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Nikon Z9, Teaser #3


ShunCheung

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This one is about sports/action photography. And immediately Ricci has posted his analysis of the video.

 

Again, it is apparent that Ricci had access to the teaser well in advance to prepare an analysis that was posted just minutes after Nikon had released the teaser. Ricci also mentions that there will be a final Teaser #4, probably in another week. Therefore, the official announcement should be in about two weeks, i.e. early November.

 

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At least here on PN those teasers don't seem to induce a lot of excitement! I admit that they don't do much for me - I'd rather have Nikon make the announcement.

 

If that's the mechanical shutter doing 20fps, that'll be great. If it is the electronic one - then it's low compared to the competition. And nothing is known about restrictions (if any) using that mode.

 

Analyzing those teasers frame by frame is just a colossal waste of time.

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And yes, I certainly would like to know the specs of the Z9 - just not in form of these uninformative teasers.

The problem a bit unique to the Z9 is that Nikon first pre-announced it way back in March, which was 7 long months ago. There has already been a lot of discussion on it so that it is time to make the formal announcement. We don't need any more teasers. But there is only one more. I guess I can wait another couple of weeks.

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Makes sense. Interesting it seems to have no label.

 

It could also be a touchpad like in Canon's recent cameras where the joystick has a touch surface for lateral control. It could also be that the label is on the side where we can't see it from the front.

 

In the D6, the Fn button for vertical shooting is also label-free. I use it for ISO.

 

Did 'we' know about the AF Mode button? Or did I miss that chat?? :oops:

 

I guess that wasn't clearly visible in the earlier pictures.

 

I am sure AF area mode can be changed using various different controls after programming.

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Interesting placement of AF Mode Selector. Moved from adjacent to body mount to here..

 

[ATTACH=full]1405808[/ATTACH] Image from...

Nikon Z 9 | Flagship 8K Full Frame Mirrorless Camera

Funny, this kind of design was mentioned here in pnet (many?) years ago. Someone claimed for a new body design without the "almost useless" or, at least obsolete, left side of the body, not so logical without a film cartridge inside. It was commented that Nikon was not brave when it came to designing and placing controls.

Glad to see they took note, late (-as usual-) but they did... ;)

Edited by jose_angel
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Distributing controls on both sides of the camera body makes sense when it is used with lenses that are generally light enough to hang temporarily from the body. But for people who want to hand-hold heavy teles, this is not such good design. I personally don't mind either arrangement as I believe in generally supporting heavy teles from tripod/monopod/car mount. But there are situations where hand-holding is easier even though not good for one's neck, back or knee. I don't change AF area mode frequently so I can work with the quirkiest of designs that they have put out. I generally choose an AF area mode for the situation in advance for both horizontal and vertical orientations and the cameras since D810 can be set to memorize both and switch automatically. Works great.
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Distributing controls on both sides of the camera body makes sense when it is used with lenses that are generally light enough to hang temporarily from the body. But for people who want to hand-hold heavy teles, this is not such good design. I personally don't mind either arrangement as I believe in generally supporting heavy teles from tripod/monopod/car mount. But there are situations where hand-holding is easier even though not good for one's neck, back or knee. I don't change AF area mode frequently so I can work with the quirkiest of designs that they have put out. I generally choose an AF area mode for the situation in advance for both horizontal and vertical orientations and the cameras since D810 can be set to memorize both and switch automatically. Works great.

Ilkka, I agree - on my D500, my left hand holds the 500PF, my right hand does the buttons and dials. The decision on the D500 to move the OK button out of the centre of the D-Pad to the left hand side still irritates me no end.

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There are some images leaked from Nikon India, perhaps from the forth-coming Teaser #4. It looks like the 100-400mm S zoom will be an f4.5-5.6. No surprise there, since the F-mount 80-400mm AF-S VR is also f4.5-5.6. Expect that new lens will be close to US$3000.

 

Back in 2013, I was quite impressed by the 80-400 AF-S: Nikon 80-400mm/f4.5-5.6 AF-S VR, Early Impressions

 

At the time, my main bodies were the D800E and D7100, both have pretty dense pixels although the standards have gone further up since 8 years ago. Even today, I still use that lens fairly often, although now I prefer the 500mm PF for bird photography.

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No surprise there

More like disappointment - for the "superior" Z-mount, Nikon manages "only" 100-400 and not 80-400 like the F-mount version? Or better even, 100-500/4.5-5.6? Let's hope at least optically the Z-lens will beat the F-mount (which is unfortunately not such a high bar to clear).

 

I don't use my 80-400 much anymore - the 200-500 is clearly better (at half the initial 80-400 cost).

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The problem with the F mount 200-500/5.6 is slow AF and to some degree, it’s size. In 2019 I used the 80-400 extensively during a trip to Antarctica and that is my preferred lens for whale watching, as zooming to 100mm is important.

 

I am afraid that a 100-500/5.6 is a non-starter, mainly due to its size. Canon makes an RF (FX mirrorless mount) 100-500 but it is f7.1 on the 500mm end. That lens is apparently very popular among Canon wildlife photographers and is constantly out of stock (partly due to Covid and the chip shortage). Somehow f7.1 doesn’t bother a lot of people.

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Somehow f7.1 doesn’t bother a lot of people.

f/6.3 already bothers me, so f/7.1 surely would. Including a PF element might make a 100-500/4.5-5.6 possible without making it too large or too heavy. The burden on one's wallet though might be substantial as I expect such a lens to cost at least as much as the 500PF (though cost could come down with expected higher production numbers - if Nikon can produce a sufficient number of PF elements).

