SURPRISE! MAC OS now appears to support Nikon Z8 RAW files!

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James C.

James C.

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Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "About this Mac" section, then clicked on the "More Info" button, then the "System Report" button, then scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photo NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
 
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James C. said:
Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "System Report," scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photos NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
Click to expand...
Z8 lossless compressed raw? Or maybe also high efficiency* and high efficiency compressed raw, which would be nice?
 
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James C. said:
Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "System Report," scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photos NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
Click to expand...
That’s great. Thanks for the update.
 
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James C. said:
Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "System Report," scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photos NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
Click to expand...
Several people as well as myself have been complaining to customer support. I guess they got the message.
 
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Ralph said:
Screenshot 2024-02-17 at 11.24.30 AM.png
Several people as well as myself have been complaining to customer support. I guess they got the message.
Click to expand...
Would you mind sharing screen shots of your System Report? I just updated to Sonoma 14.3.1 and it does not support Z8. See screen shots attached.
Ralph said:
Several people as well as myself have been complaining to customer support. I guess they got the message.
Click to expand...
 
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jbk2forum said:
Would you mind sharing screen shots of your System Report? I just updated to Sonoma 14.3.1 and it does not support Z8. See screen shots attached.
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As per your request, here's a screenshot of my Mac's system report. I have highlighted the Nikon Z8 in the list.

1708194394412.jpeg
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James C. said:
I have my Z8 set on "RAW" only. (Which I assume is uncompressed RAW.)
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The Z8 default is lossless compressed raw. No option to do uncompressed on the Z9/Z8, but since lossless is lossless, probably no reason to want uncompressed.

You have to choose HE* or HE raw compression, if you want that. I use lossless compressed for landscape and other non-wildlife shooting. I usually use HE* raw for wildlife shooting.
 
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jbk2forum said:
No question. I don't know why it is not showing up in my System Report. Will delve into this. Thanks.
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I’m using Monterey and it’s showing. Go to the open Apple menu in the upper left Corner of the finder. Click on it. Then click on “about this Mac”. Click on system report. Go down to software and click on RAW support. Scroll down to Nikon.
 
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Ralph said:
I’m using Monterey and it’s showing. Go to the open Apple menu in the upper left Corner of the finder. Click on it. Then click on “about this Mac”. Click on system report. Go down to software and click on RAW support. Scroll down to Nikon.
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Yes. Done. Sonoma. Not showing as supported.
 
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Great news …and my iPad and iPhone XS can view the raw files in the native photos app…

it means I can get back to my normal work flow
z8 -> ipad -> SSD -> imac
IMG_2545.jpeg
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Ralph said:
Make sure under the preference,” system updates “you have the “Install system data files and security updates checked off. That will automatically update. I’m pretty sure that’s how RAW is updated.This is separate from the MacOS updates.
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Great suggestion. Did it and already checked. So I unchecked and rechecked. Restarted. No soap.
 
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If you're not seeing the Z8 as supported now, I'd suggest you call (in the U.S.) 1-800-MY-APPLE. That's Apple's free technical support line. Maybe they can help.
 
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James C. said:
Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "About this Mac" section, then clicked on the "More Info" button, then the "System Report" button, then scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photo NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
Click to expand...
Great news! Thanks!
 
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James C. said:
Today, 2/16/2024, while transferring some photos from my memory card to a folder on an external drive where I keep all of my Z8 photos, I was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) to see their thumbnails appear, for the first time ever, on my Mac's screen!

I went into my Mac's "About this Mac" section, then clicked on the "More Info" button, then the "System Report" button, then scrolled down to the "Software>RAW support" section and clicked on it. I then scrolled down to the "Nikon" section, and lo and behold, for the first time since the Nikon Z8 camera came out in May of last year, IT WAS LISTED AS A SUPPORTED CAMERA!

I went into the Apple "Photos" app to see if a test photo I'd imported into it last August was no longer a blank, gray square. And sure enough, the photo NOW APPEARED as one would normally expect it to!

YAHOOOOOO! (It's about TIME!)

p.s. I am running MacOS 14.3.1, by the way.
Click to expand...
On the phone with Apple Support. What model computer/year are you running. Give me screenshot of About without your serial #.
 
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This is to the members on this thread.
I have just ended my conversation with Apple Technical Support. They couldn't have been more helpful.
Let's run through this:
1. Apple does not provide Z8 Raw support for any Apple computer that includes the T2 security chip-2019 model + and Apple Silicon chip with Apple's new security protocols.
2. It appears that those here who have Z8 support have computers that do not fit into these two categories.
Can those of you who do have Z8 support, please advise what model/date you have and operating system? I'm particularly interested in hearing back from the OP..James about this info.
I'll check my iPhone and iPad later. But only really interested in my computers.
Thank you all.
Jon
 
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2023 Mac mini. M2 Pro chip and no automatic update feature turned on (except "check for updates") the Z8 is listed.

It took a bit of looking to find the various automatic update choices but at least for Sonoma, click the "info button" (little circle with an " i" in it) after navigating from "System Settings" to "General" to "Software Updates" to "Automatic Updates" then click the "info button". This brings up the "advanced" screen (labeled "Automatically") with the update choices.

Apparently T2 chip was only in Intel Macs made in late 2017 to early 2023, it's function being incorporated into the Apple "M" chips.
 
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Robert Ardinger said:
2023 Mac mini. M2 Pro chip and no automatic update feature turned on (except "check for updates") the Z8 is listed.

It took a bit of looking to find the various automatic update choices but at least for Sonoma, click the "info button" (little circle with an " i" in it) after navigating from "System Settings" to "General" to "Software Updates" to "Automatic Updates" then click the "info button". This brings up the "advanced" screen (labeled "Automatically") with the update choices.

Apparently T2 chip was only in Intel Macs made in late 2017 to early 2023.
Click to expand...
Robert, thanks. Can you take a screen shot of your 'About This Mac' (edit out Serial # if you wish); and then your Raw Support page as well? Thank you. Jon
 
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Interesting that the Zfc is listed twice (one with a space between Z and f and one without) and the Zf is not listed (suspect one of the Zfcs is the Zf with a typo but I have no way to prove it). Also, I previously used a 2018 Mac mini (intel based with T2 chip) and had no issues with thumbnails on raw files. Could it be that a Mac with a T2 chip could support Z8 files but given the final phase out the the T2 chip occurred at about the same time as the introduction of the Z8, that Apple just did not add it (as opposed to the hardware not allowing it)?.

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