Nikon Z9 / Firmware 2.0 Official Topic

[Django]

53 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

A lot of whether this 120fps functionality (which I'm guessing will be electronic shutter, jpeg only and limited burst) 

If the latest rumours are true, Z9 will be without mechanical shutter. I don't understand how flash sync would then work ?

I guess we'll find ut tomorrow..

[gt3rs]

2 hours ago, Django said:

If the latest rumours are true, Z9 will be without mechanical shutter. I don't understand how flash sync would then work ?

I guess we'll find ut tomorrow..

You can sync with full electronic shutter is basically the readout speed e.g. R3 is 1/180 … A1 I believe is 1/200

[IronFilm]

10 hours ago, BTM_Pix said:

A lot of whether this 120fps functionality (which I'm guessing will be electronic shutter, jpeg only and limited burst) is a boon or a headache depends on the event and the delivery type.

If you are not shooting live editorial and you have time to ingest at your leisure then its likely only going to be a boon.

But for live editorial, its going to be largely dependent on the event.

For something like cricket or tennis where you have a very fast moving object but natural pauses within the game to review/ingest then it will be a boon as you'll have a much better chance at capturing the peak moment.

Good point about how exceptionally high frame rates might find a niche in sports such as cricket, which have a lot more down time between moments worth photographing. 
(for those outside the Commonwealth: Cricket is a sport which is 99.99% watching grass grow, plus some other stuff of which the legal laws are too complex to possibly explain in one forum post)

[BTM_Pix]

4 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Have a lot more down time between moments worth photographing.

Periods that were literally measured in days in the case of a few particularly damp Test matches that I covered.

Would have had time to submit the images as watercolours.

[ND64]

120 fps is probably a 2x2 binned raw converted to HEIF. Nikon has done that before; their binned raws in D850 were soft, had some artifacts (only visible when zoomed in), but were clean in high ISO. Enough quality for social media.

What most people forget about capturing the right moment with speay and pray is the shutter speed. If you need 1/1000s to freeze a moving subject, even at 120fps you only get 120s of one milliseconds. So you only cover 12% of a second! 

 

[androidlad]

1 hour ago, Eric Calabros said:

120 fps is probably a 2x2 binned raw converted to HEIF. Nikon has done that before; their binned raws in D850 were soft, had some artifacts (only visible when zoomed in), but were clean in high ISO. Enough quality for social media.

What most people forget about capturing the right moment with speay and pray is the shutter speed. If you need 1/1000s to freeze a moving subject, even at 120fps you only get 120s of one milliseconds. So you only cover 12% of a second! 

 

The 120fps feature is a DX crop with further subsampling.

120fps is not the shutter speed, you can use 1/4000s shutter speed to shoot 120fps and every frame will be pin sharp.

[ND64]

4 minutes ago, androidlad said:

120fps is not the shutter speed, you can use 1/4000s shutter speed to shoot 120fps and every frame will be pin sharp.

And you only cover 3% of a second with that combination of fps and shutter speed.

[androidlad]

3 minutes ago, Eric Calabros said:

And you only cover 3% of a second with that combination of fps and shutter speed.

There's no such thing as "percentage of a second".

You freeze one to 120 "moments" in a second.

[ND64]

3 minutes ago, androidlad said:

There's no such thing as "percentage of a second".

Of course there is. Your camera is blind to the events happening "between the frames".

[androidlad]

4 minutes ago, Eric Calabros said:

Of course there is. Your camera is blind to the events happening "between the frames".

There isn't because there are infinite amount of frames in a second.

"Frame" and units of measurement for time are all human construct. Time is a continnum.

We can use high shutter speed to freeze motion in a particular point in time, the higher the sharper for fast motion. And use high frame rate to capture a particular sequence of motion.

[Simon Young]

Nokishita published the full spec sheet. It is a monster, a D3 and F5 moment. Records Prores HQ N-log internal as well. I wonder if the 4K will be a perfect downsampling of the full sensor though. Oh, and as previously reported - NO mechanical shutter.

