Back in the DSLR era, firmware updates were mostly about debugging or fixing compatibility issues. Nobody really talked about them, because, frankly, there wasn’t much to talk about. But with the rise of mirrorless cameras, that changed dramatically. For Nikon, the breakthrough came with the Z9 and even more so with its younger sibling, the Z8. Since their debut, every major firmware update has been awaited with anticipation.
And no wonder. Those cameras alone received, via firmware, so many new and often groundbreaking features that it could have justified an entirely new generation of cameras. What’s even more pleasing is that many of these features trickled down from Nikon’s flagships into more affordable models. It seems that the days when Nikon deliberately crippled the features of less expensive cameras to differentiate them from the more expensive ones are gone.
However, this does not mean that all current Nikon Z mirrorless cameras can do the same things as one another. Sometimes, the bottleneck is the processing power of older models like the Z6 or Z7. At other times, as with the Z9, Nikon waits for a “big occasion,” such as the Olympics or the launch of a more powerful successor, to add major features. And of course, marketing always gets the final word. No brand wants to undercut sales of its current or future cameras.
In today’s article, I will repeatedly use the term “generation.” For clarity, the oldest generation includes the Z5, Z6, and Z7. The second generation consists of the Z30, Z50, Zfc, Z6II, and Z7II cameras. Finally, the current third generation, which was launched by the current flagship Z9, also includes the Z50 II, Z5 II, Zf, Z6 III, and Z8.
Now let’s dive into the most interesting features that Nikon mirrorless cameras have gained through firmware updates—or, in the case of the latest models, sometimes had from the start.
By the way, thank you to Photography Life Member Manjul Agrawal for the inspiration to write this article! We’ll always do our best to cover topics that you have questions about.
Auto Capture
(Nikon Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
When Auto Capture first appeared in the Z9 about two years ago, it caused quite a stir. Essentially, it turns your camera into a smart camera trap—or, if you prefer, a semi-autonomous shooting device. Once the action in front of the lens matches the parameters you’ve set, the camera starts shooting stills or recording video. And you can dial in exactly how you want the camera to behave once the “camera trap” is triggered.
Both sports and wildlife photographers will find it handy. It shines in situations where staying behind the camera yourself presents an obstacle to successfully taking a photo, or when you want multiple cameras covering the same scene from different angles or with different lenses. You can read more about this feature in the article Nikon Z Auto Capture: A Tutorial and Review.
Bird Subject Detection
(Z50 II, Z5 II, Zf, Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
In its primitive form, animal subject detection already showed up in Nikon’s first generation. But back then, the algorithms could only handle the most basic of pets—cats and dogs. The second generation didn’t fare much better, since it used the same processor (just doubled up). The breakthrough in this now “must-have” feature came with the Z9 model. Initially, birds were included in one box along with other animals, but with a firmware update, they were given a separate category in AF subject detection options.
Since then, Nikon’s ability to spot bird eyes has come a long way. With the newest firmware, the capabilities of my Nikon Z9 have surprised me more than once—for example, when it was able to reliably find the eye of such bizarre and cryptic species as the South American Long-tailed Potoo. Also, the common pain of the Z6 and Z7 (as well as the Z6 II and Z7 II), when the camera focused on the distant background, is rather rare in the current generation.
Pre-Release Capture
(Nikon Z50 II, Zf, Z5 II, Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
Originally available only on the Z9, Pre-release Capture is now part of the entire third generation. With a half-press of the shutter button, the camera begins buffering images at up to 120 frames per second, continuously overwriting the oldest ones with new captures. When you fully press the shutter, the buffered images are written to the card, giving you shots taken up to one second before your finger actually completed the press. You can read more about this feature here.
Nikon was one of the first to bring this feature to full-frame cameras. But now it’s lagging behind: Virtually all of its competitors already allow Pre-Release Capture in RAW. Nikon, meanwhile, has been stuck on JPEG for years. My bet? RAW Pre-Release Capture will be a headline feature of the fourth generation—most likely, starting with the Nikon Z9 II.
High-Speed Frame Capture
(Nikon Z50 II, Z5 II, Zf, Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
In this mode, Nikon cameras are capable of shooting up to 120 frames per second, which is truly impressive. At this frame rate, you can capture every angle of a hummingbird’s wing fluttering around a flower. An athlete jumping over a hurdle will fly seemingly endlessly in a sequence of photos. You will be able to choose the best shot, the real decisive moment. But…
Unfortunately, as with Pre-release Capture, High-Speed Frame Capture is limited to JPEG format (Normal or Fine). In the case of the Nikon Z9, at 120fps you get 11-megapixel JPEG photos, which is somewhat limiting. Maximum frame rates also vary by camera. The Z50 II, Z5 II, and Zf top out at 30 FPS. The Z6 III, Z8, and Z9 add 60 FPS and 120 FPS. On the 24 MP Z6 III, the top speed requires an APS-C crop (24x16mm).
