charles brown Loc: Tennesse

I have a book written by David Busch for the Canon EOS RP. In it he recommends camera settings for various types of photography such as travel, landscape and sports. Cost a lot less than $96.00 I am sure either he or someone else has written such a book for the Nikon Z8. I view his suggestions as a starting point and sometimes made adjustments to fit my style of photography.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

MJPerini

The Idea of paying someone you do not know and who does not you, $100 bucks for a setup, seems preposterous to me.
You should have a reason for the way your camera is set up if it is different than the way the factory sets it up.
Read the manual and set it up any way you want. It may be a little tedious, but it is certainly not hard.
Nikon has been making cameras for a long time just learn the menu system, and don't change anything unless it makes things easier for you. Learn how to do a factory reset
Why would you buy an expensive camera and NOT want to know how to use it and control its interface.

BebuLamar

I don't think the OP is a professional who earns money for his photography and thus it doesn't make sense to pay someone to have the fun for you.

jcboy3

I look at a number of people's settings, to get an idea how things might be done. These cameras are very complicated, and taking a couple of starting points helps familiarize one with the numerous settings that are available.

If they already have a spreadsheet, then that's a bonus. It can take days to set up a spreadsheet and fill in the defaults and then start thinking about what to change.

Nikon, at least, makes it easy to start with a settings file, because the menus show what's been changed from default. That's a really useful feature.

I find that there are two types of settings. There are the baseline settings, that don't change much between various shooting scenarios. And then there are those that do change between various shooting scenarios, sometimes significantly. This helps with setting up the custom settings. Once you have figured out the baseline settings, you can set up a custom setting with those, then copy it into each separate setting, and then adjust the other settings to suit the shooting scenario. Save it all off to a small capacity memory card, and repeat for other scenarios (if you have more). I typically have 7 (walkabout, tripod, studio, event, action, fast action, and macro). Nikon only supports 4, so I split them up with walkabout, tripod, studio, macro on one, and walkabout, event, action and fast action on the other. And that's just the photography side. For video I have a similar number with variations on handheld vs tripod, and various slow motion setups.

I am totally spoiled by Panasonic's newest implemention; 12 custom settings that can be named, saved to memory card with named sets, and loaded back to PASM or Video modes. And Olympus implementation, which stores them on my phone, which lets me set each custom mode as similar to Nikon User Modes or Settings Banks, and let's me switch to them with a function button.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Check out Henry Hudson on You Tube. He shows you step by step how he sets up his Nikons and explains why it works for him. It was helpful when I set up my Zf, my first mirrorless camera.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Steve is very good. When I want to find out about setting up a camera, I will usually go to his videos or Pangolin which also does a great job of setting up cameras for wildlife photography.

tcthome Loc: NJ

Besides Steve's set up book, here are a couple of vids he has on them. He specializes in wildlife & mostly Birds in flight. He'll probably have a sales pitch somewhere in the vid on his book that will say his Z8/9 settings go into much more detail & not only gives useful settings but tells why he uses them. What type of shooting do you do? Watch his vids. If you do a search, you will find others also that might be useful. That & reading the Nikon manual or whoevers you choose while the camera is in your hands & then try the setup to see what works best for you. Hudson Henry Also has some vids that walks you through how he sets his up. Actually Hudson has a seperate vid for each menu bank. A-D. Good luck & have fun with your new camera. Links below.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=steve+perry+z8

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=hudson+henry+z8-z9+setup

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Back Country Gallery is free. Personally I would never spend money for a set up guide. There are dozens of free ones to choose off Utube.
But, like a guy once said, a fool and his money are soon parted.
https://www.google.com/search?q=back+country+gallery+set+up+guide+for+Z8&oq=back+country+gallery+set+up+guide+for+Z8&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAHSAQkxNDU3NGowajeoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f932886e,vid:3Wxo10LQZUc,st:76

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

The Canon RP also has an "SCN" setting which has 12 specific settings for just about anything you may want to use on the spur of the moment, including portrait, group, landscape, sports, kids, panning, close-up, food, night portrait, handheld night scene, HDR backlight control, silent. I find these settings handy when I am confronted with an unusual situation and don't have time to do the required research. I Love my small full-frame camera body with eye focus/tracking as well as a plethora of other wonderful features that make me . . . .
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

Edit: I don't mean to step on your reply Charles.

fuminous Loc: Luling, LA... for now...

