Explaining the Nikon Z 8 (Z 9 and Z6III) Pre-Release Capture; Use it for Sports, Action, Wildlife

[@ivorgottschalk6432]

This is the video I was waiting for, thanks Taku!

[@taku_kumabe]

You’re welcome Ivor! Glad you like it! 👍

[@Mr09260]

Thank You Taku .. very informative for my new Z8

[@taku_kumabe]

You're welcome. You'll love the camera!

[@berniestang2616]

Thank you ! Appreciate your videos . I am hoping someone will do a little detailed video on the starlight feature- how it works , how to use it … its new to me & would appreciate more details on it . Thank you so much . Your videos are wonderful!

[@robinc-k7162]

oohhh...what's that?

[@berniestang2616]

@@robinc-k7162 Its a feature on the Z8 . I also need more explanation- cant find much detailed info on it !

[@taku_kumabe]

Actually, that's coming up. Already filmed it and currently editing. Look out for it next week!

[@berniestang2616]

@@taku_kumabe OH THANK YOU SO MUCH . Love your videos . So helpful & to the point !!

[@davidjohnson4451]

I use the Z 9 and Z 8 for critical work. My Grandson, Christjen Johnson is a full time videographer and he does a LOT a night photos. I have been somewhat surprised how difficult night photography is even with a Z 8. So YOUR video was very helpful!

[@taku_kumabe]

Thanks, I'm glad. What do you mean by difficult though?

[@davidjohnson4451]

@@taku_kumabe I STILL have yet to take ONE decent night shot with the Z 8 and the lens I am using to do that , the 14-30 Nikon Z f4. ALL I get is a totally BLACK screen. I have yet to follow your suggestions as my Tree Farm work forces me to work a LOT of hours and taking photos in normal light does occupy a few hours everyday. I do have that down to a science, just finding the right subject there is the ticket. Night photos require quite a different set of camera settings.

[@makofoto]

? The Z6 mk2 is the Low Light King! 51,200 iso, 24mm at 1.8, 1/250th. Extra High Resolution cameras have poorer low light performance, because they have many, but physically small pixels. Less pixels = larger pixels, ie. captures more light: images14.fotki.net/v1683/filem9m2/96dca/4/43793/4909192/0190topazed.jpg

[@makofoto]

I also have some F0.95 lenses ... that let in something like 800% more light then your F4 zoom.

[@jurrydevries4006]

Thanks for your very clear explanation

[@taku_kumabe]

You’re welcome! 👌

[@PauloMelo89]

I was getting frustrated why pre capture was not working. It was the C30, 60 and 120 frames per second....meaning we are forced to use the electronic shutter which now it makes sense to me. Nikon should make this clearer in camera. Thank you for clearing my doubts.

[@tedboyer5819]

Thanks for the video. In my experience using it, time travel is possible but found the tracking system to not keep up with the subject...hoping the new Z9 4.1 firmware has improvements. When using either spot, 3-D, small group or Auto on a perched bird with eye focus engaged/confirmed, when the subject takes off and i press the 1-second pre-capture, it's 90+ % of the time out of focus. If the bird takes of in the same plane as my pre-focus, it may be sharp...I'm sure it's me and maybe others have better luck with this potentially great feature.

[@taku_kumabe]

It's true it's hard to keep in focus; i've had instances where it went out of focus too, just because the bird flies off the plane of focus. You can try using a smaller aperture so that a slight shift in the movement won't make much of a difference.

[@MaryMadden-t5k]

Well explained. Thank you.

[@rianvanbreugel8418]

Thanks fort de video. I have a question wich AF field did you use or did you use the bird function with 3D-tracking.

[@taku_kumabe]

I believe in this case I pre-focused and left it at that since I wa capturing them flying left to right. (No need to track them as they continue on the same focal plane.) I also use back-button AF so I can control when to focus and not focus.

[@rianvanbreugel8418]

@@taku_kumabe Thanks.

[@jeanlucpepin]

Thank you for this video which made me understand the pre release capture. One thing which I did not get is if I set PRC to 1 second for example, and I keep pressing the BBF button > 1 seconds (let say 2 seconds) and then press the shutter button, what is then written to the card?

[@taku_kumabe]

The Z 8 buffers the images for up to 30 seconds, so if you keep pressing the button for 2 seconds, it will still record the last one second of images. If you keep pressing the button for greater than 30 seconds, an exclamation mark (I believe it was) appears letting you know it’s no longer buffering. You then need to let go of the button and press it again to clear the buffer.

[@jeanlucpepin]

@@taku_kumabe Thank you very much Taku, for your quick response. This is what I wanted to make sure of. I am amazed at the number of features available on this camera.

[@sekaf4125]

Long time nikon user. Just upgraded from D850. For the life of me I can’t find the exposure delay. It was D something on the D850 Appreciate your videos

[@taku_kumabe]

I believe Nikon removed that feature on the Z 8 (and Z 9) if I’m not mistaken. You can still use the timer mode though, which adds a delay before shooting. It’s in the release mode selector (the far left button on the top of the camera of the Z 8).

[@sekaf4125]

@@taku_kumabe Nikon just brought it back to Z9 in firmware. Ricci says it will come to Z8 with other awesome updates!!!!

[@ronh7763]

Great video thanks. I was wondering can you help I only shoot raw ( not good enough yet to get it right in camera) you have been the only person to explain pre capture is jpeg only. But why does my camera stop on my last image after a short burst. Then when I re press the shutter button it frees And I’m back live Nikon say it’s the card. It’s a lexar cf express B 128gb. Everyone says that it should be okay. Your experience please

[@taku_kumabe]

This sounds like it's a buffering issue. Depending on the memory card you're using, it might not be fast enough to write all that data on to your card. I don't know what type of Lexar card you have so it's hard to say, but this is a typical behaviour for when the memory card cannot keep up with the speed of the burst mode you have it set to. A good test is to slow down your burst mode and see if your card doesn't stop. If it doesn't then you know the card isn't capable of handling the fastest bursts of your camera.

[@robinc-k7162]

Great video, thx! This was one of the first things I set up on my Z8. I didn't realize I could do 30, 60 or 120 fps...mine is currently set to 120! Lots of deleting, lol! The jpegs are quite small (3-4mb), is that something I can change? It's an incredible feature!

[@taku_kumabe]

Oh so you got it! Congratulations! I'll message you on insta soon...

[@sinetwo]

120fps severely limits the size, you can't increase it, nor can you shoot raw in this mode.

[@chinmayeed]

Hello Taku, Rahul Deshpande from India. Great video ! bird photography is my hobby and I am thinking of Nikon ZF that too has pre release. Z8/9 are way out of reach for me. Kindly let me know your views for ZF pre release

[@taku_kumabe]

I haven't used the Zf myself, however feature-wise they should be very similar to how they work on the Z8/9. That being said, the Z f is different in ergonomics and how it feels in your hand due to the different form factor. You might want to go to your local camera store and hand-hold the camera first to see how you like it. You can also look into the Z6iii which also has pre-release.

[@NatalyHaddad]

Assuming we set to take RAW images, and we turn on the prerelease. So it will take 30 prelease images as jpeg. But does the image taken on pressing the shutter button turn out to be RAW? Or also JPEG?

[@taku_kumabe]

Prerlease is an option that you turn on or off in your Photo Shooting Menu (D3). When turned on, t's automatically enabled with C30 and above settings, but disabled when shooting RAW images.

[@RiyadhKey]

Thanx for the video, but I get lost on the after buffering, how to preview images? I get the green dot, but after releasing it, no images are shown, what am I missing please?

[@taku_kumabe]

I'm not quite sure what you're doing so it's hard to say, but are you actually taking photos? The green dot is displayed when the camera is buffering the images (by half pressing shutter button or pressing the AF-ON button on the back of the camera if set that way), but it won't take the photos unless you fully press the shutter button down.

[@pixelkay2004]

thanks!!

[@mazzith]

Does this mean that it’s writing jpeg instead of raw files for that 30 seconds? If so can you use large raw files then use prerelease for the jpeg?

[@taku_kumabe]

That’s correct. The pre release feature will only write jpg files and not RAW files. You can still use 20fps raw burst mode, but not in pre-release mode.

[@mazzith]

@@taku_kumabe that’s a bummer but at least you’re not forced to use jpeg all the time to access this amazing feature. Thanks for the response. I’m waiting on my to get delivered. Still on back order.

[@taku_kumabe]

It is! To be honest I don't see why they can't introduce 20fps pre-release RAW mode, but they must have a good reason not to...unless it will be coming in the future in a firmware update.@@mazzith

[@mazzith]

@@taku_kumabe one could hope maybe they’re worried about it reducing the buffer size on average. But they could allow people to enable it and choose to reduce their overall buffer size. I would be ok with that because as a wedding photographer rarely do I ever hit the buffer on my z7ii bodies and the z8 buffer is substantially better even though he has twice the FPS.

[@camilonivia7784]

Pensaba que la Nikon z6IIi era la primera cámara en tener esta tecnología

[@taku_kumabe]

Many of the features on the Z6III are taken from the Z 8 and Z 9 because the processor is more capable now with the Expeed 7.

[@brianlemke6017]

I have the Oly OM1, which has “pro-capture” - Olympus long pre-dated the other brands on this feature. The OM1 can do up to 50fps raw files with full AF - faster if the AF is fixed at the first frame of the burst. Trust me, nobody needs to go at 50, 60 or 120fps except for obscure bragging rights or VERY specialized situations. I usually shoot my OM1 at 25fps with consistently great results. I bought the Z8 to replace my Z6ii and D850, my wish list primarily being better AF for birds and wildlife and the higher res sensor for landscapes. It’s a bit odd and disappointing that Nikon chose not to offer raw capture for this function; even with larger files the buffer should be able to handle a reasonable burst. Secondly, as I learn this new camera, while the AF clearly surpasses both the Z6ii AND the great D850, Nikon still hasn’t corrected the tendency of the AF to occasionally fixate on background, requiring a manual rack back to return it to the target. It does this even in single point. I think this is a function of sensor architecture and likely can’t be much more improved by firmware. The Z8/Z9 have only about 500 AF points on the sensor, compared to almost 800 on the high end Sonys and higher still on the Canons. My OM1 has over 1000 points on a 20MP sensor. Clearly, the modern AI auto-detect algorithms need higher AF density across the entire sensor.

[@taku_kumabe]

Thanks Brian for your thoughts. I too haven’t used the 120FPS but I’m sure some will like that fact that they have a choice to use it should they ever need it. I could be wrong but I haven’t had the background focusing issue nearly as often as I had it on the Z 9, but I really haven’t been keeping track. If you use one of the custom wide area focus options and choose a size that better suits the subject, perhaps it might catch on to the subject better. Another commenter posted that it actually focuses better this way instead of relying on auto area AF.

[@makofoto]

Fuji also ... Pre-Shot.

[@stanmah1588]

Where on the menu do I set the 30, 60 or 120 fps? Thanks so much.

[@taku_kumabe]

The release mode button is the left button on the top left of the camera. It has three rectangles stacked on top of another. Hold that down and use the rear and front command dials to access and change your burst settings.

[@bhargavrajyaguru6887]

JPGs are useless. What if we will select 20fps? Will it save pre captured images in RAW?

[@taku_kumabe]

Why are JPGs useless? If your images are properly exposed then you shouldn't have to do much/any post-processing anyway. And if my memory serves me correct, you can't select 20fps to shoot RAW while in this mode.

[@bhargavrajyaguru6887]

Yes. I agree with you. But, Canon R5 mark II being slower than the Nikon Z8, still offers pre-capture in RAW. When you're shooting wildlife with constantly changing lights and shadows, it is nice to have RAW all the time as you never know when you will get a good shot and at the same time your exposure may not be super correct. Not a Canon fan. I own a Sony A1 and I really wish Nikon would put this feature in, many Canon guys will switch. I am also thinking about getting a Z8 if they will offer pre-capture RAW

[@secretmanong]

Isn't the C modes, jpeg?

[@taku_kumabe]

Yes they are. I believe with the latest updates the Z 9 goes to jpg fine mode as well.

[@secretmanong]

@@taku_kumabe I have the Z6iii it has pre-release. This is jpg full res 24mp yes?

[@makofoto]

Don't buffers not fill up, but overflow? First In, First Replaced ... so why shouldn't one be able to keep a Half Press, while shooting unpredictable action. You don't want to be lifting while waiting for that Great White shark to be leaping out of the ocean. :-)

[@taku_kumabe]

Yes my thoughts (and likely many other's) exactly. But that's just how it was made. I believe on the Z 9 they increased the limit on their most recent firmware update and it will now buffer for 300 seconds.

[@gordonmcintosh3159]

Nice informative video. It would have been better if you hadn't been shooting in the fog or through a window though.

[@Makta972]

Exist since 2015 in Olympus cameras 😆

[@douglasstemke2444]

Pentax has had this for years even with film cameras. I thought it was the same for Nikon ( sorry, not a Nikon user)

[@taku_kumabe]

That's great! It's a nice feature to have with the current technological advancements. I think other manufacturers had it on their digital cameras but as far as Nikon is concerned, it's new for the Z series of cameras.

[@ivorgottschalk6432]

This is the video I was waiting for, thanks Taku!

[@taku_kumabe]

You're very welcome!