Yup! Another comparison blog post! However this one comes from someone shooting Nikon for over five decades, verses a content creator who is looking for other things. No, there will not be affiliate links in this post… no, there will not be recommendations for you to rush out and buy new gear. No, the Z-8 is NOT the best Camera of all time. No, the Z-8 is NOT the D-850 killer! Please read on…
So these are my first impressions while getting to know this Camera. Yes, I’ve only had the Z-8 camera a short time. However this is not my first Rodeo! I have done exactly what I’ve told every student, I’ve ever taught, in over twenty five years to do… I bought the Camera, paired it with the best nifty fifty lens offered, and researched how to set up the Camera for my style of Photography
Right away this is going to set me apart from the masses because I know both how to shoot most every scenario, and how to operate most any camera out there for proper settings in each scenario. I’m not guessing. I shoot to create things in post processing verses correct my mistakes. EXCEPT video!
I am a still photographer first, with decades of experience. In that sense? I’m a dinosaur, because video is more the focus of the younger generation, not the charmingly antique like me. So these first impressions will be absent the video capabilities of either camera.
On that note? Is the Z-8 better than the D-850 at video? Yup! Far better! However is Nikon the “great video set up?” Nope! Not yet. However the purchase of Red Digital Cinema by Nikon recently, will change ALL of that! It’s also a topic for a future post , not this one.
The first impression with the Nikon Z-8 is when you are setting up the Camera for your uses…
HOLY SHIT! Are there options! This Camera can be configured in soooo many ways it can be overwhelming! So would I consider the Z-8 a good purchase for a beginning Photographer? No I would not! How about an intermediate Photographer? That depends on how intermediate…
The Nikon Z-8 can be configured in most every aspect someone might like to shoot with it, however it does not shine in all of them. The D-850 did not either. Yet the D-850 is considered the very best DSLR ever made, by a very large population. The D-850 is still sold new on Nikon’s website. There are only 4 DSLR’s for sale on Nikons website. The D-6 (no longer made) the D-7500 (a crop sensor and not better than the D-500) the D-780 (a baby 850?), and the D-850…
The only DSLR Camera on sale without a promotion? That’s the D-6… I have no idea why. The Nikon D-780 and the Nikon D-850 are still in stock for a “niche market”… Nikon promises, for now, to support that “niche” market. In the case of the D-850? That market is not so small! Currently the D-850 is on sale brand new, for $1,999.00! A supper deal!
Is the Nikon Z-8 my first mirrorless camera? Nope! I still own a Panasonic GH-4, and I had a Nikon Z-6II but sold it. Why did I keep the GH-4? ‘Cuz it uses Leica glass (some of the best glass in the world) and the Camera was worth very little on the used market, even with that great glass, so I kept it and converted it to full spectrum light, for even more versatility. (even Infrared video!)
Why did I sell the Nikon Z-6II? Because I could not get used to the digital view finder. It’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks…and for other reasons as well. It simply did not fit my uses. Is it a good camera? Yup! Just not for me.
Things I Like About The Z-8
The Z-8 fixed issues I was having with digital view finders. It’s MUCH faster and getting closer to an optical view finder. What else do I like about the Z-8? There are a lot of things! Number one I got it on sale and Nikon let me use free money for two years. The nifty fifty I bought was also on sale for two hundred dollars off. That was the Nikon 50mm f1.8 S lens. I bought this lens about a month later after I did some extensive research.
The number one thing I LOVE about the Z-8 is the Sensor Sheild! I no longer need to worry about changing lenses in the field with funky weather! This is a game changer and frankly hard to get used to. Mirrorless Cameras are famous for attracting dust to the sensor so way to go Nikon! I’m hoping it does not break my habits with my D-850, which I’m keeping. More on that, read on…
I love the grip, and the ergonomics of the Z-8, and the buttons and functions are all pretty much in the right spot. The 20 frames a second is also pretty awesome. Not only is that valuable for action shots, but it’s also better for handheld brackets.
Quiet Shutter (love-hate this one). There are times I have accidentally touched off a hundred images when I didn’t even know I accidentally hit the shutter! Yes I have a shutter noise I can turn on, (and do) but it’s also nice when I need quiet shutter for wildlife, or say to shoot a Ballet. This is something new for me to get used to.
The Autofocus is phenomenal! Subject detection is also a game changer! This makes shooting wildlife and birds in flight much easier with more keepers. The autofocus is the most advanced of the times in Nikon Cameras.
Is it better in other brands? Maybe so, maybe not, but I don’t have an extensive list of lenses in other brands, and this is the main decision we have to make with choosing a Camera Manufacturer. Honestly? They all catch up with each other at some point in time. ALL of the top three are good options now a days, so don’t even try and get me into a brand war discussion!
