This is the gear Nikon has at its 2020 Tokyo Olympics service center

Z9 is real; but it's not yet released. Wouldn't be surprised if some are testing at the games.

Even if the Z9 exists in the form of protoypes, most pro shooters (meaning those shooting for a living) are a bit hesitant to switch (and this isn't just limited to Nikon, but in general when new technology comes out.... Those shooters will stick with their D5/D6 until the Z9 has proven itself to be as reliable as the D5/D6 or at least a D850. The reason they'll do that is because the DSLRs have proven themselves to be reliable. ML is still relatively new (in comparison to SLR technology) if you think about it.

Because it all comes down to this: at the end of the day, the client doesn't care what camera you used. If you can't deliver, you're lucky if you're just fired and that's it. But in quite a few cases, people have gotten sued because they couldn't deliver. With most live sports events (and events like the Olympics especially), it's not like "Hey, let's do that over again...I missed the shot".

Adding a battery grip is never the same as having a body with built in grip. It never feels as nice and is more prone to damage.

It's like having a small pickup truck and needing more bed space, and so adding a small trailer, versus having a nicer, bigger truck to begin with.

A body with the added battery grip makes sense if you want to use it both with and without grip in different situations. But if you are always going to have the grip on anyway, then a body with integrated grip would be better.

All of the BIF photographers using the A1 that I know or have read, always keep that grip on the A1. Some have remarked that they would prefer an A1 type camera with integrated grip.

Before the Sony fans get mad at me, let me add that the A1 is otherwise a stellar camera. But Sony should have a version available with integrated grip.

None of that blabbering actually answered your question. The answer is yes. You can put any number of grips including battery grips on the A1.

@MikeRan: I assumed that the person asking the question was doing so rhetorically, and already knew the answer. Perhaps so, perhaps not.

But regardless, my point remains. Adding an optional battery grip accessory to camera is never as nice as using a camera with the built in grip. It's an entirely different experience.

You may want to suggest to your friends at Sony that they make a version of the A1 with built in grip. Why not? They've made slightly different iterations of other cameras, like the A7SIII/FX3, and the A7III/A7C.

@Thoughts R Us Hi, I shot Nikon for 26 years starting from college with FM2 and F3 and professionally from D1-D5. I still kept my Nikon lenses and cameras when I switched to Sony. For sports, fast action, color and low-light/low-light flash photography with lens stopped down and amazing grip I definitely miss the responsiveness and instant on of D-series cameras. I recently got the A1 and l love that I can fit the a9 and couple of lenses into a backpack that is much shallower than I would need with D5 and lenses. Ability to add/remove grip is huge for me especially when I want to keep a low profile with 24/2.8 or 40/2.5. In general I am very happy with smaller lenses that are available for my travels: 70-180 Tamron, 17-28mm Tamron, 24/1.4 GM, 35mm/1.4 GM. The only "massive" lens I am carrying is 24-70GM. I used the Meike grip for A9 but so far A1 without grip is sufficient. If I am using long telephoto I use monopod so A1 without grip should be ok. nice to have option.

MikeRan the Sony boi in a thread about Nikon

@thoughts: no, it was not rhetorical. I'm not a Sony shooter and was just curious.

@dmanthree: thanks for the clarification.

@Joe Tam: thanks for sharing your own use cases. Yes, for you the camera plus removable grip makes sense, as you want to use the camera in different ways with different types of lenses.

I have said many times that there is no one size fits all approach. Some will like the smaller body with option to add a grip, some will prefer the all in one body with integrated grip. It really depends on the individual and their use cases, like with just about all other preferences.

@thoughts there are times when I grab the D4 to remind myself of how good the ergonomics are. The d4 is like my favorite couch while the a9 feels like a bulkhead seat in economy especially the tiny space between lens and grip.

Nothing. Why does my link upset you?

NPS and credentials. As for your gear question: no, not everybody owns every lens.

In the past from my experience as a former NPS member (in the mid 90's); if you were a NPS member you were able to borrow lenses and camera bodies for a short period of time during the event or for short term while your like lens or camera body was in NPS repair.

The customer service was top notch, the repairs were done in days rather than weeks, and if they weren't super busy and had the parts in the NPS office; sometimes finished overnight.

Pretty much if you don’t have an Olympic media credential you aren’t getting anywhere near these locations. So they are restricted to the Olympic credentialed media.

No one will be able to tell for sure cause there is no official data but from many photos that I've seen from "photographers pit", Canon's dominance seems to have grown even more from Rio 2016.
1dxii-iii's are all over the place and you can see a lot of R5's (R6?) too.
And for sure the most used lens is again the ef 200-400 (probably the best sports lens ever made). Literally half (or more) of the photographers you see in the pits are wearing it (not only in 1dx's but in R's too).

Also, the big 3's services centers can give you a good idea. From what someone can see from the published images at least, Canon's seems to have waaay more equipment that Nikon-Sony combined.

