Z8 freeze

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Doomrider74

Well-known member
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Hi folks.

I had my second freeze with the Z8 a couple of days ago, in the middle of a burst whilst shooting some coyotes, which I lost. The camera came back to life after a battery removal procedure, and I carried on shooting.

I've since been in touch with Delkin and they said this is a common issue with the Z8, across all card types and manufacturers: If that is the case, what is it about the Z8 that causes this?

Despite them saying it's an issue with the Z8, they've said they're going to replace the card (a Delkin Black 150gb), which is good news, albeit a little perplexing if it is an issue with the Z8. Isn't this something Nikon should be fixing?
 
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Doomrider74 said:
Hi folks.

I had my second freeze with the Z8 a couple of days ago, in the middle of a burst whilst shooting some coyotes, which I lost. The camera came back to life after a battery removal procedure, and I carried on shooting.

I've since been in touch with Delkin and they said this is a common issue with the Z8, across all card types and manufacturers: If that is the case, what is it about the Z8 that causes this?

Despite them saying it's an issue with the Z8, they've said they're going to replace the card (a Delkin Black 150gb), which is good news, albeit a little perplexing if it is an issue with the Z8. Isn't this something Nikon should be fixing?
Click to expand...
I have never had that issue shooting 20fps bursts with my Z8, and I don’t know it to be a common problem. I’ve shot my Z8 using bursts in all kinds of weather conditions and it’s been rock solid reliable. I use Delkin Black and ProGrade Cobalt CFe cards in it.

Forgive me if I’ve misunderstood your question, but I read your post as accepting the Delkin rep’s comment as true. Did the Delkin rep provide any evidence to back up such a claim?

Also, out of curiosity, what lenses were you using at the time of the freezes? I wonder if the lens was securely mounted? I know of friend who had a Z7II freeze because the rented lens he was using had a bent lens mount.
 
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JAJohnson said:
Forgive me if I’ve misunderstood your question, but I read your post as accepting the Delkin rep’s comment as true. Did the Delkin rep provide any evidence to back up such a claim?
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I was asking whether others had heard of this being an issue with the Z8, rather than the cards themselves. I'm a little skeptical as it sounds like Delkin passing the buck, but it's worth asking the question.

The lens was a 500pf, with the FTZ2 adapter.
 
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Doomrider74 said:
I was asking whether others had heard of this being an issue with the Z8, rather than the cards themselves. I'm a little skeptical as it sounds like Delkin passing the buck, but it's worth asking the question.

The lens was a 500pf, with the FTZ2 adapter.
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Again, I can’t imagine it’s a common problem, although as a complex electronic device, occasional failures can happen. It may or may not be a problem with the card. It’s difficult to know without further diagnosis. What was common among the two freezes?
 
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JAJohnson said:
Again, I can’t imagine it’s a common problem, although as a complex electronic device, occasional failures can happen. It may or may not be a problem with the card. It’s difficult to know without further diagnosis. What was common among the two freezes?
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No idea: they were too far apart. I'm also curious as to why Delkin were so quick to replace the card if, as they say, it's a common issue with the Z8 across all cards. It further points to it being more of a known issue with Delkin cards, rather than the Z8.
 
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Doomrider74 said:
No idea: they were too far apart. I'm also curious as to why Delkin were so quick to replace the card if, as they say, it's a common issue with the Z8 across all cards. It further points to it being more of a known issue with Delkin cards, rather than the Z8.
Click to expand...
Delkin has been great about replacing cards upon report of a potential problem. I hope you don’t experience a freeze again with your Z8.
 
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Doomrider74 said:
Hi folks.

I had my second freeze with the Z8 a couple of days ago, in the middle of a burst whilst shooting some coyotes, which I lost. The camera came back to life after a battery removal procedure, and I carried on shooting.

I've since been in touch with Delkin and they said this is a common issue with the Z8, across all card types and manufacturers: If that is the case, what is it about the Z8 that causes this?

Despite them saying it's an issue with the Z8, they've said they're going to replace the card (a Delkin Black 150gb), which is good news, albeit a little perplexing if it is an issue with the Z8. Isn't this something Nikon should be fixing?
Click to expand...
I have two Z8's and use various cards, including Delkin. Have had them since the camera was first offered and neither has ever froze on me, even in heavy shooting. I hope this text does not jinx them!
 
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I've had one freeze, once with one of my two Z8's before the latest FW upgrade. It had a Pro-Grade card. I haven't had any since and have shot tens of thousands of images on each body. For some reason, I don't blame the card.
 
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I have had my Z8 freeze on me twice, requiring the removal of the battery to return to normal operation. I know for sure one time I was using a Delkin Black 325gb card. I am not sure if it was the same card the second time it froze, but I think it was. I shoot quite a bit, and as a percentage, the two freezes represent a very low percentage, so I have not sent the camera to Nikon.

If it happened more often, I probably would send it to Nikon to try and have them diagnose the problem. Could be the card, although it is my most used card, so it seems strange, if it was a problem with the card, that it does not happen more often. Ken
 
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Doomrider74 said:
Hi folks.

I had my second freeze with the Z8 a couple of days ago, in the middle of a burst whilst shooting some coyotes, which I lost. The camera came back to life after a battery removal procedure, and I carried on shooting.

I've since been in touch with Delkin and they said this is a common issue with the Z8, across all card types and manufacturers: If that is the case, what is it about the Z8 that causes this?

