Nikon Z8 FTP setup, step by step

We wrote this guide from Nikon's Z8 Reference Guide (firmware C 3.10) on 29 October 2026. We have not yet tested it on a Z8; our camera test so far was on a Nikon Z50 II. If a menu name differs on your camera, tell us and we will correct the page.

Before you start

• An event in the SnapMila app. Open its Camera setup screen: it shows the server address, the port, your 6-character user name and your 6-character camera password, the same for every event.
• A Wi-Fi network the camera can join — the venue's, or your phone's hotspot. The Z8 supports open networks, WPA2 and WPA3. Networks with a sign-in web page do not work for cameras. Which to choose: Camera FTP over Wi-Fi or a hotspot.
• Firmware C 3.10 or later. Version 3.00 added the port number step, and 3.10 stopped the camera from clearing its [Filtered playback criteria] when switched off. The latest is C 3.12.
• A card in the camera and a charged battery. A photo is sent only after it is recorded to the card.
• The camera connects to one kind of device at a time: a computer, an FTP server or a phone. End any other connection first.

1. Create the FTP profile

1. Press MENU and open the network menu. Select [Connect to FTP server], highlight [Network settings] and press the multi selector right.
2. Choose [Create profile], then [Connection wizard].
3. Give the profile a name, for example SnapMila.

2. Join the Wi-Fi network

1. Choose [Search for Wi-Fi network]. This is Nikon's Wi-Fi station mode: the camera joins an existing network, the way a phone does. (The other choice, [Direct connection to computer], is access-point mode and is not used with SnapMila.)
2. Pick the venue network or your hotspot by its name and enter its password. An icon next to each name shows its band.
3. For the IP address choose [Obtain automatically].

3. Enter the SnapMila server

1. For the server type choose [FTP]. For [FTPS], load the certificate first (step 5). SnapMila does not offer SFTP yet.
2. Enter the server address exactly as the SnapMila app shows it. The camera then connects to the server.
3. When it asks for the port, enter the port number shown in the app.
4. Choose [Enter user ID] (not [Anonymous login]). The user ID is the 6-character user name shown in the app; capital or small letters both work. The password is your 6-character camera password.
5. For the destination folder choose [Home folder]. The camera says the setup is complete.

4. Turn on PASV mode

The wizard does not ask about it, so set it afterwards: [Network settings], highlight the SnapMila profile and press the multi selector right to edit it. In the profile's [FTP] section set [PASV mode] to [ON], and leave [Proxy server] off. SnapMila uses passive mode; without it, uploads stop with Err.37.

5. If you want FTPS

• Nikon asks you to load the server's root certificate before you connect with FTPS. SnapMila's certificate comes from Let's Encrypt, whose root is ISRG Root X1. Download it from Let's Encrypt's certificates page (the PEM file) and save it in the card's top folder as ROOT.PEM.
• Load it with [Connect to FTP server] › [Options] › [Manage root certificate] › [Import root certificate]. The camera keeps one root certificate at a time.
• Then choose [FTPS] as the server type in the wizard, or change [Server type] in the profile's [FTP] section.
• We have not yet tried FTPS on a Nikon. If it stops with Err.61, 62 or 63, use [FTP] instead, on your phone's hotspot — never on open venue Wi-Fi.

6. Set the upload options

In [Connect to FTP server] › [Options]:

Videos are never uploaded automatically, and SnapMila galleries show photos only. Each JPEG can be up to 60 MB. Nikon sends a photo's voice memo along with it, so skip voice memos on event photos.

7. Take a test shot

1. When connected, the profile name turns green and FTP appears in the shooting display. A red FTP with a warning icon means an error (see below).
2. Take one photo. In playback its icon goes from white (waiting) to green (uploading) to blue (uploaded). The [Connect to FTP server] screen shows the photos left to send and any error code.
3. Open the event in the SnapMila app or scan its QR: the photo appears within about half a minute.

Photos that were not sent

• Auto upload only marks photos taken after you turn it on. To send an earlier shot, connect first, press the playback button, pick the photo, press i and choose [Select for upload (FTP)]