# The Nikon Z9 will be announced in November or December this year



## Canon Rumors Guy (Jul 6, 2021)

> Nikon Rumors is reporting that Nikon will be announcing their flagship mirrorless camera body in November or December of this year.
> This looks to be above Canon’s upcoming EOS R3 in the marketplace, so the EOS R1 will be the likely competitor once Canon brings it to market late next year.
> Nikon Rumors also has a bunch of rumored specifications for the upcoming camera.
> Nikon Z9 Specifications (Rumored)
> ...



Continue reading...


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## ethanz (Jul 6, 2021)

Let's see if they can actually deliver on those specs.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 6, 2021)

I can't wait to get my 70-200 and 500 PF on this. I hope it feels nice and solid in the hand.


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## David - Sydney (Jul 6, 2021)

sounds like a wish list for a flagship camera! I hope that Nikon shooters see it come to fruition.


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## AEWest (Jul 7, 2021)

Canon R1 should also provide 16 bit high MP in a pro body to compete as their ultimate studio camera, and leave the R3 for sports/PJ.


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## goldenhusky (Jul 7, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> I can't wait to get my 70-200 and 500 PF on this. I hope it feels nice and solid in the hand.



I have no doubts the Z9 will be a solid camera. Canon and Nikon knows what is good ergonomics when it comes to Cameras. The biggest factor will be how good the AF system is? I hope Nikon catches up with Sony and Canon in that aspect as well.


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## goldenhusky (Jul 7, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> I can't wait to get my 70-200 and 500 PF on this. I hope it feels nice and solid in the hand.


The Nikon 500mm, that is definitely a great lensI wish Canon would come out with a 500mm as well.


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## frjmacias (Jul 7, 2021)

I know this might still take time, but if the AF on this camera is close enough to what Canon and Sony are currently offering, I will throw my money at them. What a beast! At least from what we know so far.


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## djack41 (Jul 7, 2021)

Hard to invest big dollars in a struggling company. Nikon is 5th in mirrorless market share. Even less than Olympus who gave up and sold its camera division. I hope Nikon pulls it off and does well.


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## Jethro (Jul 7, 2021)

Maybe this will encourage Canon to make a further announcement on the R3 sooner rather than later?


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## Billybob (Jul 7, 2021)

goldenhusky said:


> I have no doubts the Z9 will be a solid camera. Canon and Nikon knows what is good ergonomics when it comes to Cameras. The biggest factor will be how good the AF system is? I hope Nikon catches up with Sony and Canon in that aspect as well.


Nikon typically has been as good or better than Canon in DSLR AF, so given the time since their first mirrorless offering, I'm very optimistic that this camera's AF will be on the same level or better than Sony's a1 effort. It may "only" do 20fps, but if it's able to do so consistently without all the caveats required to get 30fps with the Sony, that will be more than satisfactory for me.

I'm a bit concerned about the size. I like the pro-integrated-grip body, but I don't want anything as big as the D6. It strikes me that Canon has hit the Goldilocks size with the R3. It's not too small and definitely not too big. If the Nikon is close, it could be a big winner. 



Jethro said:


> Maybe this will encourage Canon to make a further announcement on the R3 sooner rather than later?


Hmm, consider most rumor sites think that Canon is almost ready to announce, a Nov-Dec release date provides little incentive to move up the Canon announcement. I suspect Canon will announce when the camera is ready and there is a sufficient supply regardless of what Nikon does.


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## Mr Majestyk (Jul 7, 2021)

Not hard to improve the DR of the D6 sensor.

Sounds good, but even though not mentioned I presume animal eye AF will feature heavily. Easily a $7K camera IMO. I wonder if by the Winter Olympics R1 is ready or we'll have to wait for the Soccer World cup. A1 vs R3 vs Z9 vs R1 would be a nice head-to-head in 2022.


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## Mr Majestyk (Jul 7, 2021)

goldenhusky said:


> The Nikon 500mm, that is definitely a great lensI wish Canon would come out with a 500mm as well.