[BTM_Pix]

Number of effective pixels: 45.71 million pixels

Image sensor: 35.9 x 23.9 mm size CMOS sensor, Nikon FX format
Total pixel count: 5.237 million pixels
Dust reduction functions: Image sensor cleaning, image dust-off data acquisition (NX-Studio required)
:
Number of recorded pixels
For FX (36 x 24): 8256 x 5504 pixels (size L: 45.4M), 6192 x 4128 pixels (size M: 25.6M), 4128 x 2752 pixels
pixel (size S: 11.4M)
DX (24x16): 5392x3592 pixels (size L: 19.4M), 4032x2688 pixels (size M: 10.8M), 2688x1792 pixels
pixel (size S: 4.8M)
At 1:1 (24x24): 5504x5504 pixels (size L: 30.3M), 4128x4128 pixels (size M: 17.0M), 2752x2752 pixels
pixels (size S: 7.6M)
For 16:9 (36x20): 8256x4640 pixels (size L: 38.3M), 6192x3480 pixels (size M: 21.5M), 4128x2320
pixels (size S: 9.6M)
File format (quality mode)
NEF(RAW): RAW 14 bit (lossless compression, high efficiency*, high efficiency), size L/M/S selectable (size M/S is 12 bit, fixed to lossless compression)
Fixed)
JPEG: JPEG-Baseline compliant, compression ratio (approx.): FINE (1/4), NORMAL (1/8), BASIC (1/16), size priority or image quality priority selectable
NEF(RAW)+JPEG: Simultaneous recording of RAW and JPEG
Picture Control System: Auto, Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, Landscape, Flat, Creative
Picture Control (Dream, Morning, Pop, Sunday, Somber, Drama, Silence, Bleach, Melancholic, Pure, Denim, Toy, Blue, Red)
Sepia, Blue, Red, Pink, Charcoal, Graphite, Binary, Carbon), all adjustable, custom picture control
Custom picture controls can be registered.
Storage media: CFexpress card (Type B), XQD card
Double-slot: Sequential memory card recording, backup recording, RAW+JPEG split recording, JPEG+JPEG split recording and card-to-card copying
Copying between cards possible
Supported standards: DCF 2.0, Exif 2.32

Viewfinder: Electronic Viewfinder, 1.27cm/0.5" Quad-VGA OLED, approx. 3.69 million dots, brightness adjustable (auto, manual 16 steps), colour customisable
brightness adjustable (auto, manual 16 steps), colour customisable
Field of view: approx. 100% up/down, left/right (vs. actual screen)
Magnification: approx. 0.8x (with 50mm lens, at ∞, -1.0m-1)
Eye point: 23mm from the rearmost point of the eyepiece (at -1.0m-1)
Diopter adjustment range: -4 to +3m-1
Eye sensor: Automatic switching between viewfinder display and image monitor display

Image monitor: Tiltable 8cm/3.2" TFT LCD monitor (touch panel), approx. 2.1 million dots, 170° viewing angle, approx. 100% field of view, brightness adjustable (11 manual settings)
Brightness adjustable (manual 11 steps), colour customisable, horizontal and vertical tilting

Shutter type: electronic shutter, with electronic shutter sound, sensor shield
Shutter speed: 1/32000 to 30 sec. (steps: 1/3, 1/2, 1, extendable to 900 sec. in shooting mode M), Bulb
Time
Flash sync shutter speed: 1/250 sec. or slower than 1/200 sec. (guide number decreases for 1/200 to 1/250 sec.).
Auto FP High Speed Sync at shutter speeds up to 1/8000 sec.

Release modes: single frame, low-speed continuous shooting, high-speed continuous shooting, high-speed continuous shooting, high-speed frame capture shooting, self-timer
Shooting
Continuous shooting speed: Low-speed continuous shooting: approx. 1~10 frames/sec, High-speed continuous shooting: approx. 10~20 frames/sec, High-speed frame capture (C30): approx. 30
High Speed Frame Capture (C120): approx. 120 frames/sec.
Self-timer: Activation time: 2, 5, 10, 20 seconds; Number of frames: 1 to 9; Continuous shooting interval: 0.5, 1, 2, 3 seconds

