DiscussionZ9 II no-show again. Buy a Z8 now or keep waiting?

Alright, decision paralysis time and I need you all to talk sense into me.

Currently shooting a D850 and a Z7 II I picked up in February with the FTZ II. Love both for landscape and night stuff, no complaints. But my grandson started travel baseball this spring and the Z7 II is... let's say not built for a 9 year old sliding into second base.

The plan was to wait for the Z9 II and grab a Z8 cheap when everyone upgrades. Now the rumor sites are saying the Z9 II isn't showing up any time soon, maybe not this year at all. Used Z8s are going for about $3,300 near me right now.

So do I buy the Z8 now and enjoy it, or hold out for a price drop that might not happen until 2027? My wife says buy it. My wife also says that about fishing gear, so I'm not sure she's impartial.

Body only, I've got the glass.

Buy the Z8. Mine has been the best camera I've owned, bar none, and it's paid for itself in birds I'd have missed with the D850. Waiting on a used price drop for a body that hasn't even been announced is a fool's errand IMHO.

Here's the thing nobody says out loud in these threads. The Z9 II, whenever it shows up, is going to be a $6k+ body. The people who buy those mostly own Z9s, not Z8s. So the flood of cheap used Z8s everyone's waiting for may never really happen. I've watched this with the D500 and the D850, folks waited years for the price to crater and it never did.

Also, and I say this as a grandpa myself, your grandson's going to be 10 next spring, not 9. They don't wait for firmware. Shoot the games now.

If it helps, the 180-600 on the Z8 was the first combination where I stopped blaming the gear for misses on the Harris's hawks out by Marana. Every miss since has been me. That's a humbling thing at my age, but a useful one.

• Walt

buy it. rumors are rumors.

A Z8 for youth sports is going to feel like cheating after the Z7 II! Pre-release capture alone will change your life at home plate. Just keep the frame rate sensible or you'll spend every Sunday night culling 3,000 shots of the same kid sliding into the same base.

frank_delgado said:

My wife says buy it

Listen to your wife. Though I'll be the contrarian, as usual... does a 9 year old's baseball game really need 45MP and 20fps raw? A used Z6 II would track a kid sliding into second perfectly well and leave you two grand for something else. Just saying

tomthurlow said:

does a 9 year old's baseball game really need 45MP

Need, no. But I'm cropping from the bleachers with a 70-200 on the FTZ, and the kids are tiny in the frame from where the parents have to sit, so the pixels are nice to have. And I want one body that does both the ball games and the landscapes, not three bodies in a drawer.

Already got that problem. My wife counted them last week. It wasn't a good conversation.

tomthurlow said:

A used Z6 II would track a kid sliding into second perfectly well

Tom's got a point mind. Z6 II does me fine for my lads football and I paid bugger all for it. Single point AF-C in the middle and track him myself, never misses unless I do. Its not a Z8 but Im not getting paid for it either. Used is the only sensible way

I think Z9 II question is not really important here. When Z9 II comes, Z8 prices will not fall so much, because Z8 is popular and people who have it keep it. I saw same thing with D850 when Z7 came out, everybody said D850 will be cheap now and it was not cheap for years.

Also you said grandson is 9. In two years he will play more games, faster, and you will want the camera then too. If price is fair now, buy now and enjoy two seasons with it. Waiting is only good if you don't need it.

One more thing. Check the shutter count and ask if it was used for video a lot, some Z8s from event shooters have hard life. Buy from shop with warranty if you can, not from random person online, the difference is maybe $200 and it is worth it.

TomekKRK said:

I saw same thing with D850 when Z7 came out

Bingo. D850s held their money for years. Still do.

• Walt

Not Nikon shooter, but same logic on Sony side. I waited a few weeks for A7 IV prices to drop when A7 V came. They dropped, but only maybe 15%, and the A7 V never got cheaper at all. In the end I bought the new one at full price anyway.

For kids sports the AF upgrade was worth more than the money I saved by waiting, because every weekend I waited was weekend with missed shots. Buy now.

Honestly 'should I buy it now' threads always end the same way lol. Frank you've already decided, you just want permission.

Permission granted.

OneMoreLens said:

you just want permission

lol you're not wrong. Still going to check a few more prices before I hit the button though. There's a shop in Austin that does trade-ins and a guy on the local Facebook group selling one with the grip, so I'll see what they come back with.

Wait, is the Z8 the same sensor as the Z9?? I watched a video that said the Z8 is basically a Z9 in a smaller body, so why would anyone buy the Z9?!

kevinlearns said:

why would anyone buy the Z9?!

Battery life, Kevin, and the vertical grip built in. Pros shooting a full day of sports or a whole wedding don't want to be swapping batteries at halftime, and the Z9 body is built like a tank for people who get rained on for a living. Same sensor and processor, yes.

Most of us amateurs are better off with the Z8. The Z9's for folks whose camera pays the mortgage. And careful with those YouTube videos, a lot of them are half right at best.

• Walt

Ohh that makes sense!! Thanks Walt

at least you lot have a camera to wait for, ive been wating on an R7 II that long my R7 is due a service lol, buy the Z8 mate

andyp_1974 said:

ive been waiting on an R7 II that long

We have seen the R7 II threads, Andy. We have ALL seen the R7 II threads!

fair

frank_delgado said:

hold out for a price drop that might not happen until 2027

Whatever you buy now will be worth less in a year. That's not a reason to wait, that's just how cameras work.

Okay, update. Found a Z8 with 14k clicks at a local shop for $3,150 and they'll take the Z7 II in trade. Six months of shop warranty too, which makes me feel better than the Facebook guy who wanted cash in a parking lot. Leaning yes.