Nikon Z9 Overview

Nikon Z9: Unstoppable

Delivering speed, image quality, and connectivity, the Nikon Z9 is a professional-grade camera characterized by its newly developed sensor, advanced AF performance, and high-resolution 8K video recording. Their first mirrorless flagship camera, the Z9 stands out as a camera that appeals to photographers and filmmakers working across a wide variety of applications.

Stacked Sensor and Powerful Processing Engine

45.7MP Stacked BSI CMOS Sensor

The core of the Z9 is the newly developed FX-format 45.7MP BSI stacked CMOS sensor. Its stacked design offers fast readout speeds and helps to reduce rolling shutter, and the BSI design contributes to impressive clarity and minimal noise when working at higher sensitivities. At 45.7MP, it’s also a high-resolution chip that benefits landscape, portraiture, and other detail-oriented genres, as well as enables recording video at resolutions up to 8K. The full-frame BSI design is known for exquisite color and detail rendering, too, and this sensor offers a native ISO 64-25600 range, that can be expanded to ISO 32-102400.

EXPEED 7 Image Processor

Complementing the sensor is an advanced processing engine, the EXPEED 7, which offers speeds approximately 10x faster than a Z 7II. This engine works in conjunction with the stacked sensor design to realize impressively fast AF speeds, burst shooting rates, a high buffer capacity, fluid video performance, and quick all-around handling.

Top continuous shooting speeds of 20 fps when shooting in raw, 30 fps when shooting in JPEG, and an impressive 120 fps shooting rate when recording 11MP stills, with all rates supporting full AF/AE performance.
Able to buffer over 1000 raw images in a burst, meaning raw image sequences can be recorded for approximately 50 seconds continuously. Also, during playback, you can skip to the first shot of a given burst to expedite the on-camera review process.

Pre-Release Capture helps make decisive moment shots easier by recording frames in a burst for up a second prior to actually releasing the shutter. When this feature is activated, burst shooting will commence when the shutter is half-pressed and the buffer will retain up to a second’s worth of frames prior to fully pressing the shutter.

Electronic shutter affords a top shutter speed of 1/32,000 sec for working in the brightest conditions with wider apertures.
Stacked sensor design reduces rolling shutter distortion so fast-moving subjects, like a golf club, tennis racket, or baseball bat, do not appear distorted when working with shutter speeds up to 1/32,000 sec.
AF calculations are done at a 120 fps rate to keep up with fast continuous shooting speeds.

New High Efficiency RAW file format maintains image quality akin to uncompressed raw files but with file sizes approximately 30% smaller for faster reading/writing to the memory card.
Motion Blend Retouch feature can be used to produce an in-camera composite that depicts a series of subject movements within a single frame.
Added with Firmware 2.0, an enhanced Long Exposure display includes a live exposure timer on the rear LCD, along with the ability to dim the viewfinder to better preserve your night-adjusted vision.

Electronic Shutter-Only Design

Relying on the speed and stacked design of the sensor, the Z9 completely forgoes a mechanical shutter and uses just an electronic shutter for all capture modes. The speed of the sensor enables recording at up to 1/32,000 sec and the stacked structure reduces motion distortion for accurate depiction of fast-moving subjects, like golf clubs, baseball bats, and automobiles. Also, despite the absence of a mechanical shutter, flash sync up to 1/200 sec. is still supported as well as high speed sync functions.

By removing the mechanical shutter, the Z9 can also operate completely silently and there is no worry over mechanical shutter wear or breakdown. A shutter release sound can be added for awareness when a photo is being taken, and the volume can be adjusted to suit different working scenarios.

493-Point Phase-Detection AF

Covering the full sensor area, the Z9 uses a 493-point phase-detection AF system to realize fast and accurate focusing performance. This system is benefitted by the high-speed communication of the Z interface along with the speed of the sensor that enables AF readings to occur at up to 120 fps. This focusing system also supports working in low-light conditions with a Starlight mode that permits focusing down to -8.5 EV to greatly benefit astrophotography, concert, and other nighttime shooting applications.

Subject Detection with Deep Learning Technology

Utilizing a new algorithm and deep learning technology, automatic Subject Detection can now recognize nine distinct subject types, ranging from humans to animals to airplanes to bicycles. When working in Auto-Area AF, these subjects will automatically be detected, focused on, and tracked to ensure sharp focus when the subject is moving across the frame. Eye-Detection AF, specifically, has been tuned for improved accuracy and refined recognition of eyes in the scene regardless of how small or large they are within the image frame.

The Z9 also sees the debut of the 3D Tracking mode in a Nikon mirrorless camera. This popular focusing mode from Nikon’s DSLRs pairs with subject detection to lock onto fast, erratically moving subjects that move parallel and perpendicular to the camera. Additionally, there are three Dynamic-Area AF modes, with a range of focus area sizes, for capturing a broad variety of moving subject types.

Firmware 2.0 has also introduced 20 types of custom Wide-Area AF selection patterns, 12 of which are supported during video recording, for more precise AF and subject detection within a given area of the frame.