A1 is obviously the absolute beast of res-fps combination, but I don’t think it’s advantage compared to Canons matters in a condition where the most important thing is how fast the agency will have your photos uploaded and available for sell.
Plus ofc the cost of changing your whole gear. Why spend all that extra money (30k-40k or more) when you can do your job perfectly well with what you already own?
And if you can’t do your job perfectly well in Olympics with an 1dxiii then you won’t do it with an A1 too..

I had Canon 4/200-400 mm for years for sports and wildlife, but since Sony 200-600 it is a lonesome turtle compared with A9II or A1.
Sony AF is much faster and 200-600 mm is equal professional in dirt or rain. Time for the old Canon Zoom is over.
But it will take some time, bevor every Pro takes notice.

Manos with the A1 set up properly a single button press is all it takes to send an image asynchronously from the playback screen to your phone, tablet, laptop, or even your agency. No additional hardware required.

@QuarryCat, I had Sony 200-600 with A9 and A7RIV, but switched to Canon R5 with 100-500RF for a better Animal/Bird Eye AF. 200-600 was very sharp, great lens, but 100-500RF I gotta tell you, it is so compact, and so sharp at the same time, it is a brilliant lens. it is not larger than 70-200, when closed. And light too. With very little noise penalty on R5 sensor, that 100-500 shines on my R5 and 20fps is plenty. I do want to try that 200-600 on A1 one day though.

that canon lens isn't in the same league as the fe200-600, for instance see the mushy 100-500 crops in this parfocal test:

"While it can be an individual lens-specific attribute, the review lens does not exhibit parfocal-like behavior. Though it attempts to adjust the focus distance to be appropriate for the selected focal length, focusing at the long end and zooming to the wide end does not result in precise focus. If you adjust the focal length, re-establish focus as suggested by these 100% crops focused at 500mm."
https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-RF-100-500mm-F4.5-7.1-L-IS-USM-Lens.aspx

"Its only flaw is that it is not parfocal . What does it mean ? As soon as you zoom in, you have to keep focusing again. It's not always ideal for working with video" https://leblogphoto.net/test-canon-rf-100-500/

@absolutic

I got R5 and 100-500 mm too.
Yeah it is light and short - but so many real sharp moments are lost. And A1 with newest firmware is today the best you can buy.
And R3 can‘t compete, nor the AF from R5.
I do thousands of shots every week but for fast animals and smal animals in trees Canon is just second choice.
But I love it for walking and I like 11/800 and 1.8/35 mm too.

@ Thoughts R us

Test it - Canon 200-400 +1.4x against Sony 5.6/200-600 mm
then we talk! Because then there is no talk anymore - Sony can compete and win - accept at near distance.

i suspect that sony hasn't made a 200-400/4 because the vast majority of people don't want one.

the canon 200-400/4 using 1.4x is 280-560/5.6? vs. sony 600/6.3

f/5.6 vs 6.3 is about a third of stop, basically insignificant, so you gain nothing with the 200-400/4 at it's extended long end, if anything it's too short.

the 200-400/4 is an old circa 2013 dslr lens that uses ring af, vs. sony linear af at up to 30fps af-c... no question in my mind that the sony lens will have far better af, especially on an a1.

and then there is the weight and bokeh:

fe200-600: 4.65 lbs, 11 aperture blades
200-400/4: 7.98 lbs, 9 aperture blades

We won't leave 2020 until the pandemic is over.

@steven
If you watch the Olympics you'll see Tokyo 2020 on all the promotions

It was a matter of cost.

Just sit back and think about how much money it would cost to change all the 20's to 21's. Cost prohibitive is the proper term. Even worse if there were tickets that would have to be reprinted. The Japanese Olympic organization is losing enough money on this mess - let along having to reprint everything. (Think of the independent souvenir sellers too. Reprint all those T-shirts?)

Officially it is the TOKYO 2020 Olympic, the fact that the event is in 2021 is irrelevant .

It's telling that the OP of this thread claimed, just on the basis of these images, that there were "no Nikon mirrorless cameras being used" at the Olympics.

Then DPR updates their article to say that indeed, there are Nikon mirrorless cameras in use.

A classic case of someone making a wrong assumption based on incomplete data, and perhaps a bit of bias.

A classic case of someone making a wrong assumption based on incomplete data, and perhaps a bit of bias.

Ahhhh.. you know this very well.. 😀

BTN1…. You JUST said: “I would say if you really need more than that, maybe the equipment isn't the real problem.”

Like… 15 minutes ago…

What I have figured out is you make whatever statements you feel like making to support whatever argument you are trying to make at that instant.

No Mike, that has always been your thing an always will be. Your posts remind everyone of that daily. I have never stated folks needed to go out an buy the latest an greatest camera nor lens releases. Please do point out where I have done so.

