Nikon’s big, gripped Z 9 ($5,499.95, body only) marked a return to form for the iconic photo brand, but its body style didn’t appeal to everyone. With the Z 8 ($3,999.95, body only), Nikon cuts the vertical grip, keeps all the cutting-edge tech, and drops the price to create a more compact, hybrid powerhouse. Among the highlights are a full-frame Stacked CMOS sensor for 45MP snaps and 8K video, an advanced autofocus engine with smart subject recognition, a seamless electronic viewfinder (EVF) experience, and a weather-ready build. Battery life could be better, but that’s hardly a deterrent from one of Nikon’s best efforts yet. It’s as excellent a camera as the Sony a7R V ($3,899.99) in many respects, and a better performer for video and fast action, so the Z 8 earns the same rating and Editors’ Choice award for high-resolution, full-frame cameras.
Nikon’s final high-pixel DSLR, the D850, ranks as an all-time great example of what an optical viewfinder camera could do. It offered a rare combination of fantastic autofocus performance and extreme resolution. Its influence shines through in the Z 8, a camera I lovingly called the “Z850” every time I grabbed it for a photo session. The Z 8 looks, feels, and behaves much like the D850. That’s high praise, as I used the D850 for both Nikkor and third-party lens reviews for a few years. I have little hesitation in saying it was among the best Nikon cameras of the digital era.
Of course, as a stacked mirrorless camera, the Z 8 is built around an EVF and fully electronic shutter rather than a pentaprism and mechanical focal plane shutter like the D850. The body size and style are pretty close though. At 4.7 by 5.7 by 3.3 inches (HWD) the Z 8 is just slightly less tall and wide as the D850 (4.9 by 5.8 by 3.1 inches), but both weigh the same (around 2.0 pounds). Most full-frame cameras, including the Sony a7R V (3.8 by 5.2 by 3.2 inches, 1.6 pounds), Canon EOS R5 (3.8 by 5.4 by 3.5 inches, 1.6 pounds), and Nikon Z 7 II (4.0 by 5.3 by 2.7 inches, 1.4 pounds) are smaller.
Like its contemporaries, the Z 8 is built for both indoor and outdoor use, with a rugged magnesium alloy chassis that’s sealed from dust and splashes. The Z 8 doesn’t have a mechanical shutter to cover its sensor, but it does include a sensor shield that helps keep dust off during lens changes. Nikon says the weather sealing here is as robust as for the D850. meanwhile, the Z 9 is sealed more tightly to match the D6.
The Z 8 works with the Nikkor Z lineup of lenses that debuted in 2018 and supports Nikon F SLR lenses via the FTZ II adapter. The standard F2.8 zoom trinity is available on this platform, along with a set of F1.8 primes and a couple of big F1.2 lenses. In terms of standouts, Nikon’s line of lightweight, mid-priced telephoto primes, including the Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 and Z 600m