Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless camera

Compelling potential upgrade for Z6II users

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2022

The media could not be loaded.

General Overview:
This review is coming from the perspective of a long time Nikon user who has also used Canon in the past. Like a lot of other people, I was intrigued by the potential of better auto focus with the Z9. This obviously applies more so to people that like to capture photos of moving objects (vehicles, animals, people, etc.). In my time with the camera thus far, I have photographed people running, jumping, walking, and dancing. A lot of my work also includes portrait photography, and some of that involves freezing a movement versus a person always standing stationary. While I am able to capture a lot of what I want with the Z6II, the Z9 allows me to capture a higher number of keepers under the scenarios mentioned above with similar camera settings. One of the other reasons I was interested in the Z9 was for video purposes. The 8K functionality is cool, but it is something that will be used more in the future and not right now due to the storage needed to work with hours of footage. My bigger interest was internal 10bit H.265 (SDR/N-Log), Prores, Prores Raw, and 12bit N-Raw. As I eluded to earlier, 4K is plenty good enough for right now. Each format has advantages and disadvantages I will get into a little more below. As a whole, it has been a great camera. The colors look accurate under most scenarios with proper white balance. Photos are processed primarily in Capture One, but I still use Lightroom sometimes. Keep in mind that as of this writing, Nikon's high efficiency raw files are not supported in Capture One yet, but I'm guessing it will eventually be supported. You'll need to use the larger format or do all of your editing in Lightroom instead. For video editing, you need Davinci Resolve Studio to edit N-RAW, Final Cut Pro to get the most out of ProRes RAW, but it can still be opened in Premiere if you are only an Adobe user. As a small note, N-RAW is way smaller than Prores RAW for 12bit internal video. The camera as a whole is much heavier than the Z6II, but if you are coming from a pro level DSLR with an integrated battery grip, it won't be a big deal for you. There is a lot of customization options, say take your time to learn what you need for either the photo or video work that you will be doing. I have been shooting a lot of photos and videos with San Disk and Lexar CF Express cards with no issues. I've used the camera with triggers from Godox and Wescott with no issues. My Atomos Ninja V connects with a full size HDMI, but it won't record ProRes RAW if you want to avoid the high cost of expensive 512GB high performance CF Express type B cards. It does work well as a monitor, viewing false color, and recording ProRes if you want to use it for that purpose.

Video: The waveform option for video has been a useful addition. I've been able to take pictures for 30 minutes, shoot 1.5 hours of continuous 4K 24p footage without it overheating, no error messages, and more before only bar disappeared from that battery. I burned through one Z6II battery doing similar tasks for a similar time frame. In general you can shoot over two hours of continuous footage in one take, assuming you have a big enough card. A 256GB card will get you at least two hours of H.265 10bit internal SDR/N-Log at 4K 24p. I believe N-RAW at a similar resolution, but 12bit, will be over an hour, but 60p will be less.

I'll provide more feedback on photos and video after another month or two of usage.

37 people found this helpful

Helpful

Verified Purchase

Amazing all-in-one camera.

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2022

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

It’s a solid feeling camera. I have no worries in weather as it’s a Nikon and built like a tank. It’s lighter than the D6 which is nice but it’s FAR more camera than a D6. The video options are endless.. ProRES and NRAW 4K and 8K up to 60fps. I used it for video and it did not disappoint. Period.

I’ve seen this camera shoot 4,000 still images on a single charge. I’ve gotten 1,800 with plenty of battery life. The menus ar e the best in the business in my opinion. Organized, clean, and informative. The touch screen is accurate, quick, and plenty detailed.

It’s got phenomenal stills quality with a great base 64-ISO which makes your images look like glass and super clear. You won’t be disappointed. Best in class video with the best in class price all mated to the best in class Z glass that are cheaper than the competition yet as good or better. Nikon is on the up.

15 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alex

The Best Nikon Mirrorless Yet

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2022

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

I’m absolutely blown away by the Nikon Z 9. The pure speed of the autofocus and how well the focus sticks to the subject is too hard to describe in words. The build quality is top-notch, and the sensor shield is a much-needed touch that all mirrorless cameras should have. The camera powers up and powers down quite quickly as compared to the Z 6ii. The articulating screen is large and bright.

In terms of picture quality, it is consistent with previous Z cameras. I have not done side-by-side comparisons with my Z 6ii.

My one complaint is the image quality of the electronic viewfinder. To me, the picture quality is not as good as the Z 6ii. This has no effect on the final image. Sometimes, the EVF also seems to lag. However, these are only small issues to me.

I cannot recommend this camera enough.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

Paul Lynn

Makes Photography Effortless!

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2023

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

They say, "It's not the camera that takes a great picture, but rather the photographer." Never has that adage been LESS true than it is with the Z9. It makes photography so easy, I almost feel GUILTY shooting now like I'm somehow 'cheating'!

And this camera plus the 85mm 1.2 is an absolutely BRILLIANT combination.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Chad C

Less Than 1 Percent Out Of Focus

Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2022

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

I’m using the adapter to use my Nikon DSLR lenses on it. Will compare to my D750.

FOR 21 FPS: Buy an 8k compatible card, or you won’t be shooting 21fps long. It will slow when the buffer fills. I’ve always used Sandisk (currently they only support 4K write speeds) so I ended up ordering another faster card for it.

