p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
I have to admit that when it comes to anything digital, the ship has sailed a long time ago for me. But I do read the annual reports showing Nikon going from bad to worse every year. Nikon and Olympus are the camera makers that I feel an (irrational) emotional bond with.
I am reading glowing reviews about the Z9 - apparently has won every award under the sun and it already amounts for the 58% sales of all pro mirrorless cameras. I can't go through the details of the specs as I don't fully understand them but DPReviews rated is as the best camera they ever tested.
Did they get it right? Is the Z9 going to bring in the extra cash Nikon desperately needed? Are there any Z9 users in here?
I am reading glowing reviews about the Z9 - apparently has won every award under the sun and it already amounts for the 58% sales of all pro mirrorless cameras. I can't go through the details of the specs as I don't fully understand them but DPReviews rated is as the best camera they ever tested.
Did they get it right? Is the Z9 going to bring in the extra cash Nikon desperately needed? Are there any Z9 users in here?
It seems like a hell of a camera in that particular category, but I do
not think it is being delivered in large enough quantities to account for 58% of sales… unless they mean preorders.
not think it is being delivered in large enough quantities to account for 58% of sales… unless they mean preorders.
Nitroplait
Well-known
Nikon is back in black again and not only because of the Z9. The painfull organisational change has paid off and with the Z9 their mirrorless range is almost perfect.
Out to Lunch
Menteur
An interesting analysis (April 2022): Nikon doesn't want cameras to be its core business anymore.
https://petapixel.com/2022/04/14/nik...iness-anymore/
https://petapixel.com/2022/04/14/nik...iness-anymore/
Timmyjoe
Mentor
I think Nikon nailed it with the Z9. I'm no longer in the market for a camera like that, but if I were, that's the one I'd go with. Nikon led the way when they came out with the D1 twenty some years ago, and although the Z9 isn't as revolutionary as the D1 was at its time, the Z9 shows that Nikon can still produce the best in class when they put their minds to it.
Best,
-Tim
Best,
-Tim
The Z9 seems to be a great flagship, but the Z 7ii is also one hell of a camera for a lot less.
So far I am very happy with the Z 7ii and have no plans to go for the Z9.
So far I am very happy with the Z 7ii and have no plans to go for the Z9.
PaulDalex
Dilettante artist
I am pleased for Nikon.
My first serious camera was a Nikon F, and it would be too sad for me to see Nikon get out of the photo market.
At the same time I wonder what happened to the Z8. The Z9 is for sport photography and similar applications. It is the classical big heavy Nikon a la F4.
I would like to see a flagship for all the other applications (landscape, portrait, street photography etc), Possibly substantially smaller, but not as small as Sony's
My first serious camera was a Nikon F, and it would be too sad for me to see Nikon get out of the photo market.
At the same time I wonder what happened to the Z8. The Z9 is for sport photography and similar applications. It is the classical big heavy Nikon a la F4.
I would like to see a flagship for all the other applications (landscape, portrait, street photography etc), Possibly substantially smaller, but not as small as Sony's
View Range
Well-known
I have had my Z9 since 13 January. The Z9 is a significant step above my D5, but still with some limitations. (Come on Nikon why can't a FTZ adapter work correctly with Ai lenses? I know it would cost more, but I expect more from you for your professional clients.) The F4 was not the biggest, heaviest professional Nikon. The F2 with motor drive and Photomic takes that crown. I am a small person, but I find the buttons on the right back side too close together and in hard to reach locations. The thumb only bends so far. The Z9 is narrower and not as high as the D5, but it is deeper by about an inch than D & F series Nikons because the focal plane is at the front of the camera, not at the rear of the camera. The 58% is referenced to the top of the line cameras from Canon and Sony; it is not referenced to all interchangeable lens cameras.
ptpdprinter
Mentor
What type of photographer would choose the Z9 over the Z7II? It looks like it has higher fps, so that would be a plus for sports photographers. It also has higher quality video, so that would be a plus for any photographer who does video. I found this comparison photo:
ZivcoPhoto
Well-known
I have been a Nikon owner since 1967 when I bought my first Nikon F, brand new. I have owned a slew of Nikons throughout the years, including D4S, the latest being a Z6 within 6 months of their coming on the market and recently D780 and ZFC. For me the Z6 is the milestone camera for Nikon, its extremely capable with a great sensor and fabulous low light capability. The Z 9 is no doubt a fine camera for the professional sports photojournalist and wildlife photographer but for average shooter like me its too big and too rich with features Id never use. I just bought a used Leica M10-P for slightly more than the new Z9 would cost from B&H….and Im happy.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I’ve had my Z9 for a few months now. It’s hands down the best digital Nikon body I’ve ever owned. Yes, they got it very, very right.
gavinlg
Mentor
No mechanical shutter. Blackout free shooting at full fps. The fastest and probably the best AF for moving subjects.
As a photojournalist or sports camera, it's the best on the market.
Dguebey
Amateur
Z9 for sport and hot events, Fujifilm GFX 100S for everything else (perfect pictures from usual subjects, cautiously framed and exposed - eventually 4K output).
leicapixie
Well-known
A week ago, I attended a camera store re-opening. Flagship store and there the flagship Nikon! I could not actually pick it up! Wow! Nikon! I am 78. I used the Nikon-F series, pre digital. My pal looked thru and said the "shimmering" viewfinder would make it a Big No! I mostly use my old Leica-M3 (it was new when i bought it 55 years ago). I have snapped rodeos in action sans motor drive, focused in very poor light at weddings, publicity and advertising. Always well focused. I cannot say same for auto focusing. No siree!
One question prevails. The elephant in the room. Yes, that phone thing.
One question prevails. The elephant in the room. Yes, that phone thing.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Your comment brought up some unpleasant memories from the 1990s in my country when certain Nikon dealers would refuse to pass you the camera unless you were buying it. Nikon dealership was a very closed club back then - I was hoping that things have changed in the last.... 30 years..
peefeeniz
Never Again
My friend got one and it is very nice but if I were agnostic I don't know since Canon and Sony are very competitive. Yet they all suffer from poor user interface design that's locks you into using things only their way. After using my iPhone or a digital Leica I look at the Canikony cameras and want to move the buttons around or better yet, put LEDs on the buttons that I can assign functions and also get 3-character backlighting so I can use them in the dark. Nikon makes more sense to me in the way my 1970s Texas Instrument pocket calculator did compared to the Hewett Packard (Sony, Canon) logic but the reality is they all kind of stink and haven't changed much since Kodak figured out how do everything and license it to them.
I was looking at the back of one camera and realized that if I redid the interface all the buttons to the left of the screen could be eliminated or reassigned.
I also thanked the Lord that I am right handed and right eyed because I have no idea how Lefties adapt. They could make an ambidextrous camera it seems to me but it would take a real ergonomic and user interface guru, none of which seem to exist.
It feels like the Z9 II or s version would be perfect if Nikon listened.
What I am hoping for is around 2024 they do a Nikon Z8 in a body that isn't crimped but without the battery grip that adds at least a pound. That would be like the D850 DSLR which, even after 5-6 years seems to be the pinnacle of price-performance-value and usability.
I've owned the Z7, Z7ii and Z6ii and half a dozen lenses. The lenses have been superb, comparable to the best of Zeiss, Leica, etc. and generally better built than the AFS-G series (although still consumer build level until you get to the more expensive ones). Also have had the Z50 (an excellent smaller sensor) and Z5 (a bit cheaper build than the Z6). They are very good but with my XL hands I feel crimped holding them and the buttons are a bit close. If I needed a Z body now I'd get the first Z7 since they're less expensive and differences with the Z7ii are minor and none impact image quality. Firmware updates made the Z7 so close to the Z7ii that only the dual card slots are a selling point for the later.
As for auto-focus, my sense is the cameras are as capable as the DSLRs but the controls are not documented or implemented very well. A lot of this is cultural, maybe native Japanese get it better than I can being an American but it's hard to access the camera's amazing capabilities because the controls obscure what it is they do or make it more difficult to get to. A lot of people I know set all the focusing to automatic and let the camera choose the focusing mode and then they cheat and manually fine tune if needed. For 98% of the market where Joe Schmo is shooting a static subject or a portrait the auto works perfectly.
And I'll be damned if I am going to suffer through Thom Hogan's pretentious writing to hear the instructions in Soy English.
I'm still using D850s until they do better. Just ordered my fourth VC 40 SLII lens (long story) but it's the perfect EDC kit and actually smaller than a Z7 with a normal prime (although a bit heavier).
I was looking at the back of one camera and realized that if I redid the interface all the buttons to the left of the screen could be eliminated or reassigned.
I also thanked the Lord that I am right handed and right eyed because I have no idea how Lefties adapt. They could make an ambidextrous camera it seems to me but it would take a real ergonomic and user interface guru, none of which seem to exist.
It feels like the Z9 II or s version would be perfect if Nikon listened.
What I am hoping for is around 2024 they do a Nikon Z8 in a body that isn't crimped but without the battery grip that adds at least a pound. That would be like the D850 DSLR which, even after 5-6 years seems to be the pinnacle of price-performance-value and usability.
I've owned the Z7, Z7ii and Z6ii and half a dozen lenses. The lenses have been superb, comparable to the best of Zeiss, Leica, etc. and generally better built than the AFS-G series (although still consumer build level until you get to the more expensive ones). Also have had the Z50 (an excellent smaller sensor) and Z5 (a bit cheaper build than the Z6). They are very good but with my XL hands I feel crimped holding them and the buttons are a bit close. If I needed a Z body now I'd get the first Z7 since they're less expensive and differences with the Z7ii are minor and none impact image quality. Firmware updates made the Z7 so close to the Z7ii that only the dual card slots are a selling point for the later.
As for auto-focus, my sense is the cameras are as capable as the DSLRs but the controls are not documented or implemented very well. A lot of this is cultural, maybe native Japanese get it better than I can being an American but it's hard to access the camera's amazing capabilities because the controls obscure what it is they do or make it more difficult to get to. A lot of people I know set all the focusing to automatic and let the camera choose the focusing mode and then they cheat and manually fine tune if needed. For 98% of the market where Joe Schmo is shooting a static subject or a portrait the auto works perfectly.
And I'll be damned if I am going to suffer through Thom Hogan's pretentious writing to hear the instructions in Soy English.
I'm still using D850s until they do better. Just ordered my fourth VC 40 SLII lens (long story) but it's the perfect EDC kit and actually smaller than a Z7 with a normal prime (although a bit heavier).
I took it as a comment on its weight and not on Nikon not allowing him to check it out. Maybe you are right. I have not experienced that since
I was 20 and trying to buy a Leica. B&H at the time would not let me touch an M6. I showed them my wad of cash and their tune changed. So did mine, So I bought it from another store. The M6 was like $1000. I had a job.
Pál_K
Cameras. I has it.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Yes, that's why I said "Nikon dealers", I don't know if it is any different now but back in the 90s there were authorised dealers who would first receive the new stock. These were PITA to deal with, no problems with other shops. I am sure that if Nikon knew, they would have bollocked them there and then. There was no internet back then though. Your experience with B&M sounds similar.
Anyway, back to the Z9...
