Back in 2017 Nikon launched the D850, their flagship 35mm full-frame digital SLR camera designed for all kinds of professional photographers, including landscape, macro, sports, wildlife, fashion, weddings and portraits.
Fast forward to 2023, and we now have the mirrorless equivalent – the FX-format Nikon Z8, which in almost every way exceeds even what the impressive D850 is capable of.
Sitting just below the 18-month-old Z9 camera in the Nikon pecking order, it quickly becomes very clear that they actually share a lot of similarities when it comes to their core specifications and features
Essentially, the new Nikon Z8 takes almost everything that we loved about the flagship Z9 and squeezes it into a much smaller, lighter and crucially significantly cheaper body.
The Nikon Z8 is priced at £3,999 / $3,999 body only in the UK and USA respectively. It is made in Thailand.
In terms of the Z8’s main rivals, they primarily include the Sony A7R V and the Canon EOS R5, with Nikon’s own Z9, the Sony A1 and the Canon EOS R3 being more action-oriented alternatives.
Read on for our full Nikon Z8 review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos for you to download and evaluate.
Ease of Use
The Nikon Z8 was first announced on May 10th, 2023 as a new professional 35mm full-frame mirrorless camera designed to be the spiritual successor to the popular D850 DSLR.
In a surprising move and despite costing a whopping £1300 / $1500 less than the flagship Z9 model, the two cameras are identical in virtually every way in terms of their specifications, with the chief differences being size, control layout and battery life.
So kudos to Nikon for bravely deciding not to hobble the Z8 in any way in order to encourage you to upgrade to the next model – this really is the baby Z9 that everyone has been waiting for.
The Nikon Z8 has a very clear focus on out-and-out speed, impressively achieving its headline-grabbing 30fps burst shooting speed despite using a very high resolution 45.7 megapixel sensor.
There is one important caveat to bear in mind though – the Z8 can only shoot in JPEG format at 30fps, with only a 20fps rate available when recording Raw files.
