Z9 is coming

spraynpray

I see the Z9 is just over the horizon, not many specs released yet, but apparently it has a 'stacked sensor' - wonder what that will give us...

photobunny

Blackout free EVF

photobunny

Autumn isn't to far away, hope I'll just be able to pre-order it soon and have it delivered to my doorstep. With at least one of (100-400/400/600) at the same time.

mhedges

Should give much faster AF, almost no rolling shutter, no blackout EVF; lots of stuff.

Pistnbroke

yeah well I never bought a D4 D 5 or D6 so the chances of buying a Z9 at $6500 are below zero..will have to stick with the D850 D600 just purchased and the D7200 until I win the lottery .

photobunny

@Pistnbroke at the least you will get a preview of the Z7iii or Z8

PB_PM

I'm with Pistnbroke, don't care how good it is, I'm not in the market for a pro body, or the pro price tag.

WestEndFoto

This has removed any hesitation that I have for buying into the Z mount. The Z8 might be better for me - for example it might be 80mp while the Z9 is 50mp - but I know that I could be happy shooting the 1.8 and 1.2 primes on the Z9.

photobunny

Aye a Z8/Z7iii with the new processor and a 60 MP+ sensor canny be far off now. The current Z6/Z7ii give a wee public beta of the firmware for another 6 months or so then we get the Z9 and I suspect early 2022 you'll get your Z8/Z7iii type camera and maybe a D500 replacement with some of the Z9 features filtered down.

By that point you'll have a lot of lenses to pick. Maybe a FTZ with no wart on it could make it's way out for my one and only F lens?

donaldejose

I am in with the Z9. I know it is expensive but it will be long lasting and if it has a high megapixel sensor (like 50mp or so) it will also be extremely versatile because undoubtedly it will be able to be set for lower resolution files (act like a 24 megapixel sensor) so you get two cameras in one body (both a super Z6II and super Z7II). If you buy both the 6 and 7 you will be spending $5,000.00 and still not have the features of a Z9. I may just sell my entire collection of F mount bodies and lenses and actually have money left over after the purchase of a Z9. I will keep my Z6 as a second body in the unlikely event the Z9 goes out of commission at an inconvenient time. Looking at it that way I think a Z9 is a reasonable, and just maybe a good, value.

rmp

I hope the "baby Z9", what ever is called, is as small and light as a Z7ii and has the 60 mp sensor.

WestEndFoto

RMP, that will be a Z6iii or a Z7iii.

donaldejose

The Z9 might be slightly smaller than the D6 but I expect it has to be significantly larger than the Z6ii and Z7ii form factor (with battery grip) because it has to be built more rugged and with more features inside (such as room for two CFExpress card slots, ability to dissipate more heat generated by the new processor, room for the larger D6 style battery, etc.). If Nikon is calling it a fully pro model which will perform better than the D6, it is going to have to be similar to the D6 in size and weight.

NSXTypeR

I wonder if Nikon avoided announcing a Z9 because the Olympics were postponed. I'm also not in the market for such a high end camera. Looking for something less pro if anything.

KnockKnock

Such a Z8 would likely have the pro top button selector, I see they’re bringing that control back for this Z9.

WestEndFoto

Yes, I am quite curious what the Z8 might look like. It could be a mirrorless version of a D850 - high resolution with add on grip. If the Z9 has 50mp and the Z8 has 80mp, then I would opt for a Z8 with grip.

Or perhaps Nikon will produce a Z9r a year or so after the Z9. Think a Z9 with a higher resolution sensor.

Then the Z8 could be a mirrorless D850 and there might be a Z8r option.

The Z8 and Z9 would be professional cameras, the Z6 and Z7 would be prosumer cameras and the Z3 and Z5 would be entry level.

Interesting times.

PB_PM

NSXTypeR said:

I wonder if Nikon avoided announcing a Z9 because the Olympics were postponed. I'm also not in the market for such a high end camera. Looking for something less pro if anything.

More likely that the camera is simply still in development, there's no way it would have been ready for the Olympics last year. They made the current Z bodies to test the water, to find out what users wanted the bodies to be like, learn the basics and get the ball rolling before committing to a pro grade model. Kind of odd really because in the past Nikon always rolled out the pro model and then brought the tech down to the lower levels later.

Pistnbroke

Well if its got that stupid mode dial they can forget it .

WestEndFoto

PB_PM said:

NSXTypeR said:

I wonder if Nikon avoided announcing a Z9 because the Olympics were postponed. I'm also not in the market for such a high end camera. Looking for something less pro if anything.

More likely that the camera is simply still in development, there's no way it would have been ready for the Olympics last year. They made the current Z bodies to test the water, to find out what users wanted the bodies to be like, learn the basics and get the ball rolling before committing to a pro grade model. Kind of odd really because in the past Nikon always rolled out the pro model and then brought the tech down to the lower levels later.

