Nikon Z* mirrorless

It's a bit cheaper than I thought it would be. Although still not cheap but £3,999 is a few hundred less than i thought.

So who's pre-ordering it, and how long do you think it will take Nikon this time to fulfil pre-orders (hopefully not the 1 year plus of the Z9) :)

Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera *New | Park Cameras

The Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera packs the latest hybrid tech into a small body, with a 45MP stacked sensor, 8K/60p video and deep learning AF. Free delivery.
www.parkcameras.com www.parkcameras.com
 
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Pre ordered the Z8. Will go well with the Z9 and provide a smaller option for when I don’t always want to take the Z9 out.
 
Chris_911 said:
I'll pass.
For me another Z9 is the better choice to replace my D850. Slightly cheaper than the Z8 with a 3 year warranty from Panamoz.
Means I can standardise on batteries too.
A different, higher res sensor would have swung me the other way.
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Yeah, for a Z9 user you'd be better off with another.
I'm coming from a Z7II, I have quite a few EN-EL15c batteries.
 
I must admit, I was hoping that in addition to the much anticipated Z8, Nikon had also launched (or at least officially announced) the venerable Z 200-600 lens also :-(
 
Chris_911 said:
I'll pass.
For me another Z9 is the better choice to replace my D850. Slightly cheaper than the Z8 with a 3 year warranty from Panamoz.
Means I can standardise on batteries too.
A different, higher res sensor would have swung me the other way.
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Yes. This is me. Had it been 61mp I'd have been wavering...a bit.

I like the layout of the Z8/Z9 - and I hope a future high res body would take that layout, not that of Z6/7 which I fear it might.
 
Nikon UK site is now working.
I usually order at Nikon UK but it's not taking Z8 orders at the moment.
 
Peter123 said:
Nikon UK site is now working.
I usually order at Nikon UK but it's not taking Z8 orders at the moment.
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Might try one of the UK Stockists, or hold out and go grey.

Wouldn't be the first to jump to a new body, little things like LR/DXO support won't be on stream right away and there might be teething issues. However I know you want to get the weight down of your system and this is probably the answer for you.
 
It is there on the USA site. UK site like the rest of the country is a little slow!!
The Z8 is essentially a 45MP but updated Z7 but with many Z9 internals.

Park Cameras have the Z8 on pre-order for £3999.
 
Am i the only one that thinks the optional battery grip looks very weird ? It's not quite the full width of the cameras base plate (not that I'll ever need one, as if I need the grip I'll just use the Z9)



 
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It is daft looking and makes it quite a bit bigger, even bigger than the Z9.
Anyone thinking they'll need a grip, would be better going Z9.

I hope they've held off some Z9 updates so they can apply them to both the Z9 and Z8 in the future.
I wouldn't like to think the Z8 wouldn't get a firmware update over it's lifetime.
 
Yes, I agree the extra battery pack looks strange.

If I needed the extra battery power then I would get the Z9.

Personally I dont think this camera is for me unless I get rid of all my old F mount kit (D850, D800, D600, etc).
My Z7 is OK, but if the Z8 had been 61MP then I might think OK now is the time to get rid of my GFX100S and GFX50S in favour of the Z8.
Instead I will use my Fuji X system (XH2, XH2S, XT5, etc) and probably start to divest myself of the old Nikon digital cameras.
 
jknights said:
Yes, I agree the extra battery pack looks strange.

If I needed the extra battery power then I would get the Z9.

Personally I dont think this camera is for me unless I get rid of all my old F mount kit (D850, D800, D600, etc).
My Z7 is OK, but if the Z8 had been 61MP then I might think OK now is the time to get rid of my GFX100S and GFX50S in favour of the Z8.
Instead I will use my Fuji X system (XH2, XH2S, XT5, etc) and probably start to divest myself of the old Nikon digital cameras.
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That's an impressive number of camera systems you have.

I'd keep the GFX100s, lose the 50s and the X Fuji stuff and maybe, just maybe keep the D850 around a bit longer.
 
I've pre-ordered. Would have liked it to be a bit lighter, but my most used lens is the 24-70/2.8 and now the 85/1.2 so this is about the same as the R5 with similar lenses as the canon lenses are heavier. Will be replacing my Z9 with one, and then probably replacing my Z6 with another in due course.
 
