Getting used to the Nikon Z8

[Ioannis Tziamalis]

It pays off to experiment with camera settings, which includes test shooting on different subjects and backgrounds (and this also applies to how you configure your iMenu and MyMenu). The challenges are to learn how to setup and integrate all these features as an ensemble for one's own needs - basically How and Where one photographs What. It helps to be flexible and try and keep an open mind, and keep trying new things. One's Muscle memory is the underlying factor to respect, however. Too many recent changes has the tendency to discombobulate the camera operator - speaking from experience - and especially in the heat of the moment. Before one does tweak settings to experiment, it is good practice to change over to a pair of Settings Banks to run the experiment, so you don't change your mainstream settings of what's proven to work reliably to date. This also allows switching back in a second (using i-menu) to working settings if you are presented with a pair of courting vultures or similar rare opportunity!

A primary lesson is one has to work out the settings that work best for you. My 0.02c cliché is one doesn't stop learning in photography. This includes trying out a new way to do something with a camera, and modern ILCs allow wide scope to tweak settings. So for the OP, while 2 days is too short a time, I agree if you hit the track by 'borrowing' a refined setup, and have prior wildlife experience, you'll be off to a good start with your Z8

So yes, as already said, i fully agree with the advice to invest in both eBooks; I rate Steve's better in explaining the How and Why for wildlife photography, together with reading through these forum threads. Oh, yes, and it's wise practice to backup your settings to a card before tinkering and testing

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Thank you so much for your detailed reply!


Due to some personal reasons I'll probably end up getting my Z8 a little bit later this year, most likely in the fall, so I hope I'll have time to learn and get used to the camera for the next trips.

 

[Geoff_G]

Try as i might I could never warm up to BBAF, but I'm very comfortable using the shutter button to initiate focus (old dog new tricks I guess but I've been using the shutter button for AF since I got my AF SLR back in the 80's). I use the AF-On button for 3D Tracking (action bank) or AF-Lock (Scenic Bank). Fn1 and 2 are dedicated to Auto Area and single point in both banks.

 

[Ioannis Tziamalis]

Try as i might I could never warm up to BBAF, but I'm very comfortable using the shutter button to initiate focus (old dog new tricks I guess but I've been using the shutter button for AF since I got my AF SLR back in the 80's). I use the AF-On button for 3D Tracking (action bank) or AF-Lock (Scenic Bank). Fn1 and 2 are dedicated to Auto Area and single point in both banks.

Thanks! I am using BBF with my DSLR and the Z6ii, so I think I'll keep using it on the Z8 just for practical reasons.

 

[fcotterill]

Thank you so much for your detailed reply!


Due to some personal reasons I'll probably end up getting my Z8 a little bit later this year, most likely in the fall, so I hope I'll have time to learn and get used to the camera for the next trips.

Sorry for the long posts in trying to distill down the essence in my experience with these different cameras. An additional comment, is those buying a new Z9 or Z8 today have the benefit of gleaning from the experience of those of us who started off early last year, and have driven the Z9 hard and far. Whilst Hindsight is a wonderful gift in this respect, Nikon has modified key features of the Z9 since March 2022 in 6+ firmware updates, which also added entirely new features.

Latterly, Nikon has migrated much of this more refined Z9 technology into the Z8 - so win-win

 

[Ioannis Tziamalis]

Sorry for the long posts in trying to distill down the essence in my experience with these different cameras. An additional comment, is those buying a new Z9 or Z8 today have the benefit of gleaning from the experience of those of us who started off early last year, and have driven the Z9 hard and far. Whilst Hindsight is a wonderful gift in this respect, Nikon has modified key features of the Z9 since March 2022 in 6+ firmware updates, which also added entirely new features.

Latterly, Nikon has migrated much of this more refined Z9 technology into the Z8 - so win-win

Yes I've heard that the Z9 was a completely different camera when it came out. Some even qualify the Z9 at this moment as a Z9ii, due to the major updates that it has received.

 

[Geoff_G]

Thanks! I am using BBF with my DSLR and the Z6ii, so I think I'll keep using it on the Z8 just for practical reasons.

Absolutely. Go with what works for you!
You will enjoy the Z8 when you get it. Setting it up and learning it is part of the fun...