I hope they come out with a 600 PF next in Z mount. It's why i won't abandon Nikon, my D500 + 500 PF is a very good combo for birding and wildlife. I doubt we'll see any such lenses from Canon in next 2 years at least. Maybe the talk of the RF 500 f/4 being revolutionary in nsize and weight means it might be a DO, but it'll be 3.5x-4x the price of the Niukon 500 PF IMO


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## Chaitanya (Jul 7, 2021)

David - Sydney said:


> sounds like a wish list for a flagship camera! I hope that Nikon shooters see it come to fruition.


This is a teaser Nikon had posted in March and given it supports 8K video we can expect this camera to match Sony A1 in a more ergonomic body.








Nikon Z9 professional mirrorless camera development officially announced - Nikon Rumors


As I already reported, Nikon just announced the development of their long-rumored Z9 professional mirrorless camera. The only details provided are: newly developed FX-format stacked CMOS sensor new image-processing engine support for 8K video recording various other video specifications The...




nikonrumors.com


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## SnowMiku (Jul 7, 2021)

The more competition the better, it will keep prices and features competitive with most of the other brands.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 7, 2021)

goldenhusky said:


> I have no doubts the Z9 will be a solid camera. Canon and Nikon knows what is good ergonomics when it comes to Cameras. The biggest factor will be how good the AF system is? I hope Nikon catches up with Sony and Canon in that aspect as well.



I am not missing shots with the AF on the Z6. And the human eye AF on the Z6 II FW 1.20 is on par with Canon. I would love animal detection, but can more than manage if it’s AF is still more like a glorified DSLR.


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## PerKr (Jul 7, 2021)

it's somewhat interesting in that it indicates where the R1 is going to be. Surprised that it's "just" 20fps. 30fps may not make a huge difference in real life but when both the R3 and A1 do that and the A1 still offers 8K... As is stated, it looks like a D6 with the combined capabilities of the R5 and A9 while the competition moved beyond that. Hope it's a stellar camera, I really do, but I was expecting just a little bit more. Hopefully when it's released there will be a few nice surprises.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 7, 2021)

PerKr said:


> it's somewhat interesting in that it indicates where the R1 is going to be. Surprised that it's "just" 20fps. 30fps may not make a huge difference in real life but when both the R3 and A1 do that and the A1 still offers 8K... As is stated, it looks like a D6 with the combined capabilities of the R5 and A9 while the competition moved beyond that. Hope it's a stellar camera, I really do, but I was expecting just a little bit more. Hopefully when it's released there will be a few nice surprises.



It depends what that 20 FPS is. 20 FPS mechanical and silent would put it above the A1 in my book and past the D6 and 1Dx3 it competes with. The A9 also is often 15 FPS or less depending on lens. It is well ahead of the R5 just by having a stacked sensor, unless they bugger up their processor big time the Z9 (And R3) will be night and day difference from the R5 when it comes to tracking stuff in the EVF and blackout free shooting. Nikon's main mountain to climb is really animal AF and car/bike AF. Apparently they have been working on a new object AF system, so perhaps they are training their AF to pick up all kinds of subjects. Maybe we'll see some of that in FW 2.0 for the mark ii cameras.


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## AlanF (Jul 7, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> It depends what that 20 FPS is. 20 FPS mechanical and silent would put it above the A1 in my book and past the D6 and 1Dx3 it competes with. The A9 also is often 15 FPS or less depending on lens. It is well ahead of the R5 just by having a stacked sensor, unless they bugger up their processor big time the Z9 (And R3) will be night and day difference from the R5 when it comes to tracking stuff in the EVF and blackout free shooting. Nikon's main mountain to climb is really animal AF and car/bike AF. Apparently they have been working on a new object AF system, so perhaps they are training their AF to pick up all kinds of subjects. Maybe we'll see some of that in FW 2.0 for the mark ii cameras.


