Z8 After One Week - What You Need To Know

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I have the LFn2 button programmed for FX-DX switch but it may end up in the i menu
I put it in the iMenu and towards the top in MyMenu on the Z9 and will test it out this week at Orlando Wetlands and Lake Apopka…although I'll have to deliberately remember to try it rather than just plan on doing my normal crop in post workflow. Assuming that works…or more likely even if it's not quite as easy I'll learn to do it that way so the Z8 will work the same…because none of the other buttons have functions I'm willing to give up…although I am considering putting FX/DX on the ISO button assuming it will go there since I'm almost always in Auto ISO and the only times I'm not in that mode are for waterfalls and then I'm using ISO 64 but setting it manually via iMenu or MyMenu is easy.
 
After Steve mentioned it in a video I tested it in my R5. In full frame I kept stepping back and using people eye AF until it failed. I then switched to crop and could then continue to step back and have success. I forget my exact number, but I think it was about another 30-40% improvement.
I'm convinced it actually works better that way…and that the reasons will remain mostly unknown. I've thought about the 'smaller data stream so easier to calculate' idea…but unless the software is designed to work differently in DX and do AF calculations faster the fact that it's looking at fewer AF sites shouldn't make any difference, and I wouldn't be surprised if it does work differently in DX.
 
I have my Z9 set to switch between FX and DX with the "Record" button next to the ISO button. Still works for record when in Video mode. It's right where you need it when you want it.
Thought about that as well…but then I would lose the AF Area/Mode that's there now. With sticky buttons and the front/back dials switched…tapping that, rotating the rear dial and tapping the shutter is way easier than using the AF switch on the front left, particularly with a long lens. Like Steve…I try to set what I think is the best area mode for the situation…and that changes from now to 10 seconds from now a lot…and I switch areas a whole lot more than I switch to DX. I'll have to look and see what iMenu slot is preselected by default (if there is one) and perhaps move FX/DX to there instead of the slot it's in currently which would quicken the change time using that mode.
 
I'm convinced it actually works better that way…and that the reasons will remain mostly unknown. I've thought about the 'smaller data stream so easier to calculate' idea…but unless the software is designed to work differently in DX and do AF calculations faster the fact that it's looking at fewer AF sites shouldn't make any difference, and I wouldn't be surprised if it does work differently in DX.
Maybe the buffer size for AF computation does not change from FX to DX, so this could mean that DX is finally analysed with higher resolution on the subject.
 
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Maybe the buffer size for AF computation does not change from FX to DX, so this could mean that DX is finally analysed with higher resolution on the subject.
Probably so…I'm just not going to worry any more about the why and just accept the 'because it does' answer. Makes the recovering engineer in me less than happy but if I wait 10 minutes I'll move onto something else.
 
LOL, yeah, you gotta use a little clickbait to get people to watch anymore. My "normal" titled vides tend to bomb by comparison.
I noticed that the guy who does the sniff test gets way more views on his vids when he puts “Nikon” somewhere in the title, whether or not he actually has something to say about Nikon. I’m sure he is aware of it as well, and that is the reason he adds it whenever he possibly can. And he always rags on Nikon.
 
I put it in the iMenu and towards the top in MyMenu on the Z9 and will test it out this week at Orlando Wetlands and Lake Apopka…although I'll have to deliberately remember to try it rather than just plan on doing my normal crop in post workflow. Assuming that works…or more likely even if it's not quite as easy I'll learn to do it that way so the Z8 will work the same…because none of the other buttons have functions I'm willing to give up…although I am considering putting FX/DX on the ISO button assuming it will go there since I'm almost always in Auto ISO and the only times I'm not in that mode are for waterfalls and then I'm using ISO 64 but setting it manually via iMenu or MyMenu is easy.
I've changed this up again. I want to be able to do a fairly quick FX/DX switch but almost exclusively with long lenses. Unfortunately my 500/4E does not have an LFn2 button so I had to find a new button. Grrr. I chose the Record button and assigned to it "Choose Image Area". I also limited Image area to FX & DX so it only cycles thru those two areas. I did not choose the FX/DX switch as I was concerned about an accidental bump changing FX to DX or vice versa. The Record button is one of 2 buttons that changes function for me between the Action and Scenic banks where I have it set to toggle gridlines on/off. Now alI I have to do is remember it. :rolleyes:
 
Thought about that as well…but then I would lose the AF Area/Mode that's there now. With sticky buttons and the front/back dials switched…tapping that, rotating the rear dial and tapping the shutter is way easier than using the AF switch on the front left, particularly with a long lens. Like Steve…I try to set what I think is the best area mode for the situation…and that changes from now to 10 seconds from now a lot…and I switch areas a whole lot more than I switch to DX. I'll have to look and see what iMenu slot is preselected by default (if there is one) and perhaps move FX/DX to there instead of the slot it's in currently which would quicken the change time using that mode.
Yep.....I originally had the record button setup like you. But using the side button for that does the same thing so I decided "Choose Image Area" works better than having a redundant button.
So many possibilities and now two cameras with different buttons....my brain is getting full....:)
 
Will this card work in the new Z8? Buffer perfect in the D850 with large image setting 9 images per second.
IMG_0520.jpg
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I've had the Z8 for just over a week and there is a LOT to talk about! With the shipment date getting closer all the time, here's what YOU need to know before your camera arrives!