 

[jfredrick]

Woody, Andy, and others…. Thanks and great information that you have added in this thread! Steve’s book is also a great read and reference to help get things set-up. Todays cameras may be complex but they are fun and great tools when you take time to learn how to use them.

 

[Crr008]

AND you can use my settings spreadsheet as well if you wish.

Andy, I can't thank you enjoy for the spreadsheet. I'm a huge spreadsheet person and also a visual person. Trying to remember how I set up each bank has been driving me nuts. Why it never occurred to me to do a spreadsheet for the settings is beyond me. This will be a great jumping off point for me to review your settings and then record my own. Many, many thanks.

 

[agrumpyoldsod]

DELETED

ONLY the VERY TOP high speed CF-express type B cards can be used for N-RAw or PreRes recordings and the data rate is VAST.

Even SD cards can be used for 8-bit H.264 recordings.

Everything else depends on the speed of the card AND how hot or cool it runs.

The settings shown in GREEN is the top quality fps video settings most professionals use -- so please ask yourself why YOU need more, before choosing a format/codex and FPS that results in vastly larger file sizes and data write speeds.

 

[Many Feathers]

My settings spreadsheet (post 3) has been updated to incorporate firmware 4.0 for the Z9

Yes, Andy, your spreadsheet helped me a lot too! Thanks!

 

[bumeister]

Apologies for resurrecting this thread potentially inappropriately, but... is this magic spreadsheet still available for download? The Z8 is a bit different from my Z6 in some fairly significant ways.

 

[Rogereh]

I've been struggling all day to set up my new Z8 following Steve's book. So fa
r I have two things that I can't figure out how to make wor.
1. I can't get the histogram to display in either the ey or monitor by cycling thru the DISP settings.
2. I can't figure out to to get the camera to automatically show the review after I take a photo like in my other Z cameras.
can anyone help with these two problems?

So far I'm having difficulties adapting the the electronic shutter . It is so foreign to me after 60+ years of hearing that mechanical clack instead of the little artificial shutter sound in the Z8. I'm sure that eventualling I 'll get use to how strange and complicated this new camera is to me. Right now I'm not enjoying it very much and struggling. I'm finding Steve's book hard to follow as it has a ton of info that I really don't need to get started. It would be much easier to just have a list of suggested settings to set to get started, and then work thru the advanced stuff later.

 

[Cameron T]

I've been struggling all day to set up my new Z8 following Steve's book. So fa
r I have two things that I can't figure out how to make wor.
1. I can't get the histogram to display in either the ey or monitor by cycling thru the DISP settings.

Did you select in as a display option?

d17: Custom Monitor Shooting Display

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

2. I can't figure out to to get the camera to automatically show the review after I take a photo like in my other Z cameras.

Picture Review

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

can anyone help with these two problems?

The online manual (and reference manual) both help

So far I'm having difficulties adapting the the electronic shutter . It is so foreign to me after 60+ years of hearing that mechanical clack instead of the little artificial shutter sound in the Z8.

I have my shutter off on my z9 completely. I don't want to hear it. I love it being silent.

I'm sure that eventualling I 'll get use to how strange and complicated this new camera is to me. Right now I'm not enjoying it very much and struggling. I'm finding Steve's book hard to follow as it has a ton of info that I really don't need to get started. It would be much easier to just have a list of suggested settings to set to get started, and then work thru the advanced stuff later.

no fix for this except time shooting it. You can also leave a lot of the settings alone for the time being, unless you know you already want to change them

 

[Rogereh]

Did you select in as a display option?

d17: Custom Monitor Shooting Display

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

Picture Review

onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com

The online manual (and reference manual) both help

I have my shutter off on my z9 completely. I don't want to hear it. I love it being silent.


no fix for this except time shooting it. You can also leave a lot of the settings alone for the time being, unless you know you already want to change them

Thanks, I did find the review setting in the menu system looking for something else. The histogram also magically showed up also.

 

[Crr008]

So far I'm having difficulties adapting the the electronic shutter . It is so foreign to me after 60+ years of hearing that mechanical clack instead of the little artificial shutter sound in the Z8. I'm sure that eventualling I 'll get use to how strange and complicated this new camera is to me. Right now I'm not enjoying it very much and struggling. I'm finding Steve's book hard to follow as it has a ton of info that I really don't need to get started. It would be much easier to just have a list of suggested settings to set to get started, and then work thru the advanced stuff later.