I very much doubt if the Z9 and R3 will be night and day different from the R5 when it comes to tracking etc. Arbitrage who is as expert as they come when it's for tracking birds in flight etc, used the R5 extensively until the A1 came out and he has gone back to Sony, rates the A1 only slightly ahead of the R5. Have you gone out shooting with the R5?


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 7, 2021)

AlanF said:


> I very much doubt if the Z9 and R3 will be night and day different from the R5 when it comes to tracking etc. Arbitrage who is as expert as they come when it's for tracking birds in flight etc, used the R5 extensively until the A1 came out and he has gone back to Sony, rates the A1 only slightly ahead of the R5. Have you gone out shooting with the R5?



I have tried the R5 aye and the R6 with an adapted 100-400. I have also tired a A9 (not A1) and the stacked sensor had a much faster refresh that felt more like a DSLR when it came to keeping up with the subject. I can get BIF with my Z6 too, I just adjust mentally how many ms behind the EVF is. I'll note to clear up confusion, I am not taking about the AF tracking keeping up with the subject, I am talking about the EVF keeping up and I feel the next 2-3 pro bodies will focus on having less and less EVF latency as a differentiator between them and the R5 level bodies.


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## AlanF (Jul 7, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> I have tried the R5 aye and the R6 with an adapted 100-400. I have also tired a A9 (not A1) and the stacked sensor had a much faster refresh that felt more like a DSLR when it came to keeping up with the subject. I can get BIF with my Z6 too, I just adjust mentally how many ms behind the EVF is. I'll note to clear up confusion, I am not taking about the AF tracking keeping up with the subject, I am talking about the EVF keeping up and I feel the next 2-3 pro bodies will focus on having less and less EVF latency as a differentiator between them and the R5 level bodies.


Here is an FM Sony thread of people who have used both the A1 and R5, the R5 stacks up really well against the Sony with its stacked sensor etc https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1705910/0


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 7, 2021)

AlanF said:


> Here is an FM Sony thread of people who have used both the A1 and R5, the R5 stacks up really well against the Sony with its stacked sensor etc https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1705910/0



A thread full of people comparing AF performance and the like. I am not talking about the end result or AF performance.


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## Kuau (Jul 7, 2021)

If I wasn't so heavily invested in Canon I would be very interested. Though I do like there Z mount Lens Roadmap, it probably won't be until later next year until we see a 400/2.8 Z 600/4Z and there 200-600 zoom


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## Skyscraperfan (Jul 7, 2021)

I really would love to see native ISO 64 or even lower in a Canon camera. That is the best way to achieve even lower noise. Even im the fake ISO 50 Canon offers the noise levels in the dark areas are so nice, but of course the problem is the blown out highlights. If I had the chance, I would probably use ISO 64 most of the time, if I have enough light,


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## Hector1970 (Jul 7, 2021)

Good to see from Nikon. They still have a good base of customers who might upgrade to mirrorless because of it. 
They still make good solid gear.
The MP will be interesting. If they go for 50MP and 20 FPS it would be a good compromise.
FPS is definitely a diminishing return, it even clutters up workflow.
Tracking performance will be interesting. It's an area of potential improvement.
The better it is the better the R1 will be.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 7, 2021)

Hector1970 said:


> Good to see from Nikon. They still have a good base of customers who might upgrade to mirrorless because of it.
> They still make good solid gear.
> The MP will be interesting. If they go for 50MP and 20 FPS it would be a good compromise.
> FPS is definitely a diminishing return, it even clutters up workflow.
> ...



FPS would stop cluttering up the workflow if Apple still made Aperture or stacks came to capture one. Stacks where such a useful feature for handling bursts that it is mad that no one else has implemented it yet. In a burst I want to have them in a stack, quickly edit the base one then flick though the stack with some side by side comparison to pick the image I want and have a button at the end to can the ones that didn't make it to the top.


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## GoldWing (Jul 7, 2021)

Canon Rumors Guy said:


> Continue reading...


Nikon is very smart here. A sports camera does not need to be 30fps, nor does it have to be 20fps. 15fps is the sweet spot for professional sports.

