Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Grampy
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p.1 #1 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

I am looking at the Z8 and know that it only has an electronic shutter, is there a way to hear a sound when the electronic shutter is used, also I shoot Birds and wildlife and use a better beamer with flash, will flash work with High Speed sync with a Nikon Flash. Also if you do this type of photography and suggestions. I am coming from a Canon system, namely R3, and R5 and could use the advice, Thanks

Dec 09, 2025 at 11:51 PM

old-gregg
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p.1 #2 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

You can pick from the several shutter sounds in the menus, similar to ringtones in phones. And the volume, including the silent option. Can't comment on Nikon flashes due to lack of experience with them.

Dec 10, 2025 at 12:00 AM

andrewhenders
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p.1 #3 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

You can’t use flash on silent mode. It won’t trigger. Every time I use flash or set up lights and they don’t trigger, I’m like duh it’s on silent. First time, second time I was freaking out. My camera is broken. Haha. And yes it works for high speed sync

Dec 10, 2025 at 06:56 AM

andrewhenders
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p.1 #4 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

I should add I don’t use Nikon flashes. I have godox flashes, triggers, studio strobes, etc.

Dec 10, 2025 at 06:58 AM

JadedWriter
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p.1 #5 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Make sure everything you have is on the newest firmware and if you can't update them buy new ones. Anything old or not on new firmware will either not work or will cause banding.
andrewhenders wrote:
I should add I don’t use Nikon flashes. I have godox flashes, triggers, studio strobes, etc.

Dec 10, 2025 at 11:49 AM

ilkka_nissila
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p.1 #6 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Grampy wrote:
I am looking at the Z8 and know that it only has an electronic shutter, is there a way to hear a sound when the electronic shutter is used, also I shoot Birds and wildlife and use a better beamer with flash, will flash work with High Speed sync with a Nikon Flash. Also if you do this type of photography and suggestions. I am coming from a Canon system, namely R3, and R5 and could use the advice, Thanks

You can activate shutter sound in the menu. The flash itself makes an audible sound which confirms the shot has been taken.

High speed sync operation may depend on the specific flash that is used. It does work normally on my Nikon SB-5000 and the Z8. However, when using my Elinchrom THREE, I got very low amount of light at faster shutter speeds than the normal flash sync speed of the camera. I think the only way you can be sure fast shutter speeds will work with your particular third-party flash is by testing that flash with the camera.

Dec 10, 2025 at 12:09 PM

ilkka_nissila
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p.1 #7 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

andrewhenders wrote:
You can’t use flash on silent mode. It won’t trigger. Every time I use flash or set up lights and they don’t trigger, I’m like duh it’s on silent. First time, second time I was freaking out. My camera is broken. Haha. And yes it works for high speed sync

Right, but you don't need to use silent mode to get silent shutter on the Z8 or Z9; these cameras never emit any shutter sounds.

Dec 10, 2025 at 12:10 PM

Grampy
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p.1 #8 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Thank you all that responded, this helps make my decision easier, any dowsides to the Nikon system, specifically as it relates to the Z8, what about the weight of the lenses for birding like zooms up to 800mm

Dec 10, 2025 at 02:12 PM

nineblade
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p.1 #9 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Grampy wrote:
Thank you all that responded, this helps make my decision easier, any dowsides to the Nikon system, specifically as it relates to the Z8, what about the weight of the lenses for birding like zooms up to 800mm

As mentioned, the Z8 has no mechanical shutter, so the sound is all generated from a speaker, and you get a choice of what sounds to output. In practice, the default sound is a really soft, quick, 'click' that sounds like tapping a paperclip on a table or something. For single shots, it's not a very satisfying shutter sound, but it is what it is.

The mechanical shutter of the Z6, Z7, Zf series is amazing, but the Z8, imo, doesn't have the greatest shutter sound.

If money was no object, the lens options for birding on Nikon are outstanding right now.

The 180-600 is the budget option. For mid-range primes, you have the 400 4.5, 600 6.3, both of which are inexpensive and very lightweight, and the 800mm 6.3. For high end options, the 400 2.8 and 600 f4 both come with a built in 1.4TC, effectively making them TWO lenses in one that you can switch with the flick of a lever.

For AF, I'm not a birder, but I heard the keeper rate is slightly behind Sony or Nikon. For sports, my keeper vs. off-focus rate is good, but I do occasionally get a slight miss. But when I shoot a game, I get tons of tack sharp images on the eye, as long as my settings are right.

Dec 10, 2025 at 03:00 PM

oscartb
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p.1 #10 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

Shutter sounds has options for volume and sound type (beep, click, or recreations of SLR shutters). There's also options for bars to flash around the frame when a shot is taken for visual feedback.

If you need the camera to be silent (for example at a quiet event) but still want to hear shutter sound for feedback, you can use wired headphones or earbuds to get the shutter sound directly to your ear(s).

Dec 10, 2025 at 04:51 PM

sungphoto
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p.1 #11 · Nikon Z8 Shutter sound and strobe questions

If you're going to be using on camera flash, I'd recommend something like either the Godox V1 Pro or if you have the budget a used Profoto A1X. Moose Peterson has a nice little setup in this article: https://www.moosepeterson.com/blog/profoto-a10-telephoto-flash/. I like how he mounts the A10 on the tripod ring, because the Profoto unit has some weight to it, and it's possible to damage the hotshoe with too much torque in that area.

Unless you want to change settings via bluetooth with your phone, the A1X is totally sufficient and a lot cheaper than a brand new A10. The A1X also doesn't suffer from the weak hinge issue, where sometimes the A1 would sag at the hinge if you put a small modifier on it. The A1X is noticeably more robust. Another plus with the Profoto is that the LCD on the back is easier to use than the V1 Pro, but you'll have to decide if it's worth the extra $$$.

The Nikon flashes, even the SB5000 will suffer from overheating if you use them in HSS mode too much. I'm not sure how intrusive the overheat function is on the godox V1 Pro, but I found it'd kick in pretty quickly on a warm day with my AD200 Pros. Have had better luck with Profoto strobes in this regard. The TTL exposure on the Godox strobes tends to be a bit less accurate than Profoto as well. If you are shooting in manual then the Godox V1 Pros are really hard to beat for the price.

Whether you go with Godox or Profoto, the lithium power packs are much easier to charge and manage than a stack of AA batteries. Been there and done that with a bunch of eneloops, and that alone would be a reason to not go with a Nikon flash. However, another point in Profoto's favor is that the way their packs snap in is less fiddly than the battery on the V1. When I tested out the V1, I found it takes a little extra effort to push the battery into the slot.

Dec 10, 2025 at 05:32 PM


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