Officially announced at the end of 2021, it’s hard to imagine that the Nikon Z9 has been the camera manufacturer’s undisputed workhorse body for five years. At that time, the Z9 was an absolute beast, demonstrating to the camera industry what photographers should come to expect from a professional mirrorless camera body. Recently, Nikon announced the latest firmware update for its flagship camera, promising to breathe even more life into a camera that has not only been keeping up with various newer competitors but also showing them how it’s done. Let’s jump into what’s new for the Nikon Z9.
Nikon Z9 Firmware Version 5.30 Key Takeaways
The following list was taken from Nikon’s support page, it highlights the key features and enhancements you can expect in version 5.30:
Still Photography
- Subject detection is now available when [Single-point AF], [Dynamic-area AF (S)], [Dynamic-area AF (M)], or [Dynamic-area AF (L)] is selected for [AF-area mode].
- Extended the dimensions of focus areas available with [Wide-area AF (C1)] and [Wide-area AF (C2)] AF-area modes.
- Added [Flat Monochrome] and [Deep Tone Monochrome] Picture Controls. Also added support for “Flexible Color” Picture Controls.
- Added [Reset focus after shooting] to [Auto capture]. Also added [Face] to subject detection type options.
Controls
- • Added an [Active subject detection options] item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in positions of a10 and g6.
- • The a14 [Max. aperture Lv during MF] item is now a15 [Maximum aperture Lv] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
- • Added a [Focus limiter setting] item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in position of a17.
- • [Focus limiter] and [Cycle subject detection options] are added to the roles assignable via f2 [Custom controls (shooting)] and g2 [Custom controls] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] and separate settings can now be saved to [Recall shooting functions] and [Recall shooting functions (hold)]. In addition, a magnification option of [400%] has been added to [Zoom on/off].
- • Added [Jump to the source image] as an assignable role to f3 [Custom controls (playback)] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
- • Added a [Cycle image area using built-in TC] item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in position of f11.
As Nikon’s release notes suggest, the biggest changes in version 5.30 improve the camera’s focusing capabilities and further enhance its Auto Capture feature – potentially eliminating the need for triggers and remotes in certain scenarios (I’m sure all our wildlife photographer readers out there did a little “whoop-whoop”) by adding face detection.
As someone who’s been shooting Fujifilm cameras long enough to have drunk heavily of the “film recipe” Kool-Aid, and someone who couldn’t be paid to spend obscene amounts of time editing, I’m excited to see even more creative controls aimed at developing custom looks in camera. Being able to not only create those color profiles in-camera but also manage (import/export/save) them in the Nikon NX Studio app for future use is also a significant quality of life improvement for a photographer like me.
One Last Dance with the Nikon Z9?
With the long-rumored Nikon Z9 II most likely due out in the near future, this could potentially be one of the last major updates for this camera. Even if that proves to be true, it’s remarkable to see how well the Z9 has withstood the test of time and continues to deliver value to its users. Look forward to our updated Nikon Z9 review, coming soon.