Nikon Greenlights Third-Party Lenses With New Z8 Firmware Update

It didn’t take long for Nikon to release a new firmware update for its full-frame Z8 mirrorless camera, fixing compatibility issues with third-party lenses introduced by firmware 3.00.

Nikon released firmware 3.00 for the Z8 on July 1, bringing some incredible new features to the Z8 camera, including a first-of-its-kind Pixel Shift mode that incorporates focus shift and AE bracketing, enabling photographers to capture sharper, higher-resolution images with enhanced depth of field and expanded dynamic range.

However, reports quickly filed in from photographers worldwide that there were new issues with certain third-party lenses, including those made by Tamron and Viltrox. All three companies, Nikon, Tamron, and Viltrox, quickly released statements and advisories, telling customers not to upgrade their Z8 firmware with any non-Nikon lenses or mount adapters attached to the camera.

While not every third-party lens owner was affected, users reported various issues, including inoperable autofocus performance.

Understandably, inconsistent autofocus, or no autofocus at all, are significant problems, so Nikon quickly worked on isolating the issue and developing a solution. That solution has arrived in the form of Z8 firmware 3.01, which is available to download and install now.

The list of changes from firmware 3.00 to 3.01 is exceptionally short, with Nikon saying just that the new firmware release “fixed an issue that prevented the camera from operating properly with some lenses.”

Even so, Nikon has maintained the warning it added to the Z8 firmware download page shortly after version 3.00 was released, with the company still telling customers not to update their camera firmware with lenses “other than Z-mount Nikkor lenses or mount adapters other than FTZ II/FTZ attached.”

“Failure to observe this precaution could result in camera malfunction,” Nikon adds.

This is not the first time that a new camera firmware update created new issues, and it won’t be the last. It happens to every company at some point, and critically, Nikon addressed it quickly. Nikon Z8 owners with third-party lenses and mount adapters should now be all set, provided they update their Z8 to 3.01 with only Nikkor Z-mount lenses attached. Although maybe it’s worth removing the lens altogether, just to play it safe.