Landmark Nikon Z9 is the leap forward Nikon's mirrorless cameras needed

Turning point Nikon Z9 is the leap forward Nikon's mirrorless cameras needed

The Nikon Z9 camera on a green background

(Image deferred payment: Nikon)

Mirrorless cameras have come a long way in the last few years – and the Nikon Z9 is the latest flagship to push them forward into sexy young territory. (Looking to jump to our first impressions? Check out our active Nikon Z9 review ).

A 45.7MP full-frame camera that can shoot 8K/30p television, the Nikon Z9 is packed with innovations that we oasis't seen in any Nikon cameras in front – or, in several cases, any cameras in the least.

The big news on this front is that the Nikon Z9 is the first pro camera to get in without a mechanical shutter. That's moral, all of its photos and video are taken using its physics shutter, which is a bold statement of spirit from Nikon about its young well-stacked detector.

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Read our hands-on Nikon Z9 review

Nikon claims the Z9 has the "world's fastest sensor scan charge per unit", and this has lots of knock-on personal effects for its performance. The Z9's electronic viewfinder, for example, offers brownout-free public presentation, which means sports and wildlife shooters will get a constant view of a scene even while burst shot.

The Nikon Z9 also brings significantly boosted autofocus powers compared to previous mirrorless models equivalent the Nikon Z7 II. It tail track citizenry, animals and vehicles (including cars, motorbikes, planes and trains), and besides follow equal to ten different types of subject throughout a human body at the same time.

While the Nikon Z9 doesn't quite hit the claimed 30fps raw explode speeds seen on the Canon EOS R3 and Sony A1, it can still rattle off full-resolution raw files at 20fps. And more impressively, you can apparently keep shooting at these speeds for over 1,000 frames, as sesquipedalian as you're using a CFexpress card. That's a immense and effectively unlimited buffer storage for sports and wildlife shooters.

The Nikon Z9's dead body is based on old-school DSLRs look-alike the Nikon D6, so boasts a similar level of weather-sealing to it tv camera thanks to its magnesium alloy construction. But IT does besides bring new touches like a 4-axis monitor that tilts in the lead 90-degrees in both horizontal and vertical orientations, which is handy for shooting from high Beaver State miserable angles.

The rear tilting screen of the Nikon Z9 camera on a green background — (Image credit: Nikon)

Disdain its noncurrent-school looks, the Nikon Z9 is likewise a powerful video camera. For now, it's a capable of shooting 8K/30p and 4K/120p picture, and can apparently keep shooting 8K video unceasingly for up to 125 minutes at one time. That's significantly longer than rivals like the Sony A1.

On the downside, at that place are quite a few video features that wish only be available via a firmware update that's coming sometime in 2022, which is a little faint. These include the power to shoot down 10-moment ProRes 422 HQ television internally, along with 12-chip in-camera ProRes Raw HQ recording. That firmware update leave also bring the power to tear 8K/60p telecasting and a new N-Raw format that promises to half the sized of ProRes Raw files.

Still, despite the unknown date of that firmware update, the Nikon Z9 is constructive equal to be one of the most powerful cameras ever – and its price tag is a bit lower than expected, too. You'll be able to buy it for a body-sole price of $5,499 / £5,299 / AU$8,999 when sales start in Dec.

Analysis: The Nikon Z9 shakes leading pro mirrorless cameras

Nikon needed to produce a bombshell mirrorless flagship to compete with the likes of the Canon EOS R3 and Sony A1 – and on theme, it looks to have through with that.

The Nikon Z9 blends many of the latest camera advances – intelligent tracking focus, speedy 20fps burst shot and 8K video recording – with Nikon's tried-and-tested designs for its flagship pro bodies.

For anyone who's been clinging onto their old Nikon DSLR and waiting for the tv camera giant to produce a pro mirrorless trailblazer, the Nikon Z9 looks like a no-brainer. Particularly as its Leontyne Price tag ($5,499 / £5,299 / Astronomical Unit$8,999), is importantly turn down than the Nikon D6 at launch and its independent rivals.

Still, it stiff to be seen how more Nikon Z9s will be available to buy by the end of the year, and IT's a slight shame that may of its video features will only arrive via a firmware update that has the identical vague arrival date of '2022'.

Those doubts aside, the Nikon Z9 is the mirrorless photographic camera than many photographers have been waiting for – and precise much spices up its shrilling-end camera battle with Canon and Sony.

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Mark is the Cameras Editor in chief at TechRadar. Having worked in tech fourth estate for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the phone number of tv camera bags hoarded by same person. He was previously Cameras Editor at Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor happening Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Multiplication, FourFourTwo and Stadium. And in a former life, he also won the Time unit Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was ahead he discovered the eery joys of getting up at 4am for a exposure shoot in London's Square Sea mile.