If they have done what I think they might have..... Canon and SONY should be very worried


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## Hector1970 (Jul 7, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> FPS would stop cluttering up the workflow if Apple still made Aperture or stacks came to capture one. Stacks where such a useful feature for handling bursts that it is mad that no one else has implemented it yet. In a burst I want to have them in a stack, quickly edit the base one then flick though the stack with some side by side comparison to pick the image I want and have a button at the end to can the ones that didn't make it to the top.


Yes - good idea actually. I'm surprised Adobe don't include it


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## Aaron D (Jul 7, 2021)

Looks like a wonderful camera, no doubt. But at the risk of sounding like a fanby, what makes the Z9 "...above Canon’s upcoming EOS R3 in the marketplace..." a '9' instead of a '3'?


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## AlanF (Jul 7, 2021)

Aaron D said:


> Looks like a wonderful camera, no doubt. But at the risk of sounding like a fanby, what makes the Z9 "...above Canon’s upcoming EOS R3 in the marketplace..." a '9' instead of a '3'?


The Z9 is ~50 Mpx vs 30.1 Mpx for th R3 so it's a rival to the Sony A1 whereas the R3 is competing with the Sony A9 II, which matters to those who have different Mpx requirements.


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## Mr Majestyk (Jul 8, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> I have tried the R5 aye and the R6 with an adapted 100-400. I have also tired a A9 (not A1) and the stacked sensor had a much faster refresh that felt more like a DSLR when it came to keeping up with the subject. I can get BIF with my Z6 too, I just adjust mentally how many ms behind the EVF is. I'll note to clear up confusion, I am not taking about the AF tracking keeping up with the subject, I am talking about the EVF keeping up and I feel the next 2-3 pro bodies will focus on having less and less EVF latency as a differentiator between them and the R5 level bodies.


EVF lag is down to refresh rate, 60Hz is rubbish, 120HZ helps a lot but when we get 240Hz it'll be non issue. Not sure when we'll get high res high refresh EVF's, but the trouble is battery life goes down as EVF res and refresh increase. Maybe we can get LPTO type OLED EVF's in cameras one day.


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## slclick (Jul 8, 2021)

At first glace, cludgy. The R3 by comparison looks svelte.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 8, 2021)

Mr Majestyk said:


> EVF lag is down to refresh rate, 60Hz is rubbish, 120HZ helps a lot but when we get 240Hz it'll be non issue. Not sure when we'll get high res high refresh EVF's, but the trouble is battery life goes down as EVF res and refresh increase. Maybe we can get LPTO type OLED EVF's in cameras one day.


EVF lag isn't just refresh rate sadly. It is also highly dependent on sensor readout. Now we already have 240hz EVF's, but there are diminishing returns from there as going past 240hz. But that is only the refresh and currently it is behind, like watching a video recording of what was there. It is a smooth recording, but its is still a recording behind real life. Stacked sensors start to push us towards not only faster frame times, but also closer to a real time feed as they pump out the data quicker.


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## John Wilde (Jul 9, 2021)

It doesn't impact functionality, but I think the R3 looks a lot nicer than the Z9. The R3 has a rounded aerodynamic look to it, and I like the look of the dimpled texture. The Z9 is boxy, with a flat top plate, and a boxy EVF.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 9, 2021)

John Wilde said:


> It doesn't impact functionality, but I think the R3 looks a lot nicer than the Z9. The R3 has a rounded aerodynamic look to it, and I like the look of the dimpled texture. The Z9 is boxy, with a flat top plate, and a boxy EVF.



I guess design is in the eye of the beholder. To me the Z9 looks vintage and in a good way. It looks great. The R3 looks like a fat mushroom and the EVF hump looks too small like a 1Dx that started melting in the sun. Though, I'll take ether or both depending on the lenses I can shove on them.


