Nikon D810 vs Nikon Z 8
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| NikonD810 | NikonZ 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | July 2014 | May 2023 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | DSLR | Mirrorless |
| Sensor format | Full frame | Full frame |
| Sensor type | CMOS | Stacked backside-illuminated CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 35.9 × 24 mm | 35.9 × 23.9 mm |
| Effective resolution | 36.3 MP | 45.7 MP |
| Largest image | 7360 × 4912 | 8256 × 5504 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 64–12800 | 64–25600 |
| Sensor detail | FX CMOS with 36.3 million effective pixels USA/global or 36.35 million Japan, 37.09 million total; no optical low-pass filter. Image Sensor Cleaning and Image Dust Off reference data; FX 7360 × 4912, 1.2× crop 6144 × 4080, DX 4800 × 3200 and 5:4 crop 6144 × 4912 | 52.37 million total pixels; sensor cleaning, dust-off reference data, protective sensor shield and electro-conductive/fluorine coatings |
| Image formats | 12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW, uncompressed, lossless-compressed or compressed; Small RAW fixed at 12-bit uncompressed. TIFF RGB, JPEG Fine/Normal/Basic with size-priority or optimal-quality compression, simultaneous RAW/JPEG; Flat and adjustable/custom Picture Controls | 14-bit NEF RAW with lossless or high-efficiency compression; JPEG, HEIF and RAW plus JPEG or HEIF |
| ISO detail | Standard ISO 64–12800 in one-third, half or whole stops; Lo expansion down to ISO 32 equivalent and Hi expansion up to ISO 51200 equivalent; automatic sensitivity control | Expandable to equivalent ISO 32–102400; HLG still photography starts at ISO 400; auto ISO supported |
| Image processor | EXPEED 4 | EXPEED 7 |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Nikon F mount | Nikon Z mount |
| Stabilisation | Optical lens stabilisation | Sensor shift |
| Maximum continuous burst | 5 fps | 20 fps |
| Lens detail | F mount with body AF coupling and contacts; G/E/D, other AF and AI-P lenses with restrictions; non-CPU AI lenses usable in A/M, DX lenses use DX crop. Non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses excluded; USA's G/H exposure-mode notation conflicts with Japan's A/M specification | NIKKOR Z lenses; NIKKOR F lenses require a mount adapter and retain model-dependent restrictions |
| Autofocus | Advanced Multi-CAM3500FX phase detection with 51 points, 15 cross-type and 11 f/8-compatible points; -2 to +19 EV at ISO 100, 20°C. AF-S/AF-C, fine-tuning, single-point, dynamic nine/21/51, 3D tracking, group-area and auto-area. Live view uses contrast AF-S/AF-F and face/wide/normal/tracking areas; USA's AF-A label conflicts with its own live-view AF-F table and Japan | Hybrid phase/contrast detection, 493 single-point FX still positions, 3D tracking and subject detection including people, animals, birds and vehicles/aircraft. Maker sensitivity −7 EV or −9 EV with Starlight View, measured in AF-S at ISO 100, 20°C and f/1.2. |
| Shutter | Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter, 1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; electronic front curtain available in mirror-up mode. X-sync 1/250 second, up to 1/320 with reduced flash range | Electronic shutter only, with selectable sound and sensor shield; 1/32000 to 30 seconds, Bulb/Time and manual-mode extension to 900 seconds. Flash sync 1/200 or 1/250 second with reduced guide number at the higher speeds; compatible Auto FP up to 1/8000. |
| Burst detail | Approximately 5 fps full FX or 5:4; 6 fps DX or 1.2× crop on EN-EL15. DX reaches 7 fps with optional MB-D12 using batteries other than EN-EL15, or qualifying AC power; 1.2× remains 6 fps. Quiet continuous approximately 3 fps. Japan buffer table gives 100 Large Fine JPEGs or 28 lossless-compressed 14-bit Large RAW files at ISO 100 using SanDisk SDCFXPS-016G-J92 CF, with specified settings; USA FX CL wording omits the upper 5 fps value | Continuous high-speed shooting up to 20 fps for full-resolution RAW. High-speed capture C15/C30 uses large FX or DX JPEGs, C60 requires large DX JPEGs and C120 requires small FX JPEGs (4128 × 2752). High-speed burst length varies by frame rate according to the current manual; these restricted JPEG modes are separate from the main continuous RAW figure. Pre-release capture available. Current manual restrictions take precedence over UK marketing prose and TechRadar's erroneous full-resolution 60 fps claim. |
