All the usual Nikon puppets have dropped their specs videos.
Looks like the Z8 is a Z9 without the grip for $5,000.
April 26, 2023
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For sure, we are getting closer to an official announcement from Nikon. Hopefully, exciting times are right around the corner. I take all of the talk with a grain of salt until then.
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It won't be 5 grand.
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That's the bit that makes sense. Why would Nikon want to sell it for less?
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Here's a link to a story on NR about a Nikon event on YouTube scheduled for May 10: nikonrumors.com/2023/04/26/nikon-z8-teaser.aspx/
One of the members spotted an interesting, subtle detail in the graphic. The "?" echo morphs into the number "8". Hmm...
The €4500 price tag being bandied about may include sales tax. For US customers, the price will probably be lower...but won't include the tax. Something in the neighborhood of $4,000 for the US market makes sense to me.
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I agree that it won't be $5K. That would price it too close to a Z9. My guess is the low $4K range, $4,000-$4300.
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It's leaving a very big premium to the Z9 for not a lot in return. The Z9 on launch was $5,500, £5,300 (including 20% tax).
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No GPS, no Ethernet, no big battery, no PC sync socket, no sensor shield, less weather-sealing, no full frame, who knows what else will be taken out (internal RAW video, perhaps)? Knowing Nikon, they'll take out no-cost items like IPTC and Voice memo, too.
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I disagree, the premium int he z9 is sufficient. I have neither regrets nor buyer remorse for it.
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Other than people dead set on the size, why would anyone save $500 to have the grip sawed off? Nikon has a history of a much bigger price gap than $500.
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To the "none believers" as I mentioned earlier Nikon UK retailers knew about the launch in the first 2 weeks of May - about 2 weeks ago.
It is 8am ET on 10th May
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Since the Z9 came out, size and weight has been one of the biggest complaints about the camera...and regardless of the price, if it's the size of D850/D500, which the latest rumors indicate it is, there will be no shortage of complaints that it's not the size of the Z6/Z7 series.
I don't believe for a minute that, at least here in the US, the pricing differential will be as little as $500, but even if it is, I'll still jump on this model as a "B" camera. I'd suggest pricing differential will be in the $1000-$1500 range, especially if Nikon has been able to shave the core parts costs since the Z9 intro in any meaningful way. Waiting on a reduced cost parts cost, possibly with a more efficient Expeed processor and support electronics could explain the delay in releasing this product, as well. Given the heat generated in the area of the Memory slots and the card readers we use, those interfaces seem to be fairly power hungry in high speed operation. Perhaps some improvements possible in those devices.
Now my only remaining wish is an upgraded Z5 or Z50 (possibly with IBIS in the case of the Z50) and an Expeed 7 or newer processor as my travel/walkaround body for about $800
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As far as justification for the $5K price, based on the teaser specs, there seems to be very little difference between a Z8 and Z9 other than an integrated grip and magnesium vs plastic body. And the Z8 might be lacking some electrical connections that the Z9 has. We have yet to see what the differences actually are.
The things that separated the D3 from the D700, other than the larger body with an integrated vertical grip with larger battery, were a shutter/mirror assembly with double the claimed life span, a higher frame rate, dual CF card slots, the additional small screen at the bottom of the body and the extra buttons that accompanied it. There were a few other things but that's the gist of it. I think most can agree that at the time, the D700 was extremely desirable for what it was at the $3,000 price point vs $5,000 for the D3.
But for what it appears to be so far, I can easily see Nikon being so bold as to releasing the Z8 at $5,000. I think there are plenty who want a Z9 in a smaller and lighter form factor. And I believe there are a lot of Z9 owners would love to have an additional "mini" Z9 with identical capability at 500 bucks off. I could also see them dropping the price, maybe to around $4,500 once initial sales cool off.
Also, Nikon knew the angle they were working with their Z super tele lens lineup. They know they've got a lot of people locked in with those lenses alone. Canon and Sony have absolutely no answer for Nikon's Z super tele's.
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When a VAT-included price in Euros is converted to dollars the result is too high. But another factor is that there is probably some independence between regions. So like everything else, we’ll see when we see.
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Exactly.
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Hopefully cheaper than $5k
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If you go on what a pro body sells for compared to a Z9 at $5500 USD, a Nikon D6 pro DSLR sells for $6500 USD, and a Sony A1 pro ML sells for $6500 USD, That's a $1000 difference and it's always been my opinion that Nikon had to price a Z9 cheaper to 1. stem some of the flow to Sony and 2. partially compensate for the lack of any other ML body that actually AF'ed on anything that moved.
So now they have a dilemma. Price it too close to a Z9 and you lose the value proposition. Price it too far below the Z9 and there goes some of the cream. And added to that, you better really want an ML D850 to forgo buying an actual D850 at $2800 USD
Maybe the specs will be different enough from the other bodies that surround it, because really a Z8 as an ML D850 was what the Z7 was alluded to be, so IMO Nikon is only now ?? (assuming) producing what they said they were going to make back then, and a Z7ii can be had for $3000 USD
