Trying Nikon After Again After 7 Years With Sony

Over 20 years in the past, after I began my skilled pictures profession, I shot completely with Nikon. Back then, I had 0 aim of switching manufacturers, however ultimately I used to be pressured to. 

When I co-founded Fstoppers.com I started capturing video greater than stills, and on the time, Nikon was once now not maintaining with trendy video options. For some time, we saved the use of Nikon for stills, however Panasonic took over for video because of their limitless recording occasions. Eventually—about six or seven years in the past—we made the entire transition to Sony. Their cameras did all of it: they have been improbable for stills, shot unbelievable video, had no document deadlines, and their autofocus was once a sport changer.

I hadn’t touched a Nikon digicam for the reason that D850 introduced—seven or 8 years in the past. That was once the remaining Nikon frame I had in my palms. So after I not too long ago were given my palms at the Nikon Z8, at the side of two in their professional lenses, I used to be each excited and curious. What had I overlooked in all this time?

Nikon Z8, My First Impressions

Pulling the Z8 out of the field, I used to be hit with a wave of nostalgia. It felt so much like my previous D850. The grip, particularly, was once a lot more considerable than my Sony our bodies—and for my massive palms, that on my own was once a welcome alternate.

Unboxing the lenses, I used to be instantly inspired. The 24-70mm f/2.8S had a surprisingly easy zoom ring and a virtual show constructed proper into the lens. The 70-200mm f/2.8S was once even higher—possibly the smoothest telephoto zoom I’ve ever used. Everything felt forged and top class.

The Viewfinder

Once the battery was once charged, I took it out for a spin. The very first thing I realized was once the virtual viewfinder. It’s excellent—for sure higher than the older Sony fashions I nonetheless personal—however it could possibly’t fit the Sony A9 III I latterly reviewed. That digicam’s EVF has just about 3 times the decision of the Z8. Still, the Z8 holds its personal—it’s the third-best EVF I’ve ever used, which is not any small feat.

Autofocus: Finally Competitive

Autofocus, particularly whilst recording video, was once one of the crucial spaces the place Nikon truly lagged in the back of prior to now. Not anymore. The Z8 has auto topic stumble on and eye stumble on autofocus, and it’s extremely efficient. Unlike Sony, which frequently makes you select your topic kind (folks, animals, automobiles, and so on.), Nikon simply figures it out for you mechanically. It’s a delicate however sensible person revel in merit.

I examined the 70-200mm lens at a tennis fit and was once blown away—each and every shot was once tack-sharp. That stated, it did battle to acknowledge the attention of an iguana throughout any other shoot, which Sony treated without problems. For extraordinarily rapid motion, my Sony held center of attention higher than the Nikon, however for practical use circumstances, the common person would possibly not see a lot of a distinction. 

Pre-Capture: Cool however Clunky

One of my favourite options at the Sony A9 III is pre-capture—it silently buffers pictures earlier than you press the shutter, then saves pictures taken a suite period of time prior to now them if you do. Nikon has a an identical function at the Z8, nevertheless it handiest works in JPEG, now not RAW, and also you’re pressured to make use of the shutter button to begin it. I leave out the facility to assign it to a customized button like I will on Sony. A small factor, nevertheless it makes a large distinction in observe. Nikon, in case you’re listening—a firmware repair right here could be large.

Image Quality Hasn’t Improved In 7 Years? 

The Z8’s sensor is totally new era phrases of learn pace and loss of a mechanical shutter, however the symbol high quality, dynamic vary, and ISO efficiency are just about just like the D850, which is now seven years previous. I used to be hoping for a bump in ISO efficiency, however we would possibly simply be achieving the boundaries of what’s conceivable with this sensor dimension and determination.

Silent Shooting & Flash Sync

The loss of a bodily shutter is a large win for match shooters. I’ve shot a number of weddings in church buildings the place shutter noise was once an issue. Now? Total silence. On the drawback, this isn’t an international shutter just like the A9 III, so the flash sync continues to be restricted to 1/200s until you cross into high-speed sync.

Video: A Big Leap

Video is the explanation I left Nikon, so I had excessive hopes right here, and the Z8 most commonly delivers. It can shoot 8K, subsampled or downsampled 4K, or even inside RAW. I purchased the quickest Lexar card I may just to find—3,400 MB/s write pace—or even then, I may just handiest document 5 mins of 8K 60fps N-Raw. That’s a terabyte each and every 20 mins.

To make issues worse, Premiere Pro can’t even learn the pictures but. Only DaVinci Resolve helps it (and now not in particular easily). Thankfully, Adobe introduced they’ll fortify it later this summer season, so possibly I’ll revisit N-Raw then. 

The 8K symbol high quality? Stunning. And there’s one truly slick contact: easy publicity transitions. When you exchange aperture, the sunshine ramps up or down regularly, reasonably than adjusting rapidly. It threw me off in the beginning, nevertheless it’s in fact a super function for video. 

My Biggest Complaint

My largest criticism with this digicam is the display at the again. It’s were given a big bezel, making the usable display house extraordinarily small. It does tilt up and down, and aspect to aspect, nevertheless it does not turn out to the aspect or turn ahead, which means that I will’t simply body and picture myself (one thing I’ve to do always). I personal different cameras that experience displays that may’t face ahead, however I will simply regulate them with my telephone. I attempted to make use of Nikon’s iPhone app for nearly 30 mins, and after failing/crashing/freezing 7 occasions, I gave up. 

Final Thoughts

The Nikon Z8 is an improbable hybrid digicam. Will I transfer again to Nikon? No, I’m nonetheless more than happy with my Sony equipment. But if I have been nonetheless capturing with Nikon, I’d for sure purchase this digicam. If I have been seeking to come to a decision which emblem to shop for into, the Z8 would for sure make me imagine Nikon.  

The reality is that the cameras that Nikon, Sony, and Canon are generating are extraordinarily an identical, and they are all unbelievable this present day. When I first were given into this business, it at all times felt like no matter emblem I did not personal had some unbelievable function that I wanted, however nowadays, each and every digicam can do the whole thing. 

If you may have been making an allowance for a quick, high-resolution digicam that may do all of it, completely imagine the Nikon Z8. But if you do not shoot video, and you do not shoot fast-moving topics, it’s good to get the very same symbol high quality out of the 7-year-old Nikon D850, and you’ll be able to save 1000’s of greenbacks.