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Now, my Z9 review was based on firmware 3.1 and since then, Nikon has released 3 new Z9 firmwares (later-on cascaded onto the Z8, with different versioning).
When I reviewed the Z8 (v1.0 firmware), I did find the AF to be excellent, though not quite Z9 level, and I shared these differences there: https://theunderwaterclub.com/blog/nikon-z8-underwater-review/
In hindsight, it’s possible that the differences are more software than hardware driven, as I found the subsequent Z9’s v4.0 firmware to behave much like what I saw with the Z8’s v1.0 firmware.
One issue I found with the Z8 v1.0 and Z9 v4.0/4.1/5.0 is wide-angle AF-C 3D, when shooting against the sun in limited viz. In these conditions, the Z8/Z9 sometimes focus on floating particles closer to the camera, ignoring subjects as obvious as a turtle or shark (if that occurs, I switch to AF-S).
I’ve shared this observation with Nikon Australia with illustrative shots, who told me my feedback are being looked at by Nikon R&D (Japan), so I am confident that we’ll see this improved in future firmware updates.
At the moment though, I prefer the Z9’s AF wide-angle performance (continuous tracking) with firmware 3.1, so I have switched back to this version.
I am curious to hear how other Z9/Z8 shooters are using their AF, and any experience/tips they might want to share: @yazid @cma , @libby_tondl, @Neat