Emanuel

Just came across this while searching for a C-mount adapter for the Nikon Z8.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/BORYOZA-FX-Z-AF-Adapter-Fujifilm/dp/B0CPBRTMTX/
Crazy if that works as well as the Sony E-mount adapter from Megadap / Techart, with full AF and electronic control.

No idea when if in 2025 yet but you, me and a few of us risk to not resist to one when will reach the 2500 mark... ;- )

No idea when if in 2025 yet but you, me and a few of us risk to not resist to one when will reach the 2500 mark... ;- )

No the L-mount alliance agreement goes like this.
L squared... Sigma undercuts Leica with sexy aluminum unibody full frame cameras for under $2k.
Panasonic charges Leica money for zoom lenses and supplies old sensors to Leica for their 2025 cameras.
Leica get to die.
Sounds like an alliance to make NATO look dodgy!

This is an important point, and has been widely discussed in other forums. The Z8 works well in terms of temperature management as long as you choose one of the coolest running CFexpress cards. Card temperatures have been tested a few years ago in https://www.thessdreview.com/our-reviews/cfexpress/delkin-black-cf-express-type-b-512gb-memory-card-review/4/ though not specifically in this camera.
I have the 325 GB Prograde Digital Cobalt card and it's excellent (it was originally preferred by Nikon when the Z9 came out, as their developers found it to perform the best in the Z9), but Delkin Blacks (which are a newer card series) are very popular among the intense-shooting crowd and can be cheaper than the Prograde Digital Cobalt. If you need larger capacity than is available in Delkin Black, then Delkin Power can be considered. Note that the series have been updated by Delkin and the newest cards may be different, but I haven't heard anything negative about the new series.
The Z9 has a larger body and better temperature management than the Z8 but the Z8 also does fine as long as one chooses the right CFexpress card for the extended video recording.

There is a 700Mbit/s mode in NRAW at 4K 24p which could be good half-way house between too much compression and the huge file sizes of the 8K NRAW and Prores modes.
This is among the smallest file size for RAW shooting on any camera, alongside C-RAW Lite 6K on the EOS R3.
I have seen this test which shows the compression in the red channel with H.265.
What's a bit frustrating is the lack of info about what bitrate was selected and so on...
I assume it was graded from LOG.
According to Slashcam the H.265 bitrates in MP4 are tiny.
https://www.slashcam.de/artikel/Test/Nikon-Z8-in-der-Praxis--Die-bessere-Z9-fuer-Video--8K-RAW-50p-Bolide-mit-Feinschliffbedarf--alles-.html#
Will certainly see some compression in MP4.
But what about the H.265 MOV mode?

I think I have answered it myself...
The compression in H.265 is the result of bad tests.
They are using the MP4 mode which has extremely low bitrates.
In MOV we have 8K H.265 10bit 422 at 400Mbit, similar to the Sony a1's 500Mbit 8K mode post firmware update. This I have experience of and it was a match for N-RAW as far as the lack of compression, great shadow detail and a fine noise texture goes.
There's also a Prores 422 HQ 700Mbit/s mode in 4K/24p, so a reasonable step up from 400Mbit.
Remember however that H.265 long GOP at 400Mbit is equiv. to H.264 at 800Mbit so if you see a ton of macro blocking in that I'll be surprised!
The ProRes codec has the advantage of being ALL-I though.
According to Newsshooter where you can see the full breakdown of bitrates, 4K in H265 MOV is 190Mbit, so equivalent to 380 H.264.
https://www.newsshooter.com/2023/05/10/nikon-z8-announced/
Aside from the wide range of bitrates...
I like the fact it has no crop in 4K/120p plus the option of DX and 2.3x crop.
The 2.3x crop is nice for Super 16mm lenses.
Plus the high-res Zoom option for pretty much any crop factor between 1 and 2.3

One last thought, it seems Nikon did agree with the Canon 70d that the right place for the stills/movie mode is under your right hand.

The S1H is a camera you could buy used today and it'll still hold up 5 years from now, similar to the S5. Both of those cameras have such a lovely, organic image. And as @MrSMWnoted, the auto focus isn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be once you learned how it works. 
It's a reminder of how fortunate we are that cameras released 6 years ago are still able to hold up to cameras released today. 

It's nearly time for a spring clean where 4 or 5 cameras turn into 1!
I have decided to divest in L-mount. The Sigma Fp-L is staying but I'm moving on from Panasonic and the L-mount lenses with no plans to get more. When the Sigma BF comes out I'll certainly consider swapping the Fp-L for it but want to see if it retains Cinema DNG raw video.
Nikon Z8 used prices are now under $3000/3000 euro.
So it's a cheaper option than the Panasonic S1R II, with a much more flagship design of body and very nice chonky EVF. Of course the autofocus is in a different league and the sensor is a lot faster.
I thought about returning to a Sony a1 and selling my a7 IV along with some Fuji stuff. But the a1 prices are still as high as 12 months ago and well above what I'll find a Z8 for.
Nikon Zf mount has the nifty Leica M autofocus adapter (latest version) from Techart, and the MegaDap Sony E mount adapter which serves all my autofocus needs without requiring a $15,000 investment in Nikon Zf lenses. Thank the lord.
Whereas with the S1R II and L-mount, options are very limited for adapters.
Sigma 35mm F2 ART for Sony E-mount on a Nikon Z8 is a tempting duo.
Build quality tip top and not too big.
Ergonomically fantastic.
8K RAW video and super fast.
One of the best range of H.265 codec options and some very good crop modes.
4K/120p full frame mode.
So I think it's time to get into Z mount in a big way and commit to it.
Would you go for the Z8, or something else for $3000?

Just keep in mind to get "cool" cfexpress cards. Z8 has no serious overheating issue, unless you put a card that consumes a lot of power. There is huge gap in efficiency between some of these cards that nobody talks about (one of the reasons a reviewer says I got 1 hour and another says only 20 minutes). Angelbird CFe v4 1TB is rated 3.75w, but v2 that is slower is rated 2.4w. v4 sustained write speed is 2100MB/s (insane in such a small package) and v2 is 1300MB/s, meaning you get 60% higher speed for 56% more power consumption, which I don't think a good tradeoff, considering 1300MB/s is already fast enough, and I dont think you take too much 8k60p shots at highest bitrate. 

HDMI has very little lag now. Major improvement finally. 

Yes. But that is running against the fundamental design principle of this camera - minimalism.
After all, anyone who wants/needs EVF, internal ND, IBIS etc etc isn't short of choice. That need is already met. This camera is very clearly intended as a niche product for a design-aware type of audience.
It is (far too)  expensive for the feature set. It is unique at the price.
Choose one.
(Personally, I'm totally fed up with myriads of too-small-to-use buttons and seemingly infinite layers of menus... so definitely the second option for me).

Christopher Frost spent some days with one and shows a somewhat detailed navigation through the interface.
 
 

I understand the cost saving/standardisation perspective but I think Panasonic are definitely taking the piss a bit now by re-using the S5ii body for all their products.

Nice long (2 hour!) review from Richard Wong.
I've been thinking about the standardisation of body designs at Panasonic.
Taking inspiration from Sony they seem to want to design a one-body fits all standardised ergonomics.
But the lack of the top panel LCD and the angular body of the S5 Mark II does nothing for me.
And I'm wondering when Panasonic will start adding a bit of flair and soul to their designs.
If they came up with the S5 Mark II body design as a way of creating a Sony a7 IV mould to then go and do a whole set of other cameras with only minor ergonomic changes, they have done a really bad job.
The S5 Mark II body is not flagship material.
Sony a7 IV is.
The Sony a1 has an almost identical design and ergonomics to the a7 IV, but still feels like a flagship.
It's been the same since the Sony a9 being based on the a7 III.
The Nikon Z8 is probably the nicest of the bunch I think? Not too small, not too big, top panel LCD, very nice viewfinder hump, feels premium.
So in general just the design... what do people think of the direction Panasonic have taken since the S5 Mark II to standardise their bodies? The G9 II of course shares the same basic layout and looks too.
Maybe they will break the mould a bit with the S1H Mark II if we ever see it? They could certainly use some imagination at this point.

He uploaded the originals which is good...
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1obqp8z2FJCVnLswPCDq4MYPdat6va-AQ?usp=sharing
S1H I thought didn't really have a moire issue in 5.9K.
So perhaps he has found a way to break it.

No. He was testing other modes too. Look at the bottom of the screen where it says the mode he's testing (29 seconds in) which was full-sensor readout mode, then he talks about the crop modes. That guy doesn't strike me as the "sensational YouTube guy." As of right now, he's got under 500 subs. Clearly, the S1rii does better at not producing moiré than the S1H (at those distances). I'm sure the S1rii will produce moiré at other distances, just not in this example.

Nice idea for a test but he's only testing the APS-C modes.
On a 24 megapixel sensor we are talking rather low resolutions in 1.5x crop mode - something between 12-15 megapixel.
So he is comparing 12 megapixel with no oversampling to 44 megapixel with oversampling.
What happens when he does the same in full frame.
S1H with AA filter at 6K full pixel readout, versus S1R II at 8K - the result would be much closer.
S1R II in full frame at 60fps is pixel binning, which is the worst thing possible as far as moire on fine textures is concerned.
So it would be nice to see him extend the test beyond APS-C mode, but then that would complicate the conclusion which isn't as attractive for YouTube videos.

At least for me the AF works and works and then out of the blue decides to just lock on some where out of the focus box and refuse to let go, or keep focus on the subject ( not just people ) but slightly in front or behind.
Funny enough when I had the GH4 and GH5 I used AF, but always know when to just not bother and flip over to MF!

I think we have to keep in mind that we all shoot different things and use and set up cameras in different ways.
I have no care who's name is on the top of the camera in my hand and have always used multiple brands at the same time, currently have 1x R6ii, 2x S5iiX and 1x Fuji XH-2s, I have shot Lumix and Canon for like ever, so naturally feel a lot more at home with them, however always curious so will rent gear to try out and sometimes shoot along with main rig on gigs to have identical footage to judge later.
I found the Z6iii and the Z8 AF inconsistent, they have a tendency to try to find what's closest to the camera and I had lots of shots where on a talking head either the nose or ear is sharp, the camera will maintain focus and not jump back and forth, the eye AF box is locked on the eye but after import when you look closely the focus point is a few centimetres behind or in front of the eye.
Again, it could be how I set up cameras, and I'm sure there are people out there that love their Z8/9 or 6iii...
@Andrew I see your other post, You are right, the Z line does have a lot going for it which is why I have been renting them on shoots, (there is no replacement for using the camera on an actual shoot) But it just didn't quite hit it out of the park the way I was hoping for me.

Do tell us more!

For video, this is the most important feature of this high MP camera: 
 

The Z8 was a bit of a no go for me, never quite got the AF to work consistantly and while on paper it ticks all the boxes, in use it just was a bit of a let down for me and how I use it.

I will likely go back and forth on whether the S1RII appeals to me but I recently was reminded not to lust after gear. I've got an S1 and S1H currently and I bought an S5 and eventually an S5II hoping to replace these, sensing size and weight were the only real drawbacks of the S1 bodies. I sold both the S5 and S5II almost immediately, for usability reasons (worse viewfinder and screen) and because of the picture being over-sharp on the S5II.

I had somehow convinced myself that a newer camera would spark my creativity, as I am currently in a creative rut. This was misguided.

The S1 and S1H are still excellent cameras and they produce an image that feels special to me still. They also feel somewhat indestructible compared to the S5 style bodies. I used them primarily to film a major documentary, along with a GH5 and a slew of other cameras over the years including Canon C300 marks I & II, 6D & 5DIII.

In color correction, I learned how little the camera matters compared to what you capture, outside of the quality of life improvements and build quality (the C300II actually broke from use at the hot shoe mount). Even some quality of life improvements should be met with apprehension. IBIS has ruined some of my shots with weird motion artifacts - the days of a loupe and hand grip on my 6D netted some pretty stunning motion.

Among all the cameras I've shot with, I found the most usable camera overall was the GH5 - and if I was to embark on a similar documentary project today and had budget for a new camera, I'd probably lean towards a GH7 for its versatility and portability. I think the GH7 actually represents the most unique value proposition in Lumix's line - for run and gun documentary, with 32bit audio and a 12-60 or 12-100 lens, I don't think it can be beat. Of course, I don't want to go through the process of re-acquiring all the MFT glass and adapters I've now sold.

For me, the S1RII's reduced size and weight, improved high ISO performance, 32bit audio would be significant quality of life upgrades - but the trade-offs of higher heat sensitivity, lower battery, and a huge hole in my wallet would not be worthwhile. I mean, I'll want one, as is the case with every new camera I see, but will it actually improve my work? Not at all.

Different planet these fucking filmmakers 😉