thegrover wrote:
I have ordered a Nikon Z9. I have seen all the YouTube reviews. Any UHH photographers have a Z9? Is so what is your opinion after having one?
Thanks
I have had mine since late December and love it. I ended up selling my D5 and all F mount lenses. I primarily shoot sports and have put through over 40,000 since I got it. Some of the stuff I tried worked perfect for me. Some not so much. Keep your eyes open for Nikon's Out of the Box webinars. They are very good. Unfortunately they do not record them so you have to view live. Join some Facebook groups and keep your eyes open for new videos as they come out. A word of caution about those - remember to consider any agenda the creators might have, keep the stuff that fits your shooting and throw away the rest. You have an exciting and challenging road ahead. Hopefully you have experience with a serious DSLR and not coming from a entry level one.
First the "good stuff":
-The autofocus is an entirely different level - very good
-I get a lot more "keepers" than I did with my D5
-With an FTZ adapter my F mount lenses worked without issue, arguably sharper
-The ergonomics are very good and I find it very comfortable to hold and use
-The built in vertical grip is very handy
-In addition to the provided battery, I am able to use one of the earlier versions as a rarely used backup. (all Nikon brands)
-The low light performance is very good. I have shot up to 10,000 ISO and am very comfortable consistently in the 3,200 - 6,400 range.
-You will find yourself saying "wow" a lot!
Things to be aware of/prepared for
-I had to spend a lot more time learning the camera's AF system. When to use which area mode and subject detection.
-You will find there won't be a single AF/subject detection mode that will work in all situations. Experiment, make notes and try. A bit like the scientific method - create a scenario, Do background research, create setting(s), test them by doing a shoot, analyze your results and repeat as/if needed.
-This is a pro camera, so don't expect it to be a point and shoot! You will need to work with it.
-Consider which settings best fit YOUR shooting style. Ex: I found both the size of the images and the quantity af lossless compression, 20 fps to be a lot more than I wanted/needed. HE* at 15 fps works well.
-Be prepared to be disappointed in your early images. You WILL get some great ones out of the gate. Maybe even more than you have in the past. However, to really benefit from the Z9's potential will take some time and a lot of practice.
-You may find your early shots might appear "noisier" than what you might expect. Post processing in LR, PS or other programs will bring it down. However, depending upon which program you use, it may work just fine.
All that being said, enjoy the journey! It is an amazing camera. The number of potential keepers I get has forced me to be much critical of my shots. While the number I keep remains about the same, I have found them to be better images all around.