Im off to Kenya too - on the 15th Feb. Cant wait! See you there😊

I use Z9 , Z8 and ZFc and coincidentally I bought 2 x K&F batteries for the Z8 .

Congrats on the Z8! Do you still use the 500mm F4 FL?

Love my Z8, only issue is it’s easy to bump the card cover open on occasions so just keep a look out.

Happy New Camera :) I'll be interested to hear how you find the Z8 compared to the Z9 after a few months - I have wondered about changing a few times for the weight / size reduction, but worry about the loss of the extra function button (which I do use) and the bigger battery... For the UnifyDrive UT2, I can see the advantages of that for longer, multi-day trips, but realistically at the price point, a handful of spare high-capacity cards are probably cheaper and smaller.. For big trips like your upcoming one to Kenya, that's going to be very useful! How quickly does it read the cards - could you, for example, clear the mornings images / video while you had your lunch..?

Sorry Dan, too much product placement in this video for me and too little wildlife. I have to be honest with how I feel. I love the rest of your videos. I look forward to 8pm on Sunday evenings so that I can watch the videos as they premier. How you manage to bring out a video every week is no mean feat. Regards.

Nice one Dan. I have been using a Z8 alongside my Z9 for 18 months now (replaced my Z7ii) and love having two virtually identical bodies - makes perfect sense. That UT2 certainly looks interesting. Thanks for the heads up on that. I am off to Botswanan again in September and back-up is high on my agenda. We will be subject to severe weight limits as we have several flights in light aircraft so this unit looks an ideal alternative to humping a laptop around, especially as we will be under canvas for ten days and therefore reliant on powerbanks to recharge cameras and other devices. Whilst I agree with many of your conclusions regarding the Z8 v the Z9, I think there are two massive drawbacks to the 8 compared to the 9. 1) The SD card in slot 2. I use Slot 2 for video capture but the Z8's SD card does not offer the performance of the CFExpress card in slot 2 on my Z9. I really wish Nikon had stuck with 2 CFE card slots. And 2) the difference in battery. I shoot at airshows as well as wildlife and I have been known to shoot 9000 images in a day on a single Z9 battery charge at airshows whereas the Z8 won't come close to this and i have had to carry two spare batteries for the Z8 whilst I carry 1 spare for the z9 but have only needed to use it on one occasion.

Very informative video Dan, looking forward to hearing more about the Z8 as I am seriously thinking about purchasing one this year. I currently have a d800.

Great video Dan. I used to enjoy going to Daisy Nook, lovely place. It’s my birthday next month so might run it by the missus in getting me a Z8 but think I might be getting a two word answer😂!! I was talking to a photographer the other day who had been told by a dealership that a lot of people were buying the Z8 but getting rid of their z9 so there would be z9 bargains to be had in the coming months.. interesting! Look forward to your next video. Ian 👍

got my trip booked now hope to get some great shots

ur gunna cost me a fortune Dan lol

lol, good lad

I don’t own either . Depends on budget. If I had a choice, probably would like the extra battery the Z9 has.my wallet says Z8. Also, I have no reserves about spending the extra $30 on the Nikon battery that will probably tell a different story than the aftermarket in a few years. Nice photos.

Was this a sponsored video? 🧐

Definitely think two camera bodies is a great idea for an African safari. I had two camera bodies and three lenses in Botswana last year. Three bodies would be even better 😂 We were in rainy season so not much dust, but speed of not having to change lenses was handy. A back up body is really important in case of equipment failure. I’m less convinced about the UT2 use in the field, I think spare cf express cards is better due to speed. I’d definitely recommend taking laptop and at least two back up ssd drives for backup back at your accommodation. I’d also recommend using culling software and culling photos after each game drive.

Great video again. I have a Z8 and love it. Wanted the Z9 but I have tiny hands and struggled to reach all the buttons on the Z9. The Z8 is a stunning camera in every way.

