Nikon has announced major firmware version 5.0 for the Nikon Z9 (buy here) mirrorless camera. For sports shooters, it expands on the Auto Capture feature introduced to the Nikon Z9 last June. High Speed Frame Capture+ has also been improved.

For portrait shooters, there’s also good news. In the new firmware, the Nikon Z9 sees the portrait colour mode and processing options from the Nikon Zf (buy here) and Nikon Z8 (buy here).

Nikon Z9 – Sports Powerhouse

The Nikon Z9 sees a couple of great additions and updates to the camera. The most important of which, given the camera’s target user, is the expansion of the Auto Capture functionality. This feature allows you to leave your camera unattended, having it automatically shoot a photo when something comes into view.

It’s a great feature for sports and wildlife photographers who aren’t always able to sit by their cameras while they monitor their subjects. The biggest new improvement will help to save battery life. It allows you to set a start and end time for when Auto Capture is enabled.

So, if you’re a sports shooter, you can pre-set it to only fire during game time. If you’re hoping to spot secretive wildlife at night, you can stop it wasting battery life by shooting during the daytime.

Here is the complete list of changes in Nikon Z9 firmware version 5.0.

Primary features of firmware version 5.00 for the Z 9:

• Expanded functions for sports photography
  • A function that lets users specify the shooting start date/time and duration in advance has been added to Auto Capture. This helps to reduce battery consumption for more efficient shooting, even when the camera must be positioned and configured well before it will actually be used. Auto Capture flexibility has also been increased to allow users to shoot using the DX crop (24×16) image area, and also adds the addition of an [Airplanes] AF subject-detection mode, plus the display of a yellow frame when the camera is in standby for shooting.
  • In addition, a low-speed [C15] item has been added to High-Speed Frame Capture+ options for increased usability with continuous shooting. What’s more, frequency presets for common LED lighting and signboards have been added to the High-Frequency Flicker Reduction function, making it easier to choose the optimal shutter speed and efficiently reduce the effects of high-frequency flicker.
• Enhanced portrait functions
  • A Rich Tone Portrait Picture Control suitable for creating base images in situations that require retouching, such as wedding and studio photography, has been added. Also, a variety of functions designed to improve portrait photography, including Portrait Impression Balance and Skin Softening have been incorporated. Further, Nikon offers NIKKOR Z lenses including the NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.2 S, NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.2 S, and NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena, all of which support the capture of portraits that accurately express the user’s intent.
  • Overall, convenience has been increased with the ability to use the continuous LED light of the Profoto A10 as an AF-assist illuminator and the addition of a [Prefer focus point (face priority)] option for frame advance when reviewing images displayed with playback zoom enabled.
• Other features added for enhanced operability
  • When [Extended menu banks] is enabled, users can now manage the shooting modes for photo mode and video mode, which were previously linked, separately.
  • Visibility is improved with an option that allows the user to adjust the width of the focus point border.
  • Manual focusing is now possible with maximum aperture live view in manual focus mode.
  • A function that allows the user to cancel zoom when focus mode is set to manual focus and the view through the lens is zoomed in by pressing the shutter-release button halfway has been added.
  • High-Res Zoom operability has been improved, and the AF-area brackets display color when the subject is in focus has been changed from red to green.
  • The number of functions that can be assigned to custom controls has been increased, as has the number of controls that can be customized.
  • The addition of a [Customize retouch options] item allows the user to choose the functions displayed in the retouch menu.
  • [Loop playback], [Wait before playback], and [Auto series playback speed] options have been added for playback of a series of images captured with a burst of continuous shooting.
  • Playback speed for all videos can now be specified in advance from the i menu ([Original speed], [1/2× speed], [1/4× speed]).
  • Wi-Fi station mode has been added to enable connection to SnapBridge without occupying the entire Wi-Fi connection on a smartphone.

There are a couple of caveats to the above. But they’re not biggies. The Profoto A-10 (buy here) compatibility, for example. This requires that your Z9 not only be on the latest firmware, but also your Profoto A10.

The High-Res Zoom improvements don’t work in AF-F mode. They do work in all other modes, however.

As I said, they’re not biggies, but they are things you should be aware if when testing. It’s easy to overcomplicate things when unexpected problems pop up.

Nikon Z9 Firmware v5.0 Download

The Nikon Z9 Firmware v5.0 is a free upgrade and is available to download from the Nikon website.

Updates to SnapBridge

Nikon has also announced a SnapBridge update today, too. The Nikon smartphone app now provides an “Easy Shooting Setup”. This lets you configure your camera with settings suited to particular scenes or subjects. And it lets you do it from your smartphone screen.

Nikon SnapBridge Update:

SnapBridge is Nikon’s companion Android and iOS app that connects to your camera to automatically download photos and videos, and remotely activate the shutter. Now with Ver.2.11.0, SnapBridge adds new functions such as Easy Shooting Setup, which allows users to configure camera shooting settings suited to a particular scene or subject directly from a user’s smart device.

The new Easy Shooting Setup function can be used by tapping [Easy Shooting Setup] in the SnapBridge camera tab, selecting a main subject or situation, and deciding output parameters, such as having a soft out-of-focus background or motion blur. It allows even those who are unsure about camera functions and terms to easily create camera shooting settings that achieve desired results. Settings are applied the moment they are sent to the camera, allowing users to immediately begin capturing their vision. Easy Shooting Setup also provides tips for available scenes and subjects such as people, landscapes and pets to help users better achieve the intended results. Furthermore, favorite shooting settings can be assigned to one of the user setting positions.

It looks like a great new feature for those just getting into photography. Even entry-level cameras can be pretty overwhelming when you’ve no experience. This should help them get to grips with exposure quite quickly.

SnapBridge Download

SnapBridge is available at no cost. The iPhone version is available to download from the Apple App Store. The Android version can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.