The Nikon Z8 is better than you think! (hands on preview) 

Great camera...but we need Z6III and Z5II with better AF, that are more afordable. :)

What a great and professional review!! Thanks so much!! I love my Z9, but I'm very tempted to get the Z8 after watching this video.

I loved the sample images of your presets. Just beautiful. I think the Z8 is precisely what so many hoped it would be, echoing the the D850’s position vis a vis its big brothers. As always, Nikon appears to have kept the controls and basic ergonomics uniform with the Z9, which was already familiar to DSLR users. It also reinforces the convenience for those seeking a second body alongside their Z9. This was well worth the wait!

Being a Nikon shooter (over 40 years) the Z8 hits all of the buttons. Slightly larger to fit my hands and not let my little finger hanging like the Z6/7s, built to be a shooters camera and get out of my way like the D850. My NPS order is in.

On the shutter feedback issue - I have the Z9 and have learned to turn on the “cartoon” sound - great label btw - when I am doing portraits or model shoots. Models have learned to change their poses after they hear the sound of the shutter. If you are in silent mode they have no idea what is going on. Conversely when shooting wildlife I always shoot in silent mode, so as not to disturb my subjects or if someone is shooting video right next to me. As with all things technical it is something to learn to work with.

Lovely piece of gear : I see myself trading the R5 for a Z8

Going for it! As a D850 user who went for the mirrorless looking to be more light, I have been waiting for this camera since the Z7 hit the market. Excellent camera, beautiful price. Thanks for sharing your experience. BTW going for your presets too.😉

As a D850 shooter this is was Ihavebeen waiting for to go mirrorless!

Rumors of Nikon demise were greatly exaggerated! So nice to see them back in the game, with a bang!

The price point of the Z 8 is almost identical to the D850 in 2023 dollars ($3299 the is like $4045 today). It has to price compete with the Canon R5 ($3899) and the Sony A7r V ($3899) so $3999 makes perfect sense. The Z 9’s price is easily $1000-$1500 below its contemporaries and well below inflation, so it’s the real anomaly. The Z 8 is right where it should be.

The form factor alone will have me ordering the Z8. I really miss the grip on the D850

I’ve been shooting with my d850 since the day it came out. I was waiting on this Z8 with great anticipation! Im not disappointed at all, I actually already placed an order to get it :)

I’ve been using a Z9 for a year and a half now, and it I really enjoy using it. I do a lot of wildlife/BIF in all kinds of conditions, and it gets the job done with flying colors. I also do a lot of concert photography, and the Z9 is great for that, but it’s a bit bulky for that use. I preordered the Z8 and I think it’s going to be the perfect concert camera as well as my wildlife camera when I have to hike to remote locations. Z glass is hard to beat, so there’s that as well.

Absolutely a magnificent camera. I shoot Fuji (long travel), Nikon (portraits) and m43 (when traveling with motorcycle). I migt decide to sell some and purchase this one. Good review.

Z8 completely blows A1 and R3 out of the water in terms of price, specs, and no cripple hammer!!!

"Better than you think"... Who the hell thinks the Z8 ISN'T a great camera?? 🤨

I think the solution to the lack of a haptic feedback will be familiarity and comfort with use. Yes, we are *used* to something. In the coming years, that will completely change. Kind of like the EVF... An interesting option would be to allow the user to load their own shutter sound file.

Do I need the z8? No. Do I want the z8? Yes! I'm a hobbyist so it's not like I have to have it for work. But, I can do enough side jobs this year to make enough to buy it. I don't know if Nikon will put a stacked sensor in any of their other full frame bodies. I would love to see that in the z6 iii and z7 iii. My two biggest pet peeves I've had with Nikon has been the focus tracking and the screen blackout in burst mode. You solve that with faster processors and a stacked sensor.

Wouldn’t haptic feedback remove one of the advantages of an electronic shutter - shutter shock? You get visual cues that you’re taking a shot in the EVF if you choose to shoot completely silent, which should be adequate.

A mirrorless D700🔥. It looks just like it but a futuristic one🔝

I don't know where the rating for Nikon batteries come from, but both my Z6 and Z8 absolutely destroy the numbers provided. Took the Z8 to St. Patrick's Day in Chicago this year, over 2700 photos, 15 short videos, and it was still going the next day. Nikon batteries are HIGHLY underrated.

Z8 is gr8 deal from Nikon Canon R5 dropped 500$ due to Z8 Sony A1 and Nikon Z9 are real competition for Z8 and look at the price point of Z8 . It gives all the features of true flagship camera and at lowest price point without compromising any features not only nikon will sell Z8 in big numbers but also the sell of Z lenses will shoot up

Waiting for Z6 iii so I can buy a 2,000 camera not 4,000 😭

It looks great. I wonder how it performs with adapted F mount glass. I think I will be buying this 🎉😊

I will enjoy my D850, D500 and D4s for a while…for mirrorless and lightweight work the m43 Panasonic is excellent when combined with fast 1.4 and 1.2 prime lenses

WHAT AN EXCELLENT AND BALANCED AND EDUCATED review... and yes, I mean to shout it! Very good and thank you - subbed! BTW - I note that no reviewer has commented so far on the round viewfinder. Nikon aims to place this camera firmly in the hands of pro photographers and not prosumers. The round form of the viewfinder is indicative of this - all other prosumer and lower level cameras have the squarer form. Small point but means an awful lot to thems that knows!

Interesting comparison also would be with the mini-medium format options also in the $4k price range-both camera performance and lens ecosystem. Long lens stuff is an obvious advantage, but portrait/travel/landscape/etc it feels very interesting.

I was just having the same conversation with my friend about the electronic shutter sound. Nikon should give an option to at least change the shutter sound. Maybe offer classic Nikon shutter sounds like an F3, F100 and D3x shutter sounds. It's a weird thing to consider but it makes it more fun to use.

I very quickly acclimated to not having a thunking mechanical shutter in the Z 9. I love the nth degree of ultimate sharpness allowed by eliminating shutter shock. Now, when I use the Z 7II, it feels crude in comparison. I hope Nikon ditches the shutters on all its subsequent mirrorless cameras.

Very nice review Ted. Thank you. As an amateur lucky enough to have a Z7 and a Z9, I'm sitting tight. If the Z8 and Z9 had come out at the same time, the Z8 would have suited me better. Nikon made me happy by not making the Z8 BETTER than the Z9. And the Z7 is much lighter than the Z8. Boy would I love a Z7 with an Expeed 7 and better autofocus, but I'm learning to focus just fine with the Z7. I love your presets. Can they work with ON1 Raw?

This camera ticks so many boxes... and at that price point? Well done Nikon!

Stack sensor alone is expensive. Z8 price is justified compared to Canon and Sony price range.

without shutter is NOT a negative!

I’ll stick with my d850 and my Olympus om-1 both completely different but both get the job done. I still kind of like the mechanical feel of my d850 and the images i get with that camera are awe inspiring still so for the foreseeable future I’ll stick with it, as for the Olympus it is light and for the shooting i do it serves as a great scout camera when I’m on my motorbike looking for great locations to shoot. I’m sure in time we will all have to go to the mirrorless systems but for now contentment remains with the gear i already own, if it ain’t broke

Does Sony need a 45mpx direct competitor? A8? 🤔 the a9 is speed, the r7v is resolution, but z8 and r5 is both at $3600-$3999.

All great points but one omission: there is a setting to have a small white frame flash around the outside of the image when taking photos. This way it can be silent and also have no blackout, while still giving the photographer feedback. I find this works perfectly.

1:09 "- A new airplane algorithm? What's that?" "- It's a new AF tracking mode, but that's not important right now..."

Unfortunately the z9 is a little bit heavy I already owned but I'm thinking about z8 Because it's small can use very good way way

Maybe I should go back to Nikon or wait for the X-pro4, hmmm! Thank for the infos.

It's probably the best camera Nikon has ever made. I'm impressed.

Fantastic review , I have been waiting for the Z8 to replace the D6 Bodies I currently have , there were a few niggles with the Z9 (the door ) that I wasn't happy with , I have used z6 z611. as a stop gap , , it reminds me of going from film to the D1 it feels like a big step

What lens and camera are you using to film this video? Love how glossy and creamy it looks. Thanks!

I have the D850 and bought a z6 2 recently, I love the idea of the new z8 and it's form factor, It's very interesting to hear about SDR & HLG will like to learn more about this.

I am particularly excited with the Nikon come back… Z9 compressed into a smaller affordable body is great… But it is equally exciting to watch Nikon finally catch up on the marketing front… counter for launch date, product already distributed to influencers in the community, simultaneous release of influencer videos globally with the product release… If Nikon keeps this up, they will grab significant market share from Canon and Sony… and with a Zf from Fuji 😂

Nikon shooter here…..I think the Z8 is amazing. A real D850 alternative. But as an amateur, primarily stills, landscape, shooter, my Z7ii is great and its lighter, smaller form factor is better for hiking. So my dollars are likely to go into more of that dreamy Nikkor Z glass, than a camera that is more than what I need. I use your presets, and I really do dig them! I actually love shooting on two old DSLRs the Nikon D200 CCD APSC and D300 CMOS APSC and using the presets to process the images. The sensors already have a film vibe and your presets help alot to finish off the vintage look. You don’t need the latest and greatest to enjoy a day out with a camera! Of course, when I really want the film vibe, I shoot, well…film.

I pre-ordered a Z8. For the price this is a lot of camera, especially on the video side of things.

I didn’t quite understand what that new RAW thing (that requires 400 ISO) was. Is it like the dynamic range setting on Fuji cameras? That one does affect RAW and it increases minimum ISO (500 on X-T5). Or is it meant as high dynamic range like in movies. You know the kind where you need a high dynamic range display to see it? I guess it’s not that, because you can already make most raw files into high dynamic range photos. I’ve done it myself with photos from the X-T3 using Affinity Photo on a iPad Pro.

Man oh man. Want. I know what you’re saying with the MS. Noting like that sound and feel, but with these specs, I can live without it. Great preview.

Could it be? Has Nikon finally had an attack of common sense and done what only Leica has done? Which would be to finally use DNG format for their raw files, which, of course is 100% compatible with Adobe processing software? Hmmm… I may have to consider this camera (as a former Nikon shooter I appreciate a camera that reminds me of my old D850…)

The great thing I like about Nikon is they are always updating firmware with better user experience. You know Z8 will evolve more In Firmware, exciting.

Silent is great for shooting weddings and funerals, thumbs up.

As someone who is primarily focused on autofocus performance for wildlife (and not video at all), it would be awesome to have a clear comparison between this, the Z7II as well as the alternatives from Sony / Canon. As it stands, I am planning to stick to my D500 and Z7II indefinitely.

Joking aside, I have yet to see a reason to upgrade from (say) a D3. I think the technology became so great so fast, that we approached the limit of what makes sense. A D3 provided a massive leap forward. I have not seen a similar leap ever since. Perhaps, we are approaching ‘as good as it will ever get” moment in photography.

Im looking to buy new set for my Model shoots, portraits and video. Was thinking get Sony A74 and Sony 50mm 1.4 gm. This Nikon looking great, but if i will buy the same high level set up i will get almost double weight(( Checked how many options of really premium lenses Nikon has, and was surprised that not so many and they are so over weight((Will check what Panasonic and Fuji can offer, but looks like will go for Sony. Many thanks for great review

You can have black-outs in you EVF mate!

The price is not unreasonable assuming it is as marked. Tbh the z7ii gives me everything I want from photography point of view, but the video resolution on this supporting 8k, makes it "a want to have camera".

I actually do like the form factor of the Z9, but if are there features offered with the Z8 that are not available in the Z9, I would be happy to add a grip if the camera itself offers better performance for wildlife, lanscapes and sports or image quality for portraits, product photography, or in high contrast environments

Greetings from Japan Ted, URGENT Question about your pre-set currently on sale. I shoot a Fujifilm X-H1 for my Macro & Color Photography and an X-Pro2 for my BNW Photography. I'm using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for iPad for post-processing. Will your Fuji-fied pre-set pack work with my configuration?? I didn't see my version of Lightroom listed on your website and wanted to make sure before I placed an order🤔🤔.

"Real" photographers WILL purchase the Z8, lol. I have two Z9's already and seriously considering the Z8 a well.

Looks impressive and I posit mechanical shutter mechanisms will soon join the museum of archival photo equipment. Good one-day review.

Great video. I have a D850 and I am looking at the world of mirrorless cameras. How did you find the weight of the Z8. I have read that some users prefer the Z7II over the Z8 simply for the weight and size.

On the Nikon D850 you have a FN2 My Menu button, does the Z8 have the My Menu where you can assign various Menu Funtions to access quickly?

9:15 but that would unneccessarily destabilize the photos. I'm happy with the "cartoon" shutter sound

I love Nikon Z8

Have a Z9. Mostly stills, very little video. For now I don’t need a Z8. Make more lenses!!!

Thanks for the great preview! I’m a bit confused on one point though. HLG is not something you’d have in a RAW file, it’s a transfer function which can encode HDR content in a processed image (rather than tone mapping to SDR). I assume you mean the camera offers an HLG HEIF option, right? Or are you saying there is something unique about the actual RAW / NEF capture?

If you make the Z9 shutter sound the lower tone, you can actually feel it in the body. Not quite as strong as an actual shutter, but it’s there. Also, not having a shutter can be an issue with certain types of light (I’m a concert shooter). You can see horizontal banding in certain images.

Ted, just curious, is the $3999.95 for the z8 more or less then you were originally told by Nikon. I certainly understand if you choose not to answer this question. Thank you for the video.

I was all in until I heard that the grip is more like the Z6/7 than the Z9. I really have a problem with the ergonomics of the existing Z6/7 I or II bodies, they just don't fit well in my hand. I was almost determined to save up for a Z9 after hearing this; however, I decided to wait until I have my hands on one and see how comfortable it is for me.

Do anyone still use D6 and D5🤔🤔🤔

Just based on how it looks... it's gorgeous. It looks the part. Great design

I’m still not completely sold on mirrorless, the gains are not enough to justify the expense over what I’ve already bought and paid for (D700, D850, 8-15, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200, 200-500, 105 micro… New gear is great, but how many years will it take to replace what I already have. Perhaps I could justify (afford) it with a “go fund me” 😁

Great review - thanks. As to the film simulations, I can only imagine that the original "developers" of these film stocks put a lot of time and their considerable expertise into what they sold and for you to resurrect them (if that is a fair description) is in my opinion a great thing to do. No, I am not a sycophant nor am I nostalgic but in emulating these film stocks, this saves a large body of knowledge from being lost.

I’m confused as to why they left the PC sync port out. The Z9 has one, the D850 has one.

A solution to the shutter sound issue I have with the Z9 is, I also carry a Leica M3 or Nikon FM2 to get a beautiful shutter sound 🤣🤣

You mentioned "Fuji Velvia/Superia". Now I know you are a real photographer. Velvia 50 was my goto for decades in outdoor shoots. I've always despised the color tone of digital cameras. I've tried all the flagships and they suck at color rendition. Lots of wiz bang , but no really decent color output. I was hoping HDR 10 would fix these issues, but many manufacturers don't use it as a standard feature. Glad to see some work in the Adobe world to replicate the old film colors. I would have hoped that Adobe would have done this by 2023 on their own...but no. I will happily purchase your filters. Keep up the good work and count me as a new subscriber!

Extremely professional evaluation, I always say that there are real masters in the comment area. We can always learn something here. For people, the camera is not just a tool for recording life, it is more like a symbol of art.

Nikon is game over now and how many people will buys $5,000 camera body probably rich old man buys

Pre-ordered Z8 as backup to my Z9, love the robust Z9 features in a smaller form factor.

Nikon need to hurry up and give us legacy Nikon Shutter sounds. Let us pick which we want it to sound like: F5, D3,4,5, d800 if you want the SLAP

Come on Nikon, tilting screen in year 2023? Seriously? By the way good review :)

I am super excited and have my pre-order in. Always loved the Z9 but simply too big. This is an amazing all around camera. I CAN"T WAIT! And one more thing, I ordered your presets last year and use them all the time. Fantastic job.

Hello Ted, Sorry long time since I have seen any of your youtube videos. The Cepa rating I have know idea were they get it from. On Saturday I was at a horse trail event in the UK with my Z9 shooting with there 100mm-400mm zoom and shot 1550 images on one battery and the event ended before the battery did, so 700 is a joke. One thing I was shooting high efficiency raw, with back button and all the stuff. I am thing about sell me Z7ii the get the Z8 as a second body.

Hi, I am wondering if the resolution on the Z9 viewfinder with 9.4m dot be better to see or 3.7 m on the Z8? Which preview is more accurate and matches the final image process by the same sensor of 45.7mp? thank you

First thing which I noticed that I dont feel when shot is taken, so haptic feedback, buzzer or something would feel nice. It's cool that someone besides myself shares same opinion

Why should data and power across one USBC socket be impossible for Nikon? My boring GH5Mk2 has only one USBC and I have used it many times tethered to my laptop and delivering power at the same time.

Nice review. When the Z8 came out I was very impressed. But I have a Z 7ll and I am very happy with it. For the average person the price is too much. For the pro who wants a back up . Maybe. And if you are rich and have lots of money. This is for you.

...it took me eight months to finish this review and today finally jump into mirrorless head first with the Z8, 135 Plena and the FTZ ll adaptor for my Funk lineup.

The trouble you have with Haptic Feedback is the potential for vibration to effect the image quality.

Speaking of super nit picky, you said there were two choices for shutter sound, to be not picky, that one choice but two options. If I put 2 different desserts and said you have 2 choices, you could have both. One choice is one of 2 options.

Nikon please, on the Z8 we would like for next firmware version 3.0, when we turn the top Control Panel display ON, to be a little brighter and with a little more contrast

I've never understood why CIPA ratings are so off. People are shooting thousands of images on a single battery charge on the Z8, let alone the Z9 which is rated for 700 shots.

Unfortunately with too much problems. People became b-tester and that's nor serious at all. When you party 4-5k euros for camera, that must be perfect.

Not sure what phone you are using. I get no feedback whatsoever from my Samsung. It is the least pleasurable experience I can imagine. I have to use it to take a photo of the gas pump at a rural store to show to the clerk inside. I visit twice a year and the latest photo is always the same pump six months ago.

you know it's a Nikon user when everything is shot on -0.7 exposure compensation :D

I was really hoping it would be the successor to the d850, with more of the spec towards photography and not video. Maybe 60 megapixels, 30 frames a second raw with the best focus system out there. Frankly I hate knowing I have to spend my money on what is really mostly a video camera, video that I’ll never use. That’s what made the d850 so good, the video sucked and no one cared because it was a great still’s camera.

Love this thing.

Back button focus? Images are super. Ergo looks good.

It's an old camera system in small body. Nothing new with it, why you all keep promoting it as "new"....

Hopefully the Nikon camera that will be launched in 2023/24 will carry the specs below to beat cameras like the Sony A7IV, Sony ZV-E1, Canon EOS R6II and Panasonic Lumix S5II & S5IIX Nikon Z7III -45.7MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor -EXPEED 7 Image Processor -8K30p, 4K120p, 4K60p 10-Bit 4:2:2 Internal (full sensor) oversampled from 8K, N-LOG2 & HLG -N-RAW, ProRes RAW 12-Bit Via HDMI -ProRes 422/HQ/LT 4:2:2, H.265 codecs -8-Stop In-Body 5-Axis Sensor Shift Vibration Reduction -Anti-Dust Shutter Mechanism -10fps Mechanical Shutter, 20fps Electronic Shutter Shooting With AF/AE Tracking -AI Based Subject Detection With Deep Learning -7xx Point PDAF, 3D Tracking, Real Time Eye AF -5.76m-Dot OLED EVF With 120Hz Refresh Rate -3.2" 2.1m-Dot Vari-Angle Tilting Touchscreen LCD -Dual: CFexpress Type B/XQD & SD Card Slot (UHS II) -Full-size HDMI Port -5GHz MIMO WiFi, Bluetooth, and GNSS Price Around $3000 Nikon Z6III -24MP FX-Format BSI CMOS Sensor -EXPEED 7 Image Processor -6K30p, 4K120p, 4K60p 10-Bit 4:2:2 Internal (full sensor) oversampled from 6K, N-LOG2 & HLG -N-RAW, ProRes RAW 12-Bit Via HDMI -ProRes 422/HQ/LT 4:2:2, H.265 codecs -8-Stop In-Body 5-Axis Sensor Shift Vibration Reduction -Anti-Dust Shutter Mechanism -15fps Mechanical Shutter, 40fps Electronic Shutter Shooting With AF/AE Tracking -AI Based Subject Detection With Deep Learning -7xx Point PDAF, 3D Tracking, Real Time Eye AF -3.69m-Dot OLED EVF With 120Hz Refresh Rate -3.2" 2.1m-Dot Vari-Angle Tilting Touchscreen LCD -Dual: CFexpress Type B/XQD & SD Card Slot (UHS II) -Full-size HDMI Port -5GHz MIMO WiFi, Bluetooth, and GNSS -Price Around $2000