The Online version of the Z8 reference guide is available to peruse online
HERE-- it is not available to download yet though.
The battery endurance specification mentions shooting NEF (RAW) can reduce battery performance :-(
If the Z7 is the same it helps explain why I sometimes have challenges getting 250 shots from a single charge using the Z7.
This is NOT unusual at all -- data flows and power is used. BUT the 250 and other numbers are not real world numbers.
As those of us who have sailed around this buoy many times over the decades know the results of the standardised CIPA battery tests are just a way to require CIPA members to all describe their products using the same terms, definitions and tests. The CIPA results are a very good thing - but one may wish to understand how they are conducted and you can go to the CIPA site and find out -- but the testing standard for "VR and Image Stabilisation" is 55 pages long so one has to be committed (or should perhaps be committed to go look) - I know I did.
When applied to a mirrorless body the CIPA test result is much more of an indication of how long one can have the camera turned on and active. 250 shots = 250/2 = 125 minutes of continuous use +/- depending on use. That is ON and active not just sitting in ones hands.
How one chooses to use a camera -- take one image every 30 seconds and cycle its power off and back on again after every 10 shots (the CIPA test script) will provide one number or shoot almost continuously at 120 fps a vastly different number and fill rooms with data.
Shooting RAW images and vigh data video codec/formats (like 8.3k 60p HQ N-RAW N-log) will consume battery life faster than "just" taking smaller images -- the act of moving electrons generates heat and this consumes power - cards get hotter with usde and so does the camera.
Yes each time the camera auto focuses, sensor is used, the Expeed 7 chip processes the result and data is written to one or more cards some power is used. If a device is plugged into the HDMI port and/or a Microphone plugged into the Audio In (with Power out enabled) power is used AND also presumably if a device is plugged into the USB-C which does not deliver power then the same is true. Why have bluetooth or WIFI on when not using them., and so on there are lots of way to move away from default power consumption usage.
Unless I am shooting in a very bright conditions, I turn the brightness of the EVF/down to -1 or -2 below the auto brightness setting; I reduce the time for the camera to switch to standby; and most importantly with long lenses that have VR elements in them I simply turn the camera off when not in active use and especially when I am moving from place to place -- the VR elements need to be locked in place and this happens when the camera is turned off.
What is interesting, well to me at least, is the fact that some cards run much hotter than others AND then there are some that run much cooler to. This is not solely proportional to the cost of the card -- but of course a higher spec card will normally cost more.
When I receive my Z8 - I will be joining the bandwagon of folk who test the camera with a range of the gear I will use and in the conditions I tend to shoot in.
I have no issue carrying many EN-EL15c with me - one of my EN-EL15c weighs -roughly 80 grammes or 2.82 OZ - so not a deal breaker. Particularly since I probably have more than 15 somewhere EN-EL15 batteries and 6 or so of the newer C type -- the battery life worries me not at all. I also tend to carry a power bank and so delivering power to the camera and/or recharging batteries in body is also a non-issue for me.
Unlike a lady I have been communicating where 35 Degrees C and hotter is normal and she ended up buying a 2nd Z9 because of heat concerns. Now she shoots lots of long high res big cat action in Botswana and has a particular "use case". I on the other hand only shoot shortish footage and mainly not at high fps and most days am likely to face Zero to 30 ambient and 20 is a good working average. Heat and overheating is simply not going to be a concern for my uses.
However, like others and like I always do I willsubjerct my new Z8 to testing with the type of lenses I will use in the field and a range of cards from 650GB (Delkin Black and Prograde Cobalt) upto 4TB (Angelbird AV Pro Mk2) and a few others as well. I need to understand what the limits are for my kind of use. None of the tests I have seen do that -- I don't plan to shoot 1 hour plus long segments at 8.3K 60P N-RAW N-log for B-roll --- but ok we now understand that the camera struggles AND wow what a shocker. A 650GB card fills in about 20 mins and the camera lasted longer than that. One needs to be using huge cards and/or lots of cards for that type of craziness.
I do not plan to use the SD card slot at all - certainly not for active shooting - but I will test what performance I get when writing to a UHS-II SD card - again with the ultrafast OWC Atlas S Pro card down to a few cards that live in a desk draw and I have owned since the early 2000's. Sure for occasional use why not dump shots onto the SD.
A young person on this forum has completed a range of power consumption tests with gear and a methodology that is well beyond me - one hopes that if she wishes to she will add a Z8 to her clearly very scientific testing program.
In the meantime I have real shoots to plan and conduct and there is a place for a Z8 on them too.
areallygrumpyoldsod
Nikon and Hasselblad shooter -- wildlife and and --
https://www.andymillerphoto.co.uk/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajm057/
