Nikon Z 8 With 24-120mm f/4 Lens

I have zero issues with this camera and I have tried a lot. Fits perfectly in my hand. The ergonomics are amazing and the image quality is everything it’s supposed to be. Just love it.

Su capacidad de auto-enfoque en los ojos del sujeto asi como su rapidez, la sensación de robustez, son tantas cosas que son fabulosas en esta camara!

Long time Nikon shooter and they really out did themselves with this camera. Amazing, light weight and powerful. So much to relearn even after shooting for 30+ years. The options it offers from focus stacking, the quality of the image to the new lens speed and clarity, topped off by the 8k video or the 4k 120 options in Nlog or regular video shooting mode. This camera is worth every penny IMHO. If you have the $$$$ and are on the fence, believe me you will be so happy you got it. I have only had it a month or so and I am over the moon and soon I will be taking pictures of it. 😀

I shoot basketball games and purchased the Z-8 with that in mind. Did after speaking with a colleague about his experience with the Z8 and I have been very happy. Prior to the Z-8 I used a D4S, D500, Z-6 amongst others. I absolutely love the Z8. The autofocus is fantastic, very fast and picks up focus well. The viewfinder is very fast and responsive so no flicker or blanking while shooting – really just like shoot with a DSLR so it’s very easy to track the action. The images are sharp. ISO range is good and works quite well at higher ISO – allows me to shoot using an F4 lens that I have instead of having to use my 2.8. The auto-iso seems to work pretty well though I don’t need it for indoor basketball with fixed lighting and manual shooting. I do enjoy the specialize focus for where it can grab the eye point for focus. I use that more for non-sports. Not heavy and not too big, easy to carry. You can add a vertical grip to make it more like a Z-9 but it’s basically the same camera without the vertical grip (so I understand). This is the best camera I own now. The autofocus is really good from what I have scene and I don’t think anyone would be disappointed if they purchased one.

I have been a long time shooter of the Nikon brand. I have been using their cameras since the old Nikon film SLR cameras. With the move to mirrorless, the first two generations left a lot to be desired. My Z5, and Z6 offered a nice experience but you really had to know your camera in order to deal with it’s less than perfect auto focusing issues. Trying to nail focus with those cameras had become an art form that had to be perfected. Then they released the $5500, beast of a camera, Z9. This camera gave us a taste of just how good a nikon with reliable auto focus and premium features could be. The problem with the Z9 was that the larger body and the much more expensive $5500 price tag did not appeal to most of us. I tested the Z9 out after preordering it and was not a fan of the full body size and weight so i cancelled the preorder and decided to wait for something great.

Two and a half years later, they finally gave me what i wanted, the Z8. It had all the features and proven autofocus of the Z9 with a much more attractive price tag and stuffed it in a body that felt more like a D850 than the previous Z6-Z7II bodies. Finally i got a camera that was worthy of the Nikon name. The Z8 feels great in the hand and just looks how a professional camera should.

It’s 45mp sensor gives you a ton of resolution for those that like to crop in or edit with full detail in post. The BSI CMOS sensor is stacked and renders a beautiful full frame image with colors that are synonymous to the Nikon brand. The images that come out of this camera are some of my favorites amongst all camera manufacturers. I shoot with Fujifilm, Sony and Canon, so i have a lot of experience and reference points with these brands.

The shutterless design seemed like a gimmick that i did not think i was going to like when it was announced on the Z9. After doing a couple of shoots, it has really grown on me and now i see a lot of benefit in it. You can adjust the volume level of the artificial shutter sound. This is perfect for events where silence is important and the sound of a full frame shutter slapping could create an annoyance. There is a sensor shield that you can turn on to close when the camera is powered off. That allows you to change lenses in the field without the concerns of dust, dirt and droplets making its way onto your sensor.

The Z8 boasts a good collection of frame rates for photography. Being able to shoot at 20 fps at full resolution and RAW is more than i will ever need. But there is a whopping 120 fps mode as well as 30 fps and 60 fps in JPEG only for those who really want to pinpoint the perfect moment of motion and do not need the flexibility of a RAW file. These frame rates are amazing and will definitely be something for me to play around with in the future.

Unlike the Z9 the Z8 only has one Cfexpress type b card slot instead of the dual cfe slots. Instead it has an SD UHSII card slot as the second slot. For what i shoot, this is more than sufficient and works out well as i have a ton of SD cards just waiting to be used. The Cfexpress type B card has blistering fast writing speeds and is the best media on the market IMO.

The Z8 has all the video specs of the Z9 but at a compromise. The smaller body does not handle heat as well and therefore will not give you the same record times as the Z9. The battery of the Z8 will also play a factor in these record times. 4K frames range from 24fps all the way to 120fps for amazing slow motion video. The Z8 also adopts the Z9’s ability to record in 8K. This future proofs your camera. I have recorded in 8K a handful of times just so that i could have the flexibility to zoom in and out of a shot and still be able to maintain a 4K image quality. Then i can render the entire file at 4K.

Nikon made a bold statement when they created the Z8. They are no longer holding back when it comes to the features and performance of their newer released cameras. It’s a great time to be a Nikon shooter.