Pixel Shift
(Nikon Zf, Z6 III, Z8)
This feature first appeared on the Zf, and later on the Z8 and Z6 III. On the latter two cameras, the Pixel Shift feature can now be combined with Auto Exposure Bracketing or Focus Shift Shooting thanks to new firmware updates. In combination with Auto Exposure Bracketing, you can now take up to 32 images per Pixel Shift (each 180MP), each with up to 9 exposure variations. This gives you 1 HDR image composed of an impressive 288 individual photos.
It can get even wilder. When using Pixel Shift and Focus Shift simultaneously, you can take up to 32 images per Pixel Shift in 300 focus steps. The result is a high-resolution focus-stacked photo composed of 9600 RAW photos! For this kind of work, you will need not only a sufficiently large memory card, but also an external power source for your camera.
You can then automatically merge the resulting images in Nikon NX Studio to obtain a NEFX (RAW) file. You can edit this file either directly in this program or, for example, in Capture One Pro, which is able to process it as a normal RAW file (a feature released in February 2024).
Here’s an example comparing an upsampled 24 MP image to a 96 MP image. You can see a clear improvement in detail:
However, if you want to use these features to take super hi-res landscape or architectural photos, I may disappoint you a little. The scene you are photographing must be absolutely still, which also applies to little details like rustling wind or atmospheric distortion. If it isn’t perfectly still, then you’re definitely better off sticking with conventional RAW shooting, which is a more reliable option. So this is a very special-case feature at the moment, and not something you can expect to use for most landscape shots. Hopefully a future firmware update can improve the quality somewhat; we have already seen better implementations from Panasonic and Sony.
C2PA Authentication Standard/Content Credentials
(Nikon Z6 III)
In its first major firmware update (2.0), the Z6III became the first camera in Nikon’s portfolio to feature C2PA Authentication. In principle, this is a kind of intelligent watermark that confirms the authenticity of a photo. If the photo has been altered in any way or even manipulated by AI, these changes will be imprinted on the photo.
To use C2PA, you need to register your Z6III with the Nikon Imaging Cloud, which will then allow you to download the authentication certificate to your camera. This will give you access to the C2PA/Content Credentials in Setup menu and the option to turn the feature on or off.
Unfortunately, it turned out that C2PA in the Z6 III has some flaws that need to be fixed. As photographer Adam Horshack pointed out, this flaw is the Multiple Exposure (Overlay Shooting) feature. Through misuse of this feature, a composite or even AI-generated image can be “confirmed” as authentic. Fortunately, Nikon responded quickly and temporarily suspended the C2PA feature until the problem was resolved. We can expect a future firmware update to re-enable the feature.
In-Body Focus Limiter
(Nikon Z6 III, Z8)
A great feature that can significantly speed up and improve the accuracy of autofocus in certain circumstances. Imagine photographing a hummingbird on a flower. In the camera, you could simply limit the autofocus range to, say, 0.15m in front of and behind the flower. This ensures that the autofocus will never lock onto the distant background. In sports, for example, you can use this method to make the autofocus ignore the net behind the goalkeeper, the distant crowd, and so on.
There are two ways to set the Focus Limiter. The first option is to enter the minimum and maximum distance values manually using the camera’s front and rear dials. The second option is to use the AF-On button to focus and define the closest point, and the shutter button to enter the furthest point to be within the focus range.
I recommend programming one of the Shooting menu banks (Nikon Z8) or Custom settings (Nikon Z6 III) to quickly reach this setting. This way, you can switch back to the unlimited AF range at any time.
Recall Shooting Functions
(Nikon Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
This feature, previously reserved only for professional Z8 and Z9 bodies, has found its way into the Nikon Z6 III with the latest firmware. This gem, hidden in the Custom Settings f2 “Custom Controls (Shooting)” menu, greatly speeds up the photographer’s response to changes in the scene being photographed.
Imagine, for example, that you are photographing a motionless dragonfly sitting on a reed stalk with your telephoto lens. Of course, your camera settings reflect this. The shutter speed, ISO, aperture, self-timer, focus mode, and vibration reduction all assume that nothing will move in the shot. Suddenly, the shadow of a flying eagle flashes overhead. By the time you change the settings from “macro” to “birds in flight,” the eagle is long gone.
