p.26 #1 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Right, the software "works" but apparently extremely poorly, which in my book is the same as not supported. With e.g. Sony it is plug-and-play (no need to download a utility) and the image generated is extremely crisp. I know this is not the main usecase for many, but it is a great added bonus-use of an expensive MILC for those of us who have day-jobs and spend lots of time doing presentations, Zoom calls, etc.
p.26 #2 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Buckeye2604 wrote:
Isn’t that the software he used? Everything he says is in Nikon’s notes. Not high quality.
Wouldn't know, I don't watch every random 15 minute long video posted on the internet. I know plenty of people have used Z6/Z7 as webcams with great results, although it's anything but plug and play (often requires buying an El Gato or something similar). I see no reason why the more capable bodies can't do the exact same thing.
p.26 #3 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
patotts wrote:
I enjoyed the laidback and fairly non-technical Z8 review
I got the answer to a question I've been asking - does the Z8 work as a high-quality webcam, like the Sony A7IV or A7R5 does? The answer is, shockingly enough no.
p.26 #4 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
I don't even care about this stupid functionality but here you go, downloaded the webcam software, relaunched teams and started a meeting, it works great with zero lag. Next!
www.streamable.com/q2brpa
Again, if the Z8 has a bug, I'd expect an update to either the Nikon software or Teams/Zoom to fix that. This is basic stuff these days in terms of support and functionality.
p.26 #7 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread for a niche use-case. Just be aware of that there is a user-group of (amateur) photographers that have day-jobs that include making highly visible presentations over the web (think software sales, speaking at global panels. A regular webcam and mic sucks in quality and doesn't deliver what is needed, thus having proper light, XLR mics with audio interfaces, etc is required. I use my cameras for my favorite hobby - photography - but if I in this day and age can get usage out of a high-end MILC as "web cam" (clearly much more, think home studio) I don't see the harm.
Again, it is a niche use case, but still relevant for some and nothing to roll one's eyes over.
p.26 #8 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
I don't even care about this stupid functionality but here you go, downloaded the webcam software, relaunched teams and started a meeting, it works great with zero lag. Next!
www.streamable.com/q2brpa
Again, if the Z8 has a bug, I'd expect an update to either the Nikon software or Teams/Zoom to fix that. This is basic stuff these days in terms of support and functionality.
Yep I used my z6 as a webcam on teams before for work and it worked fine. Also tried a Fuji and my OM-1. All worked fine.
p.26 #9 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
Now I'm tempted to have my 40/1.2 as my webcam for my next meeting to see if anyone notices that HIGH QUALITY while we drone on about ROI and synergy between departments.
p.26 #11 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
patotts wrote:
Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread for a niche use-case. Just be aware of that there is a user-group of (amateur) photographers that have day-jobs that include making highly visible presentations over the web (think software sales, speaking at global panels. A regular webcam and mic sucks in quality and doesn't deliver what is needed, thus having proper light, XLR mics with audio interfaces, etc is required. I use my cameras for my favorite hobby - photography - but if I in this day and age can get usage out of a high-end MILC as "web cam" (clearly much more, think home studio) I don't see the harm.
Again, it is a niche use case, but still relevant for some and nothing to roll one's eyes over. ...Show more →
It's a new camera, I am sure they'll work out any glitches it might have where it comes to livestreaming.
Normally one would expect that if you are an employee, the employer provides the tools needed for the work and one doesn't need to use equipment purchased for a hobby to do one's job.
p.26 #12 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
carl_g wrote:
I don’t get the whole “z90” thing. What’s the point? Is it simply a cost issue? I guess that and maybe file size.. The only advantage the d500 had over the d850 was the ability to put a focus point almost anywhere in the frame compared to the d850. That advantage does not exist anymore with mirrorless. So why not just go full frame?
I guess we’d need to define what a z90 is to begin with.
If it’s just a DX version of the same Z8/9 sensor, then it’d largely come down to cost, since the Z8/9 in cropped mode will effectively do the same job.