8K and 4K Video Recording

Up to 8K Recording Supported

Matching the high-end photo attributes, the Z9 is Nikon’s most capable video camera as well, with a variety of resolutions and frame rates available up to 8K. Using full pixel readout, UHD 8K 30p video can be recorded with continuous shooting possible for approximately 2 hours 5 minutes.

Full-frame 4K recording is available, too, up to 120p for slow-motion playback. Using an 8K area, oversampled UHD 4K recording is possible at up to 60p for increased sharpness and detail. Also, high-resolution frame grabs can be recorded in camera from 8K and 4K videos, for producing 33MP or 11MP stills, respectively.

Internal N-RAW and ProRes RAW Video

Added with Firmware 2.0, the Z9 is capable of internal 12-bit raw recording at up to 8.3K 60p in the N-RAW format, as well as support for ProRes RAW recording. Raw recording offers greater tonal and color latitude and can improve dynamic range, benefitting color grading needs and post-production flexibility.

N-RAW is Nikon’s own raw recording format that offers impressively small file sizes compared to other raw formats as well as the ability to create MP4 proxies for more efficient previewing or transferring.
N-RAW recording is available at up to 8.3K at 60p or 24p; 4.1K at up to 120p; 5.3K at up to 60p with a 1.5x crop; and 3.8K at 120p with a 2.3x crop.
ProRes RAW recording is also available at up to 4.1K and 60p.

ProRes and H.265 10-Bit Internal Recording

Internal recording with 10-bit color and 4:2:2 sampling is possible in the ProRes 422 HQ and H.265 codecs, and H.264 and 4:2:0 color can be used depending on workflow needs. For more latitude when color grading in post, there is also a 10-bit N-Log setting as well as a Flat color profile. Additionally, HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) can be used for creating HDR-ready content straight from the camera.

Firmware 2.0 Video Upgrades

Elevating the cinema capabilities of the Z9, Firmware 2.0 introduced a series of production-related updates for the camera:

Red REC frame indicator on EVF and LCD during recording to easily recognize when recording is being captured.
Waveform monitor for realtime exposure analysis.
Dedicated video info display indicates various recording settings, such as frame size, frame rate, audio settings, codec, bit depth, and HDMI output settings. Some of these settings will also be visible on the camera’s top control panel.
Fine ISO control in Manual mode for adjusting exposure in 1/6-stop increments.
Fast AF-ON function can be assigned to Fn buttons; it is now possible to assign two different AF speeds to different buttons.
Slow shutter speed video is supported, slower than 1/frame rate, for working in extreme low-light conditions or for creating intentionally blurred effects.

Professional Body Design

Real-Live Viewfinder

Real-Live Viewfinder is a an advanced EVF utilizing a 3.69m-dot OLED panel with adjustable luminance up to 3000 cd/m2 for clear visibility in bright conditions. This EVF also works in conjunction with dual-stream technology for blackout-free viewing when shooting continuously. Firmware 2.0 has further improved the finder’s performance with a high fps function, which ups the EVF’s refresh rate to 120 fps for even smoother, lifelike viewing.

Four-Axis Tilting LCD

A first for Nikon, the Z9 incorporates a 3.2″ 2.1m-dot four-axis tilting touchscreen LCD that better supports working from high and low angles, regardless if shooting in the horizontal or vertical orientation. This screen’s four-way tilting design allows for easier viewing from a variety of positions and the user interface orientation will also shift depending on how the camera is held.

Tough, Durable Construction

Dual CFexpress Type B memory card slots allow for flexible file saving and promote high-speed reading and writing to keep up with the fast continuous shooting and high-resolution 8K video recording. Both slots are also compatible with XQD memory cards.
Optimized for a professional workflow, the Z9 is characterized by its ergonomic form factor and inclusion of a vertical grip for easy switching between horizontal and vertical shooting orientations.
Built to the same dust and moisture resistance standards as the D6, the Z9 has a highly durable and rigid magnesium alloy chassis that manages to be 20% smaller than the former flagship DSLR body.
Included EN-EL18d battery offers approximately 700 frames per charge. The Z9 is also compatible with other EN-EL18-series batteries.

In-body Vibration Reduction now supports Synchro VR to achieve up to 6 stops of camera shake compensation when used with select Z lenses.
VR safety lock secures the sensor and VR mechanism in place to prevent damage caused by movement while traveling.
Helping to cut down on dust reaching the sensor, the Z9 incorporates a sensor shield that protects the sensor surface when changing lenses. For additional dust prevention, there is also a dual electro-conductive and fluorine coating on the optical filter covering the sensor.
Kensington security slot helps protect against theft when the camera is left unattended.
Backlit buttons offer easier navigation and button recognition when working in low-light conditions.
Voice memo function for recording short spoken notes while shooting.

Versatile Connectivity

Matching the professional build quality, the Z9 is fitted with a variety of connectivity options to suit various workflow needs:

Full-size HDMI port for outputting video to an external recorder or monitor
USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port supports tethering, data transfer, and in-camera battery charging
Ethernet port supports 1000BASE-T wired LAN connection for transferring files over FTP
10-pin port offers wide accessories and remote connectivity
PC sync port for flash sync
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz) permit wireless transferring of files, remote camera control via a mobile device, and works in conjunction with the NX Mobile Air app for file management
GNSS for in-camera geotagging and recording of location info while shooting

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