{"id":17705,"date":"2024-02-25T08:58:03","date_gmt":"2024-02-24T19:58:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/?p=17705"},"modified":"2024-02-25T08:58:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-24T19:58:06","slug":"why-the-nikon-z8-is-a-better-bird-camera-than-the-z9-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/17705","title":{"rendered":"Why the Nikon Z8 is a Better Bird Camera than the Z9 (for now)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Being able to program a function button to cycle focus modes is a big improvement in usability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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”<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, changing AF modes\/areas is most easily done via the “i<\/em>” 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Cycle AF-area mode as an option to program to a function button<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a>
The next page lets you choose which modes you want available to cycle through<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Why the Nikon Z8 is a Better Bird Camera than the Z9 (for now). The \"baby Z9\" has leapfrogged it's big brother with one very useful set-up option now available in firmware 2.0","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[982,178,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bird-photography","category-opinion","category-tips","entry","has-media"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy the Nikon Z8 is a Better Bird Camera than the Z9 (for now) - WildLight Photography<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why the Nikon Z8 is a Better Bird Camera than the Z9 (for now)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/17705\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why the Nikon Z8 is a Better Bird Camera than the Z9 (for now) - 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Firmware upgrades have made this an evolving situation but these are the settings I have settled on.","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/bird-photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3965.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3965.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3965.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3965.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18008,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/18008","url_meta":{"origin":17705,"position":3},"title":"My Favourite Feature on the Nikon Z8\/9","author":"tony","date":"April 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"My Favourite Feature on the Nikon Z8\/9 - recall shooting functions is the one feature I would miss the most if I had to go back to using a DSLR","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Photography"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/category\/bird-photography"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3963.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3963.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3963.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/IMG_3963.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17412,"url":"https:\/\/www.tonywhitehead.com\/wildlight\/archives\/17412","url_meta":{"origin":17705,"position":4},"title":"I have Shot with a Nikon Z9 for Almost Two Years and Loved it – Now I have a New Camera","author":"tony","date":"November 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"NZSealion in early morning light - photographed with animal subject detection mode Camera firmware versions are a relatively new concept in photography. Some camera manufacturer are more generous than others and some seem to force users to purchase a new camera when firmware upgrades could achieve similar progress. 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