Nikon Z8 Real World pREVIEW: I WAS SO WRONG!!!

Jared, EVERYTHING you mention about the focus in sports is correct. 3D focus is pot luck, and you need to review the focus action in the rain depending on the lighting, focus in bright light with white objects while panning, Overcast days seem better. It's not back focus. it just jumps focus to the back depending on light conditions and subject matter in the back. Also often skips a beat at 20fps, grabbing the back on the 3rd-4th shot then back in focus.... If subject falls you loose focus to the back if using 3D/people same in Dynamic-AF. Not sticky. Focus tracking with lock on is misleading and does not appear to work as described..

CANON R5 HAS A BAD DYNAMIC RANGE FOR ITS PRICE .
if you don't believe it , just make a comparison with Nikon .

Hi, I owned Sony a1 and then tested Fuji xh2s, and then after weeks watching reviews and testing just came to buy z8 because of truly hybrid and all in one camera, but surprisingly I watched some complaints from professional photographers about: Not accurate AF all the time and missing lock on subject, heated card after 15 minutes videography or photography in events, not solid back dial and low quality of grip for slipping hand after long time shooting, and other issues you mentioned here. I can accept and handle everything but of course not about failure on AF tracking system and overheating cards or body! I need to make sure about theses matters upon your field experience to make the right decision. Please advise. Thank you

So that camera will never work for birding.

Jared you NEVER EVER AGE! ❤

As a sony person, I can readily admit that the Z8 has taken over from the R5 as the best all around camera in recent years. Happy for all the Nikon users out there :-) (can't stand canons 3rd party ban). Nikon's been knocking it out of the park in 2023. Interested to see the D500s successor.

Excellent analysis as always.
Currently sitting on the fence whether or not to go mirrorless. Currently shoot with a D810 and a D3X using top shelf VR F zoom glass. Subject matter are things that fly (A10 Warthogs, F-22 Raptors, F-35 and birds with feathers, landscapes and portraits). I really like the glass that I own and do not want to sell everything to wholesale transition to "mirrorless". Is there an image quality trade off using F series lenses on Z series cameras as opposed to z series lenses? Thank you for your informed commentary on Nikon mirrorless vs the D series cameras.

I've had my Z8 for three weeks now and can confirm it's a brilliant camera. It's a big seller for Nikon.

great review thank you Jared you are right on it a Z9 It is!!!

Im rocking 3 z 7ii bodies and I’m tempted to upgrade my main body to a z 8 but I torn if it’s worth it for wedding photography. Stacked sensor is amazing and faster shutter but not sure.

Who on earth designed the battery pack for the Z8...

I am buying a SECOND Z 8 it is THAT good. I have the Z 9 as well, but the Z 8 is awesome.

Nikon is great to shoot slow moving rocks and trees, it has been shown that it takes the sharpest photos when paired with a 30kg tripod and specially on days that the earth isn’t rotating

I do have to change my camera (I'm using Nikon D700 since 2008 so my camera is 15 years old) I love my camera but I'm starting to notice flaws after all these years.
My intention was to change to the D850 but seeing how everything is evolving I think it would be a mistake to stay in reflex and not evolve to mirrorless if I have the opportunity.
I'm pretty confused because I don't see any obvious differences between the Z8 and the Z7II for what I do. I am a professional photographer and my work is basically based on studio portraiture, but I also do dancers on stage, the fact that the Z7II does not have a 3D focus like the D700 is one thing that set me back in this area, but maybe with all this new techology this is not somenthing important at all.

Could you advise me which camera would be better for me? Z8 or Z7II?
Thank you very much, I love your channel.

So R3 focus superior than Z8?

Lol I guess don’t pay much this time

I only Shoot with Canon. Nuff Said!

What is that Sennheiser device you have mounted to the top of the Z9?

i've heard you say (words to the effect): you'll never be able to update the hardware in this camera and therefore you won't be able to improve the autofocus from where it is today.

partially right and largely not. the partially right part is obviously the hardware cannot be changed. the expeed 7 is not going to be swapped out. this hardware 'limitation' will always exist. no question. no doubt. this means there will be boundaries around autofocus that will always be set by the hardware. true. also true that software is frequently 'tuned' to hardware (a larger technical discussion).

BUT the fallacy here is that the hardware is the primary limitation. that all cameras with the expeed 7 (or functional equivalent) will have the same boundary as the nikon z8. this is not accurate. the software, the algorithms which govern autofocus are just as important, if not more so, than the hardware. tweak the software and you can easily make it worse. the same hardware could easily be made to autofocus slower or less accurately depending on how the software was executed. the same is true on the other side. tweaks can be made and implemented to make autofocus better. significantly so. think of it this way - if canon or sony used the expeed 7 would they have the same autofocus issues? i would guess not as their software is architecturally more adept at finding and keeping a moving / momentarily obstructed eye in focus – and it has been for some time. this means they were likely using inferior chips and coming up with better performance.

