Nikon Z8 - video recording via USB to SSD

[broodrooster]

Would this be possible you think?

Specs state one for power delivery (great!) and one for tethering. Would the tethering only be photos or also video like Blackmagic pocket.

 

[NickZ2016]

I've seen it labelled USB data. Until Nikon tells us your guess is no worse than mine.

 

[areallygrumpyoldsod]

Would this be possible you think?

Specs state one for power delivery (great!) and one for tethering. Would the tethering only be photos or also video like Blackmagic pocket.

same as Z9 -- you can pull lowres via usb-c; higher res via HDMI, but the highest res is reserved for internal fast cfe-b card. Writing to an SD card will limit recording formats

none of these bodies allow direct recording onto an SSD -- that is only accessible for some cine bodies. Sure you can use a dummy cfe-b connected to an nvme ssd but this is fragile and not cheap.

the cost of large fast cfe-b cards seem to be dropping - i just picked up a sabrent 2tb card, which works great in my z9 for 8.3k 60p hq n-raw

--
areallygrumpyoldsod
Nikon and Hasselblad shooter -- wildlife and and -- https://www.andymillerphoto.co.uk/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajm057/

 

[LTheWafflePWN]

I listened to Mike Cruz from Nikon on an Adorama live stream, and this question came up. He seemed to say that most video options would not be possible, and the others on the panel implied that the USB-C port on the Z8 wouldn't be able to keep up with the data transfer rate. If the port is USB 3.0 speed, so 5Gbit/second, then the max theoretical transfer speed is 640Mbytes/second. This is much slower than a lot of the higher end CFx cards that have minimum sustained write speeds of say 1400Mbytes/second like the ProGrade Cobalt .

That said if you're looking to shoot to an NVMe SSD, follow this thread on here about people who have bought NVMe to CFexpress adapters and have them work with their cameras. If you take the memory card door off (or just leave it open) you wouldn't have to get a short 2230 M.2 SSD, you could (potentially) use the more common 2280 M.2 form factor. Just be careful with something sticking out of your camera if you're moving it around.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

That said if you're looking to shoot to an NVMe SSD,follow this thread on here about people who have bought NVMe to CFexpress adapters and have them work with their cameras. If you take the memory card door off (or just leave it open) you wouldn't have to get a short 2230 M.2 SSD, you could (potentially) use the more common 2280 M.2 form factor. Just be careful with something sticking out of your camera if you're moving it around.

Note that not all NVMe SSDs are created equal, and my experience was that with the Toshiba/Xioxia 2230 M.2, it would work great right up until I tried to record 8K/60 on my Z9, at which point it fell over. My ProGrade Digital, OTOH, works fine for it.

I'm trying a different brand of 2230 SSD that is supposedly faster, but we'll see - it arrives tomorrow. In the meantime, as others have noted, CFExpress cards are getting cheaper. The SABRENT 1Tb CFExpress is now $249 on Amazon, and the 512Gb is $149.

The 512Gb M.2 SSD I just ordered is $57, and the enclosure was $20, so ~$80 for it. At that point, the $60 price differential becomes much less compelling than when it was $300 or so cheaper.

 

[broodrooster]

Great to hear your first hand experience! Thanks!

 

[areallygrumpyoldsod]

That said if you're looking to shoot to an NVMe SSD,follow this thread on here about people who have bought NVMe to CFexpress adapters and have them work with their cameras. If you take the memory card door off (or just leave it open) you wouldn't have to get a short 2230 M.2 SSD, you could (potentially) use the more common 2280 M.2 form factor. Just be careful with something sticking out of your camera if you're moving it around.

Note that not all NVMe SSDs are created equal, and my experience was that with the Toshiba/Xioxia 2230 M.2, it would work great right up until I tried to record 8K/60 on my Z9, at which point it fell over. My ProGrade Digital, OTOH, works fine for it.

I'm trying a different brand of 2230 SSD that is supposedly faster, but we'll see - it arrives tomorrow. In the meantime, as others have noted, CFExpress cards are getting cheaper. The SABRENT 1Tb CFExpress is now $249 on Amazon, and the 512Gb is $149.

The 512Gb M.2 SSD I just ordered is $57, and the enclosure was $20, so ~$80 for it. At that point, the $60 price differential becomes much less compelling than when it was $300 or so cheaper.

I bought the 2TB SABRENT Rocket CFE-b x2.0 card and it is great on the Z9. There is also a slower version so,pick carefully.

--
areallygrumpyoldsod
Nikon and Hasselblad shooter -- wildlife and and -- https://www.andymillerphoto.co.uk/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajm057/

 

[Mnemon]

none of these bodies allow direct recording onto an SSD -- that is only accessible for some cine bodies. Sure you can use a dummy cfe-b connected to an nvme ssd but this is fragile and not cheap.