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## PerKr (Jul 9, 2021)

Billybob said:


> Nikon typically has been as good or better than Canon in DSLR AF, so given the time since their first mirrorless offering, I'm very optimistic that this camera's AF will be on the same level or better than Sony's a1 effort. It may "only" do 20fps, but if it's able to do so consistently without all the caveats required to get 30fps with the Sony, that will be more than satisfactory for me.
> 
> I'm a bit concerned about the size. I like the pro-integrated-grip body, but I don't want anything as big as the D6. It strikes me that Canon has hit the Goldilocks size with the R3. It's not too small and definitely not too big. If the Nikon is close, it could be a big winner.
> 
> ...



Yes, Nikon had AF figured out slightly better in the DSLR days. I do think Canon have the superior AF tech though with dual-pixel and soon probably quad-pixel AF.



Codebunny said:


> It depends what that 20 FPS is. 20 FPS mechanical and silent would put it above the A1 in my book and past the D6 and 1Dx3 it competes with. The A9 also is often 15 FPS or less depending on lens. It is well ahead of the R5 just by having a stacked sensor, unless they bugger up their processor big time the Z9 (And R3) will be night and day difference from the R5 when it comes to tracking stuff in the EVF and blackout free shooting. Nikon's main mountain to climb is really animal AF and car/bike AF. Apparently they have been working on a new object AF system, so perhaps they are training their AF to pick up all kinds of subjects. Maybe we'll see some of that in FW 2.0 for the mark ii cameras.



This is a good point about Sony's claimed framerates. When the A9 came out, I remember being amazed at the speed and black-out free viewfinder (which isn't a huge deal with an OVF but more so with EVF's at the time) and then pissed about the limitations in what lenses could achieve those framerates. Sony apparently wanted to show people they had the biggest cripple-hammer there as it would have been easy to force a given aperture or stopped down shooting with potential AF loss for those lenses unable to keep up with the aperture actuation speeds required. Even with the 500/8, which doesn't even have an adjustable aperture, you're still limited to 15fps on the A9mk2. Similarly poor limitations with the A1 it seems. It's absolutely ridiculous and one reason I don't really want to move from A-mount to E-mount


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 9, 2021)

PerKr said:


> Yes, Nikon had AF figured out slightly better in the DSLR days. I do think Canon have the superior AF tech though with dual-pixel and soon probably quad-pixel AF.



Very much agreed that this is the strongest win for Canon compared to Sony and Nikon. Canon's dual pixel AF just seems more logical than having a AF grid in front of the sensor. But in real world applications this hasn't seemed to have given Canon's AF any appreciatable lead in accuracy or speed.


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## Billybob (Jul 9, 2021)

Codebunny said:


> I guess design is in the eye of the beholder. To me the Z9 looks vintage and in a good way. It looks great. The R3 looks like a fat mushroom and the EVF hump looks too small like a 1Dx that started melting in the sun. Though, I'll take ether or both depending on the lenses I can shove on them.


Yes, both Z9 and R3 (intentionally?) take design cues from their DSLR predecessors. Like you, lens offerings will likely determine which camera I adopt. However, I am a bit concerned about the Z9 size. I like the unibody design but not the bulk of the DSLR all-in-one bodies. The R3 is in the "Goldilocks" zone--not too big, not too small. The Z9, by contrast, looks like it will be somewhat bigger. Definitely smaller than the D6 but probably significantly larger than the R3. I'll have to try out both to decide which I prefer. But of course, if one company comes out with a 600mm DO/pf, then I won't worry about body size.


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## John Wilde (Jul 9, 2021)

djack41 said:


> Hard to invest big dollars in a struggling company. Nikon is 5th in mirrorless market share. Even less than Olympus who gave up and sold its camera division. I hope Nikon pulls it off and does well.


Nikon forecasts that their Imaging division will make a small profit this fiscal year, which is a step in the right direction. Their next batch of financial results will be released on August 5.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jul 9, 2021)

djack41 said:


> Hard to invest big dollars in a struggling company. Nikon is 5th in mirrorless market share. Even less than Olympus who gave up and sold its camera division. I hope Nikon pulls it off and does well.