Do I shoot a lot of birds in flight? No, not at this time, however this will be a new challenge for me, so I’m looking forward to that. Where I used to shoot birds in flight when the conditions, gear, and settings were right,… now I actually go shooting with this in mind. New frontiers are exciting! If I wish to go shoot drag racing, or some other action sport, that frame rate will help. Hmmm! The Nevada State Trap Championships are next week!
Backlit Buttons! This is awesome for using your camera at night, and I shoot a lot of Milky Way Photography. However even though it’s cool to have, I’m more about memorizing my camera in the dark. Still… it’s cool to have it over not having it.
Button Customizations. This one is a game changer with mirrorless cameras. Since you are now really shooting with a full time, hand held, computer… being able to customize most all of the buttons for what’s second nature in your hands? This is big ergonomically. However this introduces problems from the past, more on that later as well.
Memo Note Recording! This is one huge function I missed about my Nikon D-3, D-4, D-5, and D-6! With all of those cameras you have the ability to record a voice note to an image file! HUGE! especially if you’re shooting an event like a foot race for instance. You can attach the name of the contestant to the image file of them! Or? Maybe you are on a PhotoShoot with a model. You can go through the images on the camera and they can tell you their favorites. This is a BIG time saver!
The Ability to Use my “F” Mount Glass! This one is huge! I already have lots of very good “F” mount glass in my arsenal. I went through a LOT of research to see how well F mount glass performed with Z mount. This changes with each camera, from the Z-6 all the way to the Z-9. In most cases the F mount performed as good or better adapted to the Z camera body. Especially with the Z-8 And Z-9.
Yes, there are new “better” Z mount lenses. However! They ain’t cheap. I am on the down hill side of the curve being charmingly antique. Back in the day, one thing that kept me with Nikon after all of these years was that their glass worked with every body. That is not true with Canon and Sony.
So at this late time in my life do I wish to invest in more glass? No not really. That could be a topic for a post all by itself. I’ve tested the F mount 50mm f/1.4 adapted for the Z-8 against the Z mount 50mm f/1.8 S lens. Is the Z glass better? Maybe a very slight bit. However most people would not really see the difference. At $468.00 on sale for the Z 50mm, vs the money I invested in the F mount 50mm… this number is about the same.
Pretty cheap when it comes to really great glass. However! Is the $2700.00 list for the Z 24-70, or the $2600.00 list for the Z 14-24 necessary? No not really. I’ll be testing glass comparisons this winter. This will be discussed along with the topic of the D-850 and button customization in my closing statements, as I mentioned above.
One last thing that’s new for me that I like is my new “L” bracket I ordered for it. I picked up that one from ProMedia Gear. Yes I tried to buy locally from B&C Camera but they were totally out of stock. This got me looking, and I found ProMedia Gear.
I’m glad I did! I LOVE my new bracket from them because it has an “offset” vertical portion to allow use of the articulating rear screen. Game Changer! This also affords an additional “handle” for the Camera! It’s also made totally in the USA, exceptional quality, expandable with additional 1/4 x 20 ports, and about the same price point as other high quality brackets.
Yes, even though I don’t “need” it, I’m going to order one for my D-850. I’ll be checking out some other gear from them as well. I think this will be a new brand for me to invest in.
Ok the above are the top things I enjoy about the Camera…
Now What Don’t I like About The Nikon Z-8?
Number one, Lower Dynamic Range. Really? Come on Nikon… If you’re going to come out with a camera that’s supposed to “replace” or be as good, or better than the D-850? Don’t don’t go down… improve it!
Battery Life. The Z-8 uses up batteries quickly compared to the D-850. Is this a deal killer? No because I have plenty of those for my 850’s and they are interchangeable. So this one is easily solved.
Next? Focus Stacking. Yes, the camera has it, a lot of other cameras out there do not. But really? Old Tech here? No Improvement on one of the best features of the D-850?
The Articulating Rear Screen. Yes, It’s better than the D-850, but is it $4,000.00 dollars better? It’s about time we had a fully articulating screen. Nikon must be listening because a year later they released the Z-6III with a fully articulating screen. There are rumors of a Z-8 II… should I have waited? Maybe so maybe not… hindsight is 20/20.
The Viewfinder. Once again better in terms of speed to actuate… however! It’s the same resolution as the four year old Z-7.
The Rear Screen the Z-8 is supposed to have higher resolution when zooming in to check focus. I’m on the fence with this one. 2.53 million dots on the 850 vs 2.89 million dots in the same 3.2 inch screen hasn’t proven this to me yet.
Not being able to see screens in my polarized shooting sunglasses. This one hurts! My eyes are not getting any younger. This one will change my shooting glasses requirements! I’m working on this one.
So! Is The Nikon Z-8 The Nikon D-850 “Killer?” – Am I Sorry I Bought It?