As suggested by others, setting up your camera to mimic another’s camera isn’t the best idea- unless you intend to shoot and think just like the guy whose camera you copied.
Setting up your camera to fit your shooting style and thought processes isn’t something someone else can do for you; like putting on your hat… anyone can place a hat on your head, but only you know when it feels right.
On the other hand (or head), getting instruction and suggestion on setting up your camera can be helpful. The Z8 is my first mirrorless camera (you know what I mean), I had it a week before opening the box… had it another week before turning it on… and immediately wanted to send it back as defective because it made no sound and the viewfinder didn’t black out during exposure. After reviewing 237 images of my shoes, I decided the camera was working fine, stepped outside and shot an owl- with the camera I mean. Perhaps the learning curve could be shortened with some instructional aides…
First, an instructor is presumed knowledgeable, thus you’ll have exposure to all the possibilities of your camera; true, it’s unlikely you’ll use many of those possibilities, but at least you’ll be aware of them, just in case. Second, you’ll become acquainted with your camera’s vocabulary- which is very important. Heidegger said nothing exists outside the mind until it is named; if you don’t know the name of a part or a process or a function, it does not exist for you. Third, having a handy reference- a “cheat sheet”- for hacking one’s way through the jungle of some camera menus is a great idea. Yeah, you can spend an hour or two writing down your camera’s menu options and, frankly that’s a helpful way of familiarizing yourself with the menus, but the writing down isn’t as helpful as the frequent use of the cheat sheet. So, buying a book that holds my hand when walking down a dark menu might be worth a few dollars. Fourth, YOU have to use YOUR camera to become familiar with it, to know how to call up the function or feature you want, when you want it. Just as when learning a new neighborhood, it’s best to go out and drive it yourself; riding along as a passenger doesn’t present the same learning experience as being the driver; you don’t get the same mental or physical associations. Once you know your camera, you’ll know how you want it set up for responding to your shooting conditions, your imagination, and your expectations.
No, I haven’t yet bought anything to assist or educate me on the Z8… but that doesn’t mean I won’t.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I like to see how some of these pros setup their cameras, especially if they explain their reasons for certain settings. I assume they have knowledge and experience and maybe a better understanding of exactly how features work. Ultimately though I’m usually not gonna just copy somebody else’s settings. I’m gonna pick the things that work for me. And there’s no way I’m gonna pay $96 when I’ve never seen any indication his shooting style is anything like mine.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

As a matter of fact, yes it is. I’ve been a Nikon shooter for 55 yrs, but the options available on the z8 are so
Varied and so voluminous that I needed help just to understand WHAT was available, let alone how to achieve the set up. It can do things I never imagined. BTW - save your money and look into Steve Perry at Backcountry Gallery.

coolhanduke Loc: Redondo Beach, CA

Depends on what type of photography is you do I guess.
I have watched many NPS videos on the Z9 features. It is mind boggling what it can do. And with every firmware upgrade even more are added.
But I often still go to my D850 for what I shoot.
If you think $96 will make your job easier, go for it.

elee950021 Loc: New York, NY

If you Google: "Nikon Z8 camera settings set up," you will get 303,000 hits in 0.37 seconds! I'm sure not all the hits will be helpful but they won't cost you $96! There will be different recommendations for differing shooting genres.

In the the past when I bought a new camera as in January 2023, a Nikon Z5 body, I would just Google:
"Brand, model name camera settings set up" and get tons of suggestions.

Pick your poison! Be well! Ed