Approaching The Scene 290: Nikon Z8’s Firmware 2.0 Highlights and Camera Setup
(LINKS BELOW): Nikon’s Z8 Firmware 2.0 is a seriously big deal. This blends some powerful features heretofore limited to the Z9 and Zf making the Z8 a very state of the art powerhouse. In this video, I’ll show how to update the firmware, walk through some new features like autocapture, exposure delay and pixel shift and show you how this update changes my Z8 menu and control setup.
Buy Nikon's Z8: bhpho.to/3LVu8d3
Z8 Full Setup video: • Nikon Z8: Full Menu Se...
Nikon Z8 Firmware download: bit.ly/HHPZ8FW
Understanding Z8/Z9 menu banks video: • Approaching the Scene ...
Nikon pixel shift video: • Approaching The Scene ...
Nikon auto capture video: • Approaching The Scene ...
MSM Nomad Tracker: bit.ly/MSMtrkr (Discount code "HUDSON")
Our complete selection of Kase filters: bit.ly/HHKase
My custom tripods & support parts: bit.ly/HHPTripds
Our selection of NYA-EVO packs & RCIs: bit.ly/HHP_NYA
Updated links to all the gear I use and recommend: bit.ly/HudsonsLinks
Using my links helps support this video series. Thank you!
I invite all of you to join Rick, David, Darren and me for our next free live Office Hours session. Leave us a question for the discussion when you sign up.
Office Hour signup site: bit.ly/2UgDaX4
Thanks to everyone for the great questions you are sending in. Keep them coming either in the comments below or by emailing me directly. I hope to see you in the next Office Hours session.
Stay safe and healthy.
LINKED TABLE OF CONTENTS:
00:00 Intro to ATS 290
02:06 Be sure to watch my full Z8 setup video
02:28 How to update your Nikon firmware
07:58 Save your settings & banks frequently!
08:20 How Firmware 2.0 Changes my Z8 setup
13:15 Exposure delay rocks!
15:28 What is pixel shift shooting?
18:16 Auto Capture
24:14 Bird detect AF & improved subject tracking
24:59 New black & white picture controls
26:54 New cycle AF area & why I don’t use it
29:15 Recall shooting functions hold is so powerful
31:11 Other new FW 2.0 improvements
32:30 Bank D astro mode i-menu changes
33:22 Move Shoot Move’s new Nomad tracker is sweet
34:00 Thanks to Nikon + a suggestion
I just have to say you produce some of the most comprehensive videos on KZhead I honestly enjoy them immensely keep it up HH.
Excellent. You do a superb job of explaining complex features, what they do, and why or why not they are useful for certain situations. I watch some of your videos over and over as I become more familiar with my Z8. Thank You!
Thanks Hudson. I was very impressed when I updated the Z8's Firmware. I was impressed not only with the new capabilities, but also with how easy it was to do the update. I know that this is somewhat controversial, but one thing that I wish Nikon would update is to give the ability to display "Zebra Stripes" while doing still photography. Yes, I know that a histogram gives me more information, but it also blocks a significant amount of what I can see in the EVF or the back LCD, and yes, I know I can cycle my displays, but it was a feature that I used a lot on my Sony to quickly ensure that I wasn't "blowing out" any of my image. The Zebra Stripes are already there for video, IMHO, it would be nice to also have the option for stills too.
Zebra stripes rule. Why would it be controversial. I guess perhaps for people who have never used them. I have dedicated Sony video cameras, and Zebra stripes are always on and super helpful. I think for photography, they would be even more useful because with video you can blowout things sometimes even for commercial TV work. Zebras? Yes, please.
@@marcusgrandon3640 they are controversial because people say "Just use the histogram. It gives you more information anyways." IMHO, for relatively static images, (studio, landscapes etc) the histogram or even the camera's metering system are great, but if I am shooting something fast moving such as sports, aviation or even birds in flight, I don't want to have a significant amount of my EVF to be obscured because it might hide something that I might want to see.
Zebras for still photography please, Nikon!
Im glad i didnt abandon Nikon a few years ago when many were going to Canon and Sony during the mirrorless transition
I never understood the panic from people then. The z6 & 7 were insanely good cameras that kept evolving rapidly with firmware. They released them early with half baked action tracking which I think was reputationally horrific decision making, but those cameras started as epic landscape, portrait and travel cameras and evolved rapidly to handle action too. Thankfully Nikon learned thier lesson before the Z9/Z8 launches. That really signaled the second generation of the Z. The 6ii/7ii were but minor product updates.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I agree. The only issue with my Z7 was focusing on moving objects like my kids or pets. I just got the Z8 and I am excited to use it!
