It’s no secret that Nikon has had a hard time, but that hasn’t stopped the company from going all out for the upcoming Z9, which has now been officially announced to arrive sometime before the end of 2021.
Placed above the Z6 II and Z7 IIthe Z9 will be Nikon’s new flagship full-frame mirrorless camera with a new FX-format stacked CMOS sensor and an all-new image processing engine. Like the DSC R5 and the Sony Alpha 1, the Z9 reportedly supports 8K video recording while meeting the needs of professional photographers and high-end enthusiasts.
In short, Nikon says the Z9 will “deliver the best photo and video performance in Nikon history”.
That’s a bold claim, but three years after launching the first full-frame mirrorless cameras in the Z6 and Z7, it feels like Nikon is finally making its move, and it couldn’t come at a more critical time.
Last fall, Nikon was said to be in “difficult circumstances” after being hit by one of the worst sales declines in recent memory (not least because of the pandemic), with Nikon’s relatively late entry into high-end mirrorless cameras, allowing Sony to dive in and become the dominant player in the segment to become.
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Unfortunately, because the Z9 was unveiled as part of one development announcement (which camerakers use to briefly describe upcoming products), other concrete details are relatively sparse. Judging by the only official photo, it looks like The Z9 has an integrated vertical handle and room for extra batteries, but that’s all we know for sure.
However, after a recent interview where a Nikon director sat down with DP Review, it appears the Z9 is evolving into a professional workhorse designed to completely replace the D6, while also being top-notch durability and as Nikon describes in its development announcement: ultimate usability. ”
The tricky part is that now that the Canon EOS R5 has been available since last summer and the Sony Alpha is expected to hit the market sometime this month, Nikon may again be forced to catch up when the Z9 is officially released later this year . So as Nikon is expected to reveal more details as we get closer to fall, stay tuned for updates.