Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.01 Released

Earlier today Nikon released a minor firmware update (2.01) for the Z8.

The firmware can be downloaded at the official Nikon page here.

This minor firmware update changed the default encryption keys of the camera, which is similar to the recent wave of firmware updates that have been released for the other Z bodies.

And the main attention of this minor update is to fix the issue regarding the d-pad panning the image in wrong directions when used in vertical mode. (I have written about this in more detail in this post over here).

One interesting note of this patch is the fixing of green color cast with some pictures taken. While I personally have not encountered it myself (and thus not sure what combinations of settings would trigger it), I am wondering if they changed the imaging algorithm a bit in FW2.00 since there has been some buzz in forums and discussion boards about FW2.00 RAW files looking cleaner and less noisy at higher ISOs. There is no concrete evidence so far to substantiate the high ISO improvements as far as I know, so take this statement with a pinch of salt.

That said, I am really curious what are the conditions that would trigger the green color cast. Hmm..

Live View Exposure Preview Settings for Nikon Mirrorless Cameras

Just remembered that I did not write an update to my previous blog post requesting for a quality of life update in the live view exposure preview settings for the cameras.

To briefly recap, the initial batch Nikon Z mirrorless bodies that were based on the Expeed 6 CPU (Z5, Z6, Z7, Z6II, Z7II, Z30, Z50, Zfc) have the option to turn on or off live view exposure preview (under custom settings), which simulates and shows changes in the captured images’ exposure when shutter speed/aperture/ISO is changed.

However even when set to “On”, whenever a strobe or TTL-compatible commander is detected in the hotshoe, this setting would be nullified and switched off as the cameras assume that it would be used in a studio setting; i.e. it is a low light environment with strobes as the main light source so live view exposure preview is not needed.

This however creates a slight inconvenience for people using strobes or on-camera flashes as fill light, as we still want to know and expose for the ambient light, and the strobes are just there to fill in the shadows. I mentioned previously that I got around by setting one Fn button to toggle the a “Forced Flash Off” function, and use it to quickly check for ambient exposure.

With the Expeed 7 bodies (Z8, Z9 and Zf as of writing), this particular feature has been improved, with the user being able to now decide between having it automatically turned off when a strobe is attached, or keep live view exposure preview on even with strobes attached - exactly what I had been clamoring for!

But with Firmware 1.60 for the Z6II and Z7II, this particular setting is now available and does really improve the handling and efficiency, and I personally am really glad that user feedback had gotten through to them.

As this setting is slightly obscured with slightly different names depending on the CPU version, I have briefly compiled the instructions on how to check and activate them here:

• Z6II/Z7II (FW1.60 and above) - go to Custom Settings d9 “Apply settings to live view”, choose “On”, press the right d-pad key, and choose either “Always” for persistent preview, or “Only when flash is not used” for automatic toggling. Detailed instructions can be read on this official page.

• Z8/Z9/Zf - this option is available to all these 3 bodies from their initial production firmware, under the name “View Mode (Photo Lv)” within the Custom Settings menu, but their exact location in the menu is dependent on current firmware version - as of writing, Z8 FW2.00 is under d9, Z9 FW5.00 is under d10, Zf FW1.10 is under d9. Select “Show effects of settings”, and press the right d-pad button to choose between “Always” for persistent exposure preview or “Only when flash is not used” for automatic toggling.

As of now the 3 DX bodies (Z30, Z50, Zfc), as well as the first generation FX bodies (Z5, Z6, Z7) did not get an update to their live view exposure preview setting, so unfortunately they still have an automatic toggle to Off whenever a flash is detected in the hotshoe. I would certainly be elated if an update comes out for the first generation FX bodies, though definitely not keeping my hopes too high for that.

Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.00 (Auto Image Rotation)

Z8’s FW 2.00 introduced a new setting, Auto Image Rotation under the Playback Menu, and as I was going through the options setting up my camera, I thought that this option sounded pretty confusing, especially since the next option just below is it called Auto-Rotate Pictures, and thought perhaps I could do some explaining.

Anyway it seems like what Auto Image Rotation does is to include or exclude rotation(orientation) data (most probably in the EXIF) when the image is saved. This data is then used when loading the images in the computer, so that images shot in vertical orientation can be automatically rotated and displayed properly as shot.

Similarly, the next setting, Auto-Rotate Pictures, if turned on, would use the same embedded rotation data to rotate vertical images during playback (i.e. when using the back LCD horizontally, vertical images would be rotated to be vertical with black bars beside it)

So once you know what these two options are actually for, the effects are as such:

• Auto Image Rotation “On”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “On” - This is the default settings. Images shot will rotate properly on PC, and also rotate during playback when using the camera in horizontal position.

• Auto Image Rotation “On”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “Off” - I use this pair of settings personally. Images shot will rotate properly on PC, but during playback images will always be displayed in landscape orientation.

• Auto Image Rotation “Off”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “On” - Images shot will always be displayed in landscape orientation on PC and at the back of camera.

• Auto Image Rotation “Off”, Auto-Rotate Pictures “Off” - Images shot will always be displayed in landscape orientation on PC and at the back of camera.

Hope it clears some confusion for any one out there who finds these pair of settings puzzling.

Anyway the Japanese menu option for this is “縦横位置情報の記録” - literally translated to “Recording Orientation Data”, and it explains what this option actually does clearly. While I get that there might be character limits for the menu items, why not just call it “Orientation Data” or “Image Rotation Data”, which makes it much easier to understand?

Side note 1: more information on this can be accessed on the Z8’s FW 2.00 supplementary manual (page 48 to be exact)

Side note 2: Auto-Rotate Pictures used to be called “Rotate Tall” in older Nikon bodies, so if you know what Rotate Tall does then it might be easier to understand.

** Extra Information Update (14/2/2024)

There seems to be a bug when these settings are set:

Playback Menu’s Auto Image Rotation ON
Playback Menu’s Auto-Rotate Pictures ON
Setup Menu’s Auto Rotate Info Display OFF

With these particular settings in place, when the camera is held in a vertical orientation and you playback a vertical image, the D-pad and touch controls for panning around the image act as though the camera is in horizontal position (in simple words, it’s moving in the wrong direction)

Have escalated this issue to the service center for them to look into it.

** Bugfix Update (23/4/2024)

Nikon has released FW2.01 (can be downloaded here) which addressed the issue mentioned above, and contains some other minor bug fixes.

Nikon Z8 Firmware 2.00 Release

Nikon has just released a firmware update (2.00) for the Z8 a couple of days ago.

I have updated my unit and tested it out, and am really liking the changes so far - please feel free to go through my Z8 equipment notes page to learn more about how I am using the Z8 with the new firmware if you are interested.

Anyway, here is a set of links for useful information regarding the new firmware update for the Z8.

Official Firmware Download Link

Official Firmware 2.00 Supplementary Manual (PDF)

FW 2.00 Video Introduction by Ricci Talks (YouTube)

I definitely recommend downloading a copy of the supplementary manual and go through it as the list of changes is really extensive.

At the end of the manual a set of default settings for the camera is also listed, so it is a useful reference if you wanted to revert any settings back to the original in the future.