I have to buy SanDisk Extreme PRO CFexpress Card Type B 64GB for nikon Z8?

[Rassie]

Thank you for your tip. Why getting a card with larger than 64gb. Could you tell me please. I don’t take a lot of pictures.Thank you

You haven't given us any idea of how advanced you are as a photographer, and how and what you shoot besides telling us that you shoot birds and animals. So we have to guess as to what you shoot, and how.

1. If you're coming from a 20 MP D7500, then the 46 MP files generated by the Z8 are 60% larger in terms of how much storage space they take up on a memory card or disk drive.
2. Birds and animals often move, and sometimes they move fast. Think, for instance, shooting a bird while it's in flight, or shooting a sequence of an osprey diving into the water for a fish. The best way to get at least a few decent images under such conditions is to shoot in burst mode. Steve, in the guidance he posts on Backcountry Gallery (BCG), advises to shoot the maximum frame rate when doing bursts. On the Z8 that is 20 FPS (20 frames per second) in RAW. If you do JPEG, the frame rate can be even higher. Depending on the scenario you may not get all the images in a burst perfectly sharp - the camera may miss focus on a few frames, and that is why you want to shoot a burst to improve your chances of getting that real keeper.
3. The write speed to SD cards is slower than the write speed to a fast Cf Express card. This means the bottleneck caused by a slower SD card will fill the camera buffer faster, and that then slows down the camera's frame rate. You can shoot bursts for longer on a fast CF Express card than on an SD card before the buffer fills and slows down your burst rate.
4. A day of hectic shooting in burst mode with a Z8 will at some stage fill a 64GB memory card and force you to swap out the card in camera with a fresh one. And it's during the swap that you may miss the shot of a lifetime.

It's for the above reasons that it just makes sense to use fast CF Express cards with more storage capacity as your primary storage on the Z8. Also, being built more robust and in stronger housings, the CF Express cards will be able to handle more abuse without failing. On the Z8 I wouldn't consider anything smaller than 128 GB. My smallest CF Express is a 150 GB card, and I have another 325GB and one 512GB card.

 

[Mimi76]

The size of the card you need depends on how often you will download, whether you will take video, shoot RAW, etc. I have a friend who often doesn't download often so his card is often full. Both a 128 GB or a 256 GB card will work, the 128 GB card can hold about 3000 RAW pics (if my math is correct), which sounds like a lot. However, if you shoot 20 fps, that is about 2.5 min of shooting. Of course you can shoot in one of the compressed RAW modes or at 10fps or less (but then why have a Z8). So hard to recommend a size card without knowing more about your shooting habits.
PS. I am also a hobby photography but a heavy shooter, often doing pre-capture, 20 fps, etc.

thank you so much for this information. I don’t take the video. 128 is enough for me. I understand now. That’s very kind of you to help me.

 

[Doomrider74]

An SD card will cripple the ability of the camera to perform like it should, but you can use them.

You should absolutely buy a CFE type b card, preferably delkin, angelbird, etc that run cooler and have sustained write speeds of 800MB/s or better.

"Cripple" is a rather strong word for it: A good SD card works just fine in a Z8. Sure, CFE cards are better, but good SD cards work fine.

 

[MrFotoFool]

I have a Z8 and I only use SD cards. Like you, I don't do video and I don't do high speed bursts, so I do not need a more expensive CF type B card. I also do not need to buy a new card reader, since I have an SD reader on my desktop and my laptop came with a built-in SD slot.

The Z8 has two card slots, but you can use either one by itself or both together.

 

[Cameron T]

"Cripple" is a rather strong word for it: A good SD card works just fine in a Z8. Sure, CFE cards are better, but good SD cards work fine.

Not really. Any SD card is going to be unable to do 8k60, and probably 4k60 (though varies on method), and will hang up the buffer extremely quickly while a good CFE card can run forever.

It also doesn't make any sense when you can buy 512 gig or greater CFE cards for ~140 or so starting

 

[Doomrider74]

Not really. Any SD card is going to be unable to do 8k60, and probably 4k60 (though varies on method), and will hang up the buffer extremely quickly while a good CFE card can run forever.

It also doesn't make any sense when you can buy 512 gig or greater CFE cards for ~140 or so starting

The OP said he doesn't use video, and that's only part of the camera's functionality anyway so, again: "Cripple" isn't right.

