With the Z9, I see that in a desperate situation I am willing to accept a photograph at f/5.6 aperture. I had never taken a keeper with the D500+Sigma 500mm F4+1.4x TC combo at f/5.6 ever. Too many eyes to focus, what would the Z9 do? An obvious solution could be resorting to a zoom lens, but again I am picky about image quality, primarily at the long end. The positive is slightly less hike/travel weight (compared to D500+D750), and the negative is missing out on opportunities when I quickly want to photograph action with a wider angle of view. With the Z9, I get the best of (almost) both worlds in just one camera. The shutter speed is not that high but it did the job. Pic 9: Great Blue Heron and California Ground Squirrel (f/6.3, 1/800s, 700mm, EV-0.3, iso 1100) An overall ~300gm weight increase which definitely makes a difference for me since I mostly handhold my setup (except while photographing owls in the old growth forests or doing landscapes where sub-second shutter speed is normal). Previously my everyday combo was the D500+Sigma 500mm F4+1.4x TC, today it is the Z9+FTZ II+Sigma 500mm F4+1.4x TC. Not a difficult subject to photograph with a D500! The point is, my usage of the Z9 on average is similar to the D500 and D750 combined when taking into account the FPS of each camera. In comparison, the current no-shutter count of the Z9 is 34333. Just for the benchmark: my earlier owned D750 had shutter actuation of ~ 56000 in about 8 years and the D500 that of ~ 157000 in about 6 years. How easy it was to get most frames tack-sharp in the burst! Finally, by the time my camera was shipped (around January end), I had an initial understanding from fellow Z9’ers that the Sigma 500mm F4 Sports, my most used lens, is performing flawlessly with the Z9+FTZ II. That flexibility gave me some peace of mind. I had the option of canceling the order at any time, in case early adopters concluded that DSLR lenses are not performing well with the Z9+FTZ II. I bought a Z9 and it was a significant investment on my part which I was not aiming for, knowing that I would not be able to invest in a telephoto Z lens in the near future. But do skim through the comments/questions tagged with each image. If you are looking for bullet points instead of going through the article, then scroll down to the end. Will the Z9 focus on the eye when it is closed? In this article, I will try to explain the not-so-straightforward answer based on my experience. A $6000+ investment (with taxes) by a hobbyist/amateur just for a camera is a lot to consider. However, in reality, it is not that straightforward. So, what has changed? Well, I came up with two questions this time around: Is this the camera I was looking for, and how much I gain by buying one? The one-line answer is: The Z9 surpasses my wishlist, so I should gain a lot. If it is a Z9 image, where should the focus point be?įast forward two years, Nikon has now introduced the mirrorless Z9. I was also contemplating whether I should stay loyal to Nikon or move on. I did not like the idea of buying another DSLR unless it had better iso handling and corner-to-corner focus point coverage with excellent AF. In a nutshell, the conclusion at that time was: my wishlist will stay as a wishlist for a while, or I could go and buy the D850. There was a good amount of constructive discussion in the comment section of that article, from which I learned a lot. This image and all but one other image below are full frame, i.e. …… I am essentially looking for a camera that will give me extra leverage on cropping and slightly more in noise-handling capability. It would be an added bonus if Nikon includes 4k video at 60 fps. Obviously, the auto-focus system can be borrowed from the D6 and that will be it. There I wished for: a camera with the same ergonomics as the D500 with 12-14 fps and a 30mpx sensor with better usable iso, up to 6400. This article is in continuation of a published article in the Nikon Rumors two years ago, titled “Nikon D500 upgrade: a wishlist from an amateur”. The Nikon Z9 and revisiting the ‘Wishlist from an Amateur’īy Sankha Hota ( Flickr | Instagram | Website)
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