Opinion: Nixing the Nikon Z8's mechanical shutter was a genius move

Nikon D6 and Nikon Z9
(Image credit: Nikon)

Unless you’ve been living under a lens cap, you’ll know that the Big N has launched the Nikon Z8

The much-anticipated follow-up to the Nikon D850 – which is the best DSLR ever made, if you ask me – had long been prophesied in the deepest, darkest corners of the web and it’s finally here. Nikon itself is referring to the Z8 as a "baby Z9" and when you place the two mirrorless behemoths side by side, it’s easy to see why. 

N-Photo

<a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2FNPH-brandsite" data-link-merchant="magazinesdirect.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">N-Photo is 100% Nikon-devoted, and 100% editorially independent. If you're a Nikon owner and want to improve your images, get the best buying advice and reviews, see some of the world's best Nikon photography,  N-Photo is the title for you.

<a href="https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=2961&awinaffid=103504&clickref=hawk-custom-tracking&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.magazinesdirect.com%2FNPH-brandsite" data-link-merchant="magazinesdirect.com"" data-link-merchant="magazinesdirect.com"" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Subscribe now and save!

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Mike Harris
Technique Editor

Mike is Deputy Editor for N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, and brings with him over 10 years experience writing both freelance and for some of the biggest specialist publications. Prior to joining N-Photo Mike was the production editor for the content marketing team of Wex Photo Video, the UK’s largest online specialist photographic retailer, where he sharpened his skills in both the stills and videography spheres.  


While he’s an avid motorsport photographer, his skills extend to every genre of photography – making him one of Digital Camera World’s top tutors for techniques on cameras, lenses, tripods, filters and other imaging equipment, as well as sharing his expertise on shooting everything from portraits and landscapes to abstracts and architecture to wildlife and, yes, fast things going around race tracks.