The new firmware for the Nikon Z 8 adds additional support for pixel-shift shooting, flexible color picture control and more, as Nikon claims another “world’s first”.

Nikon introduced pixel-shift function for the Nikon Z 8 in February 2024, with firmware update 2.00, allowing users to get resolutions up to 180MP from the 45.7MP sensor. Now, with firmware 3.00 the company adds additional support for pixel-shift shooting, along with other upgrades.

Nikon says that “evolution of the Z 8’s pixel-shift shooting function with firmware version 3.00 simplifies the workflow and reduces shooting time, while making it easier for users to capture high-quality, high-resolution images that satisfy their creative intent.” The company also says that “Z 8 firmware version 3.00 also adds support for Flexible Color Picture Control that allows users to precisely control the expression of colors prior to shooting with intuitive operation. The ideal imaging characteristics achieved through flexible adjustment of contrast, saturation and hue can be imported into the camera as a Custom Picture Control and applied to shooting, offering even greater freedom in imaging expression.”

What’s more, this firmware update significantly enhances AF performance through features such as a new in-camera focus limiter—which allows users to restrict the focus range to specific distances—and other functions. Additional improvements in operability and functionality that enable faster and more efficient shooting will further define the Z 8 as a High-Resolution camera that satisfies users’ needs.

Pixel-shift shooting can be used in combination with focus shift shooting or AE bracketing settings, two techniques that photographers have been using since the heydays of traditional film but got easier with digital cameras. Focus shift shooting is a technique allowing photographers to extend depth of field, by combining – focus stacking – images focused at different distances. It used to be a difficult process, until new tools allowed more precise adjustment of focus position and, finally, digital cameras allowed for easier combination of the multiple “negatives” in a single image, to achieve the intended goal: bring the entire scene into sharp focus from foreground to background.

Nikon is the first in the world to achieve this integration of the functions above with a camera without the use of external accessories, simplifying shooting and reducing shooting time to facilitate the capture of high-quality, high-resolution images that fulfill the user’s intentions. Using pixel-shift shooting with focus shift shooting, the company claims, “allows for more precise reproduction of textures, structures and the finest details of intricately ornamented subjects.”

When combined with AE bracketing, users can more accurately capture subjects with high contrast in brightness while preventing moiré, which can be caused by continuous patterns such as buildings through pixel-shift shooting. File management has also been improved, with the option to automatically create a new folder for each sequence. In addition, with the firmware 3.00 update, pixel-shift shooting can now be enabled in self-timer mode, and white balance can be locked at the first shot when [Auto] or [Natural light auto] is selected — both enhancing convenience during pixel-shift shooting.

Firmware version 3.00 adds support for Flexible Color Picture Control that allows users to easily craft their own unique looks using NX Studio (a Nikon ID is required for NX Studio Ver. 1.9.0 and later), Nikon’s image browsing, processing, and editing computer software. This new feature offers greater creative freedom by enabling intuitive adjustments to parameters such as color hue, brightness and contrast using tools like Color Blender and Color Grading. Settings configured in NX Studio can then be saved to a memory card and loaded onto the Z 8 as Custom Picture Controls for shooting. These settings are also reflected in the live view display, allowing users to preview results in real time and reducing the need for post-processing.

Firmware version 3.00 also equips the Z 8 with an in-camera focus limiter that restricts the camera focus to the selected range. Specifying the minimum and maximum focus distances achieves more accurate focus on the intended subject and further helps avoid missed photo opportunities. This feature is especially useful for preventing the camera from focusing on foreground objects, or on the background, when photographing subjects like flowers, birds or airplanes.

Additional Improvements to Operability and Functionality

• Users can choose the type of subject to give detection priority to, not only when using autofocus, but also in manual focus mode.
• Subject detection areas can now be selected during manual-focus.
• Focusing is now possible with the maximum aperture in the live view.
• A magnification option of [400%] has been added to [Zoom on/off] available for Custom Settings.
• The patterns of focus areas available with custom wide-area AF settings have been increased.
• A slower release mode [C15] option has been added to make it easier to manage shot counts, and a new [FINE] image-quality setting is now available for even better image quality, with High-Speed Frame Capture +.
• Use of an external microphone (wired/wireless) is now possible when recording voice memos.