 

It's a matter of what lenses Nikon plans on releasing for the Z-mount and what people are going to be using them for. I consider a 80/100-400 a nice all-around lens especially suitable for traveling. Others may find it too large/heavy for that purpose and use a 70-300 instead. Others again rather have a 70-200/2.8 and don't need anything longer. A 70-200/4 is often an alternative - though it appears to me that it's not a popular lens at all. I like mine, especially when mounted on a D500 and used in conjunction with the 24-105 on an FX body.

 

Agreed on the slow AF, size and weight on the 200-500; in addition there is the issue that one can't zoom fast and with one continuous motion through the entire zoom range.

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I had issues with both the 80-400 AF-S and 200-500, unfortunately. The first I liked for its contrast and beautiful colours which made it very good for landscape, but I couldn't keep it steady on tripod for slow shutter speeds which are typically needed around sunrise / sunset or much of the winter in northern latitudes. Later Nikon introduced the EFCS feature which might have made a difference, but the lens would still have been prone to wind. For moving subjects it has a nice, fast zoom with a lot of range quickly at the user's fingertips. The 200-500 was sharper but lacked nano coating so it wasn't as impressive shooting into the light, but it did give generally clean images. However, the zoom on the 200-500 is very stiff and focus is a bit on the slow side. I guess I was a bit too demanding on those lenses.

 

I might give the upcoming Z 100-400 a try. At least my camera now has EFCS so it should be OK to use at slow speeds on tripod. However, there is also a 200-600mm on the roadmap and this could be an internal zoom, which would make it easier to use for moving subjects on tripod (gimbal or fluid head) as the center of gravity would likely not shift much when zooming. Though the 100-400 will no doubt be more portable.

 

There is now also a rumor about an f/4 zoom to be announced at the same time with the Z9 and 100-400; this could be the 24-105/4. And an FTZ II, a new version of the adapter.

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After the official introduction of the DX 18-140, on the most recent Nikon Z lens roadmap, there are only six more lenses that have not yet been released, and Nikon has indicated that all of them will be introduced by the end of the current fiscal year, i.e. March 31, 2022. (I am sure Nikon will continue to have new Z-mount lenses after that, but whether they will pre-announce them in an updated roadmap remains to be seen.)

  • 85mm S, most likely f1.2
  • 24-105mm S, probably a constant f4
  • 100-400mm S, and that looks like an f4.5 - 5.6
  • 200-600mm, non S, I assume it'll be f6.3 on the long end, similar to Sony's 200-600
  • 400mm S, likely f2.8
  • 600mm S, likely f4

Most likely the 400mm S, 600mm S and 100-400mm S will be announced simultaneously with the Z9. (Back on August 23, 2007, Nikon announced the D3 and D300, along with five new lenses: 14-24mm/f2.8 AF-S, 24-70mm/f2.8 AF-S, 400mm/f2.8, 500mm/f4, and 600mm/f4 AF-S VR.) Essentially those flagship bodies such as D3 and Z9 would be meaningless without the proper lens support, and the Z-mount desperately needs lenses longer than 200mm. Whether Nikon also announce the 24-105 and 200-600 on the same day or a month or two later doesn't make a whole lot of difference. It looks like the 2022 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) will once again be in person, starting on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas. I assume Nikon will have some lenses, and perhaps a camera body, to announce then.

 

After those lenses already on the roadmap, I assume a 70-300mm zoom and 500mm/f4 S would have high priority. As Dieter points out, the 70-200mm/f4 in the F=mount doesn't seem to sell all that well, although I like mine. After those, we may be talking about more consumer compact lenses, some DX wide angle, fisheye and PC-E lenses. There are also no PF teles currently in the Z mount. Personally, I would be surprised that Nikon introduce any more F-mount product.

 

Speaking of the Canon RF 100-500mm lens, it is a high-end L lens that sells for $2800, although it is a slow f7.1 on the 500mm end. It is relatively compact, for a 500mm, and takes 77mm front filters. A 500mm/f5.6 requires 95mm front filters. Another odd "feature" is that it can only accept a 1.4x teleconverter when it is zoomed to 300mm and longer. In the last couple of years, Canon has introduced some 600mm/f11 and 800mm/f11 super teles for below $1000. It looks like they somehow are optimizing for compact lenses. We'll see how Nikon's Z 200-600 will be like. Sony's 200-600 is f6.3 on the long end.

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The World seems to divided as to whether it an FTZ-E (only) or an FTZ-D (screwdrive)

 

I think the later is unlikely, but who knows?...!

The problem with the current FTZ is that the stupid tripod foot is going to block the vertical grip on the Z9. However, that foot currently houses the mechanical aperture control motor for all F-mount lenses prior to those with an electronic aperture diaphragm, namely the E and P type lenses. I just checked my purchase record. The 2014 70-200mm/f4 AF-S VR was the very last lens with a mechanical aperture diaphragm that I purchased. Everything after that such as the 300mm PF, 500mm PF, and 24-70mm/f2.8 AF-S VR are all E lenses.

 

If there is a new FTZ in conjunction with the Z9, I would say it'll be one that can only work with E (and P) type F-mount lenses, such that it only has electronics but no more motors. I am not even sure E-type F-mount lenses can fully realize the Z9's potential. Most Z9 owners will use pretty much all native Z-mount lenses, perhaps with a few exceptions such as the 500mm PF that is not available in the Z mount yet.

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