That is not true. See Sigma FP, see Panasonic S5II / S5IIx.

 

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

That said if you're looking to shoot to an NVMe SSD,follow this thread on here about people who have bought NVMe to CFexpress adapters and have them work with their cameras. If you take the memory card door off (or just leave it open) you wouldn't have to get a short 2230 M.2 SSD, you could (potentially) use the more common 2280 M.2 form factor. Just be careful with something sticking out of your camera if you're moving it around.

Note that not all NVMe SSDs are created equal, and my experience was that with the Toshiba/Xioxia 2230 M.2, it would work great right up until I tried to record 8K/60 on my Z9, at which point it fell over. My ProGrade Digital, OTOH, works fine for it.

I'm trying a different brand of 2230 SSD that is supposedly faster, but we'll see - it arrives tomorrow. In the meantime, as others have noted, CFExpress cards are getting cheaper. The SABRENT 1Tb CFExpress is now $249 on Amazon, and the 512Gb is $149.

The 512Gb M.2 SSD I just ordered is $57, and the enclosure was $20, so ~$80 for it. At that point, the $60 price differential becomes much less compelling than when it was $300 or so cheaper.

I bought the 2TB SABRENT Rocket CFE-b x2.0 card and it is great on the Z9. There is also a slower version so,pick carefully.

Thank you. Looks like I got the slower one that has a sustained write speed of 1500MB/s. Theoretically, that should be enough for the data requirements of 8.3K/60 N-RAW at high quality, but it's not - the Z9 stops recording after a few seconds. Less bandwidth-intensive recording options work fine with it. Right now, though, the chances of me recording 8K/60p at N-RAW High quality are probably remote given how much storage it requires, so I'll probably just keep it.

Update - it works fine for 8.3K/60 NRAW at normal quality. And as it turns out, my ProGrade Digital is rated at exactly the same speed and also fails with 8.3K/60 at NRAW High quality.

 

[areallygrumpyoldsod]

none of these bodies allow direct recording onto an SSD -- that is only accessible for some cine bodies. Sure you can use a dummy cfe-b connected to an nvme ssd but this is fragile and not cheap.

That is not true. See Sigma FP, see Panasonic S5II / S5IIx.

I said non of these bodies in a thread on the Z8 - meaning high performing and capable bodies like the Z8 and Z9 not low res bodies from other brands

--
areallygrumpyoldsod
Nikon and Hasselblad shooter -- wildlife and and -- https://www.andymillerphoto.co.uk/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajm057/

 

[Mnemon]

none of these bodies allow direct recording onto an SSD -- that is only accessible for some cine bodies. Sure you can use a dummy cfe-b connected to an nvme ssd but this is fragile and not cheap.

That is not true. See Sigma FP, see Panasonic S5II / S5IIx.

I said non of these bodies in a thread on the Z8 - meaning high performing and capable bodies like the Z8 and Z9 not low res bodies from other brands

No, you said - it's up there in the quote - that only cine bodies can do that. And by and by - neither the Panasonic nor the Sigma are "low performing" or "incapable" bodies. There's a reason the S1 / S1H are among the few Netflix aproved cameras - and the S5 II series isn't far behind (and ahead in AF) compared to those.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

Would this be possible you think?

Specs state one for power delivery (great!) and one for tethering. Would the tethering only be photos or also video like Blackmagic pocket.

Probably not. The USB-C port per NIkon is to connect a USB LAN dongle.

Plus, I don't think the Z8 (or Z9, or any Z camera) can act as a USB host, which you would need that to connect an SSD. Furthermore, it likely may come down to battery power.

 

[sirhawkeye64]

I listened to Mike Cruz from Nikon on an Adorama live stream, and this question came up. He seemed to say that most video options would not be possible, and the others on the panel implied that the USB-C port on the Z8 wouldn't be able to keep up with the data transfer rate. If the port is USB 3.0 speed, so 5Gbit/second, then the max theoretical transfer speed is 640Mbytes/second. This is much slower than a lot of the higher end CFx cards that have minimum sustained write speeds of say 1400Mbytes/second like the ProGrade Cobalt .

That said if you're looking to shoot to an NVMe SSD,follow this thread on here about people who have bought NVMe to CFexpress adapters and have them work with their cameras. If you take the memory card door off (or just leave it open) you wouldn't have to get a short 2230 M.2 SSD, you could (potentially) use the more common 2280 M.2 form factor. Just be careful with something sticking out of your camera if you're moving it around.

I think an internal SSD / NVME drive may use less power than an external drive though. But it likely comes down to power consumption. Plus, the Z8 would have to act as a USB host.