The long-awaited flagship camera in Nikon's mirrorless lineup is here, and it's a beast! Let's dive into why you will definitely want to put this camera on your rental short list.

For starters, you'll recognize this pro-level camera body by its attached grip for vertical portrait style shots as well as large battery capacity. Speaking of the battery, Nikon has updated their EN-EL18 to the "d" version for this camera, giving it a little extra juice for those long shoot days. The rating is roughly 700 photos or about 60-90 minutes of video (highly dependent on video settings). The body is tough but lightweight magnesium, and is sealed to resist water and dust intrusion. Memory is handled via dual CFexpress Type B memory slots, which are also compatible with XQD cards. Finally, in-body stabilization works with select Z lenses to achieve up to 6 stops of camera shake compensation.

Photo shooters will rejoice at the 45.7 MP stacked BSI CMOS sensor, which gives you huge resolution along with better noise control at higher ISO. Combined with that sensor is a new EXPEED 7 processor that gives you top continuous shooting speeds of 20 fps in RAW or 30 fps in JPEG. And if you're willing to go down to 11 MP, you get an INSANE 120 fps. The buffer is deep, too, at over 1000 RAW images (or basically unlimted JPEG).

Utilizing an electronic shutter, the top shutter speed increases to 1/32,000 sec, and the stacked sensor design reduces rolling shutter distortion of moving subjects. The lack of mechanical shutter means one less thing to wear out, along with a completely silent shooting operation.

The new 493-point phase-detection AF system covers the full sensor area, and maintains full operation up to 120 fps. In a world-first, Nikon even put in a "Starlight" mode that focuses down to a mind-blowing -8.5 EV. Naturally, you also get eye tracking modes for humans and other animals, along with their popular 3D Tracking mode from the DSLR lineup.

On the video front, Nikon does not disappoint. You get 8K recording up to 30 fps and 4K up to 120 fps. You can record internally with 10-bit 4:2:2 in both ProRes 422 HQ as well as H.265 codecs. N-Log and HLG can be used for the best possible color grading and or HDR-ready content. Nikon specified a full-size HDMI port on this camera, and we love them for it.

The beautiful viewfinder uses 3.69 million dots to provide crisp, accurate framing and exposure information. It also offers blackout-free viewing during continuous shooting, allowing you to keep your eye on the ball (or bird, or plane, or....anything, really).

In sum, this camera is exactly what we Nikon lovers have been waiting for. Believe me when I say you will absolutely want to rent this camera and see what all the fuss is about. There's a reason it is the most pre-ordered camera in Nikon's history!

Included with your rental:

• Nikon Z9 mirorless camera
• Nikon factory EN-EL18d battery (10.8V, 3300 mAh)
• Nikon MH-33 battery charger
• Nikon EH-7P AC charging adapter
• Nikon UC-E24 USB cable
• Nikon AN-DC24 neck strap
• Nikon factory body cap (BF-N1)

User Manual

Nikon Z9 User manual (pdf download)