First Setup
What should you change on a brand-new Nikon Z8 before your first shoot?
Format both cards in the camera
Formatting builds the folder structure the camera expects and clears a card that has lived in other devices. This body has two slots that take different cards: one accepts a CFexpress (Type B) or XQD card, the other an SD card — UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards are both supported. The Format screen asks which slot; run it once for each. A full format is offered for a deeper wipe — it takes longer, and data deleted by it may not be recoverable.
Make the second slot a backup
Set Secondary slot function to Backup: every picture is recorded to both cards at once, so a failed card is an inconvenience, not a lost shoot. The factory setting, Overflow, only touches the second card when the first one fills — one copy of everything until then. Primary slot selection, one item above, chooses which slot leads; lead with the CFexpress slot. Videos play by a different rule: their card is chosen in the Video Recording Menu under Destination, not by the stills slot settings.
Big sensor, managed files
The camera ships at RAW + JPEG fine — the JPEG to share, the RAW as the negative. The decision is RAW recording. At FX Large the Z8 writes 8256 × 5504 pixels (45.7 megapixels) per frame, and the three compressions run in descending order by file size: Lossless compression, High efficiency ★, High efficiency. In Nikon's own words, High efficiency ★ produces pictures that compare favorably in quality to those produced by lossless compression — in a much smaller file, which is what you want at 20 frames per second.
Steady the sensor
Vibration reduction to Normal for everyday, static subjects; Sport is Nikon's mode for athletes and other subjects that are moving rapidly and unpredictably; Off disables it. The choices available can vary with the lens — a short menu is the lens talking, not a fault.
Bank the setup — there is no U1 here
There is no mode dial and there are no U1/U2/U3 positions on this body. Saved setups live in shooting menu banks A–D; selecting Extended menu banks in the Photo Shooting Menu makes each bank hold the full shooting setup. Put your known-good setup in bank A. For a copy outside the camera, Setup Menu → Save/load menu settings writes the whole configuration to a memory card.
Do the steps now, in order, then open Shooting menu bank and confirm bank A holds them, Extended menu banks on. That bank is your camera from today on.