Have you tried watching Steve’s youtube set up video? It hits the highlights of what is in the book. I know it is overwhelming. Took me about three weeks of fiddling with it for things to start clicking for me. Then one day recently I took both my Z8 and my D850 (old camera) out and shot them side by side. 1) I couldn’t believe how loud my old camera was compared to the Z8. I actually now prefer the new camera sound over the old one (have it set on the quietest mode). 2) I didn’t realize how much easier it was to grab focus or dial in the settings on the Z8 until I shot side by side with both of them. I then realized all the frustration and confusion of setting up the Z8 was worth it. I’m getting more comfortable with it every time I use it. Hang in there. It will get better.

 

[Many Feathers]

I came from the D850 and was very surprised at the learning curve as I've been a serious hobbyist for years. There are so many options! Steve Perry's 2 books (the one on setting up the Z8 and the one on Understanding Nikon's Autofocus - Mirrorless) helped tremendously. Still, it's taken several weeks and much studying and practicing a little every day to feel like I'm understanding how to use the features of this incredible camera. I'm capturing images I never got with the D850 with my backyard BIF. Hang in there.... it's worth it.

 

[Chaz Harrison]

I took my brand new (just 70 test shots in the garden) Z8 and an FTZII/500PF to a local bird reserve yesterday. I had previously set it up following Steve's very helpful video. I did differ in that I set FN1 to 3D & AFon and FN2 to dynamic wide C1 & AFon as I find one button rather than two easier to cope with. I got some shots (well rather too many on 20fps!) of avocets and a great black-backed gull in flight. The birds were a bit too far away for wall hangers but the camera nailed the focus and the 3D tracking kept on the eye really well. I only deleted half a dozen out of 350 for oof. I thought avocets might be a problem with a largely black head surrounding a dark eye but it wasn't. These shots are crops.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

The next one is of the gull being "mobbed" by a common tern. Doesn't look too worried does he?

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

For a first trip out offering few BIF opportunities I am very pleased with these.

Chaz

 

[Gaduf]

Wow, this post comes at a very appropriate time for me as I have just taken delivery of my new Z8 camera.
I am currently working through Steve's Z8/9 set up guide which is very detailed and most informative, but a little overwhelming having come from a DSLR background.
Many thanks to the many responders to this post who have provided a wealth of valuable guidance and information ,and, in particular fcotterhill and Andy Miller for their very detailed and informative attachments, documents and reference material.
Regards
Gavin

 

[Ioannis Tziamalis]

I took my brand new (just 70 test shots in the garden) Z8 and an FTZII/500PF to a local bird reserve yesterday. I had previously set it up following Steve's very helpful video. I did differ in that I set FN1 to 3D & AFon and FN2 to dynamic wide C1 & AFon as I find one button rather than two easier to cope with. I got some shots (well rather too many on 20fps!) of avocets and a great black-backed gull in flight. The birds were a bit too far away for wall hangers but the camera nailed the focus and the 3D tracking kept on the eye really well. I only deleted half a dozen out of 350 for oof. I thought avocets might be a problem with a largely black head surrounding a dark eye but it wasn't. These shots are crops.


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The next one is of the gull being "mobbed" by a common tern. Doesn't look too worried does he?

View attachment 65618

For a first trip out offering few BIF opportunities I am very pleased with these.

Chaz

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Mike111]

Thank you very much Andy! It will be all so new to me, but I hope to come to grips with it as quickly as possible.

Dropbox says this link to the files does not exist

 

[RickW]

I’ll take a contrary view. And say no way bring the new gear on trip several days after you get it. I came to the Z8 from my D850 and have shot with pretty much every F mount Nikon SLR and DSLR produced going back to my old Nikon F in the 60’s. I can shoot previous Nikons in my sleep. 100% no think muscle memory. Then I got my Z8. First, let me admit that I’m 75 yrs old and the old adage about “teaching old dogs new tricks” is quite accurate in my case. I have Steve’s book and watched his videos. The Z8 is, by all accounts, an outstanding computer masquerading as a camera. The EVF is welcomed since you can see any tweaks in real time before tripping the shutter.

