Thom Hogan

I mentioned it briefly in yesterday's article on the imminent Z8 firmware update, but it really needs more explanation: Nikon's top-end camera is decidedly behind the times in terms of Nikon firmware.

For awhile the Z9 was leading the parade, first with it's initial features, and then in the 2.x and 3.x firmware releases. Since then, it seems that Nikon isn't quite as interested in keeping the Z9 at the forefront of its technology. Today you'd have to say the baton has passed to the Z8. 

Here's a short list of the things that are missing in the Z9 as I write this:

• HEIF support — the only Z9 generation camera without this is the Z9.
• Pixel shift — the only Z9 generation cameras without this are the Z50II (no IBIS) and Z9.
• Flexible Picture Controls — the only Z9 generation camera without this is the Z9.
• Manual focus subject detection — the only Z9 generation camera without this and its related features is the Z9.
• Focus range limiter — The Z9 can only do this in Auto capture. 
• Maximum aperture focus — The Z8 will be the only camera to do this with the new firmware.
• New Wide-area AF (C#) patterns — the Z8 will be the only camera to do this.
• C15 and JPEG fine for Pre-release capture — others have the former, only the Z8 has the latter.
• (there are over a half-dozen more things missing in the Z9, but they're not as major as the above).

At least three of those things I personally would value on my Z9s, but unfortunately now have to revert to my Z8 to get. 

The danger here is that the Z8 becomes the best autofocusing Nikon. What's that say to Nikon's commitment to its top users, the ones who paid the most for their cameras?

The goodwill Nikon built up with the early Z9 firmware updates—many of which I regard as slow shipping planned features they couldn't get done in time for the original launch—will be effectively erased unless we see a Z9 6.0 firmware update soon.

My fear is this: Nikon is deprioritizing the Z9—again, their top camera and arguably what has been the best high-end mirrorless camera for most of its lifecycle—in order to "save up some things" to add to the upcoming Z9II. In other words, the Z9II is an EXPEED7 camera and Nikon doesn't think that the hardware changes they might make are significant enough. I'll repeat what I wrote yesterday: higher resolution EVF, faster CFe card slots, an articulating and tilting Rear LCD, and a hot shoe electronic extension to support microphones/mixers/et.al., would be more than enough to get my attention in updating my cameras (yes, I have two Z9's; they're my primary cameras). 

I can think of even more they could do on the hardware front, and we haven't even gotten to the firmware changes that are necessary but still missing from all Nikon Z System cameras (named settings files, multiple and better Recall shooting functions, independent still/video banks, finally deploying the content authentication system they were the first to display functioning, and oh, a dozen or more of the over 100 firmware wish list options I've already listed). 

I'll just say this: I feel disrespected as a Z9 owner and user at the moment, and I can name other pro photographers that feel the same way. Despite some changes for the positive, Nikon is still not understanding how their customers—and in this case, their top and probably most important customers—view their product line decisions. So we're still in the place we've been: Nikon continues to create customer frictions that keep them from fully realizing the Z System's sales potential.