After months of teasers, speculation, and anticipation, Nikon has released all the details on its Z 9 camera, the mirrorless successor (in spirit) to its flagship D6 SLR. The Z 9 comes on the heels of similar releases from rivals—the Canon EOS R3 and Sony a1 also debuted this year—and is built around the same type of full-frame, fast readout stacked image sensor.
Stacked, Stabilized, 45MP Full-Frame Imaging
Nikon goes a little bit further than rivals with the implementation. The Z 9 relies on its electronic shutter exclusively—the camera does not have a mechanical focal plane shutter—with a speedy scan rate that prevents skew and other forms of rolling shutter distortion from ruining photos.
The sensor is designed by Nikon, and offers plenty of resolution, 45.7MP worth. It’s fast too, and leverages a reimagined edition of the 3D Tracking autofocus system, a favorite from Nikon SLRs. The Z 9 tracks subjects for up to 120fps photography (restricted to 11MP JPGs), at 30fps for full-resolution JPGs, and at 20fps in Raw format. It promises to deliver more than 1,000 Raw photos at that clip without slowing down.
The Z 9’s 3D Tracking promises to be Nikon’s smartest autofocus system to date. It leverages subject detection to identify and track all types of subjects. The list is extensive: people, dogs, cats, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, planes, and trains are all supported. There’s no need to tell the Z 9 what you’re photographing either. It can tell a bird apart from a train on its own, so you can swap from trainspotting to wildlife work without diving into settings.
The video toolkit is as ambitious. The Z 9 is set to support 10-bit 8K30 and 4K120 recording at launch, with 12-bit 8K60 N-Raw and 4K30 ProRes Raw coming later via firmware updates. Compressed formats are supported too; the Z 9 supports H.264, HEVC (H.265), and ProRes 422 HQ recording. The flat N-Log profile is available if you want to take command over color grading. External recorders are supported—the Z 9 includes a full-size HDMI port with clean output.
Both stills and video benefit from in-body stabilization. It’s an expected feature in high-end cameras, so it’s not surprising to see a 5-axis stabilization system included here as well. Nikon also skips putting a flash in the camera itself, but it will sync with external Speedlite flashes at 1/200-second.
Made to Be Tough and Reliable
The Z 9 uses a body style familiar to pro photographers, one with dual integrated grips, the standard one for holding the camera in landscape orientation, and a second along the baseplate for holding the body vertically for portraits. The body is built for rugged use, to the same standards as a D6—that means a full magnesium alloy chassis, extensive dust and splash protection. The image sensor has a new coating to help reduce dust, and is protected by a physical shield for lens changes.
Controls follow the D6 family as well. Nikon uses a button to set Mode, with a nested dial underneath to set the continuous drive mode. The top plate includes an OLED display panel, and in a return to form for pro cameras, the control buttons are backlit. It’s welcome news for photographers working in dimly lit concert halls or in studio.
The eye-level electronic viewfinder is large to the eye (0.8x magnification) and boasts a 3.7 million dot display. It’s not the highest resolution or largest EVF we’ve seen, but we’ll hold judgment for some hands-on use. Like other stacked sensor models, the EVF never blacks out or stutters during capture—it’s a boon for photographers trying to keep their lens locked on swiftly moving subjects.
The 3.2-inch rear display is as useful for photography—D5 and D6 SLR photographers are used to slower contrast focus when using the rear screen, but the Z 9 (and other mirrorless bodies) uses the same focus system for EVF and LCD.
The touch panel is useful for video and tripod work, and can tilt in a couple different directions to get shots from off-kilter angles. The dual-hinge design takes a page out of the Fujifilm X-T3 playbook, offering tilt for either landscape or portrait orientation images. It skips front-facing support, something you get with the standard vari-angle LCD on the Canon EOS R3. Both types of screen designs have their devotees—which you like better is really a matter of personal preference.
There are some other features made for photographers working in collegiate and pro sports too. Gigabit Ethernet and dual-band Wi-Fi are available, with support for FTP transfer, IPTC metadata, and voice memos too. Location data is added automatically—the Z 9 has its own GNSS chip—and smartphones can be connected via USB-C to send photos out over cellular networks.