 

[Mimi76]

I have a Z8 and I only use SD cards. Like you, I don't do video and I don't do high speed bursts, so I do not need a more expensive CF type B card. I also do not need to buy a new card reader, since I have an SD reader on my desktop and my laptop came with a built-in SD slot.

The Z8 has two card slots, but you can use either one by itself or both together.

Ok, thank you so much for your advice

 

[Mimi76]

You haven't given us any idea of how advanced you are as a photographer, and how and what you shoot besides telling us that you shoot birds and animals. So we have to guess as to what you shoot, and how.

1. If you're coming from a 20 MP D7500, then the 46 MP files generated by the Z8 are 60% larger in terms of how much storage space they take up on a memory card or disk drive.
2. Birds and animals often move, and sometimes they move fast. Think, for instance, shooting a bird while it's in flight, or shooting a sequence of an osprey diving into the water for a fish. The best way to get at least a few decent images under such conditions is to shoot in burst mode. Steve, in the guidance he posts on Backcountry Gallery (BCG), advises to shoot the maximum frame rate when doing bursts. On the Z8 that is 20 FPS (20 frames per second) in RAW. If you do JPEG, the frame rate can be even higher. Depending on the scenario you may not get all the images in a burst perfectly sharp - the camera may miss focus on a few frames, and that is why you want to shoot a burst to improve your chances of getting that real keeper.
3. The write speed to SD cards is slower than the write speed to a fast Cf Express card. This means the bottleneck caused by a slower SD card will fill the camera buffer faster, and that then slows down the camera's frame rate. You can shoot bursts for longer on a fast CF Express card than on an SD card before the buffer fills and slows down your burst rate.
4. A day of hectic shooting in burst mode with a Z8 will at some stage fill a 64GB memory card and force you to swap out the card in camera with a fresh one. And it's during the swap that you may miss the shot of a lifetime.

It's for the above reasons that it just makes sense to use fast CF Express cards with more storage capacity as your primary storage on the Z8. Also, being built more robust and in stronger housings, the CF Express cards will be able to handle more abuse without failing. On the Z8 I wouldn't consider anything smaller than 128 GB. My smallest CF Express is a 150 GB card, and I have another 325GB and one 512GB card.

thank you very much for this interesting information. I've now understood how it works because I've never had a cf express card. I'm not a professional photographer . I'm hobby. I have ordered the Delkin Power 512Gb (1780B/s) type B G4 Memory express cf card . what do you think of this cf? Thank you

 

[Rassie]

thank you very much for this interesting information. I've now understood how it works because I've never had a cf express card. I'm not a professional photographer . I'm hobby. I have ordered the Delkin Power 512Gb (1780B/s) type B G4 Memory express cf card . what do you think of this cf? Thank you

That is a great choice. I have that same card. I bought it a month ago and I used it extensively on a trip to Costa Rica three weeks ago. It performed perfectly for still photography, including high speed bursts. I did not do video, but based on the card’s specifications it will work very well for video as well.

 

[Mimi76]

That is a great choice. I have that same card. I bought it a month ago and I used it extensively on a trip to Costa Rica three weeks ago. It performed perfectly for still photography, including high speed bursts. I did not do video, but based on the card’s specifications it will work very well for video as well.

ah great! thank you sor much for your reply. Please, sorry to bother you again , May I ask you I have Nikon 200-500mm . I will get today the Nikon FTZ II - Adapter for F-Mount lenses as I know it will work with Nikon 200-500mm.
I would like to know if Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount is much better than 200-500mm? Are they same quality and performance? is it worth buying the Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount? Could you tell me please, I'm lost. Thank you so much.

 

[Rassie]

ah great! thank you sor much for your reply. Please, sorry to bother you again , May I ask you I have Nikon 200-500mm . I will get today the Nikon FTZ II - Adapter for F-Mount lenses as I know it will work with Nikon 200-500mm.
I would like to know if Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount is much better than 200-500mm? Are they same quality and performance? is it worth buying the Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount? Could you tell me please, I'm lost. Thank you so much.

I had the 200-500mm lens. I’m tied up for the rest of the day so I’ll only be able to answer the question tomorrow. Hopefully some of our friends here on BCG can chime in on this.

 

[Mimi76]

I had the 200-500mm lens. I’m tied up for the rest of the day so I’ll only be able to answer the question tomorrow. Hopefully some of our friends here on BCG can chime in on this.

Ok thank you so much !

