Ever since Nikon introduced the concept of a compact professional-grade camera – at a time when the 35mm film format was still derogatively dismissed by many working photographers as “miniature” – there has been a long line of top-of-the-line models which raised the bar in terms of both capabilities and performance. Launched in 1959, the legendary F, was followed by the F2 and finally through to the F6 as digital capture quickly replaced film. Then came the D1 in 1999 and Nikon’s DSLR line progressed over the next couple of decades through to, coincidentally, the D6. And many of these flagship cameras were accompanied by ‘understudy’ models that were, to all intents and purposes, professional grade – certainly in terms of the build quality at least – but lacked some of the absolute high-end specs or features. This started with the Nikkormats, followed by the FM and FE series then the likes of the F90 and F100; and, in the digital era, models such as the D300, D500, D700 and the brilliant D800/810/850 trio.
As we noted when we reviewed it back in early 2022, the Z 9 is – despite being state-of-the-art in terms of mirrorless camera tech – a classic Nikon professional camera in terms of its purity of purpose. Almost immediately after the Z 9’s launch there was talk – as just outlined, undoubtedly based on Nikon’s track record with such things – of a more compact and more affordable version, but which maintained all the key capabilities. And so the Z 8 has come to pass and, lo, it is indeed a Z 9 in a great many respects and, as such, is where you’ll likely go next if you’ve been using a D810 or D850… but also where you could well go if you’re still contemplating which way to jump in the transition from DSLR to mirrorless. The ‘8’ model number probably isn’t coincidental or just because this camera slots in between the Z 9 and the Z 7II.
In a nutshell, the Z 8 is essentially the Z 9 minus the integrated vertical grip – there’s the accessory MB-N12 available instead – but obviously there are a few more changes which also help account for the quite significant difference in the purchase prices. Nevertheless, the two models share the same key performance specifications and the same extensive feature set which is a benefit of everything being done electronically rather than mechanically when it cost more to do more. In fact, the Z 8 has some added capabilities over the Z 9 – notably 60 fps continuous shooting, longer burst lengths at the ultra-faster shooting speeds, 10-bit HEIF capture, dual USB C connections (one dedicated to power delivery), 12-bit N-RAW or ProRes RAW HQ video recording internally (added to the Z 9 via a firmware upgrade), various tweaks to the AF system including extended low-light sensitivity, and number of small refinements or revisions probably as a result of feedback from Z 9 users. However, it’s worth noting that 60 fps shooting can be added to the Z 9 with the Firmware 3.0 upgrade.
The 60 fps speed is only available with the ‘DX’ format crop – which is 1.5x – but the image size is still 19.3 megapixels. The capture mode automatically locks into JPEG/Large/Normal. You can shoot at up to 30 fps full frame (which Nikon tags ‘FX’), but again with JPEG/Large/Normal capture. At 30 and 60 fps, the burst length is six seconds – i.e. the buffer memory’s capacity – which equates to 180 and 360 frames respectively. The Z 9’s 120 fps “press-ready stills” JPEG shooting speed is available here too, and delivers an image size of 11.4 megapixels with a burst length of 600 frames (i.e. five seconds). This is still plenty of resolution for any print-related application – if you’re shooting sports or adventure action, for example – and obviously way more than enough for online publishing. The Z 8 has a ‘Pre-Release Capture’ function for JPEGs (or HEIFs) which engages when the shutter button is at its half-way position (i.e. for metering and autofocusing) and can be set for 0.3. 0.5 or 1.0 second durations. There’s also a ‘Post Release Burst’ which can be used to minimise the subsequent burst length to one, two or three seconds (but you’re more likely to simply leave it set on ‘MAX’). ‘Pre-Release Capture’ was added to the Z 9
