and I still can't stop thinking about this camera.

At nearly three pounds or 1,340 grams,

the Nikon Z9 is a beast with more buttons

and features that I've been able to test

in the nearly two months that I've had with it,

but this camera's about so much more than that.

With the Z9 Nikon finally put itself

in the professional mirrorless camera race,

and in a lot of ways this camera's now winning.

Before we get started buds,

there's one kind of issue here.

Whenever I edit a full frame, I put the sound

that that camera shutter makes when you see a photo

from that camera.

So for example, in this video it'll kind of be like this.

Nikon, you owe me an apology.

This camera's fake shutter sound is awful.

What is that?

It's like a bad chirp.

This camera, it doesn't have a mechanical shutter.

It only has an electronic shutter,

so it doesn't really make a sound

when you take a photo.

Nikon, in place of that, put this fake sound in,

that's so bad.

There is this video of Nikon representatives

in Japan clicking the shutter and you hear a meow.

(shutter blaring)

That's sweet,

that also makes me think that maybe down the line

we'll be able to customize our shutter sounds

or at least I hope so.

It'd be nice to have some like old Nikon shutters in there.

So maybe like an F5 or a D1X.

Come on, that would be sick.

All right, on with the video.

The design of the Z9 is nothing new.

Nikon has used similar hardware layout

on its top of the line professional models

since the 35 millimeter Nikon F5 film body

that was released in 1996.

Same circle viewfinder ring, same dial layout, same grips,

same power button, and even the same battery compartment.

It changed where the camera's nameplate is

and the touch of red accent stylings

but those may be the biggest visual departures

and there's good reason for the same design.

The F5 informed the layout of the Nikon D1

that was released in 1999.

The D1 was Nikon's first DSLR the company designed

and built entirely in-house.

And it set the tone for Nikon's step

into the professional digital era of photography.

The single digit D-line of Nikon's was a beloved system,

and 23 years later that same hardware design

is the best part of the Z9.

Nikon did exactly the opposite of what all other

mirrorless camera manufacturers have been doing for years.

Instead of going compact, it made a heavy, bulky,

chunky ass mirrorless camera.

Canon does have the EOS R3 that has a tall body

but that camera is $500 more expensive, one pound lighter

and it's specs are not nearly as peak camera as the Z9s.

The Z9 has a new full frame 45.7 megapixels

stacked CMOS sensor.

That thanks to a new XPEED-7

image processor can shoot raw photos

at 20 frames per second for well over a thousand frames.

Assuming you're using a fast enough card.

There's also improved auto focus

with readings up to 120 frames per second

and a 3D focus tracking mode that allows for faster

more accurate subject tracking across the frame.

Mirrorless cameras ushered in the age

of incredible auto focus, but unfortunately Nikon

and their Z series thus far has always lagged behind Sony,

the king of auto focus.

With the Z9, though Nikon has taken huge strides forward

in this department except in low light.

I find that the camera often hunts for subjects

and it's doing a pretty good job here

but in my experience out in the real world,

I find that I have a lot of trouble finding folks

if they're underexposed.

In good light though, Nikon has really improved

how well it holds onto subjects as they move

across the frame.

And I especially love the small arrows that appear next

to the boxes that are around my eyes.

To show that you can switch between which eyes and focus.

In post, there's an impressive amount of room

for recovery in the highlights regardless of ISO.

But once you're shooting over 8,000 ISO,

recovering details in the shadows

gives photos of film S grain,

the information is there but the grain

takes all of the sharpness away.

Now, your exposure folks, because even with the Z9

you won't be able to bring

those high ISO shadows back at night.

When properly exposed, blacks are deep and sharp,

colors are true to life and the detail level

is simply unreal.

But none of that is shocking.

It's 2023 and high-end mirrorless cameras

take really incredible photos.

So what is important is how this camera

feels wildly different to use.

Unlike most mirrorless cameras,

the Nikon Z9 is not particularly easy to use

but that's a good thing.

This camera really forces you to get to know it first

and more importantly, it forces you to make it your own.

There are lists upon lists of features that can be mapped

to any one of nine customizable buttons

within four custom setting banks.

I mean, look at the custom button function chart

for this camera.

Insane.

Most folks will find this confusing

and overcomplicated, fair.

If you're not comfortable with camera menus

or you simply don't wanna nerd out

over camera settings or you just don't have $5,500

then this camera is not for you.