There are two slots for media, both CFexpress (Type B), with backward compatibility for XQD cards, which share the same form factor. Power is provided by a new battery, the EN-EL18d, which is rated for up to 770 stills via CIPA standards, 5,310 stills when using continuous drive, or 170 minutes of video recording. The battery’s form factor is the same as earlier EN-EL18 models, and the classic, EL18a, EL18b, and EL18c batteries can all power the Z 9 too. They won’t last as long, and you’ll lose access to in-camera charging if you use an EN-EL18 or EL18a.
Lower Cost of Entry Than Competition
Nikon has put a lot of new tech into the Z 9, but is bringing it to market at a lower price than current mirrorless competitors, or its own D6 for that matter. The Z 9 is $5,499.95 as a body only, a full $1,000 less than the D6 or Sony a1, and undercutting the 24MP Canon EOS R3 by $500.
New Lenses and Accessories
Nikon is bringing two new lenses to market with the Z 9, along with a freshly updated version of its FTZ lens adapter. The Mount Adapter FTZ II’s update is cosmetic—it removes the tripod foot from the original, a necessary design change to fit the gripped Z 9, and keeps the same $249.95 price. Nikon did not take the opportunity to add an screw-drive focus motor, though, so you’ll still be stuck setting focus manually with classic AF and AF-D Nikkor SLR lenses.
The Nikkor Z 24-120mm F4 S is a surprise entry, taking the place of the freshly cancelled 24-105mm F4 S that had been teased on the company’s development roadmap. It’s especially light given its zoom range, just about 1.4 pounds, and is part of Nikon’s S Line, the highest class of Nikkor Z lenses. It includes dust and splash protection, anti-smudge fluorine on the glass, and close focusing 1:2.6 macro optics. At $1,099.95 it settles into the line in between the 24-70mm F4 S ($999.95) and premium 24-70mm F2.8 S ($2,299.95).
The Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S is coming too. It’s a handholdable telezoom, coming in around 3 pounds, with the same dust, splash, and fluorine protection as the 24-120mm, and the added benefit of teleconverter compatibility. In-lens vibration reduction works in conjunction with a stabilized sensor for up to 5.5 stops of compensation, and both Z teleconverters are extended. With the 1.4x attached the lens turns into a 140-560mm F6.3-8 zoom, and it’s a 200-800mm F9-11 with the 2.0x. The 100-400mm costs $2,699.95.
A High-End 400mm F2.8 Is Under Development
We’re happy to see Nikon expand the Z lens system, especially in the telephoto space. The Z system launched at the same time as the Canon’s R mirrorless series, but Nikon has been a little slower to roll out new lenses. It has outlined a development roadmap, and continues to fill out the line—it’s shared a new development roadmap, covering planned releases through 2023.
Nikon hasn’t detailed much about its forthcoming lenses aside from focal length, with one exception. It’s teasing development of its Nikkor Z 400mm F2.8 TC VR S, a lens that bridges the gap between prime and zoom. It includes an integrated rear teleconverter, one that can presumably be toggled on or off without taking the lens off camera. We don’t know much else about it, and while Nikon has not even hinted at pricing, these types of lenses usually cost north of $10,000.
It’s not the only 400mm coming, though. Nikon has an additional S-Line 400mm prime on its roadmap, along with 600mm and 800mm entries. We expect these to be expensive, but Nikon isn’t ignoring its consumer and enthusiast user base. It’s had a 200-600mm in its development plans for some time, one that’s not part of the S-Line.
Z system owners are also getting a new S-Line 85mm at some point, another that’s been on the roadmap for a while. There are a few other new entries, a full-frame 26mm compact prime, a 24mm DX format compact prime, and a 12-28mm zoom for DX sensor cameras.
Check Back for Hands-On Coverage
Sigma beat Nikon to market with the compact fp and fp L cameras, but with caveats. Neither uses a stacked sensor, their quirky, modular form factors push them closer to concept camera status, and neither is capable of capturing fast action in the ways the Z 9 promises. We’ve been waiting to see which camera maker would be the first to release a truly capable camera that relies entirely on an electronic shutter, and, on paper at least, it looks like the Nikon Z 9 is it.
We’re eager to see how the Z 9 performs in the real world, and hope to have a review ready before too long. On paper, it promises to be the company’s most capable mirrorless yet. Nikon promises to start shipping the Z 9, as well as the 24-120mm, 100-400mm, and FTZ II before the end of this year.