Metering system: TTL metering with image sensor
Metering Mode
Multi-pattern metering
Center-weighted metering: Standard (equivalent to ø12mm), Small (equivalent to ø8mm), Changeable to average over the entire image, approx. 75% center-weighted
Spot metering: Measures approx. 4mm diameter, and the metering position moves in conjunction with the focus point.
Highlight-weighted metering

Metering range: -3 to 17EV *ISO100, f/2.0 lens, room temperature 20°C
Shooting mode: P: Program auto (program shift possible), S: Shutter priority auto, A: Aperture priority auto, M: Manual
Exposure compensation: Range: ±5 stops, Compensation step: 1/3, 1/2 step changeable
AE lock: Brightness value lock system
ISO sensitivity: ISO64~25600 (step range: 1/3, 1/2 step), approx. 0.3, 0.7, 1 step (equivalent to ISO32) desensitization for ISO64, approx. 0.3, 0.7, 1 step (equivalent to ISO32) desensitization for ISO25600
Auto sensitivity control is available for ISO25600 with approx. 0.3, 0.7, 1 or 2 steps (equivalent to ISO102400).
Active D-Lighting: Auto, More 2, More 1, More, Standard, Less, None
Multiple exposures: additive, additive average, comparative light composite, comparative dark composite
Other functions: HDR composite, still image flicker reduction
Autofocus system: Hybrid AF (phase detection AF/contrast AF), with AF auxiliary light
Detection range: -6.5 to 19EV (-8.5 to 19EV when Starlight View is enabled) *Still image mode, single AF Servo (AF-S), ISO100, f/1.2 lens
When using a lens, room temperature 20°C
Lens servo: - Autofocus: Single AF Servo (AF-S) or Continuous AF Servo (AF-C), Full-time AF (AF-F) (motion mode only), Predictive Focus

AF-F) (motion mode only), with predictive focus drive
Manual focus (M): focus aid available
Manual focus (M): Focus aid available ・Focus point: 493 points *Still image mode, image range FX, single point AF
AF area mode: Pinpoint AF (still image mode only), Single Point AF, Dynamic AF (S, M, L, still image mode only), Wide Area AF (S, L)
Area AF (S, L), Auto Area AF, 3D-Tracking (still image mode only), Target Tracking (movie mode only)
Focus lock: Press the centre of the sub selector or press the shutter button halfway when single AF servo (AF-S) is selected.

In-body image stabilisation: 5-axis image sensor shift compensation
In-lens image stabilisation: Lens shift method (when VR lens is used)

Flash
TTL flash control: i-TTL-BL (Multi-pattern, Center-weighted or Highlight-weighted), Standard i-TTL (Spot)
Standard i-TTL (spot metering) available
Flash modes: First Curtain Synchro, Slow Synchro, Second Curtain Synchro, Red-eye Reduction, Red-eye Reduction Slow Synchro, Flash Off
Exposure compensation: -3 to +1 stops, 1/3 and 1/2 steps available
Ready light: Lights up when the battery is fully charged when using a speedlight (sold separately), blinks when warning of underexposure due to full flash
Accessory shoe: Hot shoe (ISO 518) with synchro contacts, communication contacts and safety lock mechanism (lock hole)
Nikon Creative Lighting System: i-TTL, radio-controlled Advanced Wireless Lighting, light-controlled Advanced Wireless Lighting
Lighting, Modeling Flash, FV Lock, Flash Color Temperature Information Transmission, Auto FP High Speed Synchro, Unified Flash Control

White Balance: Auto (3 types), Natural Light Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Sunny Shade, Bulb, Fluorescent (3 types), Flash, Color Temperature Setting (2500K~10000K), Preset Manual
(2500K~10000K), Preset manual (6 settings can be registered), All settings can be fine-tuned.