In this video, I'll talk about how the Z8 has performed over the past week or so, as well as spill the beans on AF tests, buffer tests, and battery tests! If you're thinking about a Z8, this is the ONE video you absolutely must see!

The Z8 is a great camera - nearly as good as my Z9.
I couldn't get mine to overheat.
I can live without ethernet but I'm less happy about older EN-El15 and dummy batteries not being compatible.
Battery life is about the same as any other mirrorless camera - i've been spoilt by the Z9.
Good job the Z8 has 2 USB ports... 🦘
 
I read a post by some guy on the Internet who said that the build quality of the z8 was a bit disappointing. Is it less than the d850 for example?
Don't confuse lighter materials with build quality. The materials in the Z8 are lighter than those used similarly in the D850 and should be as strong or stronger. The weather sealing is also better than the D850.

We'll see other posts that it is too heavy because it is heavier than a Z7ii.

Look at facts and evaluate for yourself.
 
Above and beyond yet more www BS on rumours sites, it's well known that Nikon has been using a carbon fibre composite in its cameras, since it was first used in a DSLR - the D5300 in 2013. Nikon made history (yet again) in being in the vanguard of selecting this composite polymer, including for what the acronym means : “Save the Earth, REvolutionary & Evolutionary carBOn.”
"The LFT version of Sereebo was first used in 2013 on commercial components for D5300 SLR cameras from Nikon Corp., Tokyo, Japan." https://www.compositesworld.com/articles/seerebo-cfrtp-sheets-saving-the-earth

and thereafter repeatedly, including the Mg-Sereebo monocoque design of the D750 and D850 - and now they have repeated this well proven technology in the Z8.
According to Nikon:
"Adding on to the robustness of this camera is Sereebo® P series, a new environmentally friendly material used on the main body components, which can endure knocks and withstand temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the dust-and-drip resistant7 design helps to prevent dust and liquid from entering the camera."

I recall Thom Hogan answered questions on this topic of the Z8 build quality in his Paul's Camera presentation earlier this month (link has been shared here in BCG somewhere)

Remarkable stuff -



Panasonic has used Sereebo in at least one of its recent video cameras, and it's been used in airliners as well as pickup trucks primarily for its high strength-weight ratio and low environmental impacts
 
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I am not confusing anything. As I am own a Z9 and a D850, I am trying to establish what the build is like of the Z8. The post I quoted raised the issue so I asked how it compares to the D850 as a point of comparison.
My personal opinion of the Z8 build is it matches their other prosumer cams. I've no complains on fit and finish and, IMO, it feels solid and well built. I don't have my D850 anymore but I don't think the Z8 is, in any way, a let down from the D850 (I have zero concerns on the Sereebo body parts). In fact the Z8 is going to join my ist of all time favorite Nikon's: F100, D700, D850, and now the Z8!
 
Thank you Geoff for addressing the question posed. Knowing the past quality of Nikon cameras, I would have been surprised had the Z8 been inferior, but not having yet had the opportunity to get my hands on one, I thought it best to enquire nonetheless.
I'm confident you won't be disappointed.
 
It seems that some people are involved in a lot of ways (emotionnal, financial, marketting ?) when it's about gear.
I always found that talking on a forum cuts the human relationship of a communication and leads to misundestanding the real point of some messages.
More than that a lot of people write in langages that are not their native langage, which can lead to misinterpretation through ignorance of certain subtleties of the language used.

All that is the life of forums ...

Nothing can replace a real handshake (I know some can't culturally do this ;)) and an eye to eye conversation.
 
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How do you erase some posts of a thread ?
Some have disappeared from this one and my comment has nothing to do here now.
But I don't know how to delete it ?

Thanx for an answer.
 
How do you erase some posts of a thread ?
Some have disappeared from this one and my comment has nothing to do here now.
But I don't know how to delete it ?

Thanx for an answer.
i don’t that you can delete them outright, but you can edit it and remove the content and just leave a note like

[deleted, no longer relevant]

or such
 
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