• Stacked sensor design reduces rolling shutter distortion so fast-moving subjects, like a golf club, tennis racket, or baseball bat, do not appear distorted when working with shutter speeds up to 1/32,000 sec.
• AF calculations are done at a 120 fps rate to keep up with fast continuous shooting speeds.
• High Efficiency RAW file format maintains image quality akin to uncompressed raw files but with file sizes approximately 30% smaller for faster reading/writing to the memory card.
• Stills can also be saved in the HEIF file format; a useful evolution from JPEG, this 10-bit format offers 1 billion more colors for greater realism and dynamic range when viewed on HLG-compatible displays while still retaining the small file size as a JPEG.
• Motion Blend Retouch feature can be used to produce an in-camera composite that depicts a series of subject movements within a single frame.
• Long Exposure display includes a live exposure timer on the rear LCD, along with the ability to dim the viewfinder to better preserve your night-adjusted vision.

Relying on the speed and stacked design of the sensor, the Z8 completely forgoes a mechanical shutter and uses just an electronic shutter for all capture modes. The speed of the sensor enables recording at up to 1/32,000 sec and the stacked structure reduces motion distortion for accurate depiction of fast-moving subjects, like golf clubs, baseball bats, and automobiles. Also, despite the absence of a mechanical shutter, flash sync up to 1/200 sec. is still supported as well as high speed sync functions.

By removing the mechanical shutter, the Z8 can also operate completely silently and there is no worry over mechanical shutter wear or breakdown. A shutter release sound can be added for awareness when a photo is being taken, and the volume can be adjusted to suit different working scenarios.

This focusing system also supports working in low-light conditions with a Starlight mode that permits focusing down to -9 EV to greatly benefit astrophotography, concert, and other nighttime shooting applications. Also useful for working in difficult lighting conditions, Backlit AF uses separate pixels on the sensor for AF, allowing these areas to intentionally overexpose for focusing accuracy purposes without impacting the actual exposure of the recorded image.

Utilizing inherited algorithms and deep learning technology from the Z9, including sophisticated Subject Detection, the Z8 can recognize a variety of distinct subject types, ranging from humans to animals to airplanes to bicycles. When working in Auto-Area AF, these subjects will automatically be detected, focused on, and tracked to ensure sharp focus when the subject is moving across the frame.

Eye-Detection AF, specifically, has been tuned for improved accuracy and refined recognition of eyes in the scene, regardless of how small or large they are within the image frame, and can also be used in conjunction with custom Wide-Area AF for different subject shapes and sizes.

• Waveform monitor for realtime exposure analysis.
• Fine ISO control in Manual mode for adjusting exposure in 1/6-stop increments.
• Fast AF-ON function can be assigned to Fn buttons; it is now possible to assign two different AF speeds to different buttons.
• Slow shutter speed video is supported, slower than 1/frame rate, for working in extreme low-light conditions or for creating intentionally blurred effects.
• Timecode linking is possible when working with an optional timecode generator.
• Complementing the video capabilities, the Z8 also supports 24-bit linear PCM sound recording and offers compatibility with external XLR microphones via the optional Tascam CA-XLR2d-AN digital adapter.