FOCUS: I shoot manual for exposure setup, but autofocus. I did a party with a photobooth. Out of 400 photos, 3 were out of focus. Of those, only one was so far software wouldn’t have recovered it decently.

D750 focus with same lens wasn’t far off on overall focus. But often the eyes were slightly out, with this one they are clear. My biggest dislike of the D750 was the loss of detail in the eyes, always focused a little off for full body. The new focus totally fixed this issue.

I’ll keep the D750 for my backup, but wish I could afford 2 of these.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

nemmka

Error press shutter release button to reset fiasco

Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2022

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

I got my Z9 end of January 2022 and immediately upgraded firmware to 1.11, it was working ok first couple weeks but now I am getting Z9 "Error. Press shutter-release button to reset." First happen infrequently maybe 1-2 a day or not at all ..now 2-4 times a day, looks like wide spread problem from info on forums.
I was worried that camera will become unusable and contacted Nikon for service...they want me to pay for shipping to them...6K camera plus insurance.is going to cost me. I asked for prepaid label ..they are considering it..What a fiasco..had so many Nikon cameras and this is first one I need to send for repair..it is 2 month old I hope they will not ship me some refurbished one...or do shoddy repair. I hate this whole situation, what is more agravating is some users got prepaid labels, well some must be more important than others..thank Nikon!

33 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mr. Focus

YOUR KEEPER RATE JUST WENT THROUGH THE ROOF!

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2022

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

Yeah, I've had a lot of Nikon DSLR's...D3, D700, D4, D5, D6, D500, D850. Just sold my D6 and D850. This out does them all. Trying currently to get a second Z9 but at the time of this writing...hard to come by. It really makes the older DSLR's seem like toys. Don't want to shoot with them now. They can't match the speed and AF system the Z9 has. I shoot almost ALL SPORTS action!! My other DSLR's are no match for the Z9. 20 fps, 30 fps, 120 fps...what do ya' need? The Z9's got it all. It smokes all the others. Got older F mount glass and hate to invest in all new glass? Not to worry...the Nikon FTZii adapter allows you to use F mount lenses without quality compromise. I'm getting stellar performance from my F mount lenses. So glad I bought the Z9. The keeper rate for the sports action shots I do has skyrocketed!! The subject detection...people, animal, vehicle, etc. matched with the Z9's 3D with eye detection will blow you away! Look up reviews on the Z9 and you'll see why the Z9 mirrorless is THE WAY TO GO!! I'm so glad I made the move (I was so anti-mirrorless for a long time) because it is definitely the future of photography. MAKE THE MOVE. NIKON Z9!!!

35 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mike Khashaiar Kojoori

Good in someways a step back from DSLR’s and others.

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2023

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

The media could not be loaded.

Keep in mind that I’ve purchased this one in used like new condition on Amazon. So my experience might not be the most accurate. But regardless of its reliability, I found that an electronic viewfinder doesn’t really represent. What you see nor what you actually get when you import the images onto your computer and view them within adobe Lightroom.

I think this might be due to the limitations of an EvF itself. It simply does not have the dynamic range to show you what you’re getting. Honestly, I would’ve rather had it show me what the real world look like rather than a digital interpretation because that is a fixed point of reference I can work with.

I played around with the picture controls, but really didn’t delve deep enough to have it emulate a high contrast RAW file.

In my minds, eye I, visualize photographs in terms of the raw file, not a JPEG interpellation.

I’m not sure what happened. Exactly between DSLRs and mirror list cameras but there is a significant difference in workflow. From a color management and tonal management perspective.

For me, I realized that having a friendlier workflow was more important than novel features which this modern camera provided.

I will probably revisit this technology in a few more years to see where it’s at. But at this point, I think I’m going to stay with the DSLRs.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

William Jenks

F-mount lenses work just fine

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023

Style: w/- FTZ Mount Adapter IIVerified Purchase

Before I made the leap to mirrorless, I read some people say that the focusing wasn't quite as zippy with the adapter. I have now used this for several weeks and this is not my experience. I can tell no operational difference between using my Nikon lenses on a D500 vs Z9 for sports photography. The better focusing system of the Z9 means I get a *higher* hit rate, particularly in sports where faces are visible. What I cannot comment on is the performance of Z-mount equivalent lenses (e.g., 70-200 f/2.8) vs F-mount with the adapter. But I'm so heavily invested in F-mount lenses, I'm in no hurry to replace them. I guess my point here is that you can use your F-mount lenses with confidence that you're not going to take some notable hit in performance.

23 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

A Really Awesome Camera

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2023

Style: CameraVerified Purchase

This cameras since it has no mirror is SO quiet. Sometimes I wonder if I took a pic. I love the size either vertical or horizontal it’s so comfortable. The buttons layout is nice and easy to use with right hand.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless...

›

Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless camera | Nikon USA Model

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless... › Customer reviews

Customer reviews

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless camera | Nikon USA Model

Top positive review

Top critical review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From the United States

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

There was a problem loading comments right now. Please try again later.

Questions? Get fast answers from reviewers

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship professional full-frame stills/video mirrorless...

›

Customer reviews