Nikon officially announces the Nikon Z 9, and it’s a remarkable $5499

[justaCanonuser]

The Empire strikes back!

This will make a lot of happy campers among Nikon fans.

Quite a shrunken empire, Nikon really needs a Z9 success:

Camera market share: Canon owns 48%, Sony 22%, Nikon drops to 14%

Global camera share data reveals that Canon owns half of the market, Sony almost a quarter, but Nikon is down to a seventh

www.digitalcameraworld.com

 

[justaCanonuser]

I am a little bit disappointed about the Z9's "world leading" AF system, because I miss a bug detection mode. There are much more bugs living in this world than people and their pets, so Nikon is missing 99,9 % market potential

 

[justaCanonuser]

Continue reading...

Overall the Z9 will fuel a tough competition, which is good for all users, since competition = progress.

 

[ausserirdischesind]

The pricing of the Z9 shows once again how Canon is price gouging the UK. The prices in the UK are 15% higher than in the EU, which has the same warranty and VAT as us.
Nikon Z9 £5299 in UK, $5496.95 in USA, €5999 in EU
Canon R3 £5879 in UK, $5999 in USA, €5999 in EU

There are broken supply chains everywhere, there are not enough truck drivers in UK, probably quite some slow customs red tape and unclear post-Brexit situation, the Pound exchange rate is all over the place, it might be the other way round with Nikon subsidising UK prices.

 

[ausserirdischesind]

Quite a shrunken empire, Nikon really needs a Z9 success:

Absolutely, and they need cheaper entry level bodies that are as attractive, otherwise people entering from scratch will not go Nikon in large enough numbers. They should have let go the F system much quicker, as much as this hurts. Canon really managed this better.

 

[SnowMiku]

This is good news, competition is good to keep the prices at a good level and for competitors to add more features. Perhaps the R3 may get a price drop down the road and maybe some firmware updates to stay competive. But I think most people in this market would already have a good collection of lenses so I can't see many 1D/R3 users selling the Canon gear and jumping to Nikon anyway.

 

[GMCPhotographics]

That price is overly aggressive.

It's a pity that it takes a competitor like Nikon to remind Canon that it's still a competitive market and that Canon can't expect to keep over inflating it's prices. The R3 and R5 are great products but they are woefully over priced.

 

[riker]

gg wp

 

[AlanF]

There are broken supply chains everywhere, there are not enough truck drivers in UK, probably quite some slow customs red tape and unclear post-Brexit situation, the Pound exchange rate is all over the place, it might be the other way round with Nikon subsidising UK prices.

The price gouging started way before broken supply chains. I started a thread about this in April https://www.canonrumors.com/forum/threads/canon-price-gouging-in-uk.40351/#post-889762
I can, for example, buy an R5 from a reliable grey market UK dealer with a 3-year warranty at ~£1000 cheaper than from the Canon store or from an authorised Canon dealer. Canon is a global company that maximises its profits by differential regional charging.

 

[YuengLinger]

Specs vs usability?

 

[tbgtomcom]

<sarcasm>Well that settles it. Everyone here should trade in their Canon gear and go Nikon. They're back.</sarcasm>

 

[AlanF]

Not much has been said about the new Nikon 100-400mm. It will probably be a very nice lens optically, and is about 250g/ 0.5lb lighter than the Canon 100-500mm. But, when it comes to weight again, the Canon R5 + RF 100-400mm is about 1.3 kg or nearly 3 lb lighter, as well as much cheaper. Or, you could get a Sony A1 + 200-600mm for a similar overall weight and price with a much better range. I am a Nikon fan and think they have made some of the best DSLR bodies and lenses ever (some of which I do have), but their marketing does appear weak, like the for the Nikon 1 series farce.

 

[Deleted member 381342]

Not much has been said about the new Nikon 100-400mm. It will probably be a very nice lens optically, and is about 250g/ 0.5lb lighter than the Canon 100-500mm. But, when it comes to weight again, the Canon R5 + RF 100-400mm is about 1.3 kg or nearly 3 lb lighter, as well as much cheaper. Or, you could get a Sony A1 + 200-600mm for a similar overall weight and price with a much better range. I am a Nikon fan and think they have made some of the best DSLR bodies and lenses ever (some of which I do have), but their marketing does appear weak, like the for the Nikon 1 series farce.

Ricci went over it and it looks like a very impressive lens that keeps up with the 180-400 f/4.0 in IQ. Though I am more excited for the 400 PF and 800 PF that have shown up on the roadmap. The 400 PF is as tall as the 100-400 (collapsed) and I am almost more tempted by that than the 400 f/2.8 TC.

 

[AlanF]

Ricci went over it and it looks like a very impressive lens that keeps up with the 180-400 f/4.0 in IQ. Though I am more excited for the 400 PF and 800 PF that have shown up on the roadmap. The 400 PF is as tall as the 100-400 (collapsed) and I am almost more tempted by that than the 400 f/2.8 TC.

