Nikon Z8 Best Settings: The 15 I Changed Straight Away
The Nikon Z8 is one of the most customisable cameras Nikon has ever made. It nearly has settings for its settings :-). Straight out of the box, though, a lot of them are set for the average user, not for someone who wants the camera to get out of the way and let them shoot.
These are the 15 settings I changed the day my Z8 arrived. I still use every one of them today, on commercial shoots, portraits, landscapes and wildlife. They’re mainly about the photography side of the camera, from how your files are recorded all the way through to focus, memory banks and exposure settings.
For each one I’ll tell you what it does, why I change it and the exact menu path. I also walk you through everyone of these settings in my video below and each section links to the right moment in it so you can follow along with the your camera in hand.
Watch my Nikon Z8 best settings video.
If you only want the focus side of my setup in more depth, I’ve written a separate guide to my Nikon Z8 autofocus settings. Most of what’s here applies to the Z9 as well, as the two cameras share the same menus.
Files and Cards
1. RAW Recording
The first thing I do on any new camera is make sure I’m shooting RAW. A RAW file holds far more information than a JPEG, so you have room to recover highlights, lift shadows and fix white balance later without the image falling apart.
The Z8 also lets you choose how that RAW file is compressed. I personally use lossless so I get the most dynamic range and detail possible out of my Z8.
Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → Image Quality → RAW, then Photo Shooting Menu → RAW Recording → your choice
▶ Watch this in the video (0:29)
2. The Role of the Second Card Slot
The Z8 has two card slots, one CF Express Type B and one SD card slot. By default the second card slot just catches the overflow when the first card fills up. I set mine to Backup, so every shot is written to both cards at once. Cards do fail and on a paid shoot that cost tens of thousands to setup that second copy is the difference between a bad day and a pure disaster.
The trade-off is that the slower SD card can limit your buffer during long bursts. For most shooting you’ll never notice. When I shoot sports or wildlife for fun I shoot with the second card as the overflow so my CF Express card can work at full speed then.
Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → Role Played by Card in Slot 2 → Backup
Focus Settings
Seven of my fifteen settings are about focus, because that’s where the Z8 rewards a bit of setup most. I’ve kept each one short here. My Nikon Z8 autofocus settings guide goes into the whole system in depth, including the focus handoff technique I use for birds in flight.
3. Back-Button Focus
I take focus function off the shutter button completely and I put it on the AF-ON button. Half-pressing the shutter no longer focuses; it only meters and fires. It sounds like a small change, but it means the camera never refocuses just because you pressed the shutter and you can lock focus simply by letting go of AF-ON.
It takes a day or two to get used to. After that you won’t go back.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → a Focus → a6 AF Activation → AF-ON Only → OK
▶ Watch this in the video (2:03)
4. The Green Focus Box in AF-C
By default the Z8 gives you no clear sign that it has locked focus in AF-C. Switch this on and the focus box turns green once the camera has locked on. It’s a simple, instant confirmation that you’re good to shoot.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → a Focus → a11 Focus Point Display → AF-C In-Focus Display → OK
▶ Watch this in the video (2:59)
5. Store Focus Points by Orientation
This one is a gift for portrait photographers. The camera remembers a separate focus point and AF-area mode for landscape and portrait orientation. Turn the camera on its side and the point jumps to where you last had it in that orientation, instead of staying in the wrong place.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → a Focus → a5 Store Points by Orientation → Focus Point and AF Area Mode → OK
▶ Watch this in the video (3:45)
6. Reset the Focus Point to the Centre
After you’ve moved the focus point to the edge of the frame, you want a quick way home. I set the OK button so a single press puts the focus point back in the centre of the image. No more dragging it back across the frame with the joystick.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → f Controls → f2 Custom Controls (Shooting) → OK Button → Select Centre Focus Point
▶ Watch this in the video (5:02)
7. Fn2 to Cycle AF-Area Modes
Rather than going into the menu to change AF-area mode, I set Fn2 to cycle through just the three modes I actually use: Single-point, Wide-area L and Auto-area. So every time you press the Fn2 it alternates between the three modes I selected which means the correct mode is only ever at most two button presses away.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → f Controls → f2 Custom Controls (Shooting) → Fn2 → Cycle AF Area Mode → press right to choose your modes → Menu button to finish
▶ Watch this in the video (6:11)
8. Focus Peaking
Focus peaking highlights the sharpest edges in the frame with a coloured outline whenever you focus manually. It makes manual focus far easier and quicker, especially for landscapes and macro work. I use red because it stands out against most scenes.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → a Focus → a13 Focus Peaking → Focus Peaking Display → On
▶ Watch this in the video (7:27)
9. Focus Point Wrap-Around
With wrap-around on, moving the focus point off one edge of the frame brings it straight back in on the opposite side. If your point is on the far left and your subject is on the far right, one press gets you there.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → a Focus → a10 Focus Point Wrap-Around → On
📄 Want these 15 settings as a printable PDF?