Oh come on, you have always been such a joy to watch, but now you have a decent number of followers it seems you are just pushing product placement ☹️

Amazing shots with great humor.. love it a lot ❤

Hand holding my Z8 and 180-600 is way faster than any Monopod /Tripod etc >> Fiddling around is a waste of time Excuse the Pun

You can only take i photo at a time especially in a hide where I use a Z8 and 160-800 here in S Africa

Hello Dan, Congrats on the new toy for big boys. I am waiting for my gift too😊. Can you please let me know more about the monopod and speedy gimal in your video. Highly appreciated. Cheers from Portugal.🇵🇹

I have only had mine a short while but I am so pleased with it already!

We must have the best wives in the world my wife bought me a Z8 last week 😍 And you are welcome to make a video on your settings as I used Sony before so am lost in all the settings and options in my Z8😂

Thanks for sharing this video. Your passion for nature really shines through! Just a heads up that you were right about the ID of the merganser species you saw (Latin name: Mergus merganser); the name just varies by region. In Europe and Asia, the bird is primarily called "goosander." In North America, it is more commonly referred to as the "common merganser."

Hi Dan. It may well be a typo, but on your stills photos, you have captioned them as being 840mm f/4 and 600mm f/2.8. I'm assuming that's not correct. Fabulous video once again of a favourite RSPB reserve of mine

Dan dint know if you know. Or if this useful regards focus options. Ive just discovered that you can set single point focus with tracking. But disabled animal tracking and eye detection. So it doesnt jump from the target. The beauty of having single point but with tracking so you can compose your shot easier. Hope this makes sense

😍😍😍

Hi Dan! Great video with interesting information. One question: Could you share the name of that tripod head that you were using on that trip? Thanks and all the best!

Just sold my Panasonic Lumix gear. I will buy a Nikon But i can't decide between Z8 and Z9. Help please.

Great addition to your kit Dan, I love my Z8!!

Great images! Congratulations on the Z8. I also shoot the Z8 and Z9; they are both excellent! The portable NAS looks interesting but I think that one would need 4TB of storage for a trip. How fast is the interface when you connect to your computer? Is USB-C 3.2 or Thunderbolt?

Wonderful video Dan - and fantastic to see you in my 'backyard'!!

Excellent foties and video again Dan. Your production values have expenentially risen from when you started your KZbin journey. Your presenting skills have also risen at the same rate. You must have been a good boy this past year to get a Nikon Z 8 for your birthday. Get to bed if you're not already in it as you have school in the morning. 😜😀😀

Would love to see a good set up video for theZ8 recently moved over from Canon

Great video, dan.can i ask your wife to have a chat with my wife.i too would love a z8 but unfortunately could not match your skills.have a lovely birthday

Not been to Daisy Nook park in years, brings back memories. where did you get the 1TB memory chip from Dan, I'm searching with info from the Unify webpage and not getting any results, I've been after something like the UT2 for a few years now. ATB Andy

Would love to see your set up for the Z8 please

Just like to say, "Don't dismiss the SD card option on the Z8, I have two SD cards where I save my camera settings, one in the camera the other as a standby, out shooting you change settings on occasions and having to just recall from the card is so much quicker"

I can see you're enthusiastic about the UT2 and can understand why you would want to use it however, do you really trust it with 1tb of images? All your eggs in one basket comes to mind. I'd rather have lots of cards than one big storage solution

Great video Dan I love the Z8 the KF Battery is better than the Nikon, when I’m in a Hide for the day I attach the Z8 to a powerbank

Enjoy your new camera! As you said it’s a mini Z9 so it will serve you well. 😃

Use SD card as overflow, and it will not slow down the buffer.

Hi Dan another great vid 👍. Would love to see how you setup the the Z8

I just bought this to replace our Z9 about 10 minutes ago…. 😅

I am glad to see you finally bought a great camera.

Can you shoot directly to the nas drive?

I love my Z8. I used a D750 with a grip before so it's smaller. If you find the grip too small on the Z8 you can add an L bracket like the SmallRig one and it adds just enough height for me to make it perfect for my big hands.

Great video Dan glad you are pleased with your new camera , so you can catch those extra images for us😍

I’d be interested in seeing your camera set up having also recently purchased the z8?

Happy new camera day 🎉. A fun vid, loving your work. Let me know if you do steart or ham again, will sort you out with a bacon butty and overnight parking for steart 👍👍