Both matter

@JoeTuner

You are 100% correct an I don't mean to imply that the skill of the photographer doesn't matter because it mostly certainly, does.

If you can get a camera that will trac focus on a fast-moving athlete’s eyes at 10 to 30 FPS… YES, the gear definitely matters!

For sure.

The ”photographer not the gear” line is used if you can not afford the gear or a competing brand has a capability or appeal you wish yours had. It ranks right up there with the “I taught photography for many years…” response when one can not accept correction of misinformation.

@Mariano Pacifico Why do you keep insulting professionals? You know that DSLR will be phased out, mirrorless will be the inevitable professional camera.

Mirrorless will be the only thing available to professionals, will you keep calling them amateurs then?

The D6 was only released last year. These are new cameras. The mirrorless equivalent just hasn't been released yet.

Mariano, canon and Nikon are making big bets you are wrong with the R3 and Z9.

Or more likely that the d6 is a pro sport model and neither the Z6/ii or Z7/ii are and no one ever claimed they were meant to be...

Speed and reliability matters more than excess megapixels? A 4K display is only 8MP. So is an 8 x 11 inch print at 300dpi.

20 MP is just fine. I've seen me many high quality prints with this resolution.

Just saying for anyone taking this comment seriously, I'm pretty sure it's a joke.

I see several commenters here who seem to suffer from a humour-deficit... :P

20MP is enough for the Olympic Games. Only cat photos for Flickr require 50+MP.

Our 21 megapickle 1Ds's were great in 2008, so why not?!

Lot of posters who don't get sarcasm.

You can say "Six memory card slots or no sale" and DPR pros will respond as if your comment was serious. Scary, but it is what it is.,

Like Mariano, I like the sound of those shutters. it's like the sound of a Ferrari or any classic car.

This is hilarious and classic TRU…

Mike, Sony is introducing a new camera today. You have to go to that discussion and defend that new camera from any criticism. Given the expected camera and the criticism it is already gathering, you have your work cut out for you.

You trying to get me out of your way?!? Hahaha
No I don’t need to defend that camera.

No doubt you will be bashing it as soon as the articles come out.

Lots of cameras without a mirror or mechanical shutter reproduce the sound of them anyway.

I know it’s not possible on the Canons but you know some other brands that have very effective electronic shutters give you the option for an audible sound. You still get the benefits of electronic shutter and if you want the confirmation click you can have it.

Greg - But they sound awful and do not give you that same feedback. Its not the sound but the feel that goes with the shutter.

That “feel” can make pictures blurry in some circumstances. Is the “feel” really that important?!

I am not disputing that.
Though an electronic shutter can also still give you skewed images especially if that sensor in the camera is not a stacked sensor yet.

@Thoughts R Us: The sound is important. I once drove a Ferrari 355 (in my opinion, one of the prettiest cars they ever made) and you could hear the induction cycle of the V8 just behind your head. Boiled over, however, in a Paris traffic jam… in those days, you couldn’t easily go from first to second until the oil warmed up.

@Thoughts R Us: The sound is important. I once drove a Ferrari 355 (in my opinion, one of the prettiest cars they ever made) and you could hear the induction cycle of the V8 just behind your head. Boiled over, however, in a Paris traffic jam… in those days, you couldn’t easily go from first to second until the oil warmed up.

Or you can make the click sounds yourself. With your mouth.

For all you old timers who like a shutter sound, pick up an old A900...that shutter is a meat cleaver.

That's an incredible insult to professionals using mirrorless cameras. I bet the reason that Nikon don't put up their mirrorless gear is because their selection for sport is really limited.

What is honestly available for usage in sports with Nikon Z as of now?

Z6II and the 70-200? Is there a tele-converter for those yet?

@Mariano Pacifico

I really feel sorry for you.
The Olympics are one of the few situations where you can actually make sense of 20 fps or even 30 fps.

Whoops... I forgot there aren't any DSLRs capable of that.

@Catllyn if you want to shoot 30fps I suggest shoot video instead

This is almost certainly the last summer games shot primarily on DSLR.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III

This camera is capable of continuous shooting rates up to 16 fps with the optical viewfinder or 20 fps in live view. I would say if you really need more than that, maybe the equipment isn't the real problem.

Video doesn’t work for these guys. When they get the key shot they have to transmit it within minutes. Tag and send. Not transfer to your laptop. Open the video in VLC, find the perfect frame, save it to a file, tag it, and the send it.

BTN. That’s what people said about the A9 when it came to market. “If you need more than 14 FPS maybe the camera isn’t the problem”. Now that canon finally caught up and Sony is doing 30FPS if you need more than 20 then maybe the camera isn’t the problem.

That’s okay. The R3 is coming someday. Then you canon fanboys will stop saying that.

Video feed to the back room? No man that’s not how it works.

@Beckler8 no, we don't want a down vote button. Let's keep it positive!