We stopped at a lake. To the side was a tiny little pool of water. A dragonfly was flying around. All my previous images of flying dragonflies were taken with my Sony camera system. This was the first opportunity to try it with my Nikon Z8. So I could not resist. Without thinking of getting a good image, I took a few shots. For me, this was not about the image but about comparing the focusing ability of the Z8 to my previous Sony A7R IV. The Sony A7R IV is more suited to landscape, architecture, still life, portrait photography, etc. than what it is suited for action or fast movement. Yet, it has yielded some nice images of dragonflies before. How was the Z8 going to do?

The Nikon acquired the focus in a jiff. It tracked the dragonfly with easy. I would say that it is quite a bit faster at focus acquisition and better at tracking than my Sony. I am not knocking the Sony here. This kind of photography is not what that camera was intended for. A friend was shooting with a Nikon D850 (most probably the best DSLR ever made by any manufacturer). I handed him my Z8, fitted with the 180-600mm to try on the dragonfly. He was very impressed by what this camera can do. I look forward to shooting dragonflies more in the Spring. One issue I have with some of Nikon's lenses is the length of their minimum focusing distance. I wished that both the 180-600mm and the 800mm PF lenses could focus a bit closer. For small subjects such as these, having to step back to get focus, means that now we have to crop the image considerably, stealing valuable resolution in the process.

          Dragonfly images are often made or ruined by the wings. Unless the light is right their wings can be lost in the image (they are semi-transparent). Back lighting works well for them.