Unless, of course, you have the Recall Shooting feature mapped on one of the buttons on your Nikon Z6 III, Z8, or Z9. With a single press of a button, you can completely reset the entire camera so that you can react to an unexpected scene in time. You can read more in the article Recall Shooting: An Unknown Feature with Great Potential.
Flexible Color Picture Controls
(Nikon Z6 III, Z8)
You will find this feature particularly useful if you actively use Nikon’s NX Studio software. This software accepts in-camera picture controls and (if you shoot in RAW) uses them as a starting point for further editing or direct conversion to JPEG or TIFF.
The range of different picture control presets is already quite wide, but there’s nothing like creating your own original style. It’s not difficult. Edit the selected photo in Nikon NX Studio and, based on these edits, create a file that you can transfer to the camera via a memory card. After updating, your preset will appear in the camera menu. You can see how to do this step by step on the Nikon Europe YouTube channel.
Maximum Aperture Live View
(Nikon Z6 III, Z8)
By default, Nikon cameras set the aperture to your chosen f-stop when using live view, until reaching the f/5.6 threshold. Beyond that point, the blades remain at f/5.6 until you press the shutter button. Then, they close to the set f-stop (f/11 for example) and return back to f/5.6.
The Maximum Aperture Live View option (Custom Settings a14) forces the lens to stay wide open regardless of your working aperture. It’s particularly helpful with fast lenses (f/1.2–f/1.8), where extra light boosts AF performance in low light conditions. And for manual focus with focus peaking, the razor-thin depth of field makes it easier to nail critical focus.
AF/MF Subject Detection Options and MF Subject Detection Area
(Nikon Z50 II, Z5 II, Z6 III, Zf, Z8)
It is usually the case that features previously reserved for higher-end models gradually trickle down to lower-end models. But it can also be the other way around. The Nikon Z9 camera has excellent autofocus using advanced subject detection. Unfortunately, when focusing manually, you can only rely on the left/right arrows and focus peaking. However, all other third-generation cameras can take advantage of subject detection even in manual focus mode. The only limitation: manual focus subject detection areas are simplified to Wide (S), Wide (L), and All.
Detailed Manual Focus Lens Data
(Nikon Z50 II, Z5 II, Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
For most third-generation cameras, with the exception of the Nikon Zf, four items can now be entered for Non-CPU lens data: lens number, focal length, maximum aperture, and lens name (up to 36 characters). A welcome update, considering how many manual focus lenses have appeared in recent years without chips and contacts to transfer metadata to the camera.
(Super) Wide-Area C1 and C2
(Nikon Z8)
Custom 1 (C1) and Custom 2 (C2) focus areas first appeared on the Nikon Z9. They are now a standard on all third-generation Nikon cameras. The Z8 Firmware update 3.0 has improved this feature even further: Wide area C1/2 can now be set almost to the edges of the frame.
Hi-Res Zoom
(Nikon Z50 II, Z5 II, Z6 III, Z8, Z9)
This video-related feature allows a digital zoom up to 2x while retaining 4K quality as you zoom in. With Hi-Res Zoom, a 500mm lens effectively becomes a 1000mm super telephoto. Of course, this is not an optical zoom, but a digital zoom. The camera simply uses the high resolution of the sensor and downsamples video to 4K in real time, maintaining a constant 4K resolution. In principle, the same effect can be achieved in post-production if you shot in 6K or 8K from the start, but this is a better solution if you want reasonable file sizes and less post-processing work.
The feature is especially powerful if your lens has a motor-driven power zoom. If you enable this feature in Custom Setting (g9), your power zoom lens will gain an interesting range. For example, the Nikon Z 28-135mm f/4 PZ lens will have an apparent 24-270mm range.
With such lenses, Hi-Res Zoom starts to take effect from the beginning of optical zooming, making the transition between optical and electronic zoom almost completely unnoticeable. Furthermore, most pairs of buttons on the camera can be mapped to control Hi-Res Zoom. You can also use a smartphone, computer, or even a dedicated Nikon MC-N10 remote grip.
Conclusion
More than their DSLR predecessors, today’s mirrorless cameras are, at their core, electronic devices. Many of their capabilities are software-driven rather than mechanical. As long as software complexity doesn’t hit the hardware’s limits, it makes perfect sense from a user perspective to expand a camera’s abilities through firmware updates. From a business standpoint, that may look counterproductive, but I see it differently.
In today’s world, manufacturers can (and should) extend the lifespan of their products, and by doing so, increase the value of their brand. It sends a clear signal that their responsibility to customers doesn’t end at the cash register. I’m genuinely pleased that Nikon is among the brands smart enough to embrace this philosophy.
So what’s your favorite firmware upgrade that’s landed on your camera? Or, perhaps, what’s the feature you’re still waiting for? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
