I have recently got access to a Nikon Z8 as a back-up body for an upcoming trip. I was hoping that the firmware upgrade to include birds as a specific subject detection mode would be available before my trip as this was a massive improvement for the Z9. As it happened firmware version 2 dropped on the day I arranged the Z8 so the timing was perfect. This makes the Z8 as good as the Z9 at focussing and tracking birds so why do I say it is better?

The biggest learing curve I had with the change from the Nikon D500/D850 to the Nikon Z9 was getting to grips with the focus system. While the DSLRs were basically “set and forget”, the Nikon Z9 needs to be adjusted for different shooting scenarios. It has got significantly better with firmware upgrades and the subject recognition is working better with larger areas but I still need to change AF area modes during use depending on the subject/scene. This is still something that is evolving to the point that I have not yet written a definitive post on my AF settings for bird photography.

For me, changing AF modes/areas is most easily done via the “i” button quick menu requiring a button press and then toggle through the available modes and select which amounts to multiple presses in at least 3 locations. What the latest Z8 firmware has added is the ability to program a button to “cycle AF modes” and you can preselect which AF modes you want to cycle through.

I have my AF-on button set up to activate focus and my most used area is probably wide area-large but certain subjects need wide area-small or one of the custom wide areas. I have custom 1 set to just under full frame and Custom 2 as a band covering the middle third of the frame and extending almost to the edges. I have my joystick set to activate AF with a single focus point for picking a bird out in busy habitat. I have my Fn-1 (and Fn-3 on the Z9 set to change to Auto area-AF so I can hand off a focussed subject acquired in wide area by simply keeping the AF-on depressed and pressing Fn-1 (in landscape) or Fn-3 (in portrait orientation) with my index finger.

As you can see from my setup described above there are a variety of focus option preprogrammed onto various buttons but to change the default mode has always a been a press and toggle affair. With the Z8 now I have programmed Fn-2 to cycle AF modes and selected all the wide area modes as the ones I want to access. With a single finger press I can now change focus modes on the fly which is a huge improvement in usability. What surprises me is that I cannot find this upgrade listed in the features of the new firmware on Nikon’s firmware download site.

I expect this will migrate to the Z9 with the next firmware upgrade along with a few other minor tweaks that the Z8 has received. The Z9 remains a much tougher tool with magnificent battery life but until then the Z8 has a definite advantage in terms of usability (as long as you keep a spare battery in your pocket!)