The Sony camera division has been on the chopping block twice with investors demanding it spun off or shut down, but it is still going. Nikon have done a lot of big write offs in the last couple years as they downsize which shows up as big negatives, yet they have enough in the bank to release three flops in a row or more and still recover. Their R&D budget is still huge for the size of company. The only stable camera company is Canon just now, but I wouldn't count out Sony or Nikon yet. If Nikon are *******, it'll be 2030 before that take affect and you can sell of anything Nikon for your replacements.


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## st jack photography (Jul 13, 2021)

$7000.
Made in China by shackled children using inferior components.
Relying on a brand name that clearly reached its zenith in 1986 right before Canon released the EOS EF system that changed the industry.
So despite me flirting with a Sony full frame compact for a bit, I think I'll stick to Canon. Wouldn't touch Nikon with a 10-ft pole. No future in that.


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## AlanF (Jan 30, 2022)

Very good balanced review by one of the best birders on youtube - why can't all reviewers be this good. It's a fine camera, but the R5 gains AF faster and has better birdeye AF, echoing other comments on the web. Fantastic video performance.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jan 31, 2022)

AlanF said:


> has better birdeye AF


I don’t think that’s a good assessment. On the first firmware it didn’t know what a wren was but now it does. The birds I shoot are all recognised but you hear of subjects it doesn’t know yet and subjects the R5 doesn't know yet. So I would say ether Canon has a bigger catalog of bird eyes or that Canon and Nikon have similar sized catalogs but photographers from different regions have better success than one over the other. And both systems can get confused by a tree that looks like a bird and frustrated all three of us.


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## AlanF (Jan 31, 2022)

Photo Bunny said:


> I don’t think that’s a good assessment. On the first firmware it didn’t know what a wren was but now it does. The birds I shoot are all recognised but you hear of subjects it doesn’t know yet and subjects the R5 doesn't know yet. So I would say ether Canon has a bigger catalog of bird eyes or that Canon and Nikon have similar sized catalogs but photographers from different regions have better success than one over the other. And both systems can get confused by a tree that looks like a bird and frustrated all three of us.


He said that Canon could recognise birds eyes further away.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jan 31, 2022)

AlanF said:


> He said that Canon could recognise birds eyes further away.


I haven't noticed any real world differences in distance. What I do see is that Canon R5 can pick up birds in foliage better and the Z9 is picking them up better in dark/gloomy/usual Scottish conditions. Maybe other factors are at play with distance? And I certainly would love the Z9 to go right to the bird in full auto. But it does go right to the fox and stays locked on the fox in full auto even in distances were the foxes eyes start tiny (wren sized) before it gets close in frame. I really think this is a per subject thing. At worst I have fn1 on wide-area large and fn3 on single point for when there are multiple subjects confusing the camera which isn't unlike the double back button focus I use on the R5. 

Also as an aside, why are people still using back button focus? We don't need to focus and recompose anymore.


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## AlanF (Jan 31, 2022)

Photo Bunny said:


> I haven't noticed any real world differences in distance. What I do see is that Canon R5 can pick up birds in foliage better and the Z9 is picking them up better in dark/gloomy/usual Scottish conditions. Maybe other factors are at play with distance? And I certainly would love the Z9 to go right to the bird in full auto. But it does go right to the fox and stays locked on the fox in full auto even in distances were the foxes eyes start tiny (wren sized) before it gets close in frame. I really think this is a per subject thing. At worst I have fn1 on wide-area large and fn3 on single point for when there are multiple subjects confusing the camera which isn't unlike the double back button focus I use on the R5.
> 
> Also as an aside, why are people still using back button focus? We don't need to focus and recompose anymore.


