Nikon rug-pulls Z8 users by removing Auto Capture from upcoming firmware update

It appears that Nikon is trying to rewrite history by removing wording relating to the Auto Capture feature coming to its Z8 mirrorless camera, as noted by Nikon Rumors and users on the DP Review forum. Nikon has gone so far as to edit the Z9 firmware update 4.0 feature announcement video to remove mention of Auto Capture coming to the Z8 in the future. Previously, the Z9 firmware 4.0 video allegedly noted at around the 1:42 mark that Auto Capture would be coming to the Z8 in the future, but, now, there is no such mention — as seen in the video embedded below this article.

While some speculation suggests that mention of the feature coming to the Z8 was removed so that Nikon wouldn't be pressured into bringing it to the Z8 in a specific time frame, others have suggested more sinister motives. One thing that almost all the launch reviews note about the Z8 is how much it resembles the Z9 in performance, only falling behind slightly in terms of ergonomics, sustained burst shooting, and battery life — for US$1,500 less, those are easy compromises to live with. Nikon silently "un-announcing" Auto Capture for the Z8 could indicate that the camera maker was concerned about cannibalising its own flagship camera sales.

Time will tell whether Nikon is trying to preserve sales of its Z9 by distancing it from the Z8, or whether Nikon actually plans on introducing Auto Capture to the Z8 and just needed more time to develop the feature. Nikon's silence on the matter only creates more room for speculation, which can do nothing but hurt the brand — without clarification, for all we know, it could have been a mistake in the marketing that was simply corrected.

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