Z9 battery "only" has 1.45x capacity yet can take a burst for 2.32x more pictures, showing that power draw during photography is actually less important than total time on, which is why people that turn their cameras off inbetween shoots tend to eek out more shots per day than people who leave their cameras in rest mode (and all those wasted 30sec-1min timers before rest mode kicks in).
Hmmm… I think the conclusion is actually somewhat closer to:
The Z9 battery only has 1.45x the capacity but 54% higher nominal voltage, so the battery is able to deliver more of its power within the operating voltage of the camera.
The Z9 battery has 36Wh of power while the Z8 has 15.9Wh. This ratio is 2.26x which is a lot closer to the difference in their burst test. You can’t only look at capacity, because the camera won’t be able to operate even with juice left in the batteries if they can’t deliver enough voltage.
p.12 #3 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RickPJ wrote:
A comment about auto focus.
IMO this stuff about Nikon's auto focus being poor is just nonsense. Even with the now long-in-the tooth Z6II I can nail a cowboy's eye, on a bright day, in the shadow of his hat, while riding a bull more than 80% of the time. Way more. But just call it that. So I am shooting a violently and unpredictably moving target at 14 FPS and getting perfect eye focus on more than 11 frames per second.
Let's put that into perspective Canon's 1dX could just barely hit that frame rate at all. Nikon d5 only an insignificant amount better. But the gearheads among us (myself included) are looking for just about any distinction on which to base our fanboy loyalty. I caught myself with a Canon shooter carping on the mostly insignificant dynamic range advantage my D4 had. Truly pole-vaulting over mouse droppings.
So I am thrilled with Nikon Z series auto focus. To the extent that there is any difference between Nikon and brand X I really could not care less. No doubt this machine will be at least as good as the Z9. And that is pretty darned good.
Folks. Some of us shot sports with a Speed Graphic. We are living in the garden of Eden. ...Show more →
I like your post here. When I first bought my Z6 I continued to shoot like I did with my DSLR's until I began to investigate and learn more about Nikon's mirrorless AF, specifically for people/portrait and with later firmware updates Nikon greatly improved the AF performance of the Z6 even while the Z6 II was out, this really impressed me that Nikon was willing to continue to support "legacy" systems and users even after releases of new bodies. I switched to Nikon back when the D700 was introduced because the D700 had all the features I had been hoping from my other brand and I found that I had much higher keeper rates (shooting weddings at the time) with the D700's than I had with the other brand, does that mean the other brand wouldn't work or wouldn't work better for other styles of shooting, not at all, and I think that's where we find ourselves today - there are numerous outstanding options out there, and some of you have been able to invest in multiple systems which is something I'm not able to do at this time, so for me, sticking with Nikon and the lenses, etc. I've invested in is likely where I will stay for a while. I tried to get into the OM Systems OM-1 last year because of the amazing Zuiko glass and the OM-1 features for BIF that I was wanting to try out and their pre-shutter release feature which I found to be pretty convenient at times with birds and sports (and now Nikon is offering that which is a huge plus), but at the end of the day I could not leave full frame and I couldn't afford both systems so sold off all the OM/Oly gear but I must admit that MFT has come a long way from the early days.
I digress - back to Nikon. With the latest firmware I have been very happy with the AF performance of my Z6 and have been waiting for the Z6 III to come out and see what magic Nikon has engineered for this body, but, I am wondering if the Z8 might be the "better" body for me as there has been some times where I wish I had more megapixels (funny, I used to advocate that 12mp in the D700 was all I'd ever need and I'd rather have better high ISO and DR performance than more megapixels, but that was then and this is now). After years of ignoring it I finally figured out how to use the U1/U2/U3 features on the command dial to my advantage, but alas the Z8 does away with those "consumer" features, so I would have to relearn how to change all my settings to shoot between, people, animals and landscapes. One of my gripes with the Z6 was I felt it was too small so the Z8 seems to be that Goldilocks body that is "just right" (for me). The advanced video features don't matter a whole lot to me, I do like to take video from time to time but I'm not going to be making documentaries anytime soon, but I do wish they included a 1080p 240fps feature (maybe future firmware if possible) as that might have been fun to play with at times. I was encouraged when Nikon released the Z9 which established the future of mirrorless for Nikon and now the Z8 extends upon that, I am thrilled to see where Nikon is going.
p.12 #4 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
snapsy wrote:
To be fair, any battery-life measurement will not be a good representation for all the various shooting scenarios. CIPA is useful for comparing the relative battery life between cameras for a well-defined specific scenario, from which users can extrapolate useful information by scaling to how many shots they typically take per unit of time.