Not just another great video, but so incredibly helpful and useful! Thank you Hudson, much appreciated. 👏
thanks for covering all the great updates. Thank Goodness for finally getting delay mode back.
wonderful. THE video that I've been waiting for ! Thanks Hudson
Just fantastic Hudson. You’re such a fantastic online resource and one of the view creators who I watch consistently.
Excellent segment. Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together. Very, very, very informative, especially with all the previous videos. Thank you.
Thanks, Hudson, so much for this video and all time you take to make these videos. I have learned so much from you.
Hudson, thanks for taking the time to show us how to use and set up our dream cameras after we buy them
These videos are so helpful, thank you so much!
Thank you Hudson, this is a very helpful video, as all your instructional videos are. I appreciate that you take the time to make them.
Thanks, Hudson. I had forgotten about exposure delay mode in the update, and I didn't think it was anything special, but you made it clear. I'm setting it up in my Z8 right away!
Thank you Henry, yet another great informative video. I greatly appreciate the time and effort you put in to help out Nikon users. I still have trouble setting up Shooting Banks for my Z8, so it's back to your videos again. Now I've had my camera for a while it should be easier to set up .......thanks again 😁
You bet David. Hudson's the first name, but no big deal.
@HudsonHenryPhoto HUGE apologies Hudson, being Down Under in Australia we often get things backwards 😎
Thanks for your recommendations, also your first video to Z8. It is a good starting point. Today I use the Z8 the first time with the 180-600 and the results are great so far. In future I have no excuses for bad pictures ;-)
Thank you Hudson great information, what are the things that I love with this update and I hope to get the Z9 also is the ability to cycle through the focus modes with one button. Looking forward to seeing you guys in April.
Again, I'd love if you could program that to the very poorly placed AF side button. I'm not about to burn a custom button on it when we have recall shooting functions hold though. ;-)
Thanks!
Thank you!
thank you for talking about this firmware for Z8. Its seems huge to me. I really want to learn how to pixel shift
So be sure to contrast and compare pixel shift 16 and 32 results to Lightroom Classic's super resolution with a single frame capture. You may be surprised. I honestly think the 4 & 8 image capture may be the best use case for pixel shift. Remember the 8 and 32 frame modes are really only for high iso noise mitigation.
I thought you decided not to keep the Z8? Glad you did, thanks for the info
No I borrowed one for a day to do the video. :) I'm still a Z9 guy.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Gotcha.. well if you need one again, I'm in St Helens
Hi Hudson, great video. I’ve used AF mode cycling on other systems (Sony) and it has been very handy. No it doesn’t substitute for recall, however it is very handy for WL/birds as one can rapidly shift between AF modes when a particular one isn’t working rather than changing it in the imenu or by assigning other buttons to unique AF modes. BTW I use the video button for this and it is extremely useful.
i was literally going to ask why no bird option in auto detect, when its in the selection option thus 2.0, then you said exactly the same 15seconds later too, seems odd as we know that bird detection is def better than animal for birds generally. Love the overview as always Henry, great overview.
It's not in the 9 either. They rolled that out for the 9 pre bird detect and I imagine they ported it over without touching it. It hasn't been updated for Bird detect yet.
Thanks for this! I’m sure your eyes are better than mine, but I really appreciated the thicker border option for the focus box. And I was a little disappointed that they didn’t add Release Mode as a bank setting. Maybe in the future…?
We can all dream. So far no Z camera has included drive mode in either banks or user modes. The problem is that the banks only include the shooting and custom settings menus. Since there is a physical drive mode button, Nikon saw no sense including drive mode in those menus. The Zf has no physical button and does have drive mode in the shooting menu, but it has no banks or user modes! 😑 It's just a really blockheaded oversight that could so easily be fixed. I'd just love an hour with the team that oversees the banks and user modes. Just an hour...
Thank you. Great info on exposure delay. Also, what is the little tripod you are using? Is it on your page?
It's not, but it's a Leofoto 223CEX with an Acratech GXP-ss on it.
Thanks for bringing us up to speed with the Z8 firmware 2.0. When I tried Pixel Shift Shooting, it was merged in NX Studio giving me a NEFX file that I can't open. I tried to convert it to a Tiff file, but got an error message saying it couldn't access the file/folder, ensure it wasn't write-protected, I didn't have access privileges or the file was currently in use. I am intrigued as to how you were able to deal with the merged file. Thanks, Hudson.
NEFX files open no issues at all for me in lightroom classic.
Hi Hudson - great video and thanks for posting it. Could I ask the make and model of that little table top tripod you are using for the Z8 ?
