There has been talk that we will have the new Nikon Z9 Mark II camera before the 2026 Olympics. If you look at the trend in the past. We have witnessed that Nikon and Canon were usually seen announcing their flagship bodies before the Olympics. Now it’s almost 4 years since the Z9 — the original Z9 was announced before the 2022 ( before Winter Olympics). Just after that, Nikon Z8 was announced in May 2023, which carries approximately 90% of the same core specifications we have in this Z8., The Nikon Z8 announcement has also disturbed the sales cycle of the Nikon Z9 camera, and many professionals prefer to buy the Nikon Z8 instead of the Nikon Z9.
Matt Irwin (Nikon Pro) has said in one his recent video that there strong possibility “Winter Olympics is a long way off but of course it’s not it’s roughly a year away and thus that sort of time frame would make a lot of sense to me and it would get us back to a Olympic cycle which is something that Nikon kind of adhered to mostly adhered to through the DSLR flagship era…”
Table: Nikon Flagship Camera Releases and Olympic Connections
| Olympic Event | Year | Nikon Flagship Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | |
| Sydney Summer Olympics | 2000 | Nikon D1H | February 2001 (announced 2000) | DSLR | |
| Athens Summer Olympics | 2004 | Nikon D2H/D2Hs | July 2003 (D2H), February 2005 (D2Hs) | DSLR | |
| Beijing Summer Olympics | 2008 | Nikon D3 | August 2007 | DSLR | |
| London Summer Olympics | 2012 | Nikon D4 | January 2012 | DSLR | |
| Rio Summer Olympics | 2016 | Nikon D5 | January 2016 | DSLR | |
| Tokyo Summer Olympics (postponed to 2021) | 2020/2021 | Nikon D6 | February 2020 | DSLR | |
| Beijing Winter Olympics | 2022 | Nikon Z9 | October 2021 | Mirrorless | |
| Paris Summer Olympics | 2024 | Nikon Z9 (firmware updates) | No new flagship (firmware updates in 2023–2024) | Mirrorless | |
| Milan/Cortina Winter Olympics | 2026 | Nikon Z9 II (rumored) | Expected late 2025/early 2026 | Mirrorless |
The Winter Olympics will start from February 6 to February 22, in 2026, so there is a very high probability we will see the announcement of the Nikon Z9 Mark II camera in the 4th quarter of 2025, since it has to become available during the Olympics for shooting.
Nikon Z9 Mark II Camera Expected specification
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A 45 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor inside the camera
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Introduction of Expeed 8 image processor
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Enhanced video integration from RED video technology, potentially more improved 8K video capabilities
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Enhanced with Expeed 8 image processor, a lot of work can be done in the AI AF zone as well as in the performance part of the camera
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Content Credentials: Support for authenticity features
A late 2025 announcement (development announcement rumored) with a release in early 2026 leaves a tight window for pros to adopt the Z9 II before the Olympics. Nikon’s rushed Z9 launch in 2021 faced criticism for incomplete features, later fixed via firmware, suggesting a need for thorough testing. Let’s see what they can bring in front of us in Z9 II.
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