 4K H.264 4: 2: 0 8-bit UHD 4K / Full HD |
| External recording | UHD 8K (7680 x 4320) up to 30p |
| UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) up to 120p | |
| Recording time limit | 125min UHD 8K |
| File format | MOV / MP4 |
| Autofocus | |
| Type of | Continuous-servo AF (C), manual focus (M), one-shot servo AF (S) |
| Sensitivity | -8.5 … +20 EV |
| AF points | 493 phase detection |
| Viewfinder | |
| Type of | Electronic |
| Options | EVF: 0.5 ″, 3.69 million dots (Quad VGA), OLED, 100% coverage, 0.8x magnification, 21 mm focal point, -4 … +2 diopters, eye sensor |
| Display | |
| Diagonal | 3.2 ″ |
| Permission | 2.1 million dots |
| Sensory | Yes |
| Rejected | Yes, 4 axes |
| Exposition | |
| ISO | 64 … 25600 (32 … 102400) |
| Auto ISO mode | Yes |
| Measuring range | -3 … 17 EV |
| White balance | 9 presets with variations |
| Excerpt | 1/32000 … 30 sec |
| Long exposure (Bulb) | Yes, up to 900 sec |
| Compensation | +/- 5.0 EV steps 0.3, 0.5 EV |
| Auto exposure/manual | Yes Yes |
| Flash | |
| Built-in | No |
| Max. sync speed | 1/200 sec |
| Exposure compensation | -3 … +1 EV in 0.3, 0.5 EV steps |
| External Flash | ISO Hot Shoe, PC Terminal |
| Connections | |
| Media/memory card slot | Dual Slot: CFexpress Type B / XQD |
| Wi-Fi | Yes, built-in |
| NFC | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Microphone input | Yes |
| Headphone out | Yes |
| USB port | USB 3.0 Type C (USB 3.2 Gen 2) |
| Remote control | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or wired |
| The local network | RJ-45 |
| HDMI | HDMI A (full size) |
| Nutrition | |
| Battery reserve (CIPA) | approx. 700 shots |
| Battery | Li-ion EN-EL18d, 10.8 VDC, 3300 mAh |
| USB charger | Yes |
| Dimensions and weight | |
| Dimensions (edit) | 149 x 149.5 x 90.5 mm |
| The weight | 1340g (body with battery and memory), 1160g (body only) |