Despite them saying it's an issue with the Z8, they've said they're going to replace the card (a Delkin Black 150gb), which is good news, albeit a little perplexing if it is an issue with the Z8. Isn't this something Nikon should be fixing?
Click to expand...
I own a Delkin Black 325gb and a Z8. I've never experienced a freeze in 30,000 or so shots I've taken.
 
Member's gallery
Doomrider74 said:
Hi folks.

I had my second freeze with the Z8 a couple of days ago, in the middle of a burst whilst shooting some coyotes, which I lost. The camera came back to life after a battery removal procedure, and I carried on shooting.

I've since been in touch with Delkin and they said this is a common issue with the Z8, across all card types and manufacturers: If that is the case, what is it about the Z8 that causes this?

Despite them saying it's an issue with the Z8, they've said they're going to replace the card (a Delkin Black 150gb), which is good news, albeit a little perplexing if it is an issue with the Z8. Isn't this something Nikon should be fixing?
Click to expand...

Firstly yes my Z8 freezes in the same way my Z9 did (I say did because V5.10 seems to have fixed it) so given the similarities I would guess we are due a Z8 update with the same fix present.

Delkin are like referring to the many long threads around the Z9 freezing issues which happened in a specific way when shooting at high speed. Reported by a number of people but like driven by Thom Hogans detailed response on the issue to Nikon, it does seem to have taken a while to trouble shoot, and hopefully its the last of the issue.

Personally I wouldn't worry and simply hold out and see if a Z8 updated firmware arrives thus month with the fix they recently introduced to the Z9 in FW 5.10
 
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I have had my Z8 for just under two years and never had it lock up. However, I don't do high burst rates (or video) so I suppose I have not pushed it in the same way you did.
 
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My two lock-ups occurred when shotting 12bit lossless compressed RAW files at 20fps. Since this has only happened twice (and I shoot a fair amount) I can live with it. Of course, if a firmware update comes along to solve the problem, that would be great. Ken
 
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jpgrove said:
Firstly yes my Z8 freezes in the same way my Z9 did (I say did because V5.10 seems to have fixed it) so given the similarities I would guess we are due a Z8 update with the same fix present.

Delkin are like referring to the many long threads around the Z9 freezing issues which happened in a specific way when shooting at high speed. Reported by a number of people but like driven by Thom Hogans detailed response on the issue to Nikon, it does seem to have taken a while to trouble shoot, and hopefully its the last of the issue.

Personally I wouldn't worry and simply hold out and see if a Z8 updated firmware arrives thus month with the fix they recently introduced to the Z9 in FW 5.10
Click to expand...
Hey, are you sure that the firmware 5.10 upgrade will solve this problem in the z9? I couldn't find any mention of this in the new firmware.

It's true that my z8 hasn't frozen yet, but my z9 with firmware 5.00 froze twice while taking photos and once while testing (about 8000 photos in a very short time).
 
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Chay Nick said:
Hey, are you sure that the firmware 5.10 upgrade will solve this problem in the z9? I couldn't find any mention of this in the new firmware.

It's true that my z8 hasn't frozen yet, but my z9 with firmware 5.00 froze twice while taking photos and once while testing (about 8000 photos in a very short time).
Click to expand...
Fixed the following issues:
  • - The camera would sometimes stop responding if the [C30] high-speed frame capture + option was selected for [Release mode] and the shutter-release button was pressed halfway shortly after zooming in the monitor shooting display (live view).
  • Buffer capacity sometimes dropped with some CFexpress memory cards.
From the V5.10 FW page, while not very specific but other have reported better camera stability, I can only assume that the same fix will come to the Z8 given the huge similarity. I should stress for me the lock ups are rare.
 
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Chay Nick said:
Yes I saw that, but isn't this fix for game situations where you're shooting at 30 fps and higher? My Z9 freezes when I shoot at 20 fps RAW.
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Are you saying that after V5.10 your camera is still locking up? If so then you need to report that back to Nikon. There is a thread (extensive) on dpreview on this subject and reports (early) are that V5.10 seems to have resolved it.
 
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Owner of both the Z8 and Z9 and did not have any issue with freezing with any of the body in burst mode. If it was a widespread problem would that for sure been discussed all over the internet.
 
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Vincent_VdB said:
Owner of both the Z8 and Z9 and did not have any issue with freezing with any of the body in burst mode. If it was a widespread problem would that for sure been discussed all over the internet.
Click to expand...

Glad you haven’t had the issue, and yes it wasn’t a wide spread but seems to have been a combination of camera settings and possibly Cfexpress cards. The impact was big for those that did have the issue and I believe it was Thom Hogan who was key to reporting it. But the issue shouldn’t be casually dismissed, because I think it’s taken a while to trouble shoot the route cause.
 
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This happened to me for the second time yesterday while I was on a Sora. The first being on Thanksgiving of 2024. I have a Z8 with 800 pf and prograde 512gb gold cards. I really hope Nikon gives the Z8 a FW update...
 
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Really don't know what to say as I was outdoors all day yesterday in 20 degree F weather with intermittent and often intense snow showers shooting a variety of subjects and again, apart from one lock up once in one body some time last year before the latest FW, I fortunately haven't seen any. FWIW I use Nikon/Tamron lenses, Prograde cards and Nikon batteries. I generally don't delete in camera. It’s just something I don’t worry about.
 
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