Leofoto 233cex with a acratech gxp-ss
Thanks Hudson, much appreciated
I noticed that even though Nikon added specific Birds AF subject detection to the Z8 you can’t specifically choose that with Auto Capture. Not sure why as that is a scenario that I think a lot of people would use it for and the increased tracking accuracy seems like it would be perfect for Auto Capture.
I saw that too as I shot this video and scratched my head as well...
As always, thanks for another great video. As a purely personal impression, I still find myself put off by the size and weight of the Z9. I've considered "downgrading" to a Z8 but your previous Z8 review persuaded me to keep the Z9. With this firmware upgrade, is that still your opinion? I can easily live with giving up the shutter button etc when in portrait mode, but what else would I lose?
Hudson, Thanks for the helpful video, JUST TWO QUESTIONS is Auto Capture available in video? Does Pixel shift work in DX or crop mode allowing for better but smaller files? Now... I AM ECSTATIC TO BE WRONG! Not long ago on this channel I lamented what seemed to be a lack of updates for the Z8 while the Z9 pressed ahead with several updates, and the ZF brought even more features on the same internal processor. As a Z8 owner I couldn't be happier that all these great features have come to my camera. I actually started to wonder if I would sell it or trade it in for a new Z6 III because the Z8 seem to be forgotten. It now looks like those worries can be set aside. THIS IS WHY WE INVEST IN NIKON EQUIPMENT ! Thanks for showing us how to best take advantage of these updates.
I can't see why you'd do pixel shift in dx, but you can test it. Yes, auto capture works for video. It's in the video shooting menu too for that.
Very helpful info on the update. Thanks for your work on these, always very helpful and appreciated. Now, do you think Nikon will ever come out with an ISO auto-reset option? (I know I am not the only one ever dismayed about forgetting to reset the ISO setting!)
I really don't understand the question and I have had zero problem with ISO on the Z8 Z9 system. Hold the ISO button and the front dial flips auto on and off while the back dial changes the ISO setting (or base of auto iso if using auto). Seems really simple and very consistent with every Nikon I've owned for decades now. What's the problem exactly?
Oops! My bad, I meant the exposure compensation, not ISO. I think the D850 had that feature?? @@HudsonHenryPhoto
I am amazed to find out using the second SD card as backup can dramatically slow down your camera. Before I bought the camera, I thought I only need to make the primary card fast, then the camera will copy the images from the primary card to the SD card in the background after pictures are taken (As a programmer, I seriously think this is the way Nikon set it up to be, until I found out). I really think it's a good idea to always back up the images to the second card in case the primary card fails. What is the best way in your opinion to solve this issue? Thanks!
I've never in my life set a camera to use a 2nd card as backup. I came from film where that was never an option + CF express B cards are absolutely bombproof. I always set card 2 to capture video and act as overflow. Each night I download my CF-Express B card and back up my laptop's 2nd internal NVMe to a fast external SSD drive I keep with me. It's never happened, but a card failure could never cost me more than a day. If you really want that, you need a Z9 and two fast CF express B cards.
To the wedding photographers, losing one card of work can mean everything. From a programmer's perspective, this feature should be easy to implement.@@HudsonHenryPhoto
Hi Hudson, I tried the pixelshift on my Z8 and found some artefacts .Some caused by wind on the branches, which is obvious, but there seems to be an other type of artefacts which looks like Moiree (or rather "banding" in the older Canons). These are found in all (well at least 8/ 16 and 32 Frames-) Modes. They are hard to see in 100% - but very obvious in 200% or 400%. I saw them in NX Studio as well as in Lightroom or PS, so it doesn't seem to be a problem of Adobe . The stripes are just visible in the .nefx files, not in the original.nef. If you're interested, I can send you some examples. Regards from germany, Ralph (P.S. I was the winner of your foto contest 23 (or 22?) and received my price - the unleashed by foolography a few weeks ago - great piece of gear for my Z8!)
Yeah, beyond 100% that can happen, but I notice it's more in areas with some change or movement. To be honest, I'm unlikely to use 16 or 32 after doing more comparisons to Lightroom Classic's Super Resolution on a single image file to compare. Pretty nuts that capability and with zero concern about movement or artifacts.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto In my case it was in an area of the sky - no real movement there. Quite long vertical, parallel lines . But I also tried LR enhance and the results are much better (and the files only a quarter of the size, still being 181MP...)
I get what you are saying on DLY but it can be solved in other ways. If I'm doing a long exposure I always am on manual focus to make sure AF doesn't do anything. If you are on manual you can lightly touch the screen anywhere to trigger the exposure since it won't change where you are actually focused and there is no chance it vibrates anything on a steady tripod which you are presumably shooting on. I think there is far less chance of making the camera move than using the physical shutter button.
