Official Nikon Z8 Launch And Discussion Thread

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FYI
One intriguing difference in burst depth between the Z8 and Z9, otherwise as expected

yah, i found that interesting (and surprising) as well. i wonder if the z9 implements the he codec in hw and the z8 in sw.

if so, we could see differentiation emerge with new features like raw pre-capture.

if so, i imagine folks will assume it's a conspiracy on nikon's part to cripple the z8 😂
 
FYI
One intriguing difference in burst depth between the Z8 and Z9, otherwise as expected

It is ridiculously easy not to perform these tests exactly the same each time.

If we were to assign error bars I would state +/- 10% at best on any measurement or series of measurement. SO 77 +/- 7 would be a fair bet for 90% of FPS tests with a good Delkin Black Card.

A simple example (as shown by hudson henry) -- do you ""TRY""" to stop the instant the shutter first stutters OR perform say a 10 second burst an count how many images were shot at 20 fps and then what each of the rest of the shots were taken at.

To do this one "must" use an on screen stopwatch which displays 1/100ths second - counting numbers of shots per second and then honing in when the rate 1st drops below 20 fps.

OBVIOUSLY the scene is somewhat less complex than a normal wildlife image would contain and as a result the file sizes will be on the smaller side. [examining over 26,000 Lossless RAW files the actual file size varied between 46MB and 81MB and the average was 55.5MB].

This is good news for open sky BIF shooters -- your file sizes should be towards the smaller end - that is until you get close to the trees and the earth where my prey (sorry subjects) tend to hang out.

The top issue helping/hindering fps
  • The CF express Type B card: make, product (including version) and size -- there are 2 Delikin Blacks (older and newer) and now 2 Delkin Power (where the new G4 line is significantly faster than the previous) etc....
  • DO NOT write back up to both cards -- the fps will drop to the speed the SD card can clear images
  • Shoot at shutter speeds well above 1/250th (most wildlife shooters generally do for action -- well in good light that is)
  • ONLY use VR sport or turn it off.
  • Turn off Flickr reduction etc..... and everything else that really should not be needed outdoors.
  • Complexity of the tones in the scene - which impacts file sizes.
  • Yes -- I only shoot lossless RAW, but the smaller HE* file size can maintain speed and lengthen bursts [not that I ever shoot this way.].
 
Does not support config file directly afaik, but you can download from connected camera, edit and then sync updated settings. Not sure if Z8 is supported yet, but the Z9 is. Maybe check their supported camera’s list 1st. Hopefully updated quickly
Reikan focal & snapshot ipad os app has just received an update to support the Z8. I assume desktop version also received an update.
 
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Nikon Z8 review by an Enthusiast photographer

 
fyi

and this factor is leveraging sales of Z Mount lenses...
 
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