Wahab Khan 
The Nikon Z9 is the camera that sports photographers and professional wildlife photographers were waiting to launch. This camera is the landmark mirrorless Nikon camera. This time Nikon has stepped up their game in mirrorless tech and now they can compete with Sony and Canon in this area.
What makes the Nikon Z9 special is that it’s the first-ever professional camera without a mechanical shutter. Yes, that’s correct, there is no mechanical tech used which means no physical curtain moving up-&-down in front of the sensor when the picture is shot.
It means the Nikon Z9 completely relies on an electronic shutter. It’s a pretty bold statement to make, but it shows Nikon’s confidence in its tech. A new stacked 45.7MP full-frame CMOS sensor & an Expeed 7 processor. This combination is the backbone of all the claims Nikon is making. “World’s fastest sensor scan rate.” It’s 12X faster than the Z7-II which has reverberation for both stills and videos.
Price
When the price was revealed, it was lower than expected. Nikon Z9 is way better than the other camera “Nikon D6” in every aspect, but still, the price was not high. Nikon D6 was priced at £6,299/ AU $10,378/ US $6,496 when it was launched last year. While Nikon Z9 was launched with a price tag of only £5,499/ AU$ 8,998/ US$ 5,499.
Everyone is comparing Nikon Z9’s price with its rivals, the Sony A1 and the Canon EOS R3. The Sony A1 price was £6,499/ AU$10,499/ US $6,500 and the Canon EOS R3 (body-only) price was £5,879/ AU$8,599/ US $5,999.
This doesn’t make the Nikon Z9 a cheap camera at all. It cost more than mid-range cameras, but with much more advanced features and specs. Because of the price, Nikon Z9 can be a great option to upgrade for owners of old cameras like the Nikon D810 and D850.
1. Design and handling
2. Highly user-friendly
3. Extremely durable and robust
4. Dual-axis tilt-monitor
5. Tremendous battery life
6. Only have an Electronic shutter
It gives a flagship Nikon camera feel when you hold it in your hands. Well-designed, ergonomically refined, and rock-solid body. It’s a conventional old-school type design weighing 1.34 kg. The thing to notice is that this camera is around 20% smaller in size than the Nikon D6. Nikon Z9 has a comfortable grip, perfect for clicking both vertical and horizontal shots.
There was the Nikon F4 from the 1980s which was a bulldozer, this camera is also built in the same way. A tank with a magnesium alloy body that makes it a complete weather-sealed mirrorless camera. In the mirrorless cameras world, the Canon EOS R3 is the only other camera that can claim this type of toughness.
There is another very handy feature in Z9 – At the back, a dual-axis screen that rotates 90 degrees in both the X and Y axis (horizontal and vertical.)
Autofocus and burst shooting
AF Tracking with priority for animals, vehicles, and people.
1. Dual CF Express type B card slots
2. 20fps raw for more than 1,000 frames
The Nikon Z9 took some big strides to compete with Sony A1 and Canon EOS R3, the other to flagship mirrorless cameras. Z9 is one of the best in burst shooting and the autofocus in the flagship mirrorless cameras category. Nikon Z9 deserves a 9.5/10 for that.
The Nikon Z9 is the super-powered version of 2020’s Nikon Z7 II. The Nikon Z7 II was a 45.7 MP resolution camera without the stacked chip. Z9 offers the same, but it has the stacked chip, full-frame CMOS sensor which makes read-out speeds much faster.
The 24MP Canon EOS R3 gets a big L when it comes to resolution. The Nikon Z9 gives it more potential in cropping because of its resolution.
The Nikon Z9 can shoot 8K videos, only a few mirrorless cameras offer that. It can shoot up to 125 mins on 8K/30P.
1. Image and video quality
2. Stacked sensor 45.7MP full-frame
3. 64-25,600 ISO
4. Highly-efficient raw format
5.8K/30fps
6. Oversampled 4K
Wildlife and sports photographers know that normally all the action takes place in motion (when the object is moving) and in changeable light. It makes it very tough for the photographers to get high-quality images. With the combination of fast shutter speed and low contrast lighting, Nikon Z9 pushed its limits to bring the highest image quality.
Should you buy a Nikon Z9 Camera?
The answer is YES! If you are currently a Nikon user you should definitely go for it. This is by far the best camera Nikon has ever made. It cost less than its competitors. And it’s a great camera for wildlife and sports photography.