One thing I found with A1 is that the camera doesn't 'sleep' well. If you leave the camera powered on in the bag or walk around between shots (I do that a lot with wildlife - walk around until I find something to shoot without turning off), the camera will keep draining. Nikon sleeps much better. I think it will drain too, but much slower. I'm not worried about this CIPA number at all.
p.12 #5 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
I like your post here. When I first bought my Z6 I continued to shoot like I did with my DSLR's until I began to investigate and learn more about Nikon's mirrorless AF, specifically for people/portrait and with later firmware updates Nikon greatly improved the AF performance of the Z6 even while the Z6 II was out, this really impressed me that Nikon was willing to continue to support "legacy" systems and users even after releases of new bodies. I switched to Nikon back when the D700 was introduced because the D700 had all the features I had been hoping from my other brand and I found that I had much higher keeper rates (shooting weddings at the time) with the D700's than I had with the other brand, does that mean the other brand wouldn't work or wouldn't work better for other styles of shooting, not at all, and I think that's where we find ourselves today - there are numerous outstanding options out there, and some of you have been able to invest in multiple systems which is something I'm not able to do at this time, so for me, sticking with Nikon and the lenses, etc. I've invested in is likely where I will stay for a while. I tried to get into the OM Systems OM-1 last year because of the amazing Zuiko glass and the OM-1 features for BIF that I was wanting to try out and their pre-shutter release feature which I found to be pretty convenient at times with birds and sports (and now Nikon is offering that which is a huge plus), but at the end of the day I could not leave full frame and I couldn't afford both systems so sold off all the OM/Oly gear but I must admit that MFT has come a long way from the early days.
I digress - back to Nikon. With the latest firmware I have been very happy with the AF performance of my Z6 and have been waiting for the Z6 III to come out and see what magic Nikon has engineered for this body, but, I am wondering if the Z8 might be the "better" body for me as there has been some times where I wish I had more megapixels (funny, I used to advocate that 12mp in the D700 was all I'd ever need and I'd rather have better high ISO and DR performance than more megapixels, but that was then and this is now). After years of ignoring it I finally figured out how to use the U1/U2/U3 features on the command dial to my advantage, but alas the Z8 does away with those "consumer" features, so I would have to relearn how to change all my settings to shoot between, people, animals and landscapes. One of my gripes with the Z6 was I felt it was too small so the Z8 seems to be that Goldilocks body that is "just right" (for me). The advanced video features don't matter a whole lot to me, I do like to take video from time to time but I'm not going to be making documentaries anytime soon, but I do wish they included a 1080p 240fps feature (maybe future firmware if possible) as that might have been fun to play with at times. I was encouraged when Nikon released the Z9 which established the future of mirrorless for Nikon and now the Z8 extends upon that, I am thrilled to see where Nikon is going.
I'm a Z6 shooter that preordered the Z8. It's not really an upgrade for me so much as an additional tool. I'm keeping my Z6 around even after I get the Z8. They have different uses. If I want to prioritize size, high ISO performance, and shooting things that are mostly static I'll reach for my Z6. The Z6 firmware updates has transformed the camera into a much more capable camera than when it was first released. That's why I skipped the Z6II.
When I need the absolute best AF tracking, burst shooting, resolution, balance, and blackout free EVF I'll reach for the Z8. The Z8 is exactly what I hoped Nikon would release. I didn't want or need more than 45MP. Not having a second type B slot is not a deal breaker for me. I'm going to use the second slot for overflow and video rather than backup anyways. Type B cards have been very reliable for me and as a hobbyist it's extremely rare to be in a situation where I have once in a lifetime moments. I do daily backups so any potential issue is minimized to the degree that I'm willing to accept the risks of a card failure. All that to say the Z8 is the perfect tool to add to my tool bag.
p.12 #6 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
snapsy wrote:
New video from Matt Granger. On tap is overheating and battery life
Notes:
Z9 officially rated by Nikon for 2:05:00 of continuous internal video recording in all non-raw formats. For Z8 there are only two official ratings so far; 2:05:00 for 4K 60P w/oversampling off but only 1:30:00 for 8K 30P H.265 8-bit.
ProRes 4K 60p 10-bit, the Z8 got a hot-card warning at 10:30, hot-camera warning at 10:40, high-heat camera warning at 19:45 and a thermal shutdown at 30:26. In comparison, the Z9 had no warnings or shutdowns for same test.
N-Raw 8.3K 60p. Z8 thermal shutdown at 26:30, vs no shutdown on Z9.
8K 30p 10-bit H.265, thermal shutdown at 59:00 vs no shutdown on Z9.
4K 120p 10-bit H.265, hot-card and hot-camera warning "quickly", high-heat warning at 12:00, thermal shutdown at 35:00. No warnings or shutdown on Z9. This was with 20 minutes of cooling vs previous test, run in cool room.
ProRes Raw 4.1K 60p. Hot-card warning at 1:00, hot-camera at 7:30, then ran out of card space.
4K 60p 8-bit H.265. hot warning at 1:39:00, battery died at 1:45:00.
8K 30p 8-bit H.265, hot-card warning at 17:00, hot-camera warning at 28:00, battery died at 1:16:00.
All above tests were done indoors in "cool conditions".
