Best Nikon Z8 Settings for Wildlife Photography (My Field Setup)

I’ve spent around a year shooting with the Nikon Z8 — a camera that is remarkably intuitive to use, yet offers so many possible setups that it can feel overwhelming at first. During my time in the Philippines I used the Z8 mainly for family, travel and documentary photography. But since moving to the Scottish Highlands, my priorities have shifted and I’m now using the Nikon Z8 primarily for wildlife and landscape photography. That’s the incredible thing about the Z8, no matter what you want to photograph, it is still one of the best cameras that you can buy.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time adapting what I learned from shooting with the Z8 for travel and documentary photography into something much more suited to wildlife photography. My priority now is fast focus acquisition on birds and animals, along with giving the camera the best possible chance of maintaining focus once it has locked onto a subject. Landscape photography is generally much slower and more deliberate, so I don’t need the Z8 quite as dialled in for that. Instead, I’ve focused on making the wildlife setup as intuitive and responsive as possible.

I also use the Nikon Z6 III as my second body, and I’ve ported these settings across as closely as possible so that both cameras behave in a similar way. That familiarity makes switching between them much easier when photographing wildlife.

If you’re setting up a Z8 for wildlife photography, the settings below should give you a strong starting point.

In this guide I’ll walk through the autofocus behaviour settings, the custom control setup that makes the camera intuitive in the field, and the core shooting settings I use when photographing wildlife with the Nikon Z8.

The settings below explain not only what I use, but why I use them when photographing wildlife in challenging environments like woodland.

This article is based on the Nikon Z8 running firmware version 3.10, which already includes the major autofocus improvements introduced in firmware 3.00.

Best Autofocus Settings for Wildlife on the Nikon Z8

These autofocus settings also work well for bird photography with the Nikon Z8, particularly when photographing small birds in woodland or birds in flight.

The autofocus system on the Nikon Z8 is one of the main reasons it works so well for wildlife photography. Nikon’s subject detection and tracking algorithms are extremely capable, but like most modern cameras the Z8 also offers a huge number of autofocus configuration options.

Because of that, it’s easy to get lost trying to optimise every possible setting. My goal has been to keep the autofocus setup as simple and intuitive as possible while prioritising two things that matter most for wildlife photography: fast subject acquisition and reliable focus tracking once the camera locks onto a bird or animal.

Before going into the specific autofocus settings, it’s worth briefly addressing something that often comes up in wildlife photography discussions: back button focus.

Many wildlife photographers prefer using back button focus because it separates autofocus from the shutter button. While I understand the reasoning behind that approach, I don’t use it myself. My muscle memory from years of shooting is too ingrained to change comfortably. I’ve experimented with back button focus in the past, but it never felt natural to me and ultimately slowed me down rather than helping.

By keeping autofocus assigned to the shutter button, the camera behaves in a way that feels instinctive when something suddenly appears in front of me. An added advantage is that it frees up the AF-ON button to perform a different task, which I use for switching autofocus behaviour quickly when photographing wildlife.

With that in mind, these are the autofocus settings I currently use on the Nikon Z8.

Autofocus Configuration (Custom Settings Menu → Focus)

Most of the important autofocus behaviour on the Nikon Z8 is controlled in the Custom Settings Menu under the Focus section. These settings determine how the camera prioritises focus, how it reacts to moving subjects, and how it behaves when something briefly passes between the camera and the subject.

These are the basic settings that determine autofocus behaviour. However, the most important part of getting the Z8 to function at its best is how the custom controls are configured later in the setup. That section is where the camera really starts to become intuitive to use in the field, so be sure to read through both sections.

AF-C Priority Selection – Release

For wildlife photography I set AF-C priority selection to Release.

This allows the camera to fire immediately when the shutter button is pressed, rather than delaying the shot while it confirms focus. In practice this means I’m much less likely to miss a fleeting moment while the camera hesitates.