Get my free Z8 cheat sheets: a one-page sheet of these 15 settings with every menu path, plus my full autofocus cheat sheet, a quick reference table and pocket-sized cards for your camera bag.
Banks, Exposure and Flash
10. Photo Shooting Menu Banks
This is the setting that turns the Z8 into a camera that’s ready for anything. The Z8 has four photo shooting menu banks, A to D. Each one stores its own set of shooting menu settings, so you can set one up for portraits, one for landscapes, one for wildlife and one for events, then switch between them in a second.
I put the banks on Fn3, so changing my whole camera setup is a button press and a turn of the dial. Walking from a portrait session to a bird on the shoreline, I don’t touch a single menu.
One thing worth knowing: the shooting menu banks and the custom settings banks are separate. Make sure you know which one you’re changing before you start.
Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → Photo Shooting Menu Bank → choose A, B, C or D. To put it on a button: Menu → pencil icon → f Controls → f2 Custom Controls (Shooting) → Fn3 → Shooting Menu Bank
▶ Watch this in the video (9:18)
11. Maximum Auto ISO
Auto ISO is brilliant, but left alone it will happily climb to an ISO higher than you’d ever choose yourself. I set a ceiling so the camera never goes beyond what I’m happy with. My max ISO changes depending on what I am shooting, for commercial work I go up to ISO 1,600 normally with a stretch to 3,200. For more portraits or events or weddings I am happy at up to 6,400. Now I should say I am very picky on ISO and that’s because my clients and when they are happy so am I.
Menu path: Menu → Photo Shooting Menu → ISO Sensitivity Settings → Auto ISO Sensitivity Control → On → Maximum Sensitivity
▶ Watch this in the video (12:00)
12. Extended Shutter Speeds
In manual mode the Z8 normally stops at 30 seconds. Switch on extended shutter speeds and you can go all the way to 900 seconds, which is 15 minutes, without an external remote or using Bulb. For long exposure seascapes and night work this is a big help.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → d Shooting/Display → d6 Extended Shutter Speeds (M) → On
▶ Watch this in the video (13:28)
13. Flash Sync Speed
If you use flash, set the sync speed to suit how you work.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → e Bracketing/Flash → e1 Flash Sync Speed
Sensor Shield, Grid and a Bonus
14. The Sensor Shield
This is one of my favourite features on the Z8. With it switched on, a shield drops down in front of the sensor when you turn the camera off. It keeps dust off the sensor during lens changes, which on a windy beach in West Cork is no small thing.
Menu path: Menu → Setup Menu (wrench icon) → Sensor Shield Behaviour at Power Off → Close Sensor Shield
▶ Watch this in the video (14:58)
15. Grid Display
A grid in the viewfinder and on the rear screen helps keep horizons level and makes composition easier. It’s useful for everything, but for landscapes and architecture I wouldn’t be without it.
Menu path: Menu → pencil icon → d Shooting/Display → Grid Type, then turn on the framing grid in the display settings
▶ Watch this in the video (16:40)
Bonus Setting
Final Thoughts on My Nikon Z8 Settings
None of these settings are complicated, but together they change how the Z8 feels to use. Focus goes where you want it, your files are safe and your whole camera can switch from portraits to wildlife with one button. Set them up once and you’ll stop thinking about the camera and start thinking about the photograph.
If you’d like every other setting explained the same way, my Nikon Z8 Pro Guide app covers every button, every menu item and every fix, with my own recommended settings. It works fully offline on iPhone, Android and desktop. And if you’re still deciding on the camera itself, my Nikon Z8 review covers my experience using it for professional work.
Shoot a Z6III as well? Here are the 15 settings I changed on my Nikon Z6III. If you’re torn between the two cameras, my Nikon Z8 vs Z6III comparison will help.
See you out there,
Kieran
Kieran Hayes
Kieran is a professional photographer, educator and Nikon Z reviewer based in West Cork, Ireland. Before turning professional in 2013 he spent years as a technician in an authorised service centre for a leading camera brand, so his hands-on knowledge of how cameras work goes back more than 20 years. Today he tests gear where it counts — on paid shoots, on his photography workshops and out on the Wild Atlantic Way — where reliability, performance and durability matter most.
His reviews reflect the practical demands of real working photography and the creative freedom of his own landscape work.