I have seen where card brand/model does make a difference on heat, we have seen performance reviews on "speed", I'm guessing there will also need to be reviews on heat as well. Might make this camera work well in extreme cold since it has it's own built in heater
p.12 #7 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
I have seen where card brand/model does make a difference on heat, we have seen performance reviews on "speed", I'm guessing there will also need to be reviews on heat as well. Might make this camera work well in extreme cold since it has it's own built in heater
Ricci claims no video overheating on the Z8 if you use the right memory card. I don't believe he actually mentioned what card he used, but Delkin Blacks run the coolest to my knowledge in the Z9 so I would assume those would do the trick. He's also in the UK, so someone in a warmer or tropical climate might have a different experience.
p.12 #8 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
CanadaMark wrote:
Ricci claims no video overheating on the Z8 if you use the right memory card. I don't believe he actually mentioned what card he used, but Delkin Blacks run the coolest to my knowledge in the Z9 so I would assume those would do the trick. He's also in the UK, so someone in a warmer or tropical climate might have a different experience.
Ricci was a little vague on this. He said "The only heat-related issues I've had have been hot memory cards warnings...It depends on the brand of the memory card you're using as to whether or not you're going to get a hot memory card warning"
It's not clear if that's his assumption or if he has actually tested some cards that didn't produce the warning.
The SSD Review includes temperature testing in all of their CFExpress Type B tests. The best performing they’ve tested so far is the Delkin Black 512GB card. Since I haven’t found other reviews including card temps, and the ssd review has not reviewed more cards, I always stick with 512GB Delkin Black myself, and always recommend those cards to others.
The SSD Review includes temperature testing in all of their CFExpress Type B tests. The best performing they’ve tested so far is the Delkin Black 512GB card. Since I haven’t found other reviews including card temps, and the ssd review has not reviewed more cards, I always stick with 512GB Delkin Black myself, and always recommend those cards to others.
Wishing I'd bought one 512 instead of two 325 right now
p.12 #15 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
maverick777 wrote:
I'm a Z6 shooter that preordered the Z8. It's not really an upgrade for me so much as an additional tool. I'm keeping my Z6 around even after I get the Z8. They have different uses. If I want to prioritize size, high ISO performance, and shooting things that are mostly static I'll reach for my Z6. The Z6 firmware updates has transformed the camera into a much more capable camera than when it was first released. That's why I skipped the Z6II.
When I need the absolute best AF tracking, burst shooting, resolution, balance, and blackout free EVF I'll reach for the Z8. The Z8 is exactly what I hoped Nikon would release. I didn't want or need more than 45MP. Not having a second type B slot is not a deal breaker for me. I'm going to use the second slot for overflow and video rather than backup anyways. Type B cards have been very reliable for me and as a hobbyist it's extremely rare to be in a situation where I have once in a lifetime moments. I do daily backups so any potential issue is minimized to the degree that I'm willing to accept the risks of a card failure. All that to say the Z8 is the perfect tool to add to my tool bag. ...Show more →
I'm right there with you, for the same reasons I skipped the Z6 II and will keep my current Z6 regardless of what I decide on. I pre-ordered the Z8 as well in lieu of what happened with the Z9 not being available for months (and I think the Z8 may even gain more sales than Z9 but Nikon supply may be better than Z9 so it'll be interesting to watch). I think your use case for the Z6 and Z8 is valid and would essentially be the plan to start with, but I think over time I would likely grab the Z8 much more often than the Z6 for the majority of my shooting relegating the Z6 to more of a backup role simply because of the features and advancements in AF and sensor.
The SSD Review includes temperature testing in all of their CFExpress Type B tests. The best performing they’ve tested so far is the Delkin Black 512GB card. Since I haven’t found other reviews including card temps, and the ssd review has not reviewed more cards, I always stick with 512GB Delkin Black myself, and always recommend those cards to others.
I've been waiting for the Delkin Black to come up on BH Daily Deals, they usually do every few months.
p.12 #17 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
I've been waiting for the Delkin Black to come up on BH Daily Deals, they usually do every few months.
The 325gb was on sale last month for $199. I didn't get one because the Z8 wasn't announced yet. I'll probably get it the next time it rolls around if I'm unsatisfied with the 512gb Delkin Power card I ordered.
p.12 #19 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
maverick777 wrote:
The 325gb was on sale last month for $199. I didn't get one because the Z8 wasn't announced yet. I'll probably get it the next time it rolls around if I'm unsatisfied with the 512gb Delkin Power card I ordered.
I must have missed that But like you said, they'll come around again. For perspective, after shooting film for years I got into DSLR in 2004 and my first Sandisk 2GB (yes, just two gigabyte) CF card was $400! At $200 per gigabyte, a 512GB card would have cost over $100,000
p.12 #20 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
I must have missed that But like you said, they'll come around again. For perspective, after shooting film for years I got into DSLR in 2004 and my first Sandisk 2GB (yes, just two gigabyte) CF card was $400! At $200 per gigabyte, a 512GB card would have cost over $100,000
Yes, digital is very cheap compared to film. My very first digital camera was a Sony Cybershot and the 128MB memory stick was around $200!
But like you said, they'll come around again. For perspective, after shooting film for years I got into DSLR in 2004 and my first Sandisk 2GB (yes, just two gigabyte) CF card was $400! At $200 per gigabyte, a 512GB card would have cost over $100,000