I'd be interested in your experience with the 500 PF + FTZ on the Z9 when it arrives. What's it like on the Z6?

 

[docsmith]

It is odd how much value people seem to put on MP. The 1Dx line and previously the Dx line of Nikon have been ~20 MP range for generations. Clearly there is a significant market for that sensor size. And for those in this market, where 20 MP is enough, the 45 MP is a potential negative due to increased file size.

I actually do not see this as significantly better than the R3. Sure, there are some nice features here. But, if DPR is correct, and it is 2 seconds of shooting full RAW before the buffer fills, that is a significant win for the R3. The R3 is also lighter, it has a mechanical shutter, 30 FPS in full 14 bit RAW (Z9 dropped to a compressed RAW, according to DPR). $500 is a minimal price difference for those buying $6k bodies and mounting them on $12k lenses. Then we get into performance of AF, AF modes, etc, where I'll want to see production models compared before commenting.

Not wanting to get into a spec war, just saying, depending on how things play out, I can absolutely see where the R3 not only holds its own but may even be better than the Z9 in certain scenarios and for certain people. I think it is great for Nikon users, you have a good tool at your disposal, but my world with Canon is doing just fine as well.

 

[scyrene]

I’m not in the market for a gripped pro sports/wildlife camera, but if I was, Nikon would get my money.

Genuine question, do pros often switch systems? Surely the change in ergonomics, retraining muscle memory, and differences in support between brands count more than a few hundred dollars cost difference on a body?

 

[Billybob]

...

I actually do not see this as significantly better than the R3. Sure, there are some nice features here. But, if DPR is correct, and it is 2 seconds of shooting full RAW before the buffer fills, that is a significant win for the R3. The R3 is also lighter, it has a mechanical shutter, 30 FPS in full 14 bit RAW (Z9 dropped to a compressed RAW, according to DPR). ... Then we get into performance of AF, AF modes, etc, where I'll want to see production models compared before commenting.

Not wanting to get into a spec war, just saying, depending on how things play out, I can absolutely see where the R3 not only holds its own but may even be better than the Z9 in certain scenarios and for certain people. I think it is great for Nikon users, you have a good tool at your disposal, but my world with Canon is doing just fine as well.

As someone who has a preorder in for the Z9, I absolutely see your points and may regret canceling my R3 preorder. To me, the only place where the Z9 clearly wins is in MP count. On the R3 side, the AF seems to be more refined, has a weaker or more refined olpf, and, perhaps, better dynamic range (are we allowed to mention that here?). I have been extremely impressed by the tonal quality of R3 images. So far, most Z9 images have been unimpressive. I just struggle with the R3's 24MP. I dumped my Nikon D5, which shares a lot of the R3's positive qualities (as well as "low" MP count), solely because I was frustrated with the limited detail in cropped images of birds. Perhaps I'll be better off sitting out this round and waiting for the R1.

 

[Billybob]

I want to see some lightroom tests on this compressed format. All I know is you better have a good rig if its anything like current compression. I shot CRAW on the R5 once and never will again. Even on a spec'd out iMac, it just slowed to a crawl unpacking each file.

Otherwise this camera looks to be fantastic.

Our expectations of speed must differ. I have a pretty high spec'ed 2019 iMac, and I perceive little difference between processing cRAW and uncompressed RAW files in Lightroom. Of course it's been a while since I did the comparison--I've used cRAW for over a year--so perhaps a new comparison is in order.

 

[john1970]

2024 – 2021 = 3 years. Consider the 1-series progression: 2012, 1D X; 2016, 1D X II; 2020, 1D X III...an R1 in 2024 fits perfectly.


Definitely a good value. But worth it for someone with a collection of Canon lenses? And with the knowledge that Canon will probably leapfrog in the near future? For some, probably. For many? Probably not.

The question I have is: Will Canon wait that long or are they going to move faster? I do not see the R1 as a replacement for the R3 more of a supplement. Historically, speaking the EOS 3 was released in Nov. 1998 and the EOS 1v was released in March 2000. If that were the case here, we might expect a R1 as early as March 2023. However, with supply chain issues that could easily be pushed back a year.

 

[Deleted member 381342]

I'd be interested in your experience with the 500 PF + FTZ on the Z9 when it arrives. What's it like on the Z6?

On the Z6 the 500 PF focuses as fast as it does on the D500 (I also get about 90% of the images in sharp focus on red squirrels). The AF speed with the FTZ is slower on f/4 and f/2.8 lenses until they are stopped down to f/5.6. I also ordered a FTZ2 which drops that stupid wart. What I will be interested in is if the 500 PF needs to use the focus preset button when going between two extremes. The squirrel hide is an ideal place I can repeatedly test as I'll have subjects at both extremes.

Also of note, the Z9 buffers at 500 images on the Sony Tough cards and 2300 on ProGrade Colbat cards and not the 2s one Youtube channel is reporting. I'll be ordering some ProGrade cards to make sure my Z9 is racking at full speed. But my older CF Express and XQD cards will still serve as backups.