 

[abc123brian]

ah great! thank you sor much for your reply. Please, sorry to bother you again , May I ask you I have Nikon 200-500mm . I will get today the Nikon FTZ II - Adapter for F-Mount lenses as I know it will work with Nikon 200-500mm.
I would like to know if Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount is much better than 200-500mm? Are they same quality and performance? is it worth buying the Nikon Z 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 S Zoom Lens For Z Mount? Could you tell me please, I'm lost. Thank you so much.

The 200-500 with ftz works just fine. It will work as good or better than it did on DSLR. The 100-400 is lighter, better built, smaller, has more features, but it’s also 100mm shorter. If you have the 200-500mm, I’d start with that. For birds, I’d recommend the 180-600 over the 100-400 as I think it’s a better option for birds. It’s also cheaper. I like it a lot better than the 200-500.

It sounds like you mostly got your memory card question sorted, but a few points to help clarify. You only need to use one card slot and can leave the other empty. If you put two cards in the camera, there is a menu setting for the behavior of the second slot. You can choose to have it backup the images to the second slot so you have two copies or overflow into it if you fill the capacity of the first card. I believe there are other options available as well, such as record RAW to slot 1 and jpg to slot 2, or photos to slot 1 and video to slot 2, but I don’t recall the options available to the Z8. While the camera doesn’t technically lose performance by using a slower card, its capabilities can be reduced. For example, if shooting a long burst at 20FPS, once you fill the buffer on the camera you have to wait for it write the images to the card before continuing to shoot. With a fast cfe type b card, it writes as fast as it shoots, or very close, so you don’t notice a decrease in fps. If shooting video, a slow card may not be able to keep up and video will stop. It may also not allow you to shoot certain video resolutions or codecs if using a slower card. When it comes to buying a fast SD card, they costs similar or more than cfe type B cards so when buying new I’d go with cfe B cards.

 

[Mimi76]

The 200-500 with ftz works just fine. It will work as good or better than it did on DSLR. The 100-400 is lighter, better built, smaller, has more features, but it’s also 100mm shorter. If you have the 200-500mm, I’d start with that. For birds, I’d recommend the 180-600 over the 100-400 as I think it’s a better option for birds. It’s also cheaper. I like it a lot better than the 200-500.

It sounds like you mostly got your memory card question sorted, but a few points to help clarify. You only need to use one card slot and can leave the other empty. If you put two cards in the camera, there is a menu setting for the behavior of the second slot. You can choose to have it backup the images to the second slot so you have two copies or overflow into it if you fill the capacity of the first card. I believe there are other options available as well, such as record RAW to slot 1 and jpg to slot 2, or photos to slot 1 and video to slot 2, but I don’t recall the options available to the Z8. While the camera doesn’t technically lose performance by using a slower card, its capabilities can be reduced. For example, if shooting a long burst at 20FPS, once you fill the buffer on the camera you have to wait for it write the images to the card before continuing to shoot. With a fast cfe type b card, it writes as fast as it shoots, or very close, so you don’t notice a decrease in fps. If shooting video, a slow card may not be able to keep up and video will stop. It may also not allow you to shoot certain video resolutions or codecs if using a slower card. When it comes to buying a fast SD card, they costs similar or more than cfe type B cards so when buying new I’d go with cfe B cards.

ah great!thank you so much for your this information interesting. It’s clear and simple to understand . Now I Understand . Finally I won’t receive my camera z8 today so I will get on Monday or Tuesday . I hope the settings on the camera are easy.

 

[Doomrider74]

ah great!thank you so much for your this information interesting. It’s clear and simple to understand . Now I Understand . Finally I won’t receive my camera z8 today so I will get on Monday or Tuesday . I hope the settings on the camera are easy.

You Tube is your friend, here: Steve Perry has a couple of great videos on setting up the Z8/Z9, and Ricci does a good one on first settings to change out of the box.

 

[framingpoint]

Take a look at this exceptional analysis, which includes testing. I think it'll answer all your questions.

 

[Mimi76]

You Tube is your friend, here: Steve Perry has a couple of great videos on setting up the Z8/Z9, and Ricci does a good one on first settings to change out of the box.

Ok thank you ! I’ll have a look.

 

[Mimi76]

Take a look at this exceptional analysis, which includes testing. I think it'll answer all your questions.

Ok, thank you !