When photographing wildlife, especially birds, the moment often disappears before the camera has time to perfectly confirm focus. I’d rather capture the frame and let the Z8’s autofocus system do its best than risk missing the shot entirely.

AF-S Priority Selection – Focus

For AF-S priority selection, I leave this set to Focus.

I rarely use AF-S for wildlife photography, but when I do it’s usually for slower subjects or more static scenes where I want the camera to confirm focus before releasing the shutter.

Focus Tracking With Lock-On (A3)

I currently leave Blocked Shot Response set to 3, which is the default value.

So far I haven’t found a need to change this, as it provides a good balance between allowing the camera to stay locked onto the subject while still reacting when something briefly passes in front of it.

For Subject Motion, I adjust the setting depending on what I’m photographing:

• Erratic – for small birds that change direction quickly
• Steady – for most other wildlife such as mammals or larger birds

This allows the camera’s tracking behaviour to better match the movement of the subject.

For birds in flight, the best setting can depend heavily on the background and environment. Busy backgrounds with branches or water can sometimes benefit from different tracking behaviour, so this is one of the settings I occasionally experiment with in the field.

AF Activation (A6)

I set AF Activation to Shutter/AF-ON.

As mentioned earlier, I don’t use back button focus. My muscle memory is built around focusing with the shutter button, so keeping autofocus tied to the shutter makes the camera feel much more natural to use.

At the same time, this allows me to use the AF-ON button for another useful function, which I’ll explain later in this guide.

Focus Point Persistence (A7)

I leave Focus Point Persistence set to Auto.

This allows the focus point position to remain where it was previously when switching between different autofocus modes.

In practice this means that if the camera has already acquired a subject in one AF mode, switching to another mode keeps the focus point in the same area rather than resetting it. That makes transitions between autofocus modes much faster and more intuitive.

Limit AF-Area Mode Selection (A8)

The Z8 offers many different autofocus area modes, but I prefer to limit the list to the ones I actually use.

In Limit AF-Area Mode Selection, I enable:

• Single-Point AF
• Wide-Area AF (S)
• Wide-Area AF (L)
• Wide-Area AF (C1)
• Wide-Area AF (C2)
• 3D Tracking

Although 3D Tracking is enabled here, I rarely use it now. I’ve found that Wide-Area AF modes combined with subject detection tend to work better for most wildlife situations.

Limiting the available modes makes it much quicker to cycle through them in the field.

Focus Point Selection Speed (A15)

I set Focus Point Selection Speed to Normal.

The High setting moves the focus point very quickly, but I find it a little too sensitive and harder to control precisely. The Normal setting feels more predictable and easier to manage, especially when adjusting the focus point while tracking wildlife.

Manual Focus Ring in AF Mode (A17)

I enable Manual Focus Ring in AF Mode.

This allows the focus ring on the lens to override autofocus if needed. It can be useful when shooting through branches or other obstacles where the autofocus system might struggle to lock onto the correct subject.

Summary

These focus settings provide a reliable foundation for photographing both birds and mammals with the Nikon Z8. The goal is not to configure every possible autofocus parameter, but to create a setup that allows the camera to react quickly while still behaving predictably in the field.

Custom Controls (Shooting)

The reasoning behind setting up the custom controls in the way that I have below is to give me the best chance of acquiring focus quickly and accurately, while making it fast and easy to switch into different focus modes on the fly.

I find myself shooting a lot in cluttered woodland here in Scotland, which is one of the toughest environments for autofocus. Even though the Nikon Z8 has among the best subject tracking of any camera, it can still be fooled by twigs, branches and other obstructions. Trying to get the bird as large as possible in the frame helps, but sometimes that simply isn’t possible.

My standard focus area is Wide-Area AF (L). This allows me to help the Z8 acquire focus quickly by limiting where the camera is trying to find focus to a defined part of the frame rather than the entire autofocus area.

I leave Subject Recognition set to Birds, as these are the subjects I usually need to react to the fastest. If needed I can quickly swap this to Animals.

