Nikon Z9

Nikon Z9 was announced in 2021 and is a Full Frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) Mirrorless camera with 45.7 Megapixel Stacked CMOS sensor. Its native ISO ranges from 64 to 25,600 and expands to 32 - 102,400 in boosted mode. The camera has a Tilting 3.2" screen with 2,100k dot resolution and built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution. It has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in body image stabilization.

Nikon Z9 can capture video up to 7680 x 4320 resolution.

Here is the Nikon Z series lineup, where you can view and compare the main specifications of the cameras within the same series.

Nikon Z series lineup

	Model	Date	Sensor	Native ISO	Screen	Price
	Nikon Z f Compare	September 2023	24.4 MP Full Frame	100 - 64,000	Articulated 3.2" 2,089k dots Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z8 Compare	May 2023	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z30 Compare	June 2022	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Articulated 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z9	October 2021	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z fc Compare	June 2021	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Articulated 3.0" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z6 II Compare	October 2020	24.5 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z7 II Compare	October 2020	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z5 Compare	July 2020	24.3 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z50 Compare	October 2019	20.9 MP APS-C	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 1,040k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z6 Compare	August 2018	24.5 MP Full Frame	100 - 51,200	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H
	Nikon Z7 Compare	August 2018	45.7 MP Full Frame	64 - 25,600	Tilting 3.2" 2,100k dot Touchscreen	amazon B&H

You can view their side-by-side comparison here: Nikon Z f vs Z8 vs Z30 vs Z9 vs Z fc vs Z6 II.

In this section we present pros and cons of Nikon Z9.

Tilting Touchscreen

Nikon Z9 has a 3.2" Tilting touchscreen with 2,100k dot resolution which is quite high by today's standards. Tilting screen makes this camera very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder

Camera has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 3,690k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.80x magnification.

Stacked CMOS Sensor

Nikon Z9 features a 45.7 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 23.9 mm and a total area of 858 mm². Its native ISO range is 64 - 25,600 and expands to 32 - 102,400 in boosted mode.

The camera has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how Nikon Z9's Full Frame sensor compares with other types of sensors:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	35.9 x 23.9 mm	858 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Camera is equipped with EXPEED 7 processor and can take pictures up to 8256 x 5504 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon Z9 has Nikon Z lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor its crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is 1x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length.

No Low-Pass Filter

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization

The camera has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 6 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in GPS

Nikon Z9 has a built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) technology which allows you to automatically tag the location where you took your photos. You can later categorize, organize, and search for photos based on location. This is very useful for travel and outdoor photographers for documenting the locations where images were captured.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in GPS.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Camera has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth

Camera has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

USB Input and HDMI Output

Nikon Z9 has a USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 GBit/sec) Type-C input for data transfer and battery charging. There is a Full Size HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon Z9 comes with EN-EL18d battery pack with battery life of 740 shots.

External Storage Slots

The camera has Dual CFexpress Type B / XQD card slots.

Shutter

Nikon Z9 has Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec. Camera can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon Z9 has Hybrid phase-detection/contrast AF system with 493 focusing points and from -8.5 to +20 EV detection range. The ability to focus at as low as -8.5 EV is a feature exclusive to top-tier professional cameras. Touch-to-Focus allows users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording. There is also face detection feature which automatically finds and focuses on faces and additional eye detection further locks the focus on one of the eyes and tracks it down during the motion.

Exposure

Camera's exposure metering ranges from -3 to +17 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment.

Flash

Nikon Z9 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec. Flash compensation can be set from -3 to +1 EV with 1/3 or 1/2 EV step increments.

Nikon Z9 has dimensions of 149 x 150 x 91 mm (5.87 x 5.91 x 3.58"). It weighs 1340 g (2.95 lb / 47.27 oz), so it is a heavy camera.

149 mm (5.87")

150 mm (5.91")

150 mm (5.91")

91 mm (3.58")