Thoughts about the Nikon z9

Nikon z9

Nikon’s first mirrorless flagship was announced late October 2021 and officially launched on December 24 of the same year. There still are people waiting for theirs more than half a year later, and the reception of this much anticipated camera as been rather good overall. It seems Nikon got it right with their initial mirrorless flagship.

What’s new?

A new, much faster processor – Expeed 7 – provides way more speed and the what seems to be a stacked development of the z7’s 45mp sensor comes accompanies it. However, what was really new is that Nikon felt confident enough to omit the mechanical shutter. The much improved electronic viewfinder (EVF) is another result of this combination of speed and omitting the shutter.

Nikon put the lot in a one of their gripped professional bodies, build to last, with a battery that often enables it – depending on circumstances – to shoot several thousand images instead of the rated 740 shots per charge. Even better, they managed to price this package at US$550 – that’s less than its peers from Canon or Sony.

This quite well rounded package was well received and the long waiting lists were no surprise for me. For one we still have to deal with the chip shortage, but then I remember waiting lists even back in the days of the F5. Indeed nothing really new here.

Nikon’s dual stream tech, with two streams, one for the EVF, one foe the sensor. Needs to be shutter-less to work.

Yes, gimme, gimme, gimme…?

Nope, I have no plans getting a z9, as I have moved away from the big professional gripped bodies and fast f2.8 zooms. My camera has to go cycling and walking a lot these days, and a smaller and lighter setup if simply better suited for this purpose. However, the z9 release still was important for my use case as well. Nikon did state not long after that the technology would be applied down the range, as expected.

This means sooner or later there will be an improved body that fits me well. Of course an improved AF system will be welcome, but the improvement I would like to see most is the new EVF. I don’t really need faster frame rates or better burst rates, I rarely use the 9fps and rarely get close to the limit of the buffer as I usually shoot in shorts bursts. Overall, I think the z9 is a step in the right direction for Nikon, even if it’s not for me. It shows where Nikon is headed, and what will come – and yes, what is coming will be good!

Thoughts about the z9 in use

One thing I have observed over the past few months however, is that there seem to be quite some people buying the z9 yet still ending up with pretty bad images as a result. However, looking at those samples, the z9 is not the reason for it.

One part is that some people expect the camera do it all for you. Nope, not going to happen. At the end of the day you still need to tell the camera what to do, one way or another. With several people in the frame the camera can only guess which one you want to focus on. And with the situation changing it doesn’t know if you want to stick with one person or changing to another at one point. You need to be in control.

The other reason is that even with a z9 and a 500mm PF telephoto lens you are too far away if your little bird is half a football field away. Even with 45mp you should fill that frame as much as possible, to get detail. I’m not a bird photographer, but grabbing the camera and pointing it a a distant small thing/bird is a recipe for disaster, never mind if you got a z5 with a 24-200mm or a z9 with a 500mm PF. That’s not how great images are made.

Yes, there are a lot of such images out there on the internet, cropped to death, over-sharpened, taken with great equipment, not just the z9. However, usually the reaction is ‘what’s wrong with my camera?’ Try to look at what’s behind the camera, that’s where things mostly go wrong. Yourself. And yes, that’s where I look, too, if the results weren’t what I wanted. Myself.
Think about it, if others manage to take great images with the same setup you have, then it’s likely not the camera… There are times where it’s perhaps better to let go. If you’re too far away, try to get closer. If you can’t, let go. Work within the capabilities of your system, work with what you have, what it can do. And realize, yes, every system has its limits.

Bottom line is today’s top of the line cameras are marvelous. Don’t worry about the specs, go out and shoot. If you do it right, the results will be accordingly. If not, the best camera and lens won’t do anything good for you.