Big test
PERFORMANCE: ISO
At ISO 3200, shadows viewed at 100% showed some mottling, but the digital noise was still fine, considering the speed. It is only at ISO 6400 that digital noise was more obvious and fine detail was impacted, but imaging performance is still impressive.
f/2.8 was used on the Z 9, and the pair on a Leofoto LS-324C pod. There’s no noise to speak of to ISO 800. Even at ISO 1600, graining is minimal. You need to be looking at 200% to see it. This with no noise reduction in post processing. At 100%, images look smooth.
The Z 9’s native ISO range is 64-25,600, with expansion to ISO 32-102,400. For this test, each ISO setting was used with all in-camera NR turned off and the Raws processed in Lightroom. The exposure here for ISO 100 was 6secs at f/8. A Nikon Z 28-75mm
FLEXIBLE FRIEND The articulating monitor can’t face forwards, but it’s great for portrait-format shots, shooting above head or at waist level
RAIN MAN It’s a pro camera, so you expect it to deal with heavy weather
100
800
1600
to engage quickly as the camera is brought up to the eye. There is also a movie record button on the right, but this does not start video recording when you are in still mode, meaning you can’t instantly start a recording while shooting stills. You have to flick the still/movie switch on the rear first. Three function buttons sit on the front of the body, with Fn2 slightly different, so you can tell it apart by touch from Fn1 and Fn3. The latter comes into play during vertical shooting when it is easily reached. There are 43 functions, including none that you can assign to these three buttons. There is an Fn4 on the rear left, and this has a more modest 18 options in total. On the left top-plate is a drive collar and four-way control cluster. The Z 9 has an option of shooting stills at 120fps and this is available on the final drive setting beyond self-timer. Try this and, usefully, the
camera automatically sets normal JPEG shooting only, reverting back to whatever you had set when you take it off this setting. There is also a 30fps option – here you get full resolution JPEGs. The 120fps setting gives 11-megapixel, full-frame 4128x2752 pixel images with AE/AF tracking. I got over 734 shots in one continuous burst – even though the buffer indicator said 450 – before the camera very briefly paused. The buffer cleared in about 15 seconds. I am sure there are press/sports shooters who will utilise the feature and it is fun to use – less fun is scrolling through all those shots, though. By comparison, the Z 9’s top continuous shooting speed with Raws is still a very fast 20fps. The Z 9 has three Raw save options – lossless compression, high- efficiency star and high efficiency – giving, roughly, full-resolution file sizes of 56, 35 and 25MB, respectively. At 20fps I got 55, 137, and 400 shots before the camera took a breath. With the speed of CFexpress this is a very quick breath, and you can start shooting at full speed very quickly. Burst tests were done with a Lexar CFexpress Type B 1750MB/s card. Manage the buffer and you should never be in the situation of missing shots as you wait for images to write to card. SD cards are slower though. However you cut it, if catching the action is important to you,
3200
6400
12.800
25.600
51,200
102,400
FINGER ON THE PULSE Access to the Z 9’s key controls rates highly – and they are excellent in use
Issue 97 | Photography News 27
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