My problem has to do with the overwhelming number of options available. In the recent dslrs, we had to decide on which focus area to use and how m@ny points. In my frequent sports and wildlife shooting, I tended to use either single focus point or D9 points for almost everything. With 5he new Z 8&9, not only do you have similar choices for main options plus a lot more new ones, but then each of the main opinions have numerous sub options. I’ve had the camera a couple of weeks and I’m still not sure I understand most of the options available to me . Worse yet, not only am I struggling to remember all of the capabilities offered, even if I do recall something I want to use, I can’t easily figure out where to find them. To make matters worse, there are so many more function buttons available that just remembering what button does what is a bear. AND - now my various lenses have function recall buttons and rings in addition to what’s on the body and, not every lens has th3 same functions in the same location.

I find myself struggling to use all of the various focus areas, being able to change not only the size but the orientation (vertical or horizontal). I originally set up the camera to focus on @animals’ eyes and yesterday, when I shot my stationary dog, I couldn’t remember how to turn off the eye focus.

I’ll figure it out eventually, but I have a family vacation in late August and I will be bringing my DSLR kit. Not a chance I’m going to be anywhere near proficient with the Z.

 

[Jim DeLuco]

I use Wide-Large and Wide-Small focus area. For birds in flight I recommend a minimum of 1/2000th second. Back button focus with the Z8 is a bit tricky since the "joystick" can't be turned off and because of its proximity to the AF-On button you may find you're moving the focus area accidentally. It takes getting used to. Some have turned off back button focus to minimize this problem. I've found that setting subject detection to Animal and not Auto increases the focus accuracy.

 

[Viathelens]

I’ll take a contrary view. And say no way bring the new gear on trip several days after you get it. I came to the Z8 from my D850 and have shot with pretty much every F mount Nikon SLR and DSLR produced going back to my old Nikon F in the 60’s. I can shoot previous Nikons in my sleep. 100% no think muscle memory. Then I got my Z8. First, let me admit that I’m 75 yrs old and the old adage about “teaching old dogs new tricks” is quite accurate in my case. I have Steve’s book and watched his videos. The Z8 is, by all accounts, an outstanding computer masquerading as a camera. The EVF is welcomed since you can see any tweaks in real time before tripping the shutter.

My problem has to do with the overwhelming number of options available. In the recent dslrs, we had to decide on which focus area to use and how m@ny points. In my frequent sports and wildlife shooting, I tended to use either single focus point or D9 points for almost everything. With 5he new Z 8&9, not only do you have similar choices for main options plus a lot more new ones, but then each of the main opinions have numerous sub options. I’ve had the camera a couple of weeks and I’m still not sure I understand most of the options available to me . Worse yet, not only am I struggling to remember all of the capabilities offered, even if I do recall something I want to use, I can’t easily figure out where to find them. To make matters worse, there are so many more function buttons available that just remembering what button does what is a bear. AND - now my various lenses have function recall buttons and rings in addition to what’s on the body and, not every lens has th3 same functions in the same location.

I find myself struggling to use all of the various focus areas, being able to change not only the size but the orientation (vertical or horizontal). I originally set up the camera to focus on @animals’ eyes and yesterday, when I shot my stationary dog, I couldn’t remember how to turn off the eye focus.

I’ll figure it out eventually, but I have a family vacation in late August and I will be bringing my DSLR kit. Not a chance I’m going to be anywhere near proficient with the Z.

I have both a Z9 and a Z8. My advice is to not worry that you have all those options, just forget about a lot of them in the beginning, use only what you really need, set up maybe two or three buttons so you can remember what each one does. My Z8 is set on auto auto-focus for a subject that is not surrounded by a lot of "stuff" and the focus is right-on, actually tack sharp for most of the shots. I shoot mainly wildlife so mine is set to animal tracking and I've most often used the auto auto-focus because it is so good. At times I will have to give the auto-focus a nudge by turning the focus ring on the lens or by moving the camera to readjust the focus. Start with the basics, really as we would with any camera, and build on those basics over time as you begin to better understand the camera. Right now the only thing I have configured on it is the i menu, and that is easy to remember because it tells you what it is. This little hummer is a shot from yesterday, using the auto auto-focus setting and even though there were branches in the background the auto-focus locked onto the bird. I love the Z8, it is a really great camera. I have hundreds of other hummingbird shots at the feeder at my house that are all tack-sharp using the auto auto-focus setting. I feel like I'm cheating because it is so easy to use.

