Earth-shattering Nikon Z9 update could’ve been an entirely new camera

Earth-shattering Nikon Z9 update could’ve been an entirely new camera

If there’s ever been a firmware date to get overly excited about, it’s the latest one for the Nikon Z9. The flagship camera was already an absolute beast with astonishing 8K 30p video capabilities, but this most recent firmware update adds features that basically make it an entirely new camera.

When the Nikon Z9 was released, it caused some serious excitement thanks to its 45.7MP stacked CMOS sensor, its incredible 8K video and 120fps continuous burst shooting. Not only were the specs incredibly tempting, but the price was too – coming in significantly cheaper than the rival Sony A1 and Canon EOS R3. And Nikon promised that the first big firmware would make it even better.

Finally, that firmware Version 2.00 update is here – and it’s been worth the wait. With it, the Nikon Z9 is now be able to record 12-bit, Raw 8.3K 60p video internally. The jump from 10-bit to 12-bit is pretty astonishing, and now the camera will be able to reproduce billions more colors – 68 billion more, to be precise. Nikon is calling its new file output N Raw and the video files are said to be a lot smaller than ProRes Raw, which is excellent news when it comes to transferring and storing footage.

The new Pre-Release Capture feature starts recording shots when you half-press the shutter button (Image credit: Nikon / Kenjiro Matsuo)

The second impressive video upgrade is that you will now be able to oversample UHD 4K 60P 10-bit footage from 8K footage, which will deliver the highest quality 4K footage. Users will also be able to record ProRes Raw internally up to 4.1K at 60p, so now it’s even easier to record professional, cinematic footage that is faster and easier to edit in post.

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/earth-shattering-nikon-z9-update-couldve-been-an-entirely-new-camera

Steve Liem

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