Bracketing: AE and Flash Bracketing, AE Bracketing, Flash Bracketing, White Balance Bracketing, Active D-Lighting Bracketing
Active D-Lighting bracketing

Movie function
Metering: TTL metering with image sensor
Metering mode: Multi-pattern metering, Center-weighted metering, Highlight-weighted metering
Number of recorded pixels/frame rate: 7680 x 4320 (8K UHD): 30p/25p/24p, 3840 x 2160 (4K UHD): 120p/100p/60p/50p/30p/25p/24p
1920×1080:120p/100p/60p/50p/30p/25p/24p*120p:119.88fps, 100p:100fps, 60p:59.94fps, 50p:50fps, 30p:29.97fps
25p:25fps, 24p:23.976fps
File format: MOV, MP4
Video compression: Apple ProRes 422 HQ (10bit), H.265/HEVC (8bit/10bit), H.264/AVC (8bit)
Audio recording method: Linear PCM (when the video file format is MOV), AAC (when the video file format is MP4)
Recording device: Built-in stereo microphone, external microphone can be used, microphone sensitivity can be set, attenuator function
Exposure compensation: Range: ±3 stops, Compensation steps: 1/3 and 1/2 steps

ISO sensitivity (recommended exposure index)
M: ISO 64 to 25600 (step range: 1/3 or 1 step), with approx. 0.3, 0.7, 1 or 2 steps (equivalent to ISO 102400) increments to ISO 25600.
Automatic sensitivity control (ISO64 to Hi2.0), upper limit of sensitivity control can be set.
P, S, A: Automatic sensitivity control (ISO64 to Hi2.0), upper limit sensitivity can be set.

Other functions: Time-lapse movie, Electronic image stabilization, Timecode, Movie Log (N-Log), HDR (HLG) movie
Active D-Lighting: More, More, Standard, Less, None

Playback functions: Single frame playback, Thumbnails (approx. 4, 9, 72 segments), Enlarged playback, Trimming during enlarged playback, Movie playback, Histogram display, Highlight
Histogram display, highlight display, shooting information display, location information display, automatic rotation of shot image to vertical position, rating, voice memo input/playback, IPTC preset attachment/display
IPTC presets can be attached and displayed.

USB: Type-C terminal (SuperSpeed USB) (connection to a standard USB port is recommended)
HDMI output: HDMI terminal (Type A)
External microphone input: Stereo mini-jack (3.5 mm diameter), plug-in power microphone
Headphone output: Stereo mini-jack (3.5mm diameter)
10-pin terminal: Available (can be used with optional remote cord MC-30A/MC-36A)
Wired LAN: RJ-45 connector
IEEE802.3ab(1000BASE-T)/IEEE802.3u(100BASE-TX)/IEEE802.3(10BASE-T), Data transfer rate(standard value):
1000/100/10Mbps (auto-recognition), Port: 1000BASE-T/100BASE-TX/10BASE-T dual-use port (AUTO-MDIX)

Wi-Fi
Compliant standard: IEEE802.11b/g/n/a/ac
Frequency range (centre frequency): 2412~2472MHz(13ch), 5180~5700MHz
Output (EIRP): -2.4GHz: 8.4dBm, -5GHz: 9.0dBm
Authentication method: Open system, WPA2-PSK, WPA3-SAE

Bluetooth
Communication method: Bluetooth standard Ver.5.0
Frequency range (centre frequency): Bluetooth: 2402~2480MHz, Bluetooth Low Energy: 2402~2480MHz
Output (EIRP): Bluetooth: 2.9dBm, Bluetooth Low Energy: 1.4dBm
Communication distance (line-of-sight): Approx. 10m (when there is no radio interference). Communication distance may be affected by obstructions and radio wave conditions.
Supported satellites: GPS satellites (USA), GLONASS satellites (Russia), Quasi-Zenith Satellite MICHIBIKI (Japan)
Information: Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
Time adjustment: Date and time information acquired by the location information function can be used to adjust the camera's date and time.

Logging: NMEA format compliant
Logging interval: 15, 30 seconds, 1, 2, 5 minutes
Logging time: 6, 12, 24 hours
Log deletion: possible

Battery: Li-ion rechargeable battery EN-EL18d
Instead of EN-EL18d, EN-EL18c/EN-EL18b/EN-EL18a/EN-EL18 can be used. However, the number of frames that can be shot (battery life) is lower than when using the EN-EL18d.
However, the number of frames that can be shot (battery life) is reduced compared to when using EN-EL18d. Charging using the EH-7P AC adapter is only possible when using EN-EL18d/EN-EL18c/EN-EL18b.
only when using the EN-EL18d/EN-EL18c/EN-EL18b.
Main body charging AC adapter: Main body charging AC adapter EH-7P
AC adapter: AC adapter EH-6d (used in combination with power connector EP-6a) (sold separately)

Dimensions (W x H x D): approx. 149 x 149.5 x 90.5 mm
Weight: approx. 1340g (including battery and memory card, excluding body cap and accessory shoe), approx. 1160g (body only)
Temperature: -10°C to 40°C (-4°F to 104°F)
Humidity: 85% or less (non-condensing)

 

[gt3rs]

3 hours ago, Eric Calabros said:

Of course there is. Your camera is blind to the events happening "between the frames".