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Patrick M]

Wow, this post comes at a very appropriate time for me as I have just taken delivery of my new Z8 camera.
I am currently working through Steve's Z8/9 set up guide which is very detailed and most informative, but a little overwhelming having come from a DSLR background.
Many thanks to the many responders to this post who have provided a wealth of valuable guidance and information ,and, in particular fcotterhill and Andy Miller for their very detailed and informative attachments, documents and reference material.
Regards
Gavin

Take a look as well at Hudson Henry on YouTube…he has back to back videos on a basic setup then using that to create action, landscape and Astro.

I have read Steve’s book, Hudson’s videos and Andy’s spreadsheet.

My take on this is to try to understand WHY these settpings work for them, then apply what you’ve learned to your own style. I love my Z8 after 4 years with the Z6.

 

[Geoff_G]

I’ll take a contrary view. And say no way bring the new gear on trip several days after you get it. I came to the Z8 from my D850 and have shot with pretty much every F mount Nikon SLR and DSLR produced going back to my old Nikon F in the 60’s. I can shoot previous Nikons in my sleep. 100% no think muscle memory. Then I got my Z8. First, let me admit that I’m 75 yrs old and the old adage about “teaching old dogs new tricks” is quite accurate in my case. I have Steve’s book and watched his videos. The Z8 is, by all accounts, an outstanding computer masquerading as a camera. The EVF is welcomed since you can see any tweaks in real time before tripping the shutter.

My problem has to do with the overwhelming number of options available. In the recent dslrs, we had to decide on which focus area to use and how m@ny points. In my frequent sports and wildlife shooting, I tended to use either single focus point or D9 points for almost everything. With 5he new Z 8&9, not only do you have similar choices for main options plus a lot more new ones, but then each of the main opinions have numerous sub options. I’ve had the camera a couple of weeks and I’m still not sure I understand most of the options available to me . Worse yet, not only am I struggling to remember all of the capabilities offered, even if I do recall something I want to use, I can’t easily figure out where to find them. To make matters worse, there are so many more function buttons available that just remembering what button does what is a bear. AND - now my various lenses have function recall buttons and rings in addition to what’s on the body and, not every lens has th3 same functions in the same location.

I find myself struggling to use all of the various focus areas, being able to change not only the size but the orientation (vertical or horizontal). I originally set up the camera to focus on @animals’ eyes and yesterday, when I shot my stationary dog, I couldn’t remember how to turn off the eye focus.

I’ll figure it out eventually, but I have a family vacation in late August and I will be bringing my DSLR kit. Not a chance I’m going to be anywhere near proficient with the Z.

I'll be 73 in a week so I can relate. Like you I've had countless DSLR's starting with the D100 (I've have plenty of Nikon F cams before that including my favorite - the F100).
I also found the transition to Mirrorless (Z9 from a D850) a bit mind numbing. It was, as you say, all of the friggen options. It takes time to work thru them but you'll get there. I understand the Z8 and Z9 pretty well by now. But like you I don't recommend jumping into mirrorless (If it's the first one) days before a trip. Take DSLR Backup.

FWIW, For focus modes I usually stick to Wide-L, Wide-S, C1 or C2......I have C1 set to 1x3 (or 1x5) and C2 is usually somewhere between W-L and W-S. These focus modes all behave the same within their area so if you learn one you got it pretty much got it.
As to button assignments I have tired not to repurpose buttons (ie, exposure comp does exposure comp, etc). The Video record button is free game tho. FN1 and FN2 and most every other assignable button behave the same between banks or I'd get wrapped around the axle lickety split.
One thing, dumb as it may sound, that was a help to me was to set the VF for Prioritize VF (2). That's much more DSLR like and my preferred use. I also love that you can set the VF to show effects of settings. Hard to get a horrible exposure using that and it's one of my favorite features (along with a histogram) over DSLR's.
Enjoy the ride!