the question is more fundamental (and here is where i continue the turn...) does nikon's core algorithms for autofocus need an architectural over-haul to better compete? firmware will likely never change the very nature of the nikon's autofocus capabilities NOT because of hardware, but rather because it would take too big of a change to make the jump to sony or canon's capability. if nikon can make significant performance tweaks to the software they face 2 issues - 1) should they risk the potential issues that a large software change likely presents? and 2) would they be better off (as a business) creating a new camera that carries a better generation of autofocus to get more market share (super cynical but true)

don't get me wrong, i LOVE the z8 for everything that it does and i'm a total nikon junkie going back a long way. my father handed-down my first Nikon in the 80’s (though i’m not a pro.) nikon is likely about 1 to 2 software cycles behind their competitors assuming they want to make a make performance leap. don't get me wrong, an AI processor sounds great, but that doesn't instantly solve the issue. i agree that the z8 is the best performing nikon and that it's not quite up to the others - and i still love it. i have already gotten great shots of figure-skating as well as portraits. the action-focus totally blew me away and I’m barely scratching the surface / can’t wait to hit some challenging landscapes. it more than meets my needs and i expect it will for a long time.

btw - great review, as always :)

Can't wait for a z5ii or 6iii. The AF on Nikon has finally caught up. Hell, my z5 after that firmware update is like a new camera

This just showed up again on the suggestions list (even though I already watched it). For everyone else here, how many came here to watch it because it's about the Z8? And how many came here because Jared admitted he was wrong?

How do you open Nikon Z8 raw file on lightrooms now? 😢I've got the latest version of light rooms and it's not working.

First of all, in general, because of AI, and because the price of cameras was too expensive for its actual value, i think photography is dead. That out of the way, the Z8 is disappointing as it is still behind most of Sony and Canon pro cameras on some performance.

it (Z8) blows everything out of the water as at 30.6.2023 ....

I was not expecting such poor AF performance. Can the AF really not be fixed by firmware?

Man i'm torn between this and the R5.

Just like D3/D700 - that also was a winner. Love that Nikon doesn't crop their prosumer camera features like Canon.

Great video Jared!
Do we think nikon will be bringing out the mirrorless version of the d500 any time soon, And know what it may be called if so? Their new 180-600 lens looks great, but nothing worthy of putting it on besides the z8 which is out of my budget. Most likely going to jump ship to canon or Sony at this rate. Any comments appreciated

As of right now, in NZ the R3 is around $8800. The Z8 is around $8000. With the new firmware update the R3 can shoot up to a phenomenal 195FPS burst rate. With the eye tracking focus, and just better focus all around, if I were in the market for a camera of this caliber it's a no-brainer; I'd buy an R3 every time.

Valid question here…. Why would Nikon add things to a cheaper camera? That’d like you know… INCREASE THE PRICE? 😂

Ready sell my Canon R3 for Nikon Z9 or Z8. Bye bye canon

Fair review. Nikon ought to pay their R&D more to really get their AF on par. As a loyal Nikon shooter, the AF is great but still not on par with Canon and Sony. Totally agree with the part about Nikon doing nothing in the 1 year gap between Z9 and Z8 release and not improving it

this is the camera I've been waiting for. I made the switch form my Canon R5 to the Z8. Canon is great, Nikon too. imo the RF Glas is great but way to expensive. I mean, Nikon just dropped amazing Lenses in the past months (100-400, 400 4.5, 800 6.3) for a better price.

Canon and Sony fanboys below... They think they know everything, when we, Nikon fanboys, are those who really know everything...

D850 autofocus is better than all nikon mirrorless

Hi sir is this good for advertising photography like fashion, food,architecture,product?

Hows iso control compared to the Z7II? Would it be possible to do a side by side comparison of that with noise at different ISO ranges. I know with lightroom denoise its not too big an issue anymore. but I still would like to see if the mechanical shutter carries a big difference at a higher MP range.

Dammmit Jared, why did you point out the autofocusing issues lol... I hated when I was having that same issue with my Z9!! I use to be like WTH camera, focus on the subject I told you to focus on haha! Something has to be done about the AF shortcomings.

What device do you use to record the viewfinder?

I’d add that the Nikons can now shoot compressed raw video. Something no other camera other than a Red, can do.

Would the issues with autofocus be something that Nikon could fix in the future with a firmware upgrade?

I never use the 3d tracking as I prefer dynamic or wide small and as a consequence I've not had so many of these issues even with the Z7

I have not test the camera in the field yet but I know for sure that if you get 10K, 20K Powers bank with at least 3.0A output and connect any USB-C cable to it and the camera while camera is sleeping it will charge the battery. Of course if you don't let camera to rest it is not going to work.

1.0 is a production model.

Any plans to review Leica Q3?

There is the possibility that Nikon already committed the sequel of the D850 to a 60MP sensor.

Can someone please explain the digital hot shoe reference?

You know they aren't close to maxing out the Expeed 7 in terms of it's processing power right? There is a lot of overhead left for AF improvements with firmware updates.

That said, it looks as thought your blocked shot was set to 2. Put it on 5 and NOT ERRATIC but STEADY and you will see a big difference. You should never have it in erratic. Also put the picture control on flat and the AF is at it's best. I don't see my Z9 AF jump around nearly that bad, it's significantly sticker. But again I'm someone that only shots the Z9 and had been since day one and I'm sure you just haven't learned the Z9 fully. You couldn't have, not a dig, you don't shoot with it enough.

Unless you're seeing to to fail on purpose

Nikon kicking butt here making a camera that in maybe the next 3 iterations will be on par with a 4 year old Sony 😂😂😂