Nikon Z8: Pocket Guide: Buttons, Dials, Settings, Modes, and Shooting Tips (The Pocket Guide Series for Photographers, 32) Pocket Book – May 7, 2024

Recently upgraded from the d800 to the Z8 and this guide has been very helpful in learning the new functions of this amazing camera

The spiral book was put together nicely and is laid out well. Card stock is sturdy. It is clearly written and would be a good reference for those new to this camera or mirrorless photography. There are nice tips for specific shooting scenarios. Not for intermediate level.

This small reference book fits easily in my camera bag. It is very nice to have along to check information about my new camera as I still have much to learn in practicing with my new Nikon Z8.

I’ve got more in-depth books on the Nikon z8, but I find myself turning more often to this guide to review my settings and options. I keep it with me whenever I set out for my photographic journey. I highly recommend.

The Nikon Z8 is the most exciting camera I've ever shot with. It's also the most complicated. How do you keep track of every menu item and camera function, especially when so many of these can be customized or re-assigned?This Pocket Guide looked to be one answer to that question. It's a great concept, a smallish flip page note book to keep in your gear bag as a quick reference on camera functions and where they can be found among all the menus, buttons, and dials. But what we get are the most basic basics, camera anatomy 101, with cursory descriptions of camera functions and boilerplate tips for several common scenarios.The key words here are *basic* and *cursory.* A few examples will make this clear.Under Metering Modes (p. 17), matrix metering is described as using color and distance information from G, E, and D Nikkor lenses. Which is interesting, because those are F mount lens types and the Z8 uses the newer Z mount, a fact I'm not sure gets pointed out anywhere in the Pocket Guide (the FTZ adapter is of course available). Many Z mount lenses are simply brilliant performers and in almost all cases at least somewhat better than their F mount counterparts.Also under Metering Modes, center-weighted metering is described rather casually as using data "predominantly" from the center of the frame. The division is in fact about 75 percent from frame center and 25 percent from the rest. These numbers apply whether using the Standard or Small center-weighted metering circle, Knowing this might well affect deciding when to use the center-weighted system.It would also have been appropriate to have mentioned here that when using filters with an EV greater than +1 (e.g. polarizers, neutral density), Nikon recommends using center-weighted metering rather than matrix metering.Picture Controls (p. 22) are described as affecting the appearance of JPEG files, but this omits a very important point. Even when shooting RAW, the previews and playbacks you see are in fact JPEG images and so affected by Picture Control choices. If you want a closer representation of what your RAW files look like (contrast, overall tonality), select Neutral under Picture Control in the Photo Shooting Menu.In the Landscape Shooting Scenario (landscape being what I mostly do), there are two points worth noting. The first is the recommendation to shoot at f/16 for depth of field, without any mention that noticeable diffraction effects begin at about f/13 or f/14. Corrections are available in camera or in post, but by f/16 you could be facing problems. The second point is the recommendation to turn off VR when shooting on a tripod. While this was standard practice, I've seen more pros saying it's not a problem with the Z8's VR set to Normal.Finally, there is no mention of My Menu or i Menu, which are essential to managing the Z8's complexity in active shooting. Nor of focus stacking, focus peaking, or pixel shift shooting, which are all part of its power.In the end, the Pocket Guide never really comes to grips with the camera it's supposed to be about. The Z8 comes across as another generic mid-level camera than one of the powerful mirrorless cameras yet produced. If you can operate it properly, you already know more than the Pocket Guide can remind you of. Which is too bad, because the concept behind this Pocket Guide is a good one that if better executed could yield a handy addition to any gear bag. For now, save your money or put it into a solid, thorough manual like Thom Hogan's Complete Guide to the Nikon Z8 or Steve Perry's books from Back Country Gallery specifically on wildlife photography but helpful generally as well (web searches will take you to both authors).

This is a “digest” to help prod you. It is not a comprehensive, highly detailed, step by step walk-through of the camera’s features. I bought it to keep in the camera bag as a reference tool. I feel it does that for ME.

Great Product

I was hoping for a concise, time saver but it is the fluffiest of lightweight information. It's written for a beginner and if you don't know how to turn on a Z8 you probably shouldn't have one.