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And I think its unnecessarily large. Each to their own...
having put up with smaller batteries in the past, I don't miss it. its not a deal breaker for me but I know people for whom it is.
Nikon Z* mirrorless
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Well yeah, it's the little things that make life go better. It's a weakspot, but they still need to shift those Z9s
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IME the sensor gaurd barely helps if at all. If It is does, I certainly haven't noticed a huge lot of difference.
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I'm not convinced the sensor guard does much to prevent dust. But then I've found all my mirrorless Nikons need far less cleaning than any of my Nikon DSLRs did. I clean my sensor so rarely now I have to search for the cleaning swabs.
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For the life of me I can't understand why Nikon can't get the af right, Canon and Sony being doing it for years, the technology is there, why is it so difficult for Nikon to use it grrr.
If you like grips on a camera why not just stick to your Z9, after all it will still beat a Z8 in specs
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* No improvements on the AF. The R5 still beets it for AF when using eye-af etc if it's the same as the Z9Was hoping for better with a Z9 update to move that up too.
Ok so how much worst is the AF in comparison to Canon/Sony?
I thought now they were all pretty close and that there wasn't much in it to compare.
Still considering the Z8 especially since I really like the look of 400mm f4.5 (and in longer term 800mm f6.3). I'd using the body plus such a lens for mostly shooting action and wildlife. So the AF aspect of the camera is kinda key....
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I’ve the Z6ii and a Z 50mm 1.8 along with the 24-120. Honestly, I feel that it’s all I’d ever need right now.
Looking at a 105 macro, but that’s about it.
The specs and performance of the Z8 look great, don’t get me wrong - but I’m not sure the sub £3k cost to part ex and upgrade is going to make me a better photographer. I’d rather put it to some more glass for the 6ii or some workshops.
I’ve printed pretty large with the 6ii as well. It’s amazed me what it can do.
Totally get it if you were hankering for a Z9 and wanted something that sits between the 7 and 9 with a bit shaved off. I’ve never found the 6ii to be painfully slow for AF. I’ve used it for a few commercial jobs and certainly got a good amount of keepers,
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Just watched this review and its put me right off it sounds a right faff
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Sony A1 is £729 more than the Z8 when buying GM.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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Do you mean when buying grey?
I don't really buy grey.
But Z8 will be more than £729 cheaper if you compare grey prices for both. It'll most likely be £1729 cheaper.
Also Sony doesn't have the Tele lenses I'd want i.e. 400mm f4.5 and/or 800mm f6.3.
I used to own the A1 and I sold it in the end because I got tired of waiting for Sony to release a decent affordable teleprime.
And I'd be more annoyed now since they can't even update their flagship with decent firmware updates and add the missing features from A7RV.
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Yeah grey market, I’m guessing grey market price of the Z8 will be the same as UK for a few months until stock isn’t an issue.
Yeah the FW update allowing the R5 features is a big hit, shocking that they’re not updating their flagship camera with the newest updates.
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Oh I'd not be moving to the Z8 if I didn't have to. I've been diagnosed with a form of arthritis which is effecting me more as time goes on. Carrying the Z9 makes my wrists ache and so I really need to move to a lighter camera. Which is why I was hoping the Z8 was going to be lighter than the actual 910g. I love having an intergrated grip, so much so I'm tempted to keep the Z9 for tripod work, but then the Z8 is basically the same as a Z9 other than GPS which I don't use, and a slightly lower recording length on video which I'm not bothered by.
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From listening to comments and reviews from wildlife photographers who actually use the cameras (not just reviewing them) there doesn't seem to be much of a difference, With Nikon outperforming the others in some circumstances and vice versa.
The reviews are often contradictory. e,g. I’ve seen reviews (more than one) which claim a big plus for the Z9 AF was that unlike their Sony or Canon cameras, the Z9 wasn't fooled by falling snow. A review I read recently said the exact opposite and reported the Z9 being fooled by falling snow was something Canon and Sony didn't suffer from.
It does seem that the Z9 currently needs a bit more thought from the photographer to choose an AF options than others, but that may change with the next firmware update. Which is likely to change more quickly than Sony/Canon offering the two Nikon lenses you mention.
I'm not sure if it was the video that was linked to, or another one from Jan Wegener, but in one of his videos he discusses that after using the Z9 and experienced the Nikon lens range, he is giving serious consideration to switching to a Z8 once it came out (assuming the Z8 is a mini Z9), as he didn't want the weight of the built in battery grip of the Z9.
