Updated 11/12/21: As photographers continues to rave about the Nikon Z 9, now reports indicate that the demand outweighs the supply. As recently reported by Nikon Rumors, the Z9 is shaping up to be the best-selling digital camera for the company ever, with a current estimated pre-order volume of 40,000 units to date. But as they try to fill 3,500 orders a month, it will take just under a year to deliver on that pre-order number. Be forewarned when you go to check out!

Eight months after Nikon announced the development of its flagship Nikon Z 9 camera, we finally get to pore over this milestone in the company’s mirrorless line. With its high-resolution sensor, blazingly fast performance and outstanding image quality (from what we’ve seen so far, anyway), this camera is a ripe contender for professional photographers. Given its specs, the $5,499.95 price isn’t bad either, especially when you consider the Z 9’s competition.

MEASURING UP THE NIKON Z 9’S CAMERA BODY, SENSOR AND SIZE

The camera body and controls have hints of other Nikon DSLRs, including splash and dust resistance. A four-axis, high-resolution hinged 3.2-inch touchscreen LCD, integrated vertical grip, dual card slots (XQD/CFexpress) and lots of ports and connectivity round out what looks to be a highly capable camera.

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At 5.9 x 5.9 x 3.8 inches and a little over 2 pounds, the Nikon Z 9 isn’t the smallest or lightest mirrorless camera on the market, but it’s still more compact than, say, the Nikon D6. The Z 9 is sort of the smaller love child of the D6 for its speed and the D850 for its resolution.

The Nikon Z 9 is built around a 45.7-megapixel stacked CMOS sensor and paired with the substantially more powerful next-generation EXPEED 7 processor. It not only produces high-resolution images but is also capable of extreme capture rates—up to 30 fps for JPEGs and 20 fps when shooting RAW. What’s equally impressive is the 1,000-shot buffer for RAW files and no blackout. If you feel more need for speed, there’s a 120 fps burst mode (although resolution drops to 11 megapixels).

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Other notable aspects of the camera include its low-light capabilities—down to -6.5 EV (with subject detection and AF). There’s a special Starlight Mode for focusing down to -8.EV. And if you’re a photographer who tends to work in the dark, including astrophotographers and concert shooters, control buttons are backlit.

Vibration reduction is rated up to six stops of compensation with compatible lenses. Called Synchro VR, this combines in-body stabilization with lens VR. Right now, only select lenses work in this new VR combo technology.

SPEEDY AUTOFOCUS AND EXPANDED SUBJECT RECOGNITION

Speed is nothing without an equally capable autofocus system, and Nikon has certainly taken autofocus up a few notches with the Nikon Z 9. The company estimates that AF and AE are calculated at about 120 cycles per second for extremely accurate focus.

While subject recognition isn’t new, the Nikon Z 9 has expanded its list beyond what other cameras from Canon, Olympus and Sony offer. These include people, dogs, cats, birds, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trains and planes. The deep-learning algorithm works for both stills and videos. Better, yet, it can be set to Auto so you don’t have to interrupt the shoot to go into the menu to switch what or who you want the camera to track (although you can select them manually if you’d like).

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Eye AF has been enhanced, too, for people, dogs, cats and birds. We were happy to see that the Nkon Z 9 includes 3D tracking—a first for the mirrorless line—that when combined with subject detection is going to make subject tracking effortless, regardless of the direction or speed of your subject.

NO MECHANICAL SHUTTER ON THE NIKON Z 9

Nikon has eliminated the mechanical shutter on the Z 9 and assures us that this camera is capable of delivering “the world’s most minimal rolling-shutter distortion”—one of the key shortcomings of all electronic shutters.

With that reassurance, it’s easy to appreciate all the benefits of an electric shutter including faster shutter speeds (up to 1/32,000 second with the Z 9 in total silence), which would be perfect for shooting weddings and wildlife. While there is a simulated shutter sound, you can turn it off or set it so that you only hear the sound when headphones are plugged in.

Without a mechanical shutter, there’s no vibration to interfere with long exposures and slow shutter speeds. And, there’s one less part to wear out over time or malfunction. And, there’s a special protective “shutter” that automatically covers/uncovers the sensor when the camera is powered on and off.

VIDEO RECORDING AT 8K UHD 30P

Video is another area where the Nikon Z 9 really shines, and the specs are sure to impress any videographer. We won’t go into too many details (which you can find on the nikonusa.com), but how does 8K UHD 30p sound? You get up to about 125 minutes of continuous recording time with 8K 30p. (8K 60p is coming in 2022 with a free firmware upgrade.)

The Nikon Z 9 has in-camera 10-bit N-Log and HLG, a flat color profile, multiple codecs and all the connections you need, including a full-size HDMI connection. Those are only a small part of this camera’s video chops. Next year’s firmware upgrade will also include 12-bit ProRes RAW as well as a number of other high-end video features.

NEW Z LENSES AND SOFTWARE

At the same time, Nikon introduced two new Z lenses: the Z 24-120mm f/4 S ($1,100) and the Z 100-400mm f/4.3-5.6 VR ($2,700).

There’s some interesting software, too: NX Mobile Air, for managing and transferring images in the field (basic version is free; enhanced version $5/month). The company claims it will work with many of the latest Nikon models.

Nikon also introduced a free tethering software, aptly named Free NX Tether.

REACTIONS TO NIKON Z 9

We’re super excited about the Nikon Z 9 and hope to get some hands-on time with it soon. For the moment, you can preorder it here. Meanwhile, Nikon has provided a ton of sample images that you can see in the gallery above and first-hand comments from its ambassadors.

Check out what some of the pros are already saying about the Nikon Z 9: