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I own a D850 and cannot find a camera better than that till date.. .

Great comparison video!

After using the Z9 for over a year, I upgraded my backup body (D850) to a Z8 so that I didn’t need to carry around both F and Z lenses. When I used the Z8 on a trip I instantly regretted buying it. The Z9 is so much better I really missed the all day battery, built in GPS, and more ergonomic body that is easier to hold and has the built in vertical grip and extra controls. Plus the size of the Z9 is easier to grip and use unless you have really small hands. The Z8 requires carrying multiple batteries, and 2 different sizes of cards. To get the GPS you need to either attach an external unit (more costs and drains the already poor battery) or connect another device through SnapBridge which also drains the Z8 battery and your phone’s battery. Traveling with the camera takes a lot more gear than the Z9. Not the smaller size advantage you think when you have to carry all the extra equipment. I laughed when you complained about the Z8 being too big to hike with… time to hit the gym! The Z9 is smaller than the D850+grip. I love the smaller size of the Z9 compared to the D850. It is smaller and lighter. Yes I always had the grip attached it since the battery life was so poor. The Z9 is so much smaller and lighter that I was glad to sell the larger D850. The Z8 when equally gripped to have the vertical controls and extra battery life that is built into the Z9, is actually larger and heavier but is uncomfortable and bulky. Just get the Z9. I will likely sell the Z8 and get another Z9 as a backup body. The small price difference is not worth the hassles with all the extras you need to carry around with the Z8. You need 2 different types of cards, multiple batteries, and the buffer is slower and it can overheat. I could not believe how much worse the battery life is compared to the Z9. I used the Z9 all day for a wedding, on a single battery charge with the GPS in the whole time. Photo’s before, during the wedding and the reception/dancing. The Z8 I had to buy a multiple battery charger and carry at least 3 at all times. The Z9 I just grab and go. Simple and small.

The Z8 is a disappointment for still photography, especially landscape. It's large and heavy, low resolution, and reduces dynamic range. At the moment, the GFX 100s II is better in almost every way except price, lens selection, and AF. Nikon will lose more of the professional still photography market unless it focuses on still photography with it's higher resolution cameras.

I have to disagree with you pretty much on all levels of your whinging - quite frankly, you simply DO NOT NEED a Z8 camera for what you claim are deal breakers in landscape photography. The Z8 gives no better quality (given the DR actually less) than a Z7. IF landscape is your thing then the Z8 is absolutely NOT the camera you should be buying. If fact not one of the latest all singing all dancing cameras from any manufacturer is what you want. What you really need is the best camera for the job, and for landscape photography you will not find much better than either the Z7 or Z7II or any other older camera which offers slow (by modern standards) camera facilities with decent DR and more-than-required pixel count. The premise of your whole video is therefore utter click-baiting codswallop! Your video is very thought provoking though and I do hope that the landscape orientated photographer ignores the negatives but at the same time takes note of them so that they can take the correct decision for themselves... and hang on until Nikon jump to a slow moving high resolution landscape/high-res requirement camera... stay waiting a long time as it is likely Nikon will not go down this route and aim for the general market first! Fact of life I regret to say.

As a longtime user of slide film, I don’t find 14.2 stops of dynamic range all that troubling - it’s WAY better than the 5 stops I got from Velvia. But I hear you about the custom banks! I also shoot with an OM-1 and find it to be a great camera. I’ll add a couple more things that bug me about the Z8. The “Pre Capture” only captures jpgs, not RAW files. Viewfinder highlight/shadow alerts (zebras) are available while shooting video, but not stills. I love having those alerts in the OM-1 to avoid clipping the highlights. I’m pretty new to the Z8, but not to Nikon. My last Nikon was a D800, but I got seduced by the Olympus cameras around 2016. I’m hanging on to my m4/3 gear for a lightweight option, but I think I’m going to end up loving the Z8, which probably won’t be perfect until the Z8 III.

Now there is arca swiss p0+ Hybrid monoball.. which adds friction wheel

Excellent video on tripod heads

God it’s a relief to find an honest Nikon review… I use Nikon too but even I find it cringe when sponsored reviewers pretend to be unbiased.

th-cam.com/video/eHC6tgX6tzU/w-d-xo.html

a few of these technical aspects you speak to don't need to be 'better' eg dynamic range or pixel density. I would concentrate more on other capabilities where Nikon needs to compete with the other brands. BTW, Nikon still have Sony make their sensors to their specifications that maintain Nikon's colour science.

This is by many miles the the best tripod head video on TH-cam !!

I'm a little confused. He's basically saying the Z8 is not a landscape camera & he likes the Z7 for that better. OK...but it wasn't designed to be a landscape camera. The camera he's looking for is the next iteration of the Z7...Z7iii I presume. The Z8 is meant to provide most of what the Z9 does in a smaller form factor. So why expect it to do things it's not meant for? Since he's doing landscapes, why buy a camera that is designed for speed & video shooters???

If you don't like. Don't use it. Do not mislead other people.

Decided on a Z8 only because I shoot more than landscapes. It was tough to find something with less compromises across multiple types of shooting.

Some of your concerns are probably due to engineering trade offs but mostly you are ight on...my list would be similar.

It sounds like you have nothing to do. You're not a camera designer nor engineer nor manufacturer. There is a limit , either market orientation, price and material.

One of the first things I did was to bind f3 to switch between banks. While it takes both hands to press that and scroll a wheel I think it's much more convenient than I was afraid it would be without the U1-U3 knob.

What about z6iii? Which one you choose between z8 and z6 iii?

The computing power in the Z8 and most modern mirrorless cameras is limited. You want reasonable battery life with a good set of feautures, and of course there will be some tradeoffs, which again are set by the manufacturer, not by the end user. All of the annoyances you mentioned here are engineering/feature tradeoffs in favor some other feature etc. It's a balancing act. I can list many similar issues on my D850 and Z7II. There is no perfect camera, but we are inching closer every day. Personally, i would love to live in a world where the camera is a hardware, and the end user can use their own software, or customize the existing OEM firmware/OS, but this will not happen any time soon, at least in terms of big manufacturers releasing a system like that. I love my Z8 and i think it's fantastic camera, right up there with the Canons and Sonys.

I don’t understand why the menus can’t arrange in portrait orientation

So if used at the same price should I buy the Sony a7rv

Thanks for the no-holds-barred review of the cons of this camera for you. It's good to know that those things you pointed out are largely non-issues for me. I want a high resolution, high-fps camera with the starlight view mode for my main interests in photography -- astro, landscape, birds, other wildlife, and a big set of features/functions that will be there if and when I want to pursue video, events, sports, etc. The thing that may be a pain for me is the less-than-ideal focus stacking function, but I'm thrilled just to have it in camera now and am confident I will learn how to make it work well for me. It seems to me that the starlight view mode is going to be a game changer, as I really like night photography. I've grown really tired of doing super high ISO test shots and guessing each time until I finally settle on the composition, which still may not be 100% what I want. Seeing the scene on the screen will allow quick acquisition of a desired composition and even facilitate changing my position to get an even better one. I can't wait to try that! I love the D750 I've had for 9 years but am excited to upgrade to the Z8.

BRAVO!! 👏

What about the Z6iii

What do you think about the overheating phenomenon when using the Nikon Z8 for an extended period?

Thank You for the review. I was somewhat surprised that You mentioned low light capabilities as a positive side, when there are many discussions that Z8 has noticeable noise on high ISOs. I'm considering a purchase but those reviews made me want to dig a little deeper, since besides birding/wildlife, I'd like to use it for MW and aurora shooting aswell.

And actually I dlike to see a tour of your custom programs, best !

Subscribed!

The menu system you yave recall is spot on. Im moving from a7iii and lack of physical buttons, dial is concerning. Bookmark feature rather than hard save, yup

Whwn you use a stacked CMOS, it will generally have lower dynamic range than non stacked sensor. The A7 III non stacked sensor has more dynamic range and noise performance than flagship A9. I believe Nikon still uses Sony sensors. The Sony's sensor division is separate from its camera division.

Moral to the story: don't get rid of your Z7 or D850. No perfect camera. Just the right tool for the job at hand. I like all of mine. You do make good points about some of those lacking features.

A poor tradesman blames his tools.

Thank you very much for your comparisons. I do not know why though you left out the Acratech Panorama head or the less expensive LeoFoto VH-30 or VH-30R. I’ve been looking at these for pan and tilt capability or the excellent ball heads from Markins out of Korea, the Q10i and Q20i with BV12 or BV24 adapters. Take care.

I think the biggest problem with this camera is that it’s not a Sony

10:51 or you can take a few pics at different settings and see the difference Lol

So this camera is useless????

Wow, you just made my GAS evaporate. I think I'll go for a used Z7 and save like 2000 bucks

Thank you so very much for the absolutely amazing work. I'm truly appreciative!!!

This must have been a massive project to put together, thanks for doing this, it was really helpful!!

I hope Nikon sees this video! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with the camera. I'm about to buy a Z8 and there are a lot of videos telling us what's great but not many doing what you did here. I'm a nature photography with probably a 70-30 split on wildlife to landscapes so some of the negatives don't hurt my use case as much. Now that Nikon has the Z8 line it makes complete sense for them to go all out on the Z7 as a high megapixel landscape/product/marcro/studio photography camera with hardware and features geared towards needs there.

Interesting summary.

Love to see your settings spreadsheet

I would love to know how to import the extra features you have shown. An excellent tutorial, thank you 🙂

Sounds like you bought the wrong camera!

Sounds like you bought the wrong camera!

Nah. Dont change things if not broken. Like you said its not for landscape shooters. Just choose the other line ups. Leave it the way it is. 60mp? Nah. Ill pass

Nikon menuing is horrible in practice. I envy photographers who can use it seamlessly. Fuji and Hasselblad look like they are more comprehensive in practice. Why dont they partner with Apple or Google and make their system more usable?

Thank you for the work! I am looking for a landscape photography camera and you have cleared a few things for me as to what not to expect from a Z8, I don't view your comments as complaints but constructive criticism. I'm glad that Nikon is paying attention. I also don't want to wait 4-6 years for improvement. Keep up the good work.

What's with the obsession with high megapixel sensors? Those photosites are just getting smaller & smaller. I use a D810 for higher resolution images but for everyday use I'm still quite content shooting with my D700. Tech unfortunately has taken over and diminished the art of photography...