| Stabilisation detail | VR depends on attached lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation | Five-axis sensor shift; lens VR supported, with Synchro VR up to 6 stops using NIKKOR Z 70–200mm f/2.8 VR S at the telephoto end under Nikon's CIPA conditions; electronic movie VR available |
| Flash | Built-in i-TTL pop-up flash, guide number approximately 12 m at ISO 100, 20°C; commander mode, hot shoe, PC sync terminal and compatible Auto FP Speedlights | No built-in flash; ISO 518 hot shoe with compatible external i-TTL Speedlights |
| Exposure controls | P/S/A/M; 91000-pixel RGB matrix, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted metering; ±5 EV compensation, exposure/flash and white-balance bracketing; two-exposure HDR, interval timer and dual-axis virtual horizon. Japan spot range 2–20 EV differs from current USA's 0–20 EV | P/S/A/M; ±5 EV still-image or ±3 EV movie compensation; matrix, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted metering |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 1920 × 1080 at 60 fps | 8256 × 4644 at 59.94 fps |
| Video detail | FX- or DX-based 1920 × 1080 at 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p and 1280 × 720 at 60p/50p; MOV H.264/MPEG-4 AVC with linear PCM. Full HD 60p/50p limit 10 minutes high quality or 20 normal; other modes 20 minutes high or 29 min 59 s normal. Simultaneous card/HDMI output, zebra highlights, Flat Picture Control, manual-mode automatic ISO and exposure-smoothed time lapse; USA's general 20/29-minute wording omits the shorter 60p/50p limits, while Photography Blog's 1920 × 1280 caption and additional 720p rates conflict with maker specifications | N-RAW 12-bit 8256 × 4644 up to 59.94p; 5392 × 3032 up to 59.94p and 4128 × 2322 up to 119.88p. Conventional UHD 7680 × 4320 up to 29.97p; UHD 4K and Full HD up to 119.88p. ProRes RAW HQ, ProRes 422 HQ, H.265 8/10-bit and H.264 have format-dependent limits. Internal N-Log/HLG, waveform, timecode, RAW proxies and Hi-Res Zoom. Nikon's launch recording claims approximately 125 minutes UHD 4K/60p and 90 minutes UHD 8K/30p use specified media, temperature and external-power conditions. |
| Audio | Built-in stereo microphone, external 3.5 mm stereo input and headphone output; adjustable sensitivity, wind-noise reduction and wide/vocal frequency-response settings | Built-in stereo microphones; PCM 48 kHz/24-bit for NEV/MOV or AAC 48 kHz/16-bit for MP4; external microphone with attenuator and headphone monitoring |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical | Electronic |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3.2″ |
| Screen dots | 1,229,000 | 2,100,000 |
| Touchscreen | No | Yes |
| Tilting screen | No | Yes |
| Display detail | Fixed 3.2-inch RGBW TFT, approximately 1229000 dots, 170° viewing angle and approximately 100% coverage; colour and brightness adjustment, top status LCD, BM-12 cover, live view and split-screen display zoom. Photography Blog's 1299k-dot wording conflicts with Nikon's 1229k specification; USA lists an ambient-brightness sensor while Photo Review says it was removed | Four-axis horizontal/vertical tilt, approximately 100% coverage and 170° viewing angle; dots count subpixels |
| Viewfinder detail | Pentaprism with OLED information display; approximately 100% FX coverage, 97% DX/1.2× and 100% vertical/97% horizontal 5:4. Approximately 0.7× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity, 17 mm eyepoint, grid and depth-of-field preview; Photography Blog's 0.72× differs from maker's 0.7× | 0.5-inch Quad-VGA OLED, approximately 3.69 million dots, 100% coverage, 0.8× magnification and 23 mm eyepoint; blackout-free display |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | – | Yes |
