Nikon Z9 What I Love & Hate | Before the Firmware Update

Very nice specific things I haven't seen from other reviews! Awesome.

I wish for one thing more, the Z9 should've had an USB C gen 2.1 if I'm correct. Why? For a future update like the GH6, to write video directly over USB to SSD! Imagine the cost savings on storage, especially on high frame rates and 8k. Missed chance I think.

To compensate for the extra weight of the camera a flash fed directly from the camera would also be nice. Saves another 100 grams for 4x AA. Just the extra creativity that's missing from all (most) the manufacturers. Thinking outside of the box.

Why new cameras but still the same lenses? Canon has the 28-70 f\2 and Sony 12-24 f\2.8. Nikon has the PF maybe? I hope Nikon will soon pick up with Sony and Canon. The new Sony's are the best lenses, weight, quality, focus speed. Canon is working hard on new more special lenses. The 400mm TC is a game changer though, but not affordable for most. Imagine a 70-200 with build in TC?!

Btw, prices are getting crazy! After the pandemic a threatening ww3? Another reason for price increase.

I still have to wait almost another 6 months, because the camera's are sold out everywhere. No z9 for me any time soon...

Thanks for the work around for exposure simulation with trigger in hot shoe. Works for my canon R6. Great tip.

Great comprehensive practical informational video Seth!!, Ted

Great vid. Dig the info on the ambient light when using a flash & your work around. = I could live with that!

It's great to see you with your back feeling better and your new camera in hand.

Great video Seth!

I really liked your review. A great camera is more than a bunch of specs. It is a tool designed to expand creativity. Your review nailed this fact perfectly.

Still waiting on my Z9, UGH !!! Got my order in a little late at Adorama. About 5 days after the announcement. So no telling when I'll get it. Hopefully soon. Can't wait to get my hands on it and start shooting.

Great video on Z9 and i thought I subscribed you but didn’t. I made sure i clicked on the sub.
Thanks for the AFF tip. I just got my z9 and wondering how I Z9 will focus when with diff subjects. Also agreed on option for AFF for stills.

Question for you: when i view via EVF on video mode and panning the camera it show laggy and not smooth flow. It was not smooth as when I shoot stills. Maybe I’m missing something in the setting.

lol don't worry, you have another follower, take great care of your back Seth.

As far as I know, the old battery can be used, but not charged withe the new charger. 🥴

Thanks for the video Seth. I enjoy the energy you put into the presentation giving an honest opinion of what you think. I'm getting to use the Z9 next week with the new telephoto lens. After seeing the comments on how you treat your cameras made me laught, cameras are a tool to be used not an ornament to be looked at in a glass case. I dropped my D5 on a concrete floor from 5 ft and it still works as well as it did when i bought it 5 years ago. I'm looking forward to a video after the Z9 update.

GREAT video!! Thank you

Please tell Nikon we want open gate with the firmware update. Look at the new 1.6x anamorphic lenses they need open gate. Plus I'll add my support for them copying Blackmagic and supporting writing out to USB.

Love mine, but I've experienced camera lockups three times during sports. Also, the EVF occaisionally flickers while panning with the VR on. Doesn't seem to happen when VR is off.

Honest and pragmatic review.

You didn't mention it but in this video you continually, seamlessly switch from horizontal to vertical grip, so I'm assuming you like the Z9 vertical grip as much as I do :) Sorry to hear about your back injury. Glad you're up and around and working again! Love your no BS discussions about photography.

Everybody now knows not to buy your Z6. 🤟🤣

Can you recommend any good small backpacks for the Z9?

I totally agree that it is annoying that you can’t see ambient light when you are using a flash.. however, I am not using TTL when I shoot, so i solved it by buying a Godox Canon trigger for my Z6/7.. Problem solved..

Great Video Seth >> thank you so much >> still trying to work out how to save for it here in S Africa

A fantastic personal POV breakdown from someone whose NIKON lineage can NOT be questioned! Thanks for the video Seth, when are you coming over to Atlanta?! Lots to shoot here! 😤

Hope you are recovering from your back ailment. I have had a Z9 since the end of Jan and although I am a generalist I have over the last 4-5 years focused on Birds/nature. I hope the next firmware update tweaks the AF a bit, I have basically (2) complaints. 1. When shooting a small bird surrounded by branches the AF has a hard time locking on to the bird quickly, sometimes even when using single point AF I have had a problem. 2. When in 3D AF with Animal detect selected if my subject (Bird) is in a wide open space or in the sky, fantastic images, birds eye sharp as a tack 95+% or the time. However if the Bird drops a bit lower in the sky where you have trees behind it, even far behind it the 3D tracking bugs out completely and loses the subject. So tell me why if you are in Animal Subject detect, lock on a Bird why it doesn't stay on a bird when trees pop up behind it, after all the tree does not look like a bird. I hope this gets addressed. Those are my only gripes but I luv the camera have had many a Nikon since the D100 days. Thanks for your thoughts on the camera.

