A Subjective or Objective Review of the Nikon Z8?

When I’m lucky enough to get a new camera, lens, or other bit of photographic gear, I like to share my thoughts on it. I love the art of photography but there also a part of me that loves the techy side of photography, so I do like to create videos about my landscape photography gear. Creating these types of videos also helps answer questions I get when people see me using a particular item of gear.

I don’t necessarily like titling those videos as a “review” as the views I share are personal and not necessarily that objective. I also don’t have access to lots of other gear to compare the item I own to. I also only take landscape photographs so I often have a limited perspective on what a particular item of photographic gear can do. So, my review videos can be subjective but there really isn’t a better word than “review” to describe them, so that’s what I call them!

A Slow Start with the Nikon Z8

New camera day is always very exciting, and I wanted to get a Nikon Z8 as soon as I could. When the Nikon Z8 was listed on my retailer of choice I immediately pre-ordered it and hoped I would get one from the first batch of deliveries. My eagerness to buy a Nikon Z8 paid off and I did indeed receive one on the day the camera got released.

When the Nikon Z8 arrived the first thing I wanted to do (apart from setup all the menu options) was to head out into the landscape and start taking photographs. However, if there’s one thing you can guarantee is that if I’m getting a new camera (purchased or loaned), the weather will be rubbish for landscape photography. A couple of months ago I got a free loan of a Canon R5 plus lenses for the weekend. The weather was so bad that weekend I sent the camera back on the Monday having not taking a single landscape photograph with it (hence why you never saw a video about that camera).

Well, as is my luck, when the Nikon Z8 arrived it was in the middle of a spell of hot and sunny weather. Great weather for sitting out in the garden sipping on a Gin & Tonic, but absolutely rubbish for landscape photography. Not to panic I thought. This is my Nikon Z8, and I own it, so it doesn’t matter if I spend a few days in the garden and walking the dog.

After two weeks of “sunbathing” I’d just about had enough! Fortunately for me the opportunity to use the Nikon Z8 to photograph Muse, one of the biggest rock bands in the world, presented itself and I jumped at the chance. You can read all about that experience here.

Eventually I gave up on solely basing my decision to go out based on what the weather forecast was saying. At this rate it was going to autumn before I took my first landscape photograph with the Nikon Z8.

The Nikon Z8 - A Familiar Camera

When I finally headed out with the Nikon Z8 to capture landscape photographs I was right at home. Yes, the Nikon Z8 has new features and capabilities, but at the end of the day it’s still a Nikon. Some buttons might be in a slightly different place, but it took no time at all before using the camera became second nature.

Once that first landscape photograph was captured with the Nikon Z8 I just gave up on waiting for the perfect conditions and got on with the job of capturing photographs for my review.

The Nikon Z8 – A Landscape Photographers Review

Despite a slow start, I’m finally ready to share my Nikon Z8 review. It was a great to film it on location on Dartmoor. It’s where I’ll be using the camera the most, so it seemed fitting to film it there. I had to get up REALLY early to be on Dartmoor for sunrise, but it was worth it (you’ll see why in the video). As much as I enjoyed filming the video, it was also a fantastic morning for a walk. Over the 6 hours I was out on Dartmoor I walked over 12km across some of my favourite areas of Dartmoor.

As I said at the start of this blog post this is a very subjective review. Whatever you do with the information in this video I hope you at least find it useful and/or entertaining! Enjoy!