Importantly, I add AF/MF Subject Detection Options as the top item in My Menu so that it is quick to access via the function button mapped below.

Fn1 – AF-area mode + AF-ON (Auto-area AF)

I set Fn1 to AF-area mode + AF-ON with Auto-area AF.

The reasoning behind this is that once the Z8 has acquired the subject using Wide-Area AF (L), I can quickly hand off the autofocus work to the camera and allow it to use the entire autofocus area to maintain focus on the subject.

This is much easier than trying to keep a moving bird inside the Wide-Area AF (L) box while tracking it myself.

Fn2 – Cycle AF-area Mode

I set Fn2 to Cycle AF-area Mode.

This allows me to quickly cycle through the autofocus modes I enabled earlier in Menu A8 (Limit AF-area Mode Selection) without diving into the menu system.

In practice this makes it much quicker to adapt to different shooting situations.

Fn3 – Access Top Item in My Menu

Fn3 is set to Access Top Item in My Menu.

As mentioned earlier, I place AF/MF Subject Detection Options as the top item in My Menu. This allows me to change the subject detection mode with the fewest possible button presses — usually just two when switching between birds and animals.

AF-ON Button – Single-Point AF Override

I set the AF-ON button to AF-area mode + AF-ON with Single-Point AF.

When photographing wildlife in cluttered woodland environments, I’ve found it incredibly important to be able to override the camera’s subject detection and wider autofocus modes with a very precise focus option.

Single-Point AF allows me to take complete control over exactly where the camera focuses. Having quick access to this mode makes it much easier to deal with branches, twigs and other obstructions that might confuse the autofocus system.

Focus Joystick (Sub-Selector) – Reset

I set the sub-selector press on the focus joystick to Reset.

This allows me to quickly return the focus point to the centre of the frame, which is useful if I’ve moved it while tracking a subject.

Video Record Button – Metering

For still photography I set the video record button to Metering.

The other two buttons on the top of the camera — ISO and Exposure Compensation — I leave at their default settings.

Lens Function Button – Switch FX / DX

On lenses that support it, I set the lens function button to Switch FX/DX.

This allows me to quickly crop into DX mode and take advantage of the Z8’s 45-megapixel sensor when needed.

If the subject is small in the frame, switching to DX mode can sometimes help with focus acquisition as the subject becomes larger within the frame.

Remaining Buttons

The rest of the buttons I leave at their default settings. The Z8 already has a very logical control layout, and I prefer to keep the setup as simple as possible rather than assigning functions to every available button.

Why This Setup Works

The goal of this setup is not to configure every possible function, but to create a system that allows me to:

• acquire focus quickly
• switch autofocus behaviour instantly
• override the autofocus system when necessary

With these controls in place, the Nikon Z8 becomes much easier to operate instinctively in the field.

Basic Shooting Settings (Photo Shooting Menu)

These are the core shooting settings I use on the Nikon Z8 when photographing wildlife. The goal here is to keep the camera ready to react quickly while ensuring great image quality and the maximum number of keepers.

Primary Slot Selection

Primary Slot Selection – CFexpress / XQD

I set the primary slot to the CFexpress / XQD card.

These cards are significantly faster than SD cards and allow the Z8 to clear the buffer much more quickly when shooting high-speed bursts.

Secondary Slot Function

Secondary Slot Function – Overflow

I set the second slot to Overflow rather than Backup.

The reason for this is simple: when shooting fast bursts, writing to both cards simultaneously can slow the camera down. The SD card slot is considerably slower than the CFexpress slot, and when the camera is forced to write to both cards it can result in periods of waiting while the buffer clears.

Using Overflow allows the camera to write to the fast CFexpress card first and only move to the SD card once the primary card is full.

Image Quality Settings

Image Quality – RAW

I shoot RAW only.

RAW files give the greatest flexibility when editing wildlife images, especially when recovering highlights or adjusting exposure during post-processing. it also means I don’t need to get things like white balance and color nailed in camera which would give me too many things to consider while shooting.