So you are saying that you will have a better chance to time it perfectly with 1 shoot than spray at 120fps? Do you realize that there is a lag in by pressing the button until capture, so at 120fps it gives much more chances to capture the perfect moment. 
Of course you may miss it because it happens between frame 76 and 77 for a duration of  < 8 ms...... 

Rarely but sometime I do this I let filming the R5 at 120fps and pull the frame there when I want the perfect moment. I mostly do at 8k 30fps as the quality is better.

So is not a change the world feature but I do find it quite useful, it would be better FF than crop imo....

[BTM_Pix]

For some practical perspective, if we consider shooting cricket as an example.

Shooting from the typical boundary position with a crop sensor and a 400mm lens you will have a frame covering roughly six metres and with a ball being bowled at, say, 90mph, it will take about 150ms for the ball to pass through your frame.

Shooting at 14fps, the interval between shutter activations will be about 70ms, so you will have roughly two images being captured within the total travel of the ball through your frame.

This equates to the ball travelling three metres between shots.

With 120fps, the interval between shutter activations drops down to just over 8ms, so you will now have roughly nineteen images captured within the total travel of the ball through your frame.

This equates to the ball travelling 32cm between shots.

That is not only a hell of a lot more chances to not only actually capture the ball in the frame at all ( 🙂  ) but for you to capture it at critical moments of it hitting the bat or the stumps.

Don't get me wrong, we have survived perfectly well shooting cricket at much slower fps and still manage to hit the critical moments (and 120fps is way over the top) but anything that makes it easier will be welcome.

Does it make it less skilful ?

Not in this instance as the primary skill I found that I required for shooting test matches was not nodding off midway through day two of the five !

As I say, the 120fps mode is overkill and the restrictions involved reflect that, but I'm interested to know what restrictions are in play with this mode from the spec sheet

"High-speed frame capture (C30): approx. 30" 

[IronFilm]

14 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Not in this instance as the primary skill I found that I required for shooting test matches was not nodding off midway through day two of the five !

Bravo on making it to day 2!

14 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

"High-speed frame capture (C30): approx. 30" 

Sure hope they're not meaning the buffer is only 30 frames at 30fps??? Surely not, that makes no sense at all. Just a single second of capture??

[gt3rs]

Spec are now public, seems a really impressive camera and priced quite aggressively at 5500$. 

I'm not a Nikon user but I'm very happy to see Nikon bring such camera to the market. To me at least at spec level it seems a much better camera that the R3 form 500$ less especially once they get Raw video and 8K 60 but even without it is still a better camera on paper.

[BTM_Pix]

1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

Sure hope they're not meaning the buffer is only 30 frames at 30fps??? Surely not, that makes no sense at all. Just a single second of capture??

There is some ambiguity in different explanations of this from different sources but it caps out at "only" 20fps JPEG+RAW and 30fps JPEG only (which is fine by me). 

The buffer in either mode is said to be in excess of 1000 shots.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

My curiosity is who is making this sensor. The readout speeds are insane.

 

Video rolling shutter rates

8K/30/24~14.3ms

4K/30/24 oversampled (from 8K)~14.3ms

4K/120/60 subsampled~7.8ms

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

Just now, BTM_Pix said:

There is some ambiguity in different explanations of this from different sources but it caps out at "only" 20fps JPEG+RAW and 30fps JPEG only (which is fine by me). 

The buffer in either mode is said to be in excess of 1000 shots.

Looks like it does 30fps in RAW, but with one of the newer lossy raw compression modes.

[gt3rs]

Photo DR is 1 stop less that  Z7 II apparently but nevertheless seems impressive.