There's nothing like exposure delay. Sorry.
Nice information.I just updated my Z8 and found that in auto capture mode I can not see bird ditection mode but i can see only auto,pppl animal and vehicle mode.. What could be the reason?
Set other comments and responses.
Just got my Z8 and SUPER appreciate your video's. I have a problem maybe you can give me some advice on. I tried my camera out the first time yesterday and downloaded the files to my MacBook Pro. The files are there but are all just black. I can get them to show in my "review" on Luminar Neo, but when I click to edit they are black as well. I asked about the problem on social media that Apple does not support RAW files from the Z8. Do you know if any if the RAW choices on the Z8 are usable or are they all not supported. What would you recommend doing. Only been doing photography for 2 years and never had any problems like this using my D850's. Thanks man.
I'm not a luminar user. Lightroom Classic on both Mac and PC certainly supported those raw files from day one. The latest version of Mac OS should also let you preview them in the finder, but that's only going to work with the newer Apple silicone based machines. Worst case scenario, you can always download Adobe's free dng converter. It'll convert them to dng files that both the OS and luminar should read. All the latest versions of the software from Apple, luminar, Adobe and others should be fully supporting Z8 files a very long time ago. Again, I had no issues in Adobe or on1 with one of the very first shipped Z8s from day one.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Thanks man. I did finally find out how to get them into my computer. I had to go Lossless RAW on them, but now it works. Thanks for your time .
You don't want to sacrifice an Fn button to flip between different autofocus areas, but you use Fn 2 for BKT, even if you have a dedicated BKT button to the left of the viewfinder. So you have two buttons for BKT, which doesn't make sense to me. By the way, these are some really good instructional videos you make, as they really go in-depth into the various functions.
Nope, you read that custom button of mine wrong. I use "bracketing BURST"' on the function button for my standard setup bank. I set up bracketing settings on the dedicated bracketing button. I hold the programed bracketing' burst' button to fire the entire bracket with a single shutter press. I shoot so many handheld hdr images these days, I would not trade that function button for anything. I certainly wouldn't trade that or recall shooting functions hold for cycle AF area in my standard settings, but that's how I work and it suits my needs. You have every right to feel differently. In my standard bank a mode, recall shooting functions hold sets every setting on the camera to action capture ready with a touch of one function button. The other is to capture entire hdr bracketed bursts with a single shutter touch. In my action bank mode I already have wide area flipping to frame wide 3d with a button press (hybrid) and a switch from those to dynamic on the other button. I don't need any other area mode.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto I just thought you had configured the button similar to the dedicated BKT button, so that's why I was wondering. But I can see the logic in programming the button as you have done, which is quite clever by the way.
Is there a way to subscribe on your website to get alerted in advance of the next “Office Hours” or is it on any regular schedule? I’m already a sub to your YT channel.
Sign up for the email. We announce there the each one.
Question: Since the menu settings change after update does the saved settings file still work?
Yes, I've never had one fail. I've actually never had a firmware update change my settings so far. Other brands like Leica wipe your camera to factory defaults, but the saved settigns restore them as closely as possible to get back to where you started.
G’day mate trying to set up my new z 8, on the monitor top left the word star, what is it please thank Ned
starlight view. Turn that off in the custom settings display. That's a setting for night tripod work.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto thank you very much
When I try to set up Auto capture I get a message: when I try Start: "This option is not available at current settings or in the camera's current state" I thought that the problem might be a not-full battery. Nope; a full battery didn't change anything. I'm using Bank A, Standard and I believe that it is in accordance with your setup instructions. What might be the problem?
Autofocus turned off? Bracketing turned on? Multiple exposure turned on? lots of potential incompatible settings to check for....
When AF area change is assigned to the F2 button, there is no dynamic area even though it is selected in the area selection
That's not the case with the Z8 I set up. Triple check your settings in the button customization. If dynamic is checked, then dynamic should cycle through.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Problem solved ;-) the "a8" setting had dynamic AF modes disabled
Just bought the camera, installed the latest 2.0 firmware and tried to shoot with my Broncolor studio trigger. The trigger fires my power pack randomly, like every 20th shot I get a flash. Any ideas what camera settings could be doing this?? Btw, same trigger works 100% of time on my Z7 II. So far I have no silent mode enabled, fill flash enabled, focus priority on shutter release. Really losing my mind on this!
Gosh I wish I knew. It fired my godox trigger fine. Might be a Broncolor question...?