I'd like to ask something that might be stupid to all but... if the AF wasn't as good as everyone says (most saying that it's still on 3rd place) but every other feature is as it is. Only the AF still "lacking" and being like with the other Z cameras, would you still buy it and why?

Great great video. Excellent points -- including a bunch that I've not seen raised by anyone else. Agree with so many things, particularly between what is useful (FPS at 30) and really needed. And the 120, yes, has a real value. And you are so right about the tally light!

I love the fact that my Sony A7R4 has the multifunction hot-shoe for mics and other things, but that advantage resulted in my camera being destroyed by a small splash of salt water when photographing by the sea on a recent trip to California. It was literally a few drops of salt water that I wiped off immediately, but you could not believe the corrosion inside my camera when the technician took it apart. The camera was total loss, and I thought it was supposed to be somewhat waterproof. The Sony is definitely not even the slightest bit water resistant let alone waterproof. Meanwhile I see videos all the time with Nikon Z cameras soaking wet in rain or being hit with seawater and having no problems. Too bad Nikon does not have any fast primes other than an oversized 50, otherwise I would switch.

Very helpful and thorough overview!

A little touch like that too screen is such a time saver for me . Seems simple or not needed but for me it is .

Just subscribed

Yes tally light

Z9 purchase this year

👍🏾🙏🏾

I mapped F1 to single point. So, when needed on the fly, I hit F1 and it goes to single point focus. But that is the only work around I found and works well.

Glad found your video. Got my z9 yesterday. I took a still image but when hit play or preview, I got a black screen, no image. I imported to computer, also shown a black screen instead of the image I shot. Any suggestion?

Well done you packed a lot of useful information in there. Im hoping Nikon do a mini Z9 for around £2500/£3000 that would be awesome.
⚡NOTE: Nikon please put video backup in your cameras.⚡

the data shifting to vertical form is new.. I understand your frustration but i already have the camera and I better get used to this new format. Dude just get used to it.

Excellent video Seth! As usual.... the one thing about my Z9 i don't like is the weight.... I like your thought on a 24-120 f2.8

Hello Seth, first time viewer here but i subbed immediately cuz you know your sh*t. As for selfie auto focus, i had the same issue way back when with my D3s (which i still own and used not too long ago, but now it’s time to move on...) I solved the problem by using the intervalometer function; To my surprise it’s the only environment where the camera focuses automatically before taking any kind of delayed shot. I’d like to think it’s going to work with the Z9 as well. In fact with eye detect it should just be better. You should try it and come back to us if it works. I’m in the process of upgrading my old mid 2011 27’’ iMac for the Mac Studio combo, so this is depleting my bank account like crazy, but as soon as i ‘’recuperate’’ i’m ordering the Z9. I’m an old school photographer, but this time around i want to do more videography, a lot more. My first experience with mirrorless has been with the Sony A-6000 and i immediately understood the benefits of mirrorless. But contrary to Sony Nikon doesn’t have a cinema line to protect so they can give us a lot more video features (although up to this point they had limited experience with video) the Z9 offering proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt. All while also giving us a true flagship stills camera in it’s own right. Sony offers quite decent hybrid cameras that are more than decent for stills, but both the A7SIII and the FX3 only sport 12 mp which is ridiculous these days. The only body they make that competes with the Z9 is of course the A1, but it’s way too expensive for me, i’m not a dentist...
Thank’s for sharing, hope your back heals 100%
Be well, god bless.

Thanks for the tip of the flash mode, Seth!

if you keep slapping that z9 it is going to effup sooner.... put it down and tell us, it's not a basketball,,, jeeez

@sethmiranda when talking about the EVF and how it drains the battery of the competitors camera, wouldn’t you want the option (“give me all the options”) of having a high resolution EVF if you want it and then having the option of lowering the EVF to save battery?

I feel you on the strobe point. It’s pretty annoying and an option to turn it off would satisfy everyone. I do the same work around but still, just make a menu selection on and off Nikon lol

I may be making the switch back to Nikon. A remote port on the right side of the camera (the z7 line specifically)would be great so it doesn’t interfere with an l-bracket. Fuji did it on the X-T3.

Great video thanks again 😊👍 paul

Seth, do you think Nikon will go to 16bit raw? Juan

Sorry but your christmas light background is distracting

Hi Seth, do you still use the FN1 Button for exposure preview even after you now can chose which mode you want to set on your camera (d9 in individual settings)?

Ho Seth,
I have a z6ii and I had the same problem with the focus trackig.
One day when I had the focus tracking on, evidently hot the zoom button and the focus tracking turned off.
Since that time I have no problem getting rid of the tracking.
I hope it will work on the

Very noisy camera. My D4 files are much cleaner. Sharpness seems just as good with my D4. I traded my D850 and Z62 in for the Z9…big mistake. The D850 had a much sharper and cleaner file. I probably will be trading it back for my Z6 - which I loved ! I won’t give up my D4…