But pixel density is potentially a significant advantage since we know some of supporting circuitry can handle up to 45MP (poss more) at adequate speeds to omit the mechanical shutter.
A hypothetical 40MP DX stacked sensor with a similar readout supporting stack as the Z8/9 would have a faster full sensor read speed, support 8K UHD and have a pixel density equivalent to a 90MP FX sensor.
p.26 #13 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
So the Z8 has an SD card slot and based on Steve Perry and others it sounds like it's just as fast as the Z9 as long as you dedicate the CFE card to all capture's and leave the SD purely as an overflow option. Question for those in the know, does it still make sense to purchase a "fast" SD card like the new 300MB/s or would one of the "cheaper" 250MB/s SD's be just fine and what is your reasoning behind your thoughts?
p.26 #14 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
So the Z8 has an SD card slot and based on Steve Perry and others it sounds like it's just as fast as the Z9 as long as you dedicate the CFE card to all capture's and leave the SD purely as an overflow option. Question for those in the know, does it still make sense to purchase a "fast" SD card like the new 300MB/s or would one of the "cheaper" 250MB/s SD's be just fine and what is your reasoning behind your thoughts?
I went super cheap and got a paltry V30 200 card. I'll be testing backup to it next week, stay tuned! I have never needed Overflow on my 325gb card for what I do, so I plan to set the camera up to Overflow and backup from CFE to SD manually from time to time instead of running it in Backup which is what I do now with dual CFE.
I was reading a Nikon interview yesterday and they said that performance doesn't suffer if you have a highly rated SD card...I call shenanigans on that!
In no world am I paying MORE per gig for a high performance SD card than my Delkin Blacks, I just can't bring myself to do it!
p.26 #15 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
wjmeyer wrote:
So the Z8 has an SD card slot and based on Steve Perry and others it sounds like it's just as fast as the Z9 as long as you dedicate the CFE card to all capture's and leave the SD purely as an overflow option. Question for those in the know, does it still make sense to purchase a "fast" SD card like the new 300MB/s or would one of the "cheaper" 250MB/s SD's be just fine and what is your reasoning behind your thoughts?
Steve is correct, as long as you use a top-tier CFE card (Delkin Black is the go-to recommendation), and as long as you are writing only to the CFE card, you get the same unlimited buffer experience as you would on a Z9. If you use the camera in backup mode, once the buffer is full, the camera will slow to the speed of the weakest link (your SD card speed).
There is no chance the SD card can keep up because you need around 1200+ MB/s sustained write speed to get an unlimited buffer out of a Z8/Z9. I am pretty sure the fastest SD cards today max out around 300 MB/s sustained.
That's not to say you will have a bad experience necessarily using the SD slot. You will always have full performance until the buffer is full, so if you're shooting short bursts (usually the way to go anyway), lower FPS than 20 (often 10-12 is plenty), or the HE* files (no real disadvantage compared to lossless compressed), you might find it isn't that bad. If you want the camera to behave exactly like a Z9 though, you are limited to the one CFE slot.
p.26 #16 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
I'll do some testing next week with a V90 card in backup mode just to see what the buffer with HE* looks like. In my opinion that's the only RAW format that matters for action shooters.
p.26 #18 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
I'll do some testing next week with a V90 card in backup mode just to see what the buffer with HE* looks like. In my opinion that's the only RAW format that matters for action shooters.
I'll be interested to hear your results. I'm in the same boat in that I haven't ordered an SD card yet because the thought of paying more per GB for an SD compared to my Delkin Black cards seems silly. I'm debating just getting a V60 card for more space for less money for the unlikely scenario when I'd actually use it.
p.26 #19 · Nikon unveils the highly anticipated Z8 camera!
RoamingScott wrote:
I'll do some testing next week with a V90 card in backup mode just to see what the buffer with HE* looks like. In my opinion that's the only RAW format that matters for action shooters.
I have a 128GB v60 in a drawer somewhere. I'm planning to just put it in and don't bother with anything bigger/faster (for those random times when I forget to put the card in the CFE slot). No way I'm spending $ for the faster SD cards.
