There are new rumors about the specs of the Nikon Z 8. It is said that the image sensor and image processing engine are the same as the Z 9. Also, an image was leaked that omits the vertical grip of the Z 9. If that is the case, it will be a 35mm mirrorless camera equipped with a 45.71 megapixel back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor and an EXPEED7 image processor, and the battery will be the same as the Z 6II and Z 7II. However, if this rumor is true, the Z8 and Z 7II will be in complete competition. The number of pixels will be almost the same, and the difference will be whether it is stacked or not. If that happens, the existence of the Z 7II will be lost, but perhaps the Z 7III will be a camera with even more pixels. Indeed, looking at Nikon's history, there is a history of making junior models with similar specifications to flagships. For example, the F100 against the Nikon F5 film SLR and the D700 against the Nikon D3 digital SLR. However, it is quite doubtful whether there is any point in releasing a junior model of the Z9. Rather, it is more likely that the Z 9, Z 7II, and Z 8 will cannibalize the Z 8. Of course, this rumor has no basis, so it is difficult to say anything for sure, but I personally think that the Nikon Z 8 is a high-speed continuous shooting mirrorless camera with a low pixel count. This is because it is a necessary camera for the Nikon Z series lineup. The previous rumor was that it would be announced in August, so I hope that there will be some movement (including a development announcement) within this month.

JPEG straight out of the box. Photographed in August 2019. I bought this digital SLR as a successor to the Nikon D7200. The high-speed continuous shooting was what was most attractive about it. The recording media had a dual slot for XQD and SD cards, but I bought an XQD and also bought a dedicated card reader and used it. Although it did generate a little heat, the high-speed transfer of XQD was convenient. The CFexpress Type B was developed based on this XQD. Nikon D500, AF-S DX VR 18-300mm F3.5-6.3G, aperture F8, 1/500 sec, AWB, ISO Auto.