The Nikon Z9 is impossible to get hold of but someone has ripped it apart in the name of science

By Sebastian Oakley
published

Nikon Z9 flagship camera bares all in a complete tear-down, but was it really necessary?

Nikon Z9 tear-down
(Image credit: Alex Mirchuk / Kolarivision)

Have you ever wondered what one of the best cameras for photography looks like on the inside? You might be about to find out, thanks to Alex Mirchuk over at Kolarivision, who has taken to the internet to show off his tear-down skills. He took the latest Nikon Z9 flagship camera and pulled it apart to see what was inside.

Just think of this like a massive Kinder egg, but it's a $5,496 flagship camera that's build to keep dirt, and quite frankly other people out of its internals.

Nikon Z9

(Image credit: Alex Mirchuk / Kolarivision)

Nikon Z9

(Image credit: Alex Mirchuk / Kolarivision)

The reasoning behind why this guy just dismantled probably one of the hardest cameras to get your hands on is a mystery to me, but if you study the images closely it is remarkable just how much technology goes into making one of the best flagships on the market today.

The amount of wiring, circuit boards, processors, solenoids... you name it – it is all packed inside the Nikon Z9. What is also interesting to see is the inspection marks on the magnesium-alloy body. 

One fact that Mirchuk remarks on is that the connection between the battery and the main board is easily accessible. Do the Nikon engineers foresee a problem in the future, or does it just makes their lives easier when a Z9 comes in to be repaired? I am not an electrical engineer and there might be a valid reason for it... only time will tell!

Nikon Z9

(Image credit: Alex Mirchuk / Kolarivision)

Mirchuk also suggests that the connection ports on the Z9 are soldered directly to the board itself, compared to the Sony A1, which has ports that are connected to the board via detachable flex cables. It's an interesting insight and there is a reason that each manufacture choses a certain process to design and build, but some could see the Nikon Z9 internals as built to last or built to be replaced.

Anyhow, it is all rather interesting to see inside one of the most spoken about cameras on the market and probably the most difficult to get your hands on. Hopefully none of the owners will ever end up like the unfortunate camera at the start of the Mirchuk blog post.

Read more:

Best Nikon lenses
Nikon Z9 review
Best Nikon Z lenses
Best Nikon portrait lenses

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Sebastian Oakley
Sebastian Oakley
Ecommerce Editor

For nearly two decades Sebastian's work has been published internationally. Originally specialising in Equestrianism, his visuals have been used by the leading names in the equestrian industry such as The Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), The Jockey Club, Horse & Hound and many more for various advertising campaigns, books and pre/post-event highlights.


He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, holds a Foundation Degree in Equitation Science and is a Master of Arts in Publishing.  He is member of Nikon NPS and has been a Nikon user since the film days using a Nikon F5 and saw the digital transition with Nikon's D series cameras and is still to this day the youngest member to be elected in to BEWA, The British Equestrian Writers' Association. 


He is familiar with and shows great interest in medium and large format photography with products by Phase One, Hasselblad, Alpa and Sinar and has used many cinema cameras from the likes of Sony, RED, ARRI and everything in between. His work covers the genres of Equestrian, Landscape, Abstract or Nature and combines nearly two decades of experience to offer exclusive limited-edition prints to the international stage from his film & digital photography.

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