RAW Recording

RAW Recording – High Efficiency*

I use High Efficiency* RAW files.

This format provides excellent image quality while keeping file sizes smaller than uncompressed RAW files, which helps when shooting large bursts of images.

ISO Sensitivity Settings

• Base ISO – 64
• Auto ISO Control – ON
• Maximum Sensitivity – 12800

Using Auto ISO allows the camera to react quickly to changing light conditions, which is particularly useful when photographing wildlife in woodland environments where light levels can change rapidly.

I normally shoot in Manual mode with Auto ISO enabled, which allows me to control both shutter speed and aperture while the camera adjusts ISO automatically.

The Minimum Shutter Speed setting is currently set to 1/400, although this is largely irrelevant in my setup because I control shutter speed manually.

White Balance

White Balance – Auto0

When shooting RAW, white balance can easily be adjusted during post-processing. I therefore leave this set to Auto0 and make any necessary adjustments later when editing.

Set Picture Control

Picture Control – Standard (SD)

Although I shoot RAW, I set Picture Control to Standard.

This gives me a reasonable preview of what the image will look like with basic editing applied when reviewing images on the camera.

Colour Space

Colour Space – Adobe RGB

I use Adobe RGB as I regularly print my photographs.

If you only ever publish images online, sRGB is the better option.

Focus Mode

Focus Mode – AF-C

For wildlife photography I keep the camera set to Continuous AF (AF-C) so the camera can continuously adjust focus as the subject moves.

AF-Area Mode

AF-Area Mode – Wide-Area AF (L)

This is my standard autofocus mode for acquiring focus quickly while still allowing the camera to recognise subjects effectively.

Subject Detection

AF/MF Subject Detection – Birds

Since birds are often the subjects that require the fastest reaction time, I leave subject detection set to Birds by default.

If needed, I can quickly change this to Animals using the shortcut I described earlier in the custom controls section.

Vibration Reduction

Vibration Reduction – Sport

I set vibration reduction to Sport mode.

When shooting high-speed bursts with long lenses, I’ve found that Normal VR can sometimes cause the viewfinder frame to jump slightly when the burst starts which I personally find really off-putting. Sport mode doesn’t exhibit this behaviour.

Release Mode

Continuous High – 20 FPS

I normally shoot using Continuous High at 20 frames per second.

This provides the best chance of getting in focus and well composed shots. I just have to be disciplined with my trigger finger so that I don’t have to wade through too many images on the computer later.

The frame rate can be adjusted in Custom Menu d1 (Shooting Display Mode).

Maximum Burst

In Menu d2 (Continuous Shooting) I set Maximum Burst to Infinite.

This allows the camera to keep shooting as long as the shutter button is held down and the buffer allows.

Exposure Mode

I shoot primarily in Manual Mode with Auto ISO enabled.

This allows me to control both shutter speed and aperture directly while the camera automatically adjusts ISO to maintain correct exposure.

For wildlife photography this approach gives me the most consistent control over motion and depth of field while still allowing the camera to respond to changing light conditions.

i Menu

With this setup I rarely need to access the i Menu.

Instead, I rotate the items in the i Menu depending on the location or subject I’m photographing. In many situations I barely use it at all, although I usually ensure that Vibration Reduction settings are easily accessible.

Summary

With these settings in place, the Nikon Z8 is configured to react quickly to wildlife while maintaining excellent image quality and shooting flexibility.

Combined with the autofocus and custom control setup described earlier, this configuration allows me to focus on photographing wildlife rather than constantly adjusting camera settings. I’m now pretty happy with this set-up on my Nikon Z8 and have ported most of these settings over to replicate them as closely as possible on my Z6III. If I tweak any settings in the future, I will update this article accordingly.

While these settings work extremely well for my wildlife photography, the best Nikon Z8 setup will always depend slightly on the subjects you photograph and the environments you shoot in but I hope they at least give you a very good starting point for your own wildlife photography. I’ve also written an article showing the exact accessories I use with my Z8 which you might find helpful.