That's a valid point about BBF. I use AF-ON as BBF for full screen tracking and the * button for centre point, and muscle memory for switching between the two. However, there are advantages of having say a half press of shutter doing the metering and full screen tracking and having say the * for centre point, and I could then have the AF-ON for another mode, for example or vice versa. In fact, now prompted I might change to that. I suppose the advantage of the Canon ergonomics is that the AF-ON and * are next to each other, a thumb movement apart, whereas for the Nikon you need a button at the front to be pressed by the forefinger. But, I got used to that on the D500 and D850. What is good is that Nikon, Sony and Canon now have three fantastic high resolution mirrorless bodies for us nature photographers and so we can make our choices based on the overall systems. There's no doubt that Sony until the R5 and Z9 was streets ahead in in mirrorless AF.


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## Deleted member 381342 (Jan 31, 2022)

AlanF said:


> There's no doubt that Sony until the R5 and Z9 was streets ahead in in mirrorless AF.


Not necessarily directly in response to this. But on a similar note. Today your aren’t buying a compete body like you did on the DSLR days. You are buying hardware that is going to get multiple software updates. I mean just look at the Z6 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 3.40(which could have been a 4.0 as the AF boxes on that are well past 3.30). I think we’ll see the same from the Z9. And Canon are doing the same. The camera you buy today is going to be a different beast by the time the software updates. Hopefully we don’t start getting DLC…. The songbird AF pack only £3.99.


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## josephandrews222 (Jan 31, 2022)

...a great interview with a (professional) user of the Z9 is here:









Interview: Sports photographer Mark Pain on the new Nikon Z9


Professional sports photographer Mark Pain has been using a Nikon Z9 for some time, inside some of the biggest venues in the UK. We caught up with him recently to get his opinion and insights into Nikon's most important pro camera for at least a decade.




www.dpreview.com





The problems with LED signage are interesting...and the comments after the post are worth a look.

Apologies if this link is posted elsewhere on CR.


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## unfocused (Jan 31, 2022)

This is a very interesting comment (emphasis added):

_"The camera is absolutely stunning. It is more usable by far than some of its competitors that I’ve shot with. *From my point of view as a working professional though, the file sizes are way too big. As a sports photographer I don’t need all those pixels. *I still shoot Raw most of the time, which isn’t very common in the sports world anymore, and the new compression options save on card space, but they still open in Photoshop at 130MB, regardless of the compression mode. That’s still a huge image size, twice the size of files from my D6. It’s a pain for my workflow."_

Personally, I've started shooting games in CRaw. I'm finding that download times (and the time it takes to clear the buffer) even with the 24mp of the R3 can be overwhelming when you are using the electronic shutter. I use the R5 as a second body to shoot wide shots under the basket and color shots of the coach talking to the team during time outs and I can't imagine shooting a whole game at 45mp.


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## neuroanatomist (Jan 31, 2022)

unfocused said:


> This is a very interesting comment (emphasis added):
> 
> _"The camera is absolutely stunning. It is more usable by far than some of its competitors that I’ve shot with. *From my point of view as a working professional though, the file sizes are way too big. As a sports photographer I don’t need all those pixels. *I still shoot Raw most of the time, which isn’t very common in the sports world anymore, and the new compression options save on card space, but they still open in Photoshop at 130MB, regardless of the compression mode. That’s still a huge image size, twice the size of files from my D6. It’s a pain for my workflow."_
> 
> Personally, I've started shooting games in CRaw. I'm finding that download times (and the time it takes to clear the buffer) even with the 24mp of the R3 can be overwhelming when you are using the electronic shutter. I use the R5 as a second body to shoot wide shots under the basket and color shots of the coach talking to the team during time outs and I can't imagine shooting a whole game at 45mp.


Stuff and nonsense. The self-proclaimed experts on this forum have declared that there’s no such thing as too many MP.


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## AlanF (Feb 1, 2022)

neuroanatomist said:


> Stuff and nonsense. The self-proclaimed experts on this forum have declared that there’s no such thing as too many MP.


To steer between the Scylla of too many and the Charybdis of too few requires either following Odysseus and tying yourself to the mast and ignoring the song of the sirens or, like his crew, stuffing your ears with beeswax.


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