No on both counts. The D-850 is the best DSLR Nikon ever produced. Arguably the best DSLR from any manufacturer. Is it perfect? Nope! No Camera is. However it’s damn close. So close I got rid of all my flagship cameras like the D-4, D-5, and D-6. Why? Because the D-850 did all the things I was shooing at the time very well, with more dynamic range, and 9 frames a second was ok for what I needed. Video was not a concern. It still isn’t because the Panasonic GH-4 shoots 4K video in a very inexpensive option.
Is $4,000.00 worth the upgrades that the Z-8 brings? Well? 20 frames a second with subject detection is pretty cool. Quiet shutter, the return of voice notes, and other things are also pretty cool. One reason I got rid of the Flagship bodies like the D-6 is then I had to carry two different batteries and chargers. The button configuration was also much different.
So going back and forth between bodies was more difficult. Now? The same thing occurs. I need to “remember” I’m shooting with the Z-8 and where all of those programable button configurations live, instead of having the ability to switch between my two D-850’s. However the batteries are the same so that’s cool.
The picture above shows the backs of both cameras. On the left is the D-850… The Z-8 to the right
The question of Glass… am I going to upgrade a lot of my glass for the Z-8? No I don’t think so. I will still use my D-850 for the shooting scenarios it’s perfect for. Landscapes, Portraits, high dynamic range. I’ll use the Z-8 for what it does well. Action, birds in flight, quiet shutter etc.
Currently the N mount Nikon 300mm and 500mm PF lenses are highly regarded on the Z-8 with the adapter. So is the Nikon 200mm f/2. I already own those. The Image above was captured with the F mount 200mm f/2 coupled with the FTZ adaptor mounted on the Z-8. It’s damn sharp! Why do I need to invest in Z mount glass??
I might buy a wide angle to use with the Z-8 as a light weight walking around camera. There are a couple of 14mm options I’m checking out for night skies, but they are very inexpensive, and yet highly regarded. I’ll see if they work for me. Below is just one 14mm Z mount options. It’s the Viltrox autofocus Full Frame Z Mount 16mm f1.8… $580.00!! Holy shit!
Price and feature wise that’s awesome! However I’m waiting on image quality tests etc… there are others out there too! So this is new territory to explore!
Because of excellent focus peaking on the Z-8 there are many older Nikon lenses that were tack sharp but manual focus. Those can be had for a song now, so investigating that might be fun. Old eyes and new technology might just work in those instances!
Would I buy some of the supper sharp, super telephoto lenses that Nikon is so famous for? As much as I’d LOVE to own the 400mm f/2.8 S, or the 600mm f/4 S…. at $15,000.00 and $16,000.00? I highly doubt it, at this time in my career. If I was younger and used them a lot? Yup! But not now. $31,000.00 looks better in my account than theirs. I can easily rent these when needed.
Now if some kind soul was to give them to me? Or I hit the lotto? Yup! Sure! Basically the Z-8 was a good purchase for more than one angle. However! Is it the D-850 “killer?” Not in my book. I have three D-850’s in my operations… two are standard light and one is converted to 590nm Infrared. (reversible too!) Would I ever sell those cameras? Nope! Not a chance!
The Z-8… would I ever sell that one? It’s possible. After all when the Z-8II hits the market that might just make this camera “old tech”… One thing is fer certain… Cameras come and go, but great glass lives forever! So I’m pretty happy with my lens selection at this time… No, I will never sell the 200mm f/2, or the 300mm & 500mm PF, the 24-70 f2.8… or any of my 50mm lenses and lots of other N mount glass. That gear will go to my heirs.
Basically I’ll quote Dickens here…the Z-8 is the best of times and the worst of times. It’s a good camera. However I’m thinking I should have believed less of the hype. I rented it once and was not impressed enough to buy it.
However over time and after reading things from others…I reasoned that I might not have taken the time to research how to set it up correctly. One week with a brand new camera when it first comes out is not really a good test. Then I had fun shooting birds… then it went on sale with free money. Then OOPS! There I went again, right down that damn rabbit hole!
Overall I’m on the fence with my purchase. I still pick up my D-850 first. I’m still testing things with the Z-8. I’m still setting it up for how I wish to shoot with it. It’s not yet comfortable in my hands. I don’t really trust what I’m seeing through it. I’m questioning if I captured my image the way I wanted to. I do not trust it yet… or me with it. I’m not happy with the dynamic range.
That might be good enough for others… but I don’t capture images to be “good enough”… I create images that I know what I will do with them in post. I create Photographs. Not snap shots. The noise with the Z-8 currently feel worse than the D-850. I’m still testing…
Basically? That’s a great way to end this post. Testing, testing… this is a test of the emergency crate a Photograph, not a snap shot system…