If you haven't seen this, Steve Perry looks directly at the Sony vs Nikon question here, and this is after a lot of experience using both systems.
Steve Mattheius is someone else who temporarily switched to a Sony A1 system from Nikon DSLRs, and then after the Z9 came out, and after running both systems for a spell switched back to Nikon.
I'm not trying to argue the nuances of one make being better than another, I'm just not that convinced that Nikon is "that much worse" than the others, and that the best and worst varies with circumstances and the skill of the photographer (firmware updates have helped).
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Thank you both for the reviews. I have also spent some time reading/watching other reviews available. While there are some bits that are contradictory I think there is level of commonalities too. Sometimes people portray things in a different way and can seem either positive or negative depending on the way they communicate it.
I think above two reviews are a good example of that.
But basically what I have come understand (purely from reviews) is that Z9's AF system is more than 90-95% capable of Canon/Sony's AF system but it requires a some setup or configuration or finding the right settings on users part to get the best out of the camera's AF system. Having used complicated AF systems in the past, I really appreciate the simplicity of the Sony/Canon systems. It's the same with the battery life too. I could live with these but I think a good battery life and simple AF system that "just works" is a real benefit to have (while they are not a deal breaker for me personally since I don't use the camera for my livelihood).
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It's not as such 'finding the right settings' more constantly having to switch between them. You'll see a lot of tutorials and videos on "how I have my Z9 set up" and most will have something like wide-l with subject detection on the half press of the shutter and then 3D tracking on the af-on button, and then single point or similar on another Fn button etc. In real life you'll end up using all of them. First you'll half press with the Wide-l box over your subject for it to find a target, if it does then you switch over to 3D by then pressing af-on to try and track it. It will then lose lock so you'll have to then release af-on to let wide-l work again and see if that can then lock back on, and then switch back to 3D tracking etc etc. If not you then have to use the Fn button to go back to single point.
Anyone that's used something like the canon system knows that doesn't have to be the way you drive AF, it's just that you have to work around the tracking in the Z bodies.
So yes you can get results, but by god it's more hard work than it needs to be.
Anyone that's used something like the canon system knows that doesn't have to be the way you drive AF, it's just that you have to work around the tracking in the Z bodies.
So yes you can get results, but by god it's more hard work than it needs to be.
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yeah I gathered that from the YouTube reviews and perhaps worded my description badly.
I think you or someone previously summed it up perfectly as it's "a faff" to use.
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I bought one of these quite a while ago now. Never had any issues with it.
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Just to add to this,there is a long thread on Fred Mirandas site and this post (only part of it) seems relevant.
"All the current flagships are capable of ~90-95%+ keeper rates, and the Z8 has the Z9 AF according to Nikon.
After actually using the best every brand has to offer, I think what you will find is that each camera behaves a little differently (not necessarily worse), and you may prefer the nuances of one AF system over another for your particular shooting style or subject matter. Maybe one acquires a little faster but is more easily confused, or maybe one takes longer to acquire but tracks a little better. Maybe you're a portrait shooter and one deals with glasses or long eyelashes better than the other.
When I rented a R3 and A1 to compare to the Z9, it was clear that all 3 represented the best of the best. The more time I spent, the more I got used to them and I started to learn what one system might do slightly better (or different) than another. Since I shot mostly BIF these days, I preferred the Z9 primarily for it's ability to track a target flying behind partial obstruction (like tall grass) and also for it's ability to stay on the bird's eye and not get confused by the wingtips when shooting perpendicular to to the flight path.
I made the best decision I could with the time I had based on a long list of requirements. Another person may have preferred the A1 or R3 for different reasons or for how they behaved with an entirely different subject matter or shooting environment. To categorically state that one AF system was better than the other, you would need an incredible amount of time, more subject matter than the average person has access to, and some way of controlling the biggest variable of all - the person behind the camera"
Z8 vs R5? I'm just curious...
This is not to start a brand war. I don't care for those. I'm just really curious how the new Nikon Z8 compares with the Canon R5 in real-world spe...
www.fredmiranda.com
edit: As an aside, did you see my other post where nearly 2000 pictures were being taken on a Z8 with 3% of the battery charge still left.
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To put it simply, If it's the best AF Nikon has ever had, then it'll do me fine.
I've had many Nikon cameras and each had their faults and AF quirks.
The D500 and D850 were for me, the best I'd had. So, as long as it's better than them I'll be happy with my Z8.
My local store has told me Nikon Rep will have a Z8 with them a week on Saturday, so I'll be there having a good play with one.
I've had many Nikon cameras and each had their faults and AF quirks.
The D500 and D850 were for me, the best I'd had. So, as long as it's better than them I'll be happy with my Z8.
My local store has told me Nikon Rep will have a Z8 with them a week on Saturday, so I'll be there having a good play with one.
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Nikon has added the Z9 to its refurb store at £3749 with 12month warranty. Not a bad deal 
Nikon Z9 Refurb
Nikon Z9 Refurb
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Just ordered one. Great price.Nikon has added the Z9 to its refurb store at £3749 with 12month warranty. Not a bad deal
Nikon Z9 Refurb
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Nikon has added the Z9 to its refurb store at £3749 with 12month warranty. Not a bad deal
Nikon Z9 Refurb
I don't think it's the best deal.
Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera (Body)
Why Buy From Panamoz.com? Free 3 Year UK/EU/US Local Warranty 14 Day Money Back Guarantee Prices include taxes and duties All inclusive prices with no hidden fees Products are 100% brand new and in box Express shipping with insurance and tracking Delivery in 7-14 business days only Secure...
This is THE deal. New, 2yrs more warranty.
It pays to go grey....the only way is grey.
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Has anyone upgraded from Z6 to Z6ii
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I did but I have also addressed this point in another reply.
Basically relatively speaking A1 has about 35% more battery than Z8 and Z9 has 100% more (i.e. double) battery life than Z8.
So if someone can take 2000 shots on a single charge they can take 4000 with Z9 or 2700 with A1.
Personally, I don't count shots, for me it's more the length of time between battery changes.
Normally I can shoot 3/4th of a day to a full day on a single full battery depending on what I am shooting. Z8 would probably last me half a day. Z9 would last more than a full day.
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TBH, as good as the Z9’s (and Z8’s) AF system is (and it is very good indeed) now i’ve used the Z9 for about 3 months, I’ve actually found the Olympus OM-1’s AF system to easily be a match and it doesn’t need constant changing (as mentioned above), it’s much easier to use in the field and the hit rate is about the same, OK I know that’s where comparisons end (I.e the Z9 is FF and the OM-1 is M/43, the Z9 is 45mp and the OM-1 20mp etc), but overall despite that, I still find myself using the OM-1 for birding over the Z9 most days (aside from the fact that an OM-1 with the 300mm F4 pro, is muuuch lighter than a Z9 with my 100-400).
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Honestly that’s just priced me out of the Z8 so I’ve had to cancel both my preorders. The sale of my Z9 was to fund one Z8 and then selling other stuff to buy a second. I just can’t afford that now and since I need 2 lighter cameras it looks like I may have to switch. Sounds like a hysterical reaction but I simply can’t afford 2 Z8’s now. I know Nikon won’t care, nobody here cares, just felt like ranting.Nikon has added the Z9 to its refurb store at £3749 with 12month warranty. Not a bad deal
Nikon Z9 Refurb
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I have found the same. I really like the way the AF functions on my OM-1.
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Nikon Z8 complete fail.
Where is it supposed to be in their range of cameras?
It's just a cheaper Z9. Now how cleaver is that Nikon.
It should have been a crop sensor 32MB camera.
Where is it supposed to be in their range of cameras?
It's just a cheaper Z9. Now how cleaver is that Nikon.
It should have been a crop sensor 32MB camera.
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I've seen Delkin Black CFexpress cards often recommended. So I bought the 150GB version, but using in a Z7II currently flawlessly.
sk66
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One of the top performers and a real bargain is the Delkin Power 128GB... it's what I'm using in the Z9. Too small for any real 8k video work, but I've never come close to filling one shooting photos.
The larger Delkin Power cards do not perform to the same level...
The ProMaster Velocity Cine cards (also by Delkin) are also high performance bargains.
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Interesting comments from Thom Hogan on the Z8.
Nikon Introduces the Z9 Light…uh…Z8 | Thom Hogan
Nikon introduces the Mini Z9, the Z8
www.zsystemuser.com
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To go 60mp, they'd have had to go with the mechanical shutter.
Gives us an insight to Z7iii
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Very clever for those who want a smaller Z9 body that's cheaper
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But if you are prepared to accept grey, and need a camera now, you can get a brand new Z9 from Panamoz for £4149. So with the Z8 currently sat at £3999, unless you need the smaller size of the Z8, you can beat the queues so to speak for almost the same price.
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it's at £3930 - so save £70. Getting the same camera in a larger form, and getting it now.
Deal of a lifetime.