The battery grip looks odd to me, almost like a 3rd party grip, I'm a bit disappointed as although the specs are great, it's a bigger body than the Z6/7 still I guess it's as small as they could get it, with those specs. Apparently Jared polin has had a pre production model, and says theirs some problems with the focusing, but it was pre production, I would like to think these will be addressed. I never pre order new models as I don't really need them that quick, and no doubt the price will drop somewhat after a year of so, or when the Z8II is on the way :LOL:

View: https://youtu.be/Ux3Z8piSl3k
 
TG. said:
I'm a bit disappointed as although the specs are great, it's a bigger body than the Z6/7 still I guess it's as small as they could get it, with those specs.
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Same here I was hoping for a Z6/7 size body :(
Sony A1 is smaller, lighter with 35% more battery life. So I'm sure it's possible to make it smaller. But it also costs like £2.5k more :(

May be they'll make a Z7iii with some of the AF features from Z8/9
 
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Also I think they will need to come up with a better battery, if as described the battery only takes 300 shots, on a 4k camera that's just not good enough !
 
I’m not so worried about the size of the Z8, but battery life looks a little weak & the weight is substantial considering a Z7ii is a third lighter.

It does look a good effort though. I’ll wait until I see it in the flesh before considering it as a replacement for the Z7ii, which in truth does what it needs to for me.
 
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I do feel they have kept the Z8 hefty is to deal with the video features heat dissipation. Personally I'd have been happy if they'd have only had 4K60.
I like the size as I used a extension plate on my Z7II, but a little shaved of the weight would have been a boon for me.
 
nandbytes said:
Same here I was hoping for a Z6/7 size body :(
Sony A1 is smaller, lighter with 35% more battery life. So I'm sure it's possible to make it smaller. But it also costs like £2.5k more :(

May be they'll make a Z7iii with some of the AF features from Z8/9
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It's still a really small camera. I reckon Z7 line will die off after this.

Or they do Z7iii with crappy AF/video specs, with 61mp and literally nothing else bar the most incremental of stuff over Z7ii.
 
TG. said:
Also I think they will need to come up with a better battery, if as described the battery only takes 300 shots, on a 4k camera that's just not good enough !
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I think the CIPA ratings are known to dramatically underestimate real battery life

Ricci Talks (who has been using the Z8 for a couple of months), suggests good battery life. In his intro review, he shows the battery info screen with 1947 images with 3% of the battery charge left.

However, he emphasises the need to use 15c batteries,

He has a second review on the battery grip, which may give more details of battery life, but I haven't watched it.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lWHVWYjckk
 
SFTPhotography said:
But you can have the Z9 for this?
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Yes true, but for me the Z8 would be a replacement for the D850 which is I would say primarily for landscapes ( for me anyway) so I want it to be as light as possible, so on that basis a Z9 is out of the question. My main reason for going mirrorless was for a lightweight system, so I went for a Z6II with a 14-30mm and a 24-120mm is all I need. I can get that in a small rucksack, with a few more essentials and a lightweight travel tripod. I purposely never went for a Z7II because I knew the Z8 was on the way, having said that I knew it would be sometime before I got my hands on one. My point is I wanted a small hi res camera with an excellent battery life, and as it stands the Z8 isn't it yet, although I'm sure they could come up with a better battery.
 
SFTPhotography said:
Looks like Z9 or new Z8 for new. The Z glass is an improvement so it will work well for you. I wish there was a spacer to adapt Z lenses to F bodies, of course optical physics would mean their field of view would be altered, and 24mm wouldn't be a true 24mm, more like a 28mm to 30mm field of view but still, it would be nice.
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For the Z Glass what is the real world improvement over the last gen of F? Perceivable on say an 8x10 print or do you have go big to see the effects? Better colour, less CA etc?
 
Who is the Z8 aimed at? I assume landscape will be happy with the Z7II? What differentiates it from the Z9 as not to cannibalise each other?
 
TG. said:
Also I think they will need to come up with a better battery, if as described the battery only takes 300 shots, on a 4k camera that's just not good enough !
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Well in real world it'll take a lot more shots, CIPA rating is considerably under estimated.

But you can compare it against other brands or other cameras.

Z8 will do 330 shots, A1 will do 430 shots with EVF or 540 shots with LCD, iirc Z9 does 600+ shots.

