6 months with the Nikon Z9
6 months after opening the new ‘box of magic’ I’ve taken over 20,000 shots with the Nikon Z9. The vast majority wildlife shots at 500mm or longer. I am now getting into a good rhythm of use with settled customisations. This post includes a few notes and thoughts of my experience with this brilliant camera.
I’ve used the Z9 extensively in Scotland, England, Wales and Costa Rica. In hot sunny climate and on rainy moody British days. Mostly I’ve photographed birds during this period, including plenty of flight action. This has involved a mix of hide-based shooting mainly with the 500mm f4 on a gimbal and handheld shooting on treks with the lighter 500mm f5.6 PF. I have also used the 300mm f4 PF, the 24-70mm f2.8, the 70-200mm f2.8 and the 105mm f2.8 Micro. However, 80% of shots have been at 500mm or longer. Indeed, in Costa Rica 95% of my shots were taken with the lightweight 500mm f5.6 PF and the 1.4 teleconverter, providing a highly portable 700mm reach at f8. The f8 maximum aperture can be a bit challenging in dense low-light rainforests, and also in terms of subject isolation, but mostly it worked very well. It is an incredibly viable quality travel option. More on lenses below.
Shot at 700mm with the 500mm f5.6 PF and the TC1.4iii Teleconverter
Moving from my Nikon D850 and D5 DSLRs to the Z9 has changed my shooting style. This has improved my keeper rate and increased my ability to concentrate on composition. The WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) nature of the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) image is a bonus over the optical viewfinder. I can gauge the exposure in the viewfinder and make adjustments without taking the eye away as I get a more accurate reflection of the resulting image in the EVF. In addition, I have configured it to display the histogram in the viewfinder. This makes it easier to adjust manual exposure and compensate as required. No need to take the eye away to inspect the screen at the rear, and less of a need to check the blinkies (which are based on the embedded jpg and always a tad conservative anyway when you shoot raw). The other big change is the ability to review shots without taking the eye away form the viewfinder. One button press and the shot image is displayed in the EVF and another press and I can inspect the image at 100%. A third press and I’m back shooting, having done any necessary adjustments with my other fingers … In other words, you can stay focused on the subject through the viewfinder all the time.
All the 20k images have been shot using the NEF Raw format. I have not yet entertained using jpegs and I am not sure I will as I value the flexibility and greater data sampling of the raw files (and I cannot yet see a use case for 30fps or 120fps which can be achieved with jpegs). Raw files can be much more readily manipulated to the desired effect in post-production.
Another change is the ability to shoot entirely silently. You can configure a ‘canned’ shutter sound, but I chose to go silent. Unnerving at the beginning but now if I share a hide with someone with a Nikon D850 it sounds like he or she is operating a machine gun ;-) One (particularly early) side effect of silent shooting combined with 20fps RAW shooting was the significant increase in the number of images recorded. More of which later …
Autofocus setting:
I’ve always been a back-button AF guy. Separating the locking of auto focus from the shutter release just made perfect sense. Secure the focus, compose (and/or track) and shoot. Particularly on DSLRs with fewer AF points in the middle. You have full control of the focusing, not allowing the camera to decide to make its own focus decision just before you release the shutter.
When I first got the Z9 I decided to move away from back button AF, as the AF system is so different and sophisticated. A couple of reasons for it: There are AF points covering almost the entire sensor surface, so ‘focus and re-compose’ is less of an issue, as you simply move the focus point to where you want it. Secondly, the clever animal focus tracking means the Z9 finds your subject itself more readily and as soon as it does the AF point sticks to the subject. So why use back-button AF? See my previous Z9 blog on my initial configuration without back-button AF.
However, I just couldn’t fully ‘reset’ the back button muscle memory and I switched back to it after 3-4 months. One reason was the odd situation where I needed more control of where you focus. A particular case is when there are many birds at separate distances in the AF part of the frame and you want to select one bird in particular. If there is a lot of movement among these birds and you leave it to the camera’s animal detect, then the camera may not choose the one you want. This was the problem I faced whilst shooting the nocturnal and shy Manx Shearwaters off the coast of Wales.
‘Taking back control’ allows me to make the decision about when I allow the camera to choose where to focus. It just feels better to me this way. There is clearly no right or wrong here. It is about what you are comfortable with. So, here is my current settled (for now) AF configuration for wildlife:
Always in AF-C
Shutter button for release only
AF-On button engages focus, with one of my two favourite AF modes engaged, either …
AF-Area Custom 13 x 7 with Animal detect On, or …
3D with Animal detect On
Fn1 button configured with Single point AF and AF-On. This allows me to be precise when I want to control the focus, or when I want to ensure that the initial focus is in the right vicinity of the action to make it easier for the camera to latch on to the right subject and start tracking using animal detect / 3D tracking
Fn2 – AF area toggle to quickly move between 3D and Custom AF area modes using the same hand
Fn3 – Recall Shooting Function (RSF) Hold (see below).
There are some drawbacks here. To hit Fn3 I need to use my little finger and it can be a little awkward to get good instant purchase on the button. Secondly, it changes the configuration for vertical shooting, i.e. Fn1 does not equal Fn3. One alternative is to swap Fn2 and Fn3 setup which will help the challenge with the little finger, but I find myself using the AF toggle (Fn2) more often than RSF Hold (Fn3). No doubt I will do more experimentation with the AF configuration and the use of the Fn buttons.