 

[Anjin San]

I have several in the 160-300 range…but bought a pair of 1.3TB ones for Africa last month and never looked back. I downloaded daily but did not delete from cards and still had about 300BG left on each fter 33K shots with Z8 and Z9.

 

[BChrisRad]

Nikon UK Online Courses for the Z8. I have done all three for the Z8. I got the most out of the focus one. Depending on your level of comfort with the Z8 you might also get something out of Part 1 & 2. They are live Zoom classes that are not recorded. When you sign up they will send you a link for the Zoom class. Keep track of it!! You will need it to log on to the Zoom class. Times and dates are UK, so make sure you have the correct time for where you are located.

Ricci from Nikon and the first 10 settings that he changes. He did all of my above Nikon classes.

Be aware that some videos will be from before the major firmware update a few months ago. Presently the Z8 is up to 2.01. Some videos will be from 1.0 firmware. Still good information on these, but some settings may be slightly different numbers.

Good luck and enjoy you new Z8.

 

[Mimi76]

Nikon UK Online Courses for the Z8. I have done all three for the Z8. I got the most out of the focus one. Depending on your level of comfort with the Z8 you might also get something out of Part 1 & 2. They are live Zoom classes that are not recorded. When you sign up they will send you a link for the Zoom class. Keep track of it!! You will need it to log on to the Zoom class. Times and dates are UK, so make sure you have the correct time for where you are located.

Ricci from Nikon and the first 10 settings that he changes. He did all of my above Nikon classes.

Be aware that some videos will be from before the major firmware update a few months ago. Presently the Z8 is up to 2.01. Some videos will be from 1.0 firmware. Still good information on these, but some settings may be slightly different numbers.

Good luck and enjoy you new Z8.

Thank you so much for both links.

 

[Mimi76]

I had the 200-500mm lens. I’m tied up for the rest of the day so I’ll only be able to answer the question tomorrow. Hopefully some of our friends here on BCG can chime in on this.

Hello Rassie, sorry to bother you again. Could you help me please , thank you. I would like to know if it's good this SD UHS-II 128GB Card V60 –Up to 130MB/s Write Speed and 250 MB/s Read Speed | before ordering. I want your opinion. Thank you s much.

 

[Rassie]

Hello Rassie, sorry to bother you again. Could you help me please , thank you. I would like to know if it's good this SD UHS-II 128GB Card V60 –Up to 130MB/s Write Speed and 250 MB/s Read Speed | before ordering. I want your opinion. Thank you s much.

Sorry, I don't really use SD cards in my camera so I'm not familiar with the best SD cards now. I trust someone else here can answer that one for you.

 

[Mimi76]

Sorry, I don't really use SD cards in my camera so I'm not familiar with the best SD cards now. I trust someone else here can answer that one for you.

Ok , no problem, thank you

 

[Mimi76]

The 200-500 with ftz works just fine. It will work as good or better than it did on DSLR. The 100-400 is lighter, better built, smaller, has more features, but it’s also 100mm shorter. If you have the 200-500mm, I’d start with that. For birds, I’d recommend the 180-600 over the 100-400 as I think it’s a better option for birds. It’s also cheaper. I like it a lot better than the 200-500.

It sounds like you mostly got your memory card question sorted, but a few points to help clarify. You only need to use one card slot and can leave the other empty. If you put two cards in the camera, there is a menu setting for the behavior of the second slot. You can choose to have it backup the images to the second slot so you have two copies or overflow into it if you fill the capacity of the first card. I believe there are other options available as well, such as record RAW to slot 1 and jpg to slot 2, or photos to slot 1 and video to slot 2, but I don’t recall the options available to the Z8. While the camera doesn’t technically lose performance by using a slower card, its capabilities can be reduced. For example, if shooting a long burst at 20FPS, once you fill the buffer on the camera you have to wait for it write the images to the card before continuing to shoot. With a fast cfe type b card, it writes as fast as it shoots, or very close, so you don’t notice a decrease in fps. If shooting video, a slow card may not be able to keep up and video will stop. It may also not allow you to shoot certain video resolutions or codecs if using a slower card. When it comes to buying a fast SD card, they costs similar or more than cfe type B cards so when buying new I’d go with cfe B cards.

Hello , sorry to bother you again. Could you help me please , thank you. I would like to know if it's good this SD UHS-II 128GB Card V60 –Up to 130MB/s Write Speed and 250 MB/s Read Speed | before ordering. I want your opinion. Thank you s much.