Nikon Z 9
Big test
PRICE: £5299
NIKON.CO.UK
As rivals Canon and Sony are both sitting pretty with critically acclaimed pro-oriented cameras, Nikon had to react quickly – and the Z 9 is the outcome
SPECS › Price £5299 body only
› In the box Z 9 body cap, strap, EH-P7 adapter, MH-33 charger › Sensor CMOS, 45.7 megapixels › Sensor format FX, 35.9x23.9mm, 8256x5504 pixels › File formats Raw (NEF) 14-bit with save options of lossless compression, high efficiency (high or star) FX: (L) 8256x5504 pixels (45.4 million), (M) 6192x4128 (25.6 million), (S) 4128x2752 (11.4 million). DX (24x16), 1:1 (24x24) and 16:9 (36x20) available › Lens mount Nikon Z › ISO range ISO 64 to 25,600, expandable to ISO 32 and 102,400 › Shutter range Electronic shutter 30secs to 1/32,000sec expandable to 900secs in M, flash sync at 1/250sec or, auto FP flash sync up to 1/8000sec › Drive modes Single, continuous low, continuous high up to 20fps. High-speed capture up to 30fps and 120fps (normal JPEGs only) › Exposure system Matrix, center-weighted, spot, highlight-weighted metering › Exposure compensation +/-5EV in 0.3, 0.5 and 1EV steps › Monitor 3.2in touchscreen, approx 2m dots › Viewfinder 3.69m dot OLED › Focusing system Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF with AF assist, with -6.5 to +19EV working range › Focus points 493. Pinpoint, single point, dynamic area (S, M and L), dynamic area (S, M and L), auto area AF, 3D tracking, subject tracking AF (video) only › Image stabiliser Five-axis image sensor shift › Video 7680x4320 (8K UHD): 30p/25p/24p, 3840x2160 (4K UHD): 120p/100p/60p/50p/30p/25p/24p 1920x1080: 120p/100p/60p › Movie format MOV, MP4 › Video compression Apple ProRes 422 HQ (10-bit), H.265/HEVC (8-bit/10-bit), H.264/AVC (8-bit) › Connectivity USB-C, HDMI type A, 3.5mm mic, 3.5mm headphone, ten-pin remote, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth › Storage media Two CFexpress
WORDS AND IMAGES BY WILL CHEUNG
THE Z 9 follows Nikon’s well established template for a flagship pro camera. It’s a deep-bodied, weather-sealed model with key controls mirrored on the handgrip, so vertical shooting is fundamentally identical to when it’s used horizontally. The base holds an EN-EL8d battery, giving a claimed 740 shots. I took thousands of stills on a couple of occasions, with the battery still holding plenty of charge at the end of the day. Perhaps that is an advantage of a camera that only has an electronic shutter – the first mirrorless model to eschew a mechanical one – as there’s no flipping reflex mirror, or mechanical shutter to be cocked. A firmware update was announced while I had the test camera, so the latest v1.1 was used. Electronic shutters are silent and I prefer some sort of noise to tell me I’ve taken a shot. I don’t want much, just a low-pitch click will do – but not a sharp squeak that some cameras emit. No problem here and you can, to a limited degree, control shutter noise with pitch and volume levels. Since electronic shutters have only recently gained the processing speed to enable flash sync, the first thing I did was check out the Z 9’s sync skills. I used a Nikon SB-900 speedlight and auto FP mode to see if 1/8000sec flash sync with this shutter type was a reality. It is. I tried a Profoto A1 and a Hahnel Modus 600RT and they worked, too. The build of the Z 9 is exemplary. It might be 20% lighter than the D6, but is still quite a weight. It feels robust and that includes the monitor, which could have been a point of weaknesses. It is a touch monitor, and while it doesn’t give a view from the front, it does make waist/high- level, horizontal and vertical shooting a breeze.
“FOR FANS OF BACK BUTTON FOCUSING, THE Z 9 SHOWS HOW IT SHOULD BE DONE, WITHA LARGE, PROUD AF-ON BUTTON”
For fans of back button focusing, the Z 9 shows how it should be done with a large, proud AF-ON button – and the right grip has the standard Nikon trinity of exposure compensation, ISO and on/off switch. A third position on the on/ off collar is an LCD lamp switch. I struggle to understand why some brands (Canon!) do not put the on/off switch on the right, for the forefinger
Type B cards or XQD › Dimensions (wxhxl) 149x149.5x90.5mm › Weight 1340g with EN-EL18d battery › Contact nikon.co.uk
REARWINDOW The Z 9’s monitor rates very highly, whether shooting horizontal or vertical format images. It also has a reassuringly robust feel, so you would have to be a very clumsy (or accident-prone!) user to cause it any physical harm
Photography News | Issue 97
26
photographynews.co.uk
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