I can normally shoot 3/4th to a whole day on single full Sony battery. So I could easily shoot a whole day with a Z9 battery. And Z8 will last about half day for me.
That's the way I see it anyway
 
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wilt said:
I do feel they have kept the Z8 hefty is to deal with the video features heat dissipation. Personally I'd have been happy if they'd have only had 4K60.
I like the size as I used a extension plate on my Z7II, but a little shaved of the weight would have been a boon for me.
Click to expand...
other brands manage heat dissipation just fine without needing as large a body.
 
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wilt said:
I don't think they do, none can record the resolution and frames rates for as long
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ah right, so looks like it can do 8K60p. I'd be surprised if Canon/Sony significantly increase their body size/weight in future to achieve this.
I am not fully convinced this is the reason but could well be.
 
My take on the Z8 launch for what it's worth.

Good-
* It's not crippled and it's the Nikon D700 moment for the Z9.
* It's much lighter than the Z9
* Looks like it will be available quicker.
* Will have the same IQ and performance as the Z9 for 99% of use cases.
* They didn't go for a higher res sensor. I really don't understand the need for ever higher pixel counts. I've never once had a client say the images are too small.
* Love the larger size grip as I have to have a grip extender on the Z6 to be comfortable, and for me the Fn buttons are easier to reach on the Z9 than the Z6 ones.

Bad -
* No improvements on the AF. The R5 still beets it for AF when using eye-af etc if it's the same as the Z9
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Was hoping for better with a Z9 update to move that up too.
* Could do with it being lighter ( but I know that's specific for me really due to medical reasons. )
* SD cards... Decent fast SD Cards cost even more than CFExpress cards.
* Battery life 'might' be an issue, but for the cost of a Z9 battery I can buy 3 EN-EL15c's

Overall I think it's great, the one big sting is the AF and playing AF mode gymnastics for every shot to get it to work. But I'm getting used to doing it now with the Z9. It's just when you pick up a Canon or Fuji you wonder why Nikon can't get it right but they can.

I listed my Z9 on ebay and if it doesn't sell it'll go to MPB or WEX when my Z8 arrives.
 
acrobatic_Citron said:
For the Z Glass what is the real world improvement over the last gen of F? Perceivable on say an 8x10 print or do you have go big to see the effects? Better colour, less CA etc?
Click to expand...

I doubt there's much, if anything at pixel level maybe a little. As I shoot with Sigma ART primes mainly now I'd see no optical difference....

acrobatic_Citron said:
Who is the Z8 aimed at? I assume landscape will be happy with the Z7II? What differentiates it from the Z9 as not to cannibalise each other?
Click to expand...

£64,000 question that one.

Me, I think they've done what they did with the D700 when the D3 was the flagship. It worked well for them.
 
nandbytes said:
I can normally shoot 3/4th to a whole day on single full Sony battery. So I could easily shoot a whole day with a Z9 battery. And Z8 will last about half day for me.
That's the way I see it anyway
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about the battery, you can buy spares reasonably cheaply. It's not a big problem. It charges over USB-C so you can probably give it a boost with a powerbank.
 
acrobatic_Citron said:
Who is the Z8 aimed at? I assume landscape will be happy with the Z7II? What differentiates it from the Z9 as not to cannibalise each other?
Click to expand...

Anyone who will buy it. A friend has a Z7ii and said he feels there's nothing there to entice him to the Z8 - the Z7ii does everything he wants of it, and more.

I'd chose the Z8 over it for several reasons if I had the money

1. Full electronic shutter. No vibrations etc to worry about. It's a nice feature. No need to worry about oil spots on the sensor either (and Nikon cameras do this, I've had with a D850, D610, D800 and D810).
2. Build/lay out. it isn't especially heavy. But the control layout is more like a D850, if you are used to that and like that, you will feel more at home with it.
3. Sensor gaurd. He says his Z7ii is pretty dust spot free - but I've heard others say they do get dirtier quicker, this has that nice feature of the z9.
4. Button spacing. Z7ii has very close buttons, with very small gaps between them. It makes it difficult with cold numb fingers. This looks a little larger, better spaced. I like it.

But I like larger cameras and I would still buy a Z9 if I had to go the mirrorless route.
 
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