NEW to Z9 - Advice for 1DXMKII user

Dan_168 wrote:

tvstaff wrote:

Hi, I've been told by B&H I'll be receiving a Z9 on July 1st. I put my order in, in Jan. 😀. I'm very excited. The way I felt when I got my first 1DX in 2011, then a 1DXMKII and a 1DXMKIII.

I plan on selling one copy each of a 1DXMKIII and a 1DXMKII if I get adjusted to the Z9.

The Z9 order is coming with a B card reader, a 650GB high speed B card, extra battery and Fringer EF to Z adapter.

Since I have "no idea" of advanced Z9 menu structures or the muscle memory of Canon after 11 years of use, I think my learning curve will be steep.

Before I commit to replacing about $50K in Canon glass, I'd like to attach my "main" Canon work lenses to the Z9. 2.8: 70-200 II; 300mm II, 400mm II, 24-70 II, 85 1.2. I've watch videos on YouTube and they seem to work well with the Fringer and should allow me to learn about Nikon menu structures.

As a professional sports and fashion photographer, I'm hoping there are others here who can help with some advice to make this transition smoother based on your experience.

From a workflow perspective, it's LR and Photoshop on a Mac Studio Max 64GB/2TB with a new Studio monitor. On NAS with hot swappable 14TB drives.

I "guess" I'll have to start all new catalogs in LR and PS? To not mix Canon and Nikon file formats

ANY AND ALL ADVICE VERY WELCOME. Thank you, Tony 😀

I am a dual system user and have been shooting Canon and Nikon for almost 30 years by now, starting form FM and AE1..... then 1D S II, 1D MK II, and D1X D3, 1DS III.....D4,,,, D850...... Anyways, it's really easy " transition" for me to adapt to the Z9 as I have been shooting both systems side by side all these time, my finger already know what direction to rotate to zoom in and out and when change lens as soon as I pick up the camera, I can change lens in the dark out there when shooting milky way without using a flash light, that's how much I know each system, but for someone switching from Canon and never had a Nikon before it mill take a little bit to get used to, but it will be really quick as you already have all the photography skills, only need to get use to the ergo and control layout, and the menu system, but that's really simple once you spend few hours set up all the custom button and you will almost never need to dive into the menu system any more.

To be honest if I am in your situation I would hang in there for a little longer and wait for the rumor R1, I actually prefer the body ergo and control layout of the Canon, for example, I like where Canon put the back control dial( the one with the Set button in the middle), it practically give us 3 direct control dials vs two on my Z9, and I like how Canon give us two sets of identical custom C1/C2 button when you shoot portrait and landscape, orientation, while with my Z9, I can't reach C1/C2 when shooting in Portrait orientation, this is super annoying.

Also I tried the R3 ( i have 4 friends shooting with R3 already) and I really like the Eye Control focus, it's no longer the old Eye-Control like the EOS-3 which I also owned, it's really sensitive and accurate.

And for the hand grip itself, the Canon is more " rounded" and the Z9 grip is more " pointy" or " sharper" for the lack of better words, so the Canon feels much more comfortable for me.

Another thing I like about the Canon R system is I still own tons of EF and Zeiss MIlvus ZE lenses ( for Canon EF mount) and still using them on my DSLR and mirrorless with adapter, with the Canon EF to R adapter, I can use the rear mount filter on it, that is a huge advantage for me, so I don't have to carry those big filter holder and square filter, think about I need to carry a dedicate filter system just for my TSE 17, and a different system for the rest of the lens........and see how much extra space I save if I just slide a 52mm ND or CPL in the back of the lens, and I only need to carry tiny 52mm filter and it will fit all my EF lenses, HUGE advantage FOR ME.

So with that being said, I am pretty sure I will eventually get a R1 when it comes out, but I am one of those "life is too short, enjoy what you can now" kind of guy so I picked up a Z9 and having fun with it while waiting for the R1, I know we are in Nikon forum most people will have different opinion, but I am just sharing my own based on my personal experience with the two systems, based on my own preference of course. but I can tell you if I am a single system user, I will for sure either wait for R1 or just get the R3 now and start shooting with it and upgrade to R1 when it arrived.

But, since your Z9 is coming in few weeks, so just go ahead and play with it and try the new system, I don't have all the lens you mentioned but the 24-70 II and 70-200 F2.8 II both work great with the Fringer Adapter, that's actually the lens I am using on the Z9 for event shooting, and the 85L II I no longer own, but I played with my friends one time when shooting a portrait session and and it focus just as slow, LOL, so it " kind of works" but just as slow as it was on the 1Dx. so not the camera's fault. one of my friend use his 300 F2.8 seems to be happy, I never tried that myself though. The 35 F1.4L II works beautifully on the Z9. so much better than any Nikon brand 35mm I can think of, that's why I don't even bother to get any Nikon 35. the 16-35 F4 L IS also works beautifully on the Z9. another lens I would keep on using adapter and don't even want to switch to Nikon version. Don't make me wrong, the Z9 is a great camera by its own, I am just sharing how i feel about it against the Canon system based on my personal experience.

I agree with all of this!!!