@@HudsonHenryPhoto thanks, I've emailed them, should hear back next week. Annoying as I have a job tomorrow and have to use my old Z7 ii instead of the Z8.
Auto capture in Z8 has two major bugs / issues: Issue 1) Distance calculations do not account for zoom lenses correctly - If you are using a zoom lens like the Z 180-600mm, the distance function does not work correctly. If you are zoomed at 180mm, the distance seems correct and it allows you to set a minimum distances to like 3.8m say for example. If you are zoomed at 600mm, the distance is incorrect with the camera showing something like a minimum distance like 12m. Does not allow one to adjust minimum distance to below like 12m or so. So, the calculation of distances with Z 180-600mm lens is incorrect. As a result, auto capture is useless for capturing close subjects with zoom lenses while zoomed in to say 600m with the Z180-600mm, even if the subject is beyond the lenses minimum focus distance ie. when it is possible to focus on the close subjects in normal photo and video shooting. Issue 2) Subject detection type list does not include all subjects - If you select subject detection, the new bird subject is not in the list of available subjects. If you set bird detection before entering auto capture, the auto capture mode then overrides the type of subject with that subject in the auto capture mode settings. Who ever ported this feature into the Z8 firmware did not add the additional subject detection types into the auto capture mode workings. I have found better success so far when using auto capture for video than for photos when doing say humming birds. I need to do more testing, but auto capture is very much like beta firmware version... Even with these negatives, it is wonderful that Nikon does firmware updates like this to add features to existing bodies, unlike Nikon's competition like cripple hammer Canon and Sony.....
1) Yep a limitation not a bug. That's well documented across all lenses zoom or prime makes no difference. You can get around it by disabling distance and it will pick up closer subjects, you just can't limit it to close distances. No idea why it's that way, but my testing with the 800PF, 400 and 600 TCs yeilded the exact same limitations. 2) Also a limitation not a bug. My guess is that the Autocapture system hasn't been updated or touched since it released in the Z9 last summer. That was prior to bird detect's inclusion for the Z9. They just ported it direct to the Z8 since they are the same camera with different form factors. If they do any significant updates to Autocapture, then it might get the added subject detection modes. Couldn't agree more about Nikon's amazing firmware program.
I tested pixel shift in firmware 2.0 on Z8 using the 24 -120 f4 . At 4 image pixel shift combined in NX Studio, and having checked remove chromatic aberration, when I view the completed image in NX Studio the image looks great but as soon as I export the image to a .tiff or jpeg file I see horrendous chromatic aberration that seems to have been enhanced. I took the raw images into Photoshop and using smart objects did a median layer and got no artifacts. So the issue only surfaced in NX Studio when exporting out the completed stack from 4 images. I didn't see this artifact at 16 or 32 images pixel shift.
Why would you create a tiff. Leave it raw. Lightroom classic has no issue reading NEFX files for me.
@@HudsonHenryPhoto Oh I Didn't realize Lightroom could read the NEFX file. That's awesome.
Hi. When I try to save camera setting to Sony XQD card it says this feature is not supported with this camera setting, switched to SD card and it worked / was able to save the setting. I did format the XQD card, was able to take pictures, but unable to save camera setting as you advised. The XQD card is probably 5 years old from my Nikon D850. Am I doing something wrong...
No, I sold my last XQD long before the Z9 launched. The fastest XQD card has 1/4 the write speed potential of a good CF express B card. I'm not sure why it won't support settings saves, but it's definitely going to slow the performance of the Z8 way down in burst shooting. It might be worth an update soon. :)
Thanks. One more question regarding banks. Do you stay on Manual mode or do you use any time shutter priority or Aperture priority mode, and if so for which banks? Thanks you again.
I'm a manual with auto iso guy these days. Keep an eye on depth of field, blur and iso levels and adjust accordingly.
i used one of the picture control and i tried to upload my photos and one of them were monochrome or black and white lol
Super easy fix: You have to set the global raw default in lightroom's preset preferences to camera settings instead of Adobe Default.
👍🏾🙏🏾 🏴🇸🇪🇹🇹
Ironic isn't it, no bird detect in auto capture. Probably the most likely use for auto capture LOL!
yup
Probably a 2.1 update
Does the Z9 have bird detection in auto-cap? Curious
Might still work with birds - the "old" Animal -detect did recognice birds as well, just not as good as the new bird-mode (which is phenomenal, it almost doesn't matter if there are any branches in front of the bird, much better then with my OM1).
Yea your probably right, thing is this auto capture will have the camera set up on a tripod with a preconfigured distance set etc, so animal eye detection will work just fine.