This makes sense.

NSXTypeR

PB_PM said:

NSXTypeR said:

I wonder if Nikon avoided announcing a Z9 because the Olympics were postponed. I'm also not in the market for such a high end camera. Looking for something less pro if anything.

More likely that the camera is simply still in development, there's no way it would have been ready for the Olympics last year. They made the current Z bodies to test the water, to find out what users wanted the bodies to be like, learn the basics and get the ball rolling before committing to a pro grade model. Kind of odd really because in the past Nikon always rolled out the pro model and then brought the tech down to the lower levels later.

Doesn't Nikon tend to coincide some pro model and some pro lens with the Olympics though?

They should have either prepared some pro DSLR or mirrorless. Unless the Z lineup was so unforeseen that they didn't have any mirrorless prepared for the Olympics.

PB_PM

NSXTypeR said:

Doesn't Nikon tend to coincide some pro model and some pro lens with the Olympics though?

It's either going to be some pro DSLR or mirrorless.

The D6 came out last year, I suspect it was going to be out in time for the Olympics, but was delayed by the pandemic. I doubt the Z9 would have been ready last summer.

donaldejose

An interesting point of view by KR. "Nikon hasn't been the leader in pro cameras since the 1990s, and I honestly doubt, with Nikon's reduced development budgets, that anyone ought to be investing further into Nikon. All because people like me have been shooting with and building our Nikon systems since the 1980s doesn't mean it makes any sense today to buy into it — much less wait around for a camera we can't buy." I disagree, but only time will tell. The most interesting part of Ken's opinion is his statement that because Nikon has a reduced development budget it will never catch up with Canon and Sony. Could be true?

PB_PM

The only thing true about his statement is that Nikon has not been a market leader in terms of sales since the end of the 1980's. Nikon has very much been a leader in pro cameras, the D3/D4/D5/D6 are easily some of the best pro cameras ever made. They've never had the sales that the D1X series had though, no doubt about that.

Nikon does have a much smaller R&D budget than Sony or Canon, no doubt about it, yet generally speaking they still make some of the best cameras and lenses out there. Will Nikon be the next Pentax or Olympus? Who knows, maybe? Does that mean they are a bad choice today, depends on you the buyer. If you already have a lot of Nikon gear, switching systems is a very expensive proposition, given the poor return on used gear overall. I haven't bought any Z-mount glass because I'm not totally sold on Nikon's future, even if I'm willing to give the Z bodies a go.

If KR logic were realistic nobody would buy a Porsche, because Toyota sells more Camry's than Porsche sells 911's. As I've always said, KR opinion is out for sale to the highest bidder, whoever that happens to be at the moment.

WestEndFoto

PB_PM said:

The only thing true about his statement is that Nikon has not been a market leader in terms of sales since the end of the 1980's. Nikon has very much been a leader in pro cameras, the D3/D4/D5/D6 are easily some of the best pro cameras ever made. They've never had the sales that the D1X series had though, no doubt about that.

Nikon does have a much smaller R&D budget than Sony or Canon, no doubt about it, yet generally speaking they still make some of the best cameras and lenses out there. Will Nikon be the next Pentax or Olympus? Who knows, maybe? Does that mean they are a bad choice today, depends on you the buyer. If you already have a lot of Nikon gear, switching systems is a very expensive proposition, given the poor return on used gear overall. I haven't bought any Z-mount glass because I'm not totally sold on Nikon's future, even if I'm willing to give the Z bodies a go.

If KR logic were realistic nobody would buy a Porsche, because Toyota sells more Camry's than Porsche sells 911's. As I've always said, KR opinion is out for sale to the highest bidder, whoever that happens to be at the moment.

Mostly agree. Except that you should have confidence in Nikon's future, however.

donaldejose

I am not abandoning the Nikon ship. Yes, the D850, D500, D4, D5 and D6 are great bodies. However, mirrorless is the future and Nikon is behind in that market. I think the Z9 will be a "seminal body" for Nikon. It needs to be at least "on par" with the latest offerings from Canon and Sony. If it is panned by reviewers and pro users as not as good as Canon and Sony lots of people will start to doubt further investment in Nikon. The Z9 could be a "watershed" point for Nikon if it fails badly. Only time will tell.

mhedges

PB_PM said:

NSXTypeR said:

Doesn't Nikon tend to coincide some pro model and some pro lens with the Olympics though?

It's either going to be some pro DSLR or mirrorless.

The D6 came out last year, I suspect it was going to be out in time for the Olympics, but was delayed by the pandemic. I doubt the Z9 would have been ready last summer.

Right D6 was going to be the Olympic body, just everything got messed up with the pandemic.

As far as KR- He's on the record as saying the EOS RP is the best mirrorless camera made so draw your own conclusions.