The Nikon Z9 is the most powerful camera company competing with Canon EOS R3 and Sony A1 for a full-frame mirrorless crown. It’s a camera that has it all; 45.7 MP sensor, 20 frames per second series with continuous 3D AF tracking and unlimited JPEG buffer, and 8K video recording. But there is one thing that the Z9 does not have – a mechanical shutter.
For all its quirkyness and dazzlingness, we’re particularly intrigued by the fact that the Z9 depends solely on the electronic shutter. After all, other mirrorless and DSLR cameras (except for video-focused models like Sigma FP) all include both mechanical and electronic shutter types. Is it an inspired and progressive design choice or a potential catastrophic mistake?
To find out, we spoke with Nikon product specialist Dirk Jasper and asked him why Nikon is so confident in the new Z9 technology and what it means for the future of shutter and camera design.
Before we find out if the Z9 really means the beginning of the end for a mechanical shutter, let’s understand what camera shutters are for and why most cameras combine them with an electronic shutter.
Lift the curtains
What is a mechanical shutter? In digital cameras, it protects the image sensor and opens to take light and create photos.
Originally used in film cameras, then in DSLR and glossless models, there are two main types of mechanical shutters; focal plane and sheet. The shutter in the focal plane has two metal “curtains” that transmit and turn off the light, while the leaf shutters have a circular arrangement of overlapping blades with less “aggressive” action of the shutter of the two.
Most cameras also have an electronic shutter that has no moving parts, but instead “turns on and off” to capture an image. This type of shutter can be used for both photography and video. Until now, most digital cameras have had both mechanical and electronic shutters, but the Nikon Z9 is the first professional camera to work with electronic only. So why did Nikon do it?
By removing the shutter, we also remove part of the system, which can be a life-limiting factor and requires expensive repairs or re-adjustment in the event of a breakdown.
Dirk Jasper, Nikon
The obvious answer is that it can. “As Dirk Jasper told us, the design of the Z9 sensor and support for processing with Expeed 7 for the first time allows you to have a colorless camera without the need for a mechanical shutter. As always, it’s a little bigger than that.
Mechanical vs. electronic
More on these “technologies” later, but first let’s delve into the relative benefits of mechanical and electronic blinds. As the name implies, a mechanical shutter has moving parts and therefore its performance is limited.
Its shutter speed reaches a maximum of 1/8000 sec, while the frame rate seems to have reached a peak of 16 frames per second as seen on Canon EOS 1DX Mark III. There is also sound and vibration when the shutter is triggered, as well as life expectancy when the shutter is triggered. However, only the happiest creators of the image can wear out the shutter and get an expensive replacement.
The electronic shutter surpasses the performance of a mechanical shutter with a higher maximum shutter speed of up to 1/32,000 sec and a lightning rate of 120 frames per second, which we see in cameras like the Z9. Another bonus is that the shutter action is not vibration and can be silent – a dream for landscape, street and wedding photographers. Everything sounds promising, right? Well, it’s not all one-way street, especially for freezing high-speed traffic.
Nikon told us that the scan speed in the Z9 is about 12 times higher than in the Nikon Z7 II. This is a serious power in its multi-layer sensor.
Unlike a mechanical shutter, where the entire image freezes simultaneously, the electronic shutter “reads” the image data line by line on the sensor – a process that is documented to take about 1/200 seconds and is otherwise known as a “shutter shutter”. Any action at higher speeds can adversely affect the roller shutter. For example, you could see combat images of deformed golf clubs during a swing, oval swords in flight and curved propellers of an airplane while spinning.
Along with motion distortion, roller shutters can also suffer from an ugly effect called “stripes” (light-dark-light-dark) when using a flash or under high frequency “flickering” artificial lighting.
Why now?
Most cameras allow you to choose the right shutter for your shooting situation. Freeze action or use flash? Go mechanically! Shoot landscapes and you need the most stable camera? Electronic shutter to the end! But the Nikon Z9 is a camera designed for action, which relies entirely on the electronic shutter, so what has changed?
As expected, this is partly due to the speed. Nikon refers to a combination of the new 45.7 MP Z9 CMOS sensor, Expeed 7 processor and support for high-performance CFexpress Type B memory cards.
“Sensor reading speed is the most important factor here,” Dirk says. “Managing high data flow at high speeds should also be supported by a processing mechanism that ensures that all information is digitized and stored on a production memory card at a scale that ensures the system keeps the speed of new data coming, whether high frame rate or record high-definition video. “
Indeed, Nikon has told us that the Z9’s scanning speed is about 12 times higher than that’s Nikon Z7 II. This means that it exhibits approximately 1/12 of the roller shutter distortion as Z 7II. This is a serious power in its multi-layer sensor.
If the Z7 II has a typical shutter speed, then 12 times this speed essentially means that there are no scenarios in which the Z9 will exhibit roller shutter distortion. The first signs are promising. During our full review of the Nikon Z9 (soon) we used the camera in a variety of high-speed scenarios and have yet to experience shutters.
The scaling factors caused by the cost of production will definitely affect the extent to which we will be able to extend this to more models in the future.
Dirk Jasper, Nikon
This is not to say that there are no minor problems with teething. “We’ve received rare messages when users report minor lanes under very specific conditions,” says Dirk Jasper. “We are looking for ways to automatically counteract these effects and will try to fix them by updating the firmware. These effects can be easily avoided if the shutter speed is easy to change, ”he added.
Shutter priorities
Nikon could keep the mechanical shutter in the Z9 as a negative security, even if it is not used at all. But another advantage of its removal – simplicity and durability.
“A mechanical element is always a design constraint, as well as a potential breakpoint.” explains Dirk Jasper. “For high-end cameras, Nikon has always reported the lifespan of the shutter as part of product information. By removing the shutter, we also remove part of the system that may limit the life of the device and require costly repairs and re-adjustments in case of failure.”
So, does this mean that all cameras will soon become electronic only? Not necessarily. Dirk gives us a look. At Nikon, we have always adhered to the philosophy of what we call “technology transfer”.
But for now this is likely to remain a high feature. “Apart from the changes caused by the firmware, the use of a purely mechanical shutter in the cameras is definitely related to the computing power and sensor equipment, which are worth the price,” he explains. “Therefore, the scaling factors caused by the cost of production will certainly affect the extent to which we will be able to extend this to more models in the future.”
So far, it seems that only expensive flagship cameras can afford to offer us a mechanical design without a shutter. But one thing is for sure: the new Z9 power paves the way for revolutionary changes in camera design.