A couple of other notes on settings:
So let’ talk about Recall Shooting Functions (RSF) for Custom Settings. I’ve set up Fn3 for RSF Hold to switch quickly to a shooting configuration which combines the largest aperture, a high shutter speed and auto-ISO. The typical use case here is the bird on a perch. Whilst the bird is sitting on the branch, I turn the shutter speed lower and as low as I can to reduce the ISO setting and maximise quality. Having achieved some good perch shoots and observing that the bird may move, I press Fn3 and the shutter speed jumps to 1/2000s, opens the aperture to max and with Auto-ISO to adjust ISO accordingly. This allows quick switching to capture action, for example the bird leaving the perch with wings flapping. RSF is very powerful in this way and it has increased my capture rate for action shots. Another scenario is when you’re focused on a perching songbird and suddenly a hawk flies by. One press on Fn3 and the camera is ready for Bird-in-Flight shooting.
Instant image review: As briefly mentioned above the EVF opens up a new way of shooting. One big difference from the DSLR is the ability to review your shot in the EVF immediately, without taking the eye away from the viewfinder and having to angle the camera down to look at the rear screen. The EVF gives a much clearer view of the image, and it is immediate with one button press. I have programmed the video button to review images as it is easily reachable with my index finger on the right hand. A second press of the video button allows me to zoom in to 100% checking sharpness.
Frames per second: Or, how to fill your very expensive CFexpress card in a matter of minutes. 20 fps Raw is just brilliant, particularly for specific actions, such as the dive of an Osprey to catch a fish and fly off. 20 fps vs 12 fps makes a big difference for those 2-4 seconds when the bird is struggling to move out of the water and take off from a vulnerable position. There is an element of chaos: water everywhere, wings everywhere, a mad and madly wriggling fish … the more frames in this situation the greater the options in terms of getting a strong image from the sequence, with the wings, the raptor’s head, eyes and the wriggling fish in the best combined composition. However, 20 fps is often an over-kill. Initially I would come home with 40-50 shots of a bird on a perch when probably 10-12 would have sufficed (and which was more typical with my old D850 DSLR). All you do is to end up with more to do when screening images on the computer. So, I often reduce the fps to 15 or 12 frames as it is more than plenty, only increasing it to 20 fps in specific scenarios.
Ecosystem considerations:
Related to the above point is the impact of a very high fps rate with large sized raw files. Unlike the D850 the Z9 only shoots 14-bit Raw, so the files at lossless compressed are 50-60Mb. That is only 17-20 images per 1Gb. A long day’s shoot can easily fill a 160Gb/256Gb card. Card size consideration is key, and the fast CFexpress cards for the Z9 are not cheap. Here in UK the 325Gb ProGrade Cobalt card is £430 (over $500). Two of those and it is the same price as the excellent 105mm f2.8 MC Z lens :-o
After a shoot I can have 1500+ Raw files to upload, review and store. The knock-on impact of this repeated incremental upload of 80-100Gb worth of images puts pressure on computer storage and backup solutions, and it takes time too. The fact that no major image processor can handle the new Nikon hi-efficiency Raw format yet doesn’t help. Hi-efficiency Raw is apparently very good and virtually undistinguishable from the full-size Raw files but only at around 30Mb … that is a significant space (and time saver). It still baffles that Nikon doesn’t assist the key imaging companies to take advantage of this format.
My eyes! In my initial Z9 post I bemoaned the lack of a good eye-cup accessory for the Z9. I much prefer a good rubber cup wrapped around my eye to prevent side light irritating my focus. I’m glad to say that a small company in the US has stepped in. I ordered one and it works exactly as the old DK-19 did on my DLSRs. Good service and prompt delivery: www.zemlinphoto.com.
Spare batteries are also hard to come by. One of the key challenges with the excellent Z system is the lack of stock on anything and batteries are no exception. If you have old D5/D6 batteries hold on to them, as I did when I traded in my D5, it was a life saver when the Z9 battery ran out of juice on a couple of shoots, although mostly it is powerful enough to survive a full day’s shooting.
Lenses on the Z9:
I have steadily traded in my F lenses for Z. But my long glass is still F lenses and likely to be for a long while for two reasons: 1) they work excellently with the Z9, and 2) there is just no availability of Z telephoto lenses. Case in point: I would love to get my hands on the new Z 800m f6.3, as it looks like it could be the dream lens for birding. It will clearly be a better option than the F series 500mm PF f5.6 with the 1.4 converter. Although this not a bad combo at all, the 800mm’s additional reach, 2/3 stop advantage, plus probably excellent performance with a 1.4 converter, makes it worth the investment. However, I am currently number 38 (yes that is right 38) on the waiting list for this lens at my local camera shop … if I am lucky, I may get the 800mm in 2024!
Any concerns I had about using the FTZ adapter for my long F primers (and often combined with the 1.4 converter) have gone away. I have found no issues at all. Indeed, the way the mirrorless Z9 focuses makes any AF calibration concerns with 3 physical connectors between the front lens element and camera sensor a non-issue. The AF works great and fast and it seems (or maybe I’m justifying the Z9 purchase here ;-) that I get more sharp images with the adapter and the F-series teleconverter with my two 500mm lenses on the Z9 than I did with my DSLRs.
The native Z lenses I’ve managed to get hold of have been a joy to use. Sharp and fast. I will soon be on a long trip where the Z 70-200 and the Z 1.4 converter will be used extensively for wildlife as a (semi) permanent 100 – 280mm f4 to go with my 500m f4. I am confident it will be a good combination.
So, in summary, the Z9 is excellent, and I enjoy using it and continuing to learn to take advantage of its many features. It is a true powerhouse and perfect for wildlife. The only gripe is the endless lack of stock – particular for the longer lenses I’m interested in such as the 100-400mm and the 800mm. But I guess the good thing is that my F lenses work so well with the Z9 which also means less immediate pressure on my wallet :-)