Nikon Z 8 review: A solid all-round full-frame mirrorless camera

Intro and Features

Note: This review was first published on 24 August 2023.

Introduction and Features

There is no way to sugarcoat this. The Nikon Z 8 is essentially a condensed version of its cousin, the Z 9, the Japanese imaging giant's flagship full-frame interchangeable-lens mirrorless camera. But this is not a bad thing. In fact, it is great for photographers looking for a full-frame mirrorless camera that is smaller and cheaper.

The TL;DR version:

With its superb build, intuitive handling, responsive performance and fantastic image quality, the Nikon Z 8 will please even the most demanding photographers.

The Z 9 is hefty in both size and price, weighing 1,340g (with battery and memory card) and costs S$8,399 (body only). On the other hand, the Z 8 is 30 per cent smaller, 430g lighter (with battery and memory card), and is priced at a lower S$5,999 (body only).

Yet, the Z 8 shares many similarities with its flagship cousin, including a 45.7-megapixel full-frame stacked CMOS image sensor, Expeed 7 image processor, 8K video shoot up to 30fps and a maximum continuous shooting speed of full-resolution still at 20fps.

Likewise, the Z 8 also features the same tiltable 2.08-million-dot 3.2-inch touchscreen display and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a high resolution of 3.68 million dots.

The Z 8 comes with 493 autofocus (AF) points with automatic tracking of up to nine different subjects, including humans, cats, birds and aeroplanes. To reduce camera shake, Z 8 also has a 5-axis in-built image stabilisation system that offers up to six steps of stabilisation. 

However, the Z 8 lacks GPS found in Z 9, and uses a different battery with a lower power rating. Plus, while Z 9 comes with dual CFExpress Type B or XQD memory card slots, Z 8 has 1 x CFExpress Type B camera slot and 1 x SD card slot. Having an SD card slot is probably a good idea, as XQD cards are more expensive, so the Z 8 caters for the middle ground.

In addition, while the Z 9 supports unlimited recording in any mode, the Z 8 can only record 8K video at 30fps for 90 minutes, and 4K video at 60fps for 120 minutes.