| Bluetooth | – | Yes |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 1200 photographs | 370 photographs |
| Body weight | 880 g | 820 g (better) |
| Release detail | July 2014 release month; Nikon Japan records actual sale on 17 July, with global announcement dated 26 June. The regional day does not establish earliest worldwide sale | Announced on 10 May 2023; Nikon US explicitly states availability on 25 May, corroborated by TechRadar's launch coverage. Exact first UK retail day is not independently established. |
| Recording media | One Type I CompactFlash slot with UDMA and one SD/SDHC/SDXC slot with UHS-I; overflow, backup, RAW/JPEG split and copying between cards | One CFexpress Type B/XQD slot and one UHS-II SD/SDHC/SDXC slot; overflow, backup and separate format recording |
| Ports | USB 3.0 Micro-B, mini HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, PC sync and 10-pin remote/GPS terminal; wired LAN requires optional UT-1, rather than Photography Blog's claimed built-in Ethernet port | USB-C SuperSpeed data port and separate USB-C Power Delivery port; full-size HDMI Type A; 3.5 mm microphone/headphone sockets; ten-pin remote terminal. Ethernet requires a compatible USB-LAN adapter; no built-in Ethernet socket or GPS receiver. |
| Wireless connections | No built-in Wi-Fi or GPS; optional WT-5 with UT-1, GP-1/GP-1A GPS, WR-R10 with WR-A10 adapter or WR-1 remote | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 5.0; SnapBridge |
| Battery life detail | EN-EL15, approximately 1200 CIPA shots; optional MB-D12 takes EN-EL15, EN-EL18/EN-EL18a with BL-5 cover or eight AA cells | EN-EL15c; CIPA monitor approximately 370 shots with power saving or 340 without; EVF 340 with power saving or 330 without. Nikon's separate continuous-shooting test gives approximately 2280 shots; movie battery claim approximately 85 minutes. EN-EL15b/15a provide fewer shots; optional MB-N12 takes two batteries. |
| Charging | External MH-25a charger; optional EH-5b AC adapter with EP-5B connector | USB charging and power delivery with suitable optional cable/adapter; in-camera charging supports EN-EL15c/15b. MH-25a external charger appears in the technical accessory list; current UK included-accessory tiles do not list it, so verify regional package contents. |
| Dimensions | Approximately 146 × 123 × 81.5 mm | Approximately 144 × 118.5 × 83 mm |
| Weight detail | Approximately 880 g body only; 980 g with battery and SD card, excluding body cap | Approximately 820 g body only or 910 g with battery/card, excluding body cap and shoe cover |
| Materials | Dust- and water-resistant sealing; magnesium-alloy body described by both reviews | Magnesium alloy and carbon-fibre composite; dust/moisture-resistant construction, maker operating range −10°C to 40°C |
| Colours | Black | – |
| In the box | EN-EL15, MH-25a, UC-E22 USB cable, AN-DC12 strap, BF-1B body cap, DK-17 eyepiece, USB/HDMI cable clips and BM-12 monitor cover (Japan package) | Current UK accessory tiles list EN-EL15c, UC-E24 USB cable, AN-DC26 strap, DK-33 eyecup and BF-N1 body cap; technical list additionally names BS-1 shoe cover, HDMI/USB cable clip and region-dependent MH-25a charger |
More comparisons
- Nikon Z5IIC vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z 8 vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Nikon Z 8 vs Nikon ZR
- Nikon Z5II vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z 8 vs Panasonic LUMIX S1RII
- Nikon Z50II vs Nikon Z 8
- Canon EOS R5 Mark II vs Nikon Z 8
- Fujifilm GFX100S II vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z6III vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z f vs Nikon Z 8
- Fujifilm GFX100 II vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon Z 8 vs Sony Alpha 7C II
- Nikon Z 8 vs Sony Alpha 7CR
- Nikon D3X vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon D500 vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon Z 8