Indeed a very sensible article, there was a lot of copy-cat in the Z6/Z7 spec wise but the body shape/menu was more geared towards (ex) Nikon users and made a lot of people happy.
Again trying to copy the A9ii/Ai doesn't make a lot of sense, the market for these very high end (and expensive) cameras is very small so if Nikon now develops it's own variant of a high end camera with different attributes from the Sony it will be able to appeal to a different market segment and increase the choices for the users. Exciting times.
I don't know what makes sense for any manufacturer anymore given the current state of the world and camera industry, but if the Z9 was an A1 in Nikon clothing, I'd be happy. That's pretty much what I want out of a Z9.
The only different attributes I need/want from a Z9 over the A1 is for it to take Z lenses, have the Nikon body (I prefer the ergonomics compared to the sony alpha series), and the Nikon menu system. For me, a Nikon-branded A1 would allow me to do what I'm currently using both the Z6 and HB X1D for, and would cure the issues I have with the Z6 (AF and low resolution comparatively). AF has improved significantly on the Z6 with firmware updates, but A9-like or "better than D6" like AF is what I'd like to see Nikon put in a mirrorless camera. Yes, $6500 or so is expensive, but I can fairly easily justify it when I think that I can carry $6500 one camera instead of two cameras at $2000-3000+ each.
Sure if it did some things different than the A1 it may help set Nikon apart and improve some sales, but I think we're getting to a point where Nikon/Canon/Sony more or less all do the same things, and people are choosing them based on other intangibles outside of the spec sheet. Canon sold a boat load of R6/R5's, but I'm not sure either body really did anything different than their Nikon or Canon counterparts at the end of the day when it comes down to real world use....at least that's how I saw it for my needs. The only reason I'm currently shooting with the Z is personal preference (I actually like the attributes of the Canon RF lens lineup better). Everything comes with a cost, and I worry trying to put distinguishing aspects in a model to set it apart from the A1 would take away from other features that make the A1 attractive in the first place, and lead to the addition of gimmicks that only a few people need. Nevertheless, we'll see what happens. More options out there than ever for mirrorless which is exciting.
Exciting times though indeed....lots of fun announcements this week with the A1, GFX100S, GF 80mm 1.7, and Leica 50mm 1.2. Curious to see what else 2021 has in store (looking at you Nikon and Hasselblad
).
