Nikon has announced the release of firmware version 5.10 update for their flagship Z 9 camera adding shutter angle and a few other enhancements designed to increase appeal for filmmakers.
The latest Z 9 firmware version 5.10 adds features that, according to Nikon, will respond to the needs of professional-level video recording.
View Nikon Z 9 Pricing and Availability at Vistek
A new [Shutter mode] has been added, allowing the user to set the shutter angle to one of 15 steps between 5.6° and 360°, eliminating the need to select a shutter speed whenever the frame rate is adjusted, ultimately allowing users to always be able to achieve optimal motion blur at the desired frame rate.
Also, users will now be able to change the colour of the zebra pattern display, as well as customize the transparency and display position of brightness information displays along with their size, such as the histogram and waveform monitor.
Nikon says these capabilities were incorporated to make video recording easier by allowing the user to confirm appropriate exposure, even when recording high-contrast scenes.
The last firmware ver. 5.10 can be downloaded directly from the Nikon Canada download centre here.
Here is the full list of features included with the latest update.
Video Recording
- Hi-Res Zoom is now available when the image area is set to “DX”.
- Added a [Power/Hi-Res Zoom collab]* item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in position of g10.
- Added a [Shutter mode] item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in position of g13.
- Added [Zebra pattern color] to g15 [Zebra pattern] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
- Added options for customizing the brightness information display to g18 [Brightness information display] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
* This feature may be available with NIKKOR Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ lenses (as of November 2024).
Controls
- Added [Save and load power zoom position]* to f2 [Custom controls (shooting)] and g2 [Custom controls] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
- Added a [Zoom ring control (PZ lens)]* item to the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] in position of f10.
- Custom Settings f12 and g9 in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] is now [Assign power zoom]. In addition, [Power zoom speed] has been divided into two items: [Power zoom speed (zoom buttons)] and [Power zoom speed (zoom switch)]*.
- The following items can now be saved and loaded using [Save/load menu settings] in the [SETUP MENU]:
- [Location data (built-in)] > [Record location data] in the setup menu
- [Retouch] > [Customize retouch options] in the playback “i” menu (from “C” firmware version 5.00).
* This feature may be available with NIKKOR Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ lenses (as of November 2024).
Other Changes
- Added [Power zoom speed (zoom buttons)] to the roles assignable to the “i” menu via [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU] > f1 and g1 [Customize <i> menu].
- Fixed the following issues:
- The camera would sometimes stop responding if the [C30] high-speed frame capture + option was selected for [Release mode] and the shutter-release button was pressed halfway shortly after zooming in the monitor shooting display (live view).
- Pressing the AF-ON button did not end the zoomed-in display in manual focus when:
- The AF-ON button was set to either [AF-ON] or [AF-area mode + AF-ON], and [ON] was selected for d19 or g17 [Half-press to cancel zoom (MF)] in the [CUSTOM SETTINGS MENU].
- The viewfinder and monitor shooting displays (live view) sometimes caused overexposures when the standby timer had expired and reactivated.
- In rare circumstances, photos would be overexposed when taken using [Recall shooting functions (hold)] assigned to a custom control.
- Buffer capacity sometimes dropped with some CFexpress memory cards.
- In rare circumstances, the camera would stop responding or the viewfinder and monitor shooting displays (live view) would be corrupted after burst photography when:
- [ON] was selected for [Photo flicker reduction] in [PHOTO SHOOTING MENU].
- RAW videos recorded under the following conditions would appear too bright when played back with compatible computer software.
- Either [N-RAW 12-bit (NEV)] or [ProRes RAW HQ 12-bit (MOV)] was selected for [Video file type] and [SDR] for [Tone mode].
- ISO 100 or below was selected for [ISO sensitivity settings].
- In slow network speed environments, the camera would be slower to respond when zoomed in or out on photos while uploading to the FTP server if:
- [ON] was selected for [Connect to FTP server] > [Options] > [Auto upload] in [NETWORK MENU], or
- An option other than [Off] was selected for [Connect to FTP server] > [Options] > [Upload in HEIF format] in [NETWORK MENU].
