Nikon z8 multi-shot for digitizing 120 / 4x5?

[Ardpatrick]

Last week the z8 got new firmware giving the capacity for sensor shift multi-shot with its 47 mp sensor. I read it can produce a very clean 180 mp file. I’m very much a Nikon Dslr / film person and don’t own any mirrorless cameras apart from a Mamiya 7!

Whilst the z8 has definitely caught my eye even before this update, I’m curious about its new multi shot capacity for capturing / scanning 6x7 or 4x5 negs. For high resolution captures I’ve been shooting 6x7 in two halves with my d800e and combining them in PS. I haven’t tried 4x5 scanning but would probably have to try shooting negs in 4 sections and combining in PS afterwords.

Are the Z mount lens optics there to make good use of 180mp of resolution? It would allow me to bypass the PS compositing. I’m skeptical but curious to hear other perspectives.

 

[Ardpatrick]

“Are the Z mount lens optics there to make good use of 180mp of resolution”

I think I’m trying to ask if the Zmount optics (specifically the

 

[Ardpatrick]

I’ll try that again!

Would the Z mount 105mm macro be good enough to make use of 180 mp of resolution- which would be more than enough to capture a fine grained and sharp 4x5 neg, without the need to stitch?

 

[250swb]

Well the 105mm is one of Nikons sharpest lenses, and it happens to be a micro lens, and I doubt you'd get anything sharper, but I only have a Z7 and can't do pixel shift

 

[Ardpatrick]

Thanks 250swb. I have owned the f-mount 105 D for 25 years, and I can say it's probably my most used lens. I still love it. I'm sure the Z mount version is better still. For me this is a very practical question as I'm interested in the possibility of digitising 4x5 at high resolution without stitching. Since first posting here I've read online some very convincing initial tests of the z8's new functionality - suggesting nearly 90% more resolution, but not tested specifically with the micro Nikkor 105 Z.

 

[loccdor]

I suspect it's too early to find a specific test, you probably either will have to wait for someone else or do the test yourself. There are only a couple Z8 pixel shift results on Flickr so far.