Z8 Out of Date or All You Need?

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]The Nikon Z8.

[00:00:04]I've now had this for almost 3 years.

[00:00:08]I thought it's a good time to give a recap of well, is it good enough now?

[00:00:14]Or is it the camera the one camera you need? Do you need anything more better than this camera?

[00:00:22]>> [snorts] >> And it comes at a time where it's reduced. The Nikon have reduced this to a reasonable price of 2,700 pounds brand new. Or you can get it on the used market for about 2,200.

[00:00:35]And I bought it on launch day 3 years ago for 4,000 pounds.

[00:00:40]This is a quick little video because oh, look what's arrived today.

[00:00:46]And I would never recommend that. I'd never buy anything on launch day, especially Nikon cameras because 6 months later it becomes heavily reduced.

[00:00:55]And we've seen that with the Z8 now, which is I've seen it on a refurbished for 500 pound less than I paid for it 6 months ago.

[00:01:05]But yeah, where does this Nikon Z8 stand because it also at time when we're probably going to see in the next year the Z8 or Z9 Mark II?

[00:01:12]And what features will they put in this that will make it better, more enticing for you to upgrade?

[00:01:19]But spoiler alert, 3 years later it's still almost perfect camera. It really is.

[00:01:29]It's lightweight enough, 910 g, but it with a grip it feels fantastic. The fast readout speed, 46 megapixel, amazing autofocus, blackout free silent shooting, 4K slow-mo video, good screen, good EVF. It does everything pretty much that you need.

[00:01:51]And then you got auto focus, then submenus of what you want, cat, person, car, plane.

[00:02:01]Oh my god. Then there's sub categories of wide area.

[00:02:06]Okay.

[00:02:08]But I remember when I first got this, I did a video saying how different it is to set up and use compared to the previous generations.

[00:02:15]And I did upgrade straight away on launch day to this camera because I was so frustrated with the Z6 II and Z7 II.

[00:02:23]The auto focus for face and eye detect didn't really work.

[00:02:27]And it was I couldn't rely on it convincingly. So I had to I was really frustrated.

[00:02:32]So I jumped on this straight away because to alleviate the problems, the big problems that I had with those previous generations of cameras.

[00:02:39]And the auto focus is amazing. It still is and it's been upgraded with firmware a few times since then as well.

[00:02:45]For people, it's fantastic. I can fully be confident with it.

[00:02:50]For wildlife, it's I'm more forgiving with wildlife because it's really tricky. Usually the subject is smaller in the frame, complex scenes, bad lighting and things like that. A year ago I integrated Sony A1 Mark I into my workflow because of the lens choices.

[00:03:09]It's been five or six years now with mirrorless and Nikon haven't provided the lenses that I want. And I love the 28-70 f/2 which I'm filming with now on the Z R with the Megadap adapter, still testing that.

[00:03:24]And the primes are smaller and lighter, 1.4s and the pancake lenses as well.

[00:03:31]40 f/2.5, premium range, amazing quality. And I've noticed using the Sony camera that the auto focus for people is a lot better with the Sony camera, A1 Mark I, which came a few years before it. Finds the acquisition faster and the tracking is more sticky.

[00:03:49]And that matters sometimes when you're in a fast-paced environment, but overall, they're both excellent and you'll be you'll be happy with both of them. But let's compare it to other camera options that you could have. So, the D850 is very similar to this in some ways. Same megapixel sensor and compatibility and ergonomics even. It's the D850 is only 100 g heavier.

[00:04:11]But you're lacking some things. So, this is video, of course, eight lock slow motion, but also image stabilization, which is a big part of video. It's a lot harder without similar stabilization to get stable footage.

[00:04:25]And that's a massive in in bonus of this camera. But the D850 has some advantages. It has the optical viewfinder, which I still prefer. Even though this is fine, electronic viewfinder is nice to use and it shows you exposure and everything straight away.

[00:04:40]The optical viewfinder is a nicer experience still.

[00:04:43]The D850 will have a much larger battery life and you don't have to use the FTZ adapter if you're happy with F-mount lenses. Then you have the Z 7, either mark one or mark two.

[00:04:54]It's a much smaller body than this. I mean, this is quite big considerably now, I would say, compared to newer mirrorless cameras. The Z 7 has the same 46 megapixel in a smaller frame, but it doesn't have the autofocus and the newer features which I really enjoy. Although soon after after 6 months after getting this camera, I had a fault and involves the shutter guard. So, what happened? I turned it on and the shutter guard uh came off the hinge and it damaged the sensor.

[00:05:29]So, I had to send it off for repair.

[00:05:31]And it took a while to get back to me, unfortunately. However, it hasn't happened since and that's been 2 years after now and it's been fine.

[00:05:39]And I still like to use it cuz it's a really good feature, obviously, like this to stop the dents stop the dust and everything getting in when you switch from video to stills, sometimes it's has froze on me.

[00:05:52]I'm not sure why, and it usually seems to be in the heat of the moment, but again, it's very, very rare. It's only occasional, often when I'm doing wildlife photography for some reason.

[00:06:02]So, what could they put in the new version of the Z 8 to make it appealing to me to upgrade or something you might want to upgrade to?

[00:06:10]Well, I guess they'll put in a new processor to get that autofocus on par with all the other brands.

[00:06:16]But again, this is excellent already.

[00:06:19]The raw pre-capture would be a nice feature for wildlife and for sports.

[00:06:24]It is something that would be a nice incentive to get the birds in flight and things like that, to take off. But again, it's not essential. For wildlife, I really enjoy this 500 PF with the adapter, and it has fantastic results. I'm really happy with the experience of it. It's light enough um carry around, which I do carry around all day sometimes. It did If they did make this Z 8 100 g lighter, I would really enjoy that.

[00:06:51]It just feels a bit over a long day when you got the flash on it or accessories.

[00:06:55]It does all add up. I know it's a lot lighter than previous cameras, but still, I think lighter is the way to go sometimes. Another thing they could improve is battery life with mirrorless.

[00:07:05]There's so much processing and calculations going on.

[00:07:09]I think they need to update the battery. Sony have just done that now with their latest camera, but that's took a long time for them to do it as well. But the bevel is quite big, and I don't know why that's the case because it seems like wasted area, doesn't it?

[00:07:24]So, when you've got all that space around it, why can't they just fill that space up with the image? Then you've got a bigger LCD, which is really appealing, of course. But yeah, overall, the Z 8 is a fantastic camera, and if this was the only camera I would use for the rest of my life, I'd be happy if I had the lens choices, of course.

[00:07:42]But it's just amazing. It's it I think actually some people would be overkill.

[00:07:47]For some of my things I do it is overkill and that's why I like smaller cameras. What could they put in the Z8 Mark II to encourage you to upgrade or to make the jump from F mount DSLRs to mirrorless. I think a lot of the upgrades now with all technologies incremental. It's kind of bit more functional. Like with the Mark II's of the zooms, it's incremental, not essential. I think we have amazing technology already.

[00:08:12]And maybe you could save up money to buy lenses or a trip.

[00:08:17]It's a difficult one, isn't it?

[00:08:18]Sometimes you really want that upgrade and it's like when I upgraded to the Z8, it was an easy choice for me and I don't regret it and it's been 3 years and it's been a great 3 years with this camera.

[00:08:28]Okay.

[00:08:30]Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time.