While meant for professionals, the Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera is fun to use even as an amateur. That said, there are a lot of buttons to get used to. And you'll need to, because the Z8 really offers a lot for those willing to learn it. You can toggle between its various autofocus modes, switch between shooting modes, or even switch from full-frame mode to crop-mode for a bit more focal range. It may seem confusing at the start, but you get used to it really quickly because the buttons are well placed, and within reach.

While the Z8 is smaller than the Z9, it's still quite a hefty mirrorless camera. It weighs 900g with battery and card, which can be tiring to bring on vacation. But you can't fault the excellent images it takes. The 45.7MP sensor gives you shots with lots of details, and low-light shots are usable up to ISO12,800. Anything after feels quite noisy. Autofocus is snappy and fast, and can pick between airplanes, cars, animals, people. Most of the time, it's quite good at keeping the eyes sharp, though it's not 100% foolproof. That camera probably doesn't exist yet. The Z8 will also keep faces in focus easily.

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Besides still photography, the Z8 is good at video. I don't personally shoot a lot of video, but I found it really easy to do so. The autofocus is also really good at tracking your subject. You can shoot up to 8K 30fps video, or 4K 100fps. For professional videographers, the camera can do 12-bit formats like Apple ProRes Raw HQ and 422 HQ, on top of N-RAW as well as H.265 and H.264.

Other features that I like are the 3.2-inch flip-up screen which can swing out quite a bit. However it doesn't let you flip it around, so you can't do selfies. The mechanism to do so is also quite complicated, but it does let you flip the screen 90 degrees up. This is unlike, say the Sony A7 IV or the Canon EOS R3, which feature a flip-out screen. This screen will stick out from the camera, but will also let you do selfie shots. The Z8 uses XDQ or CFexpress type B for one slot, or SD for the other. Battery life was good, I was able to test and finish reviewing the camera on one charge. Nikon rates it at around 340 shots per full charge.

At S$5,999 for the body only, the Nikon Z8 is a great camera for sure. I switched from Nikon a long while back, but this could actually convince me to go back. You get top-notch still images and video, and the pick of Nikon's excellent lenses as well. Get it from Shopee, Lazada, or Amazon SG.

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Note: Review unit provided by Nikon.