The Nikon Z9 is a professional-grade camera characterized by its newly developed sensor, advanced AF performance, and high-resolution 8K video recording. Their first mirrorless flagship camera, the Z9 stands out as a camera that appeals to photographers and filmmakers working across a wide variety of applications. Its stacked design offers fast readout speeds and helps to reduce rolling shutter, and the BSI design contributes to impressive clarity and minimal noise when working at higher sensitivities. At 45.7MP, it's also a high-resolution chip that benefits landscape, portraiture, and other detail-oriented genres, as well as enables recording video at resolutions up to 8K. This engine works in conjunction with the stacked sensor design to realize impressively fast AF speeds, burst shooting rates, a high buffer capacity, fluid video performance, and quick all-around handling. Able to buffer over 1000 raw images in a burst, meaning raw image sequences can be recorded for approximately 50 seconds continuously. Also, during playback, you can skip to the first shot of a given burst to expedite the on-camera review process. When this feature is activated, burst shooting will commence when the shutter is half-pressed and the buffer will retain up to a second's worth of frames prior to fully pressing the shutter. New High Efficiency RAW file format maintains image quality akin to uncompressed raw files but with file sizes approximately 30% smaller for faster reading/writing to the memory card.  Added with Firmware 2.0, an enhanced Long Exposure display includes a live exposure timer on the rear LCD, along with the ability to dim the viewfinder to better preserve your night-adjusted vision. 

The speed of the sensor enables recording at up to 1/32,000 sec and the stacked structure reduces motion distortion for accurate depiction of fast-moving subjects, like golf clubs, baseball bats, and automobiles. Also, despite the absence of a mechanical shutter, flash sync up to 1/200 sec. is still supported as well as high speed sync functions. This system is benefitted by the high-speed communication of the Z interface along with the speed of the sensor that enables AF readings to occur at up to 120 fps. This focusing system also supports working in low-light conditions with a Starlight mode that permits focusing down to -8.5 EV to greatly benefit astrophotography, concert, and other nighttime shooting applications. When working in Auto-Area AF, these subjects will automatically be detected, focused on, and tracked to ensure sharp focus when the subject is moving across the frame. Eye-Detection AF, specifically, has been tuned for improved accuracy and refined recognition of eyes in the scene regardless of how small or large they are within the image frame. This popular focusing mode from Nikon's DSLRs pairs with subject detection to lock onto fast, erratically moving subjects that move parallel and perpendicular to the camera. Full-frame 4K recording is available, too, up to 120p for slow-motion playback. Using an 8K area, oversampled UHD 4K recording is possible at up to 60p for increased sharpness and detail. Also, high-resolution frame grabs can be recorded in camera from 8K and 4K videos, for producing 33MP or 11MP stills, respectively.

Internal recording with 10-bit color and 4:2:2 sampling is possible in the ProRes 422 HQ and H.265 codecs, and H.264 and 4:2:0 color can be used depending on workflow needs. For more latitude when color grading in post, there is also a 10-bit N-Log setting as well as a Flat color profile.  Dedicated video info display indicates various recording settings, such as frame size, frame rate, audio settings, codec, bit depth, and HDMI output settings. Some of these settings will also be visible on the camera's top control panel. This EVF also works in conjunction with dual-stream technology for blackout-free viewing when shooting continuously. Firmware 2.0 has further improved the finder's performance with a high fps function, which ups the EVF's refresh rate to 120 fps for even smoother, lifelike viewing. This screen's four-way tilting design allows for easier viewing from a variety of positions and the user interface orientation will also shift depending on how the camera is held. Optimized for a professional workflow, the Z9 is characterized by its ergonomic form factor and inclusion of a vertical grip for easy switching between horizontal and vertical shooting orientations. VR safety lock secures the sensor and VR mechanism in place to prevent damage caused by movement while traveling. Backlit buttons offer easier navigation and button recognition when working in low-light conditions. Full-size HDMI port for outputting video to an external recorder or monitor