Nikon Z8 - Its here!

Destin · May 25, 2023

cgw said:
Spare me. Too bad you missed the lecture on personal debt loads and the impact of interest rates on consumer behavior in 2023. BTW, that's going to be a smallish boat!

You're right. There is nobody in the target market for this camera, so it'll fail and sell terribly. Nikon will have to shut the company down because of the lost Z8 development costs. There definitely aren't a bunch of full time photographers who view it as a business investment or wealthy hobbyists who just want the latest and greatest tech to show off to their friends. This camera isn't generally a consumer item that will follow consumer spending trends - those who are buying $4,000 camera bodies either need them professionally or have enough money to be insulated from a market downturn.

Just because you and I won't be buying while it's new doesn't mean it's automatically overpriced. As long as there is a market segment demanding high end professional cameras, they will continue to be produced and sold in mass. You can lament the price of it all you want, but the target demographic is paying the price without blinking.

cgw · May 25, 2023

Destin said:
You're right. There is nobody in the target market for this camera, so it'll fail and sell terribly. Nikon will have to shut the company down because of the lost Z8 development costs. There definitely aren't a bunch of full time photographers who view it as a business investment or wealthy hobbyists who just want the latest and greatest tech to show off to their friends. This camera isn't generally a consumer item that will follow consumer spending trends - those who are buying $4,000 camera bodies either need them professionally or have enough money to be insulated from a market downturn.

Just because you and I won't be buying while it's new doesn't mean it's automatically overpriced. As long as there is a market segment demanding high end professional cameras, they will continue to be produced and sold in mass. You can lament the price of it all you want, but the target demographic is paying the price without blinking.

Look for late '23 promo discounts--maybe earlier if recession clouds darken.

Destin · May 25, 2023

cgw said:
Look for late '23 promo discounts--maybe earlier if recession clouds darken.

Manufacturers run various annual promos - including on fairly new products - literally all the time, even when the market is booming. Hell, their marketing strategy is usually to price as high as they think they can get away with to take advantage of early adopters, and then to start discounting prices once the initial hype dies down. This is true at the entry level the same as it is at the top end.

I'm sorry that the idea of a $4,000 professional camera body bothers you so much, but that's been largely the going rate for over a decade now. This is nothing new, and I'm really not sure why anyone is shocked. Nikon makes plenty of cheaper cameras that still make excellent photos if this one isn't for you.

Every time a new professional body is released the lower end of the market spends a few months whining about how overpriced and ridiculous it is, but they wouldn't be pricing cameras there if they weren't consistently selling them for those prices over the past decade.

TATTRAT · May 27, 2023

CHRISTMAS IN MAY!
Can't wait to go shake this thing down. I'll be honest, the biggest thing I was looking for that my Z7II doesn't have is the fully articulating screen and illuminated buttons. It's just a bonus that it's a baby Z9 and fits my meat mittens much better!

Destin · May 27, 2023

TATTRAT said:
CHRISTMAS IN MAY!
Can't wait to go shake this thing down. I'll be honest, the biggest thing I was looking for that my Z7II doesn't have is the fully articulating screen and illuminated buttons. It's just a bonus that it's a baby Z9 and fits my meat mittens much better!

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Jealous! If I was still shooting Nikon this would absolutely be my next camera. It's got pretty much everything I could dream up in a camera. I'm pretty invested in Fuji now, but the Z8 actually has me considering switching back for the first time in ~5 years.

Please keep us updated on your experience with it!