has just posted a full review of the newly announced Nikon Z9 (Amazon/ B&H/ Adorama) at the DigitalCameraWorld.com. Nikon Z9 is late to the pro mirrorless party – but with 120fps bursts and 2½ hours of 8K video, it may not matter.
- For continuous shooting, 30 frames / second is JPEG only, and RAW is 20 frames / second. It’s great at 20 frames per second, but both the α1 and EOS R3 can shoot continuously in RAW at 30 frames per second (though Sony has only lossy compression).
- The video of Nikon Z9 is amazing at 8K60p. I don’t know how long I can record with 8K60p, but with 4K120p and 8K30p, I have never overheated even if I shoot for more than 2 hours.
- Nikon Z9 is 20% smaller and 10% lighter than Nikon D6, but much heavier than Sony A1 and Canon EOS R3. The deep grip allows you to shoot comfortably both vertically and horizontally. The imenu and ISO buttons are easy to access even in the vertical position.
- The monitor can be tilted 90 degrees horizontally and vertically, which is convenient because you can shoot high and low angles both vertically and horizontally. That said, I don’t really like this strange and awkwardly designed monitor because it’s not very sturdy and it’s awkward to operate vertically. Rather, I wanted it to be equipped with a vari-angle monitor.
- In this regard, videographers who are fascinated by the amazing video specs of the Z9 will be disappointed. The monitor resolution is also less than half that of Canon EOS R3.
- The EVF is the brightest in the world with 3000 nits, which is 3.69 million dots, the same as the Z7 / 6. This resolution is well below the α1’s 9.44 million and the R3’s 5.76 million, and the refresh rate feels relatively slow, which can be a bit of a headache when shooting fast action.
- The size and weight of the Z9 is useful when shooting with a large lens, but it nevertheless feels uselessly heavy. But the performance of this camera is amazing in every way.
- The battery consumption is less than that of rivals, and I shot more than 7,000 shots and recorded a lot at 8K30p, but the battery is only slightly less than 75%, and its stamina is amazing.
- AF uses Nikon’s most advanced AF system and can track people and many creatures. However, although I am good at shooting one subject, AF struggles when multiple subjects enter the screen. For example, when a player decides to dunk a basketball game, the focus shifts to the eyes of the spectators sitting in the distant spectators’ seats.
- This focus problem is exacerbated in video, especially when a person crosses the screen, and the Z9’s AF sticks to the subject subject inconsistently, which can make you wonder where to focus. Still, it’s a big difference from the D6’s contrast AF.
- The AF of the Z9 has an incredibly high ability to detect the pupil, and even a small subject can distinguish the human pupil.
- Electronic shutters were a concern under artificial light, but flicker and banding weren’t really a problem.
- The video is very good except for the AF problem, and the 4K video oversampled from 8K overwhelms the α1. I’m more than satisfied with the image quality of 4K video, and 8K30p is also very clear. However, with 4K and 8K oversampled from 8K, the read speed becomes slower and the rolling shutter effect becomes noticeable (standard 4K is fine).
- I shot many times at the highest bitrates of 4K120p and 8K30p, recorded more than 2 hours and 30 minutes in one shot, and tried to push the limits of the video, but the Z9 had no problem at all. It’s interesting whether 8K60p is the same.
- It’s unacceptable that 8K60p and ProRes Raw will not be available at launch. If it is stated in the spec sheet, it should be available from the first day of release.
- Lab test (resolution): The 45.7-megapixel Z9 greatly exceeds the resolution of the EOS R3 and D6, but the 50.1-megapixel Sony A1 is the top, especially at high sensitivity.
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|---|---|---|
| Nikon Z9 |
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| Canon R3 |
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| Sony ALPHA a1 |
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