Source: Rumors about Nikon
Since its release in October 2021, Nikon Z9 has consistently received praise for its cutting-edge technology, superb processing and functionality, and impressive image and video quality. Then, after Nikon released its much-vaunted firmware version 2.0 this past April, the Japanese company began to run into trouble with the cinema camera maker. RED sues claims that Z9 illegally uses their data compression technology.
But it’s the latest “scandal” involving the Z9 that has really got the Internet talking (at least the corners of its fans, nerds): It happens, according to one TechInsights report, a vendor that describes itself as “the world’s leading provider of advanced technology analysis and intelligence services”, that the beating heart of Nikon’s flagship mirrorless camera — the sensor its — actually manufactured by Sony. Strictly speaking, it’s the 45.7-megapixel stacked back-illuminated CMOS image sensor from the Sony Semiconductor IMX609AQJ.
While the “disclosure” should come as no surprise to anyone in the industry, since Nikon’s use of sensors made by Sony Semiconductor has been a well-known practice for a decade or so, it hasn’t stopped either. Sony and Nikon fans demonstrate the steadfast art of bigotry and dogmatism. (For Sony devotees, cameras would be nothing without Sony technology; for Nikon enthusiasts, extraordinary performance can be generated from an ordinary sensor thanks to a simple bias. Nikon’s talent.)
However, as less partisan observers have observed, this so-called controversy is, in fact, nothing short of commendable. For starters, Sony Semiconductors (separately from Sony Imaging) not only supplied sensors for most of the Nikon digital cameras in history, but also did so for a long list of other companies (Fujifilm). , Hasselblad, Leica, Olympus, and Panasonic, to name a few). Plus, not too long ago, you could load up any camera with a roll of Kodak, Fuji, or Agfa film — the digital equivalent of image sensors — without anyone claiming any of them. Which of these (among many other film makers) should somehow claim to produce the images shown on those reels.
Most importantly, of course, anyone interested in photography should worry less about who makes the internals of their camera (or indeed their name on the camera’s exterior). ), and more on how they improve their technique and go for more practice. (DPG can help with the previous one and The latter.) And for the Z9, let’s congratulate both Nikon and Sony, the first making a great camera and the second making a great sensor. (For more great cameras and other gear for underwater shooters, check out DPG’s comprehensive — and unbiased! –device guide.)