And while you'll still be able to take stunning photos

without fully harnessing each and every facet

of this camera's customizability,

you'll not be getting the most out of the system

because this camera

it's for working professional photographers

who will undoubtedly make the most of every feature

and learn how to use it as a tool to do their jobs.

Or it's for lucky camera nerds like me

who just wanna find the fastest way

to take really high quality photos.

And it's that that inspired me

to carry this camera everywhere

despite it weighing an absolute ton.

And this body shape, it makes perfect sense

when you think about the incredibly long lenses

that a lot of professional photographers

will put on this thing.

There's customizable buttons for just about every finger.

There's rubber flaps that are a bit hard to open

but make it feel really secure.

I've used this camera in all sorts of weather conditions

and never once worried about damaging it.

There's a 3.2 inch LCD screen that comes out real far,

feels real sturdy, and definitely clears the eye piece.

You can also rotate it 90 degrees, which is super sweet

but you unfortunately can't rotate it

to face the front of the camera.

Maybe on the next one Nikon?

There's also really deep contours

and a good rubber matte finish to the side.

My coworker Antonio recently reviewed

the Sony A7R5.

And while that camera has incredible specs

it's contours are uncomfortable for long periods of time.

I think any hand would feel comfortable

holding the Nikon Z9.

My two complaints about the hardware with this camera

is that the card slot cover is stiff

to the point of being hard to open.

And everything about this body shape lends itself

to putting long lenses on the front to balance it out

something that a wildlife photographer

or sports photographer might use.

But as a video first person,

this body shape just didn't inspire me

to take video with it.

So the Nikon Z9 can shoot 12-bit 8K 60 frames per second,

or 4K 120 frames per second in N RAW

which is Nikon's raw video format.

You can also shoot in pro res raw 10-bit

up to 5K 30 frames per second.

That puts other flagship specs

from Sony's A1 or Cannon's R5 to shame.

Nikon is in a unique position though,

unlike its competitors, Sony, Cannon, even Panasonic

it doesn't have any dedicated video camera lines

so it can throw all its top end photo

and video specs into one camera.

The AK footage from the Z9 is crisp, clear

and will absolutely devour card and hard drive space.

The larger problem though is that I edit in Premiere Pro

and Adobe does not yet support the NEV file format

that the NRO Kodak produces.

So I thought I would shoot in the highest ProRes option,

which is 4k, but I found that the oversampled 4K

was ever so slightly not as crisp

as the H-265 AK UHD footage.

So I ended up filming in 10-bit H-265 AK

24 frames per second in NLOG.

So if you have the computing power, the hard drive space

and the right editing software,

or you just want to transcode all your footage,

which bless your soul then the AK NRAW footage

from the Z9 is going to look incredible.

But for me, until Adobe supports NEV files,

I'm gonna be sticking to the H-265 10-bit footage

which has the added bonus of smaller file sizes.

Something noticeable is that the system turns on quickly

and you can begin recording immediately,

but the record button is small

and can be hard to completely press down.

I ended up reverse triggering or starting to record

when I thought I was stopping a lot.

The only way to know your recording is a red box

that comes up around the screen or a very small green LED

on the back of the camera.

It would be great to have another LED on the top,

or even the front.

Previous cameras in the Z lineup

were less than impressive when compared

to their competition.

Felt like Nikon was always chasing and never catching

and I had almost written the brand off entirely

in the mirrorless world when they announced the Z9.

And even then I was skeptical that the Z9

would, you know, really make a mark here.

But when I opened the box

and I felt the heft of this camera,

I felt the familiar button layout.

And as soon as I started using it

I knew that Nikon was onto something.

Mirrorless cameras have historically always felt small,

fragile and increasingly dumbed down

for more mainstream audiences.

The Z9 is different in all of those departments

and while that makes it not the right camera for many folks

it serves the working professional audience

that seeks the most badass camera money can buy

in order to do their job.

Not to mention the specs of the Z9

are simply out of this world,

but Nikon didn't stop with the release of the Z9.

Since its release,

they have been rolling out firmware updates

that while back in April added AK internal recording

and have increased auto focus speeds.

Not to mention all the lenses that they're putting out.

There's been a whole host of telephoto lenses

that are both massive and fast that sports photographers

and wildlife photographers are gonna love.

And man, it's all of this that has made me so excited

about the Z9 and it makes me even more excited

to see how the competition's gonna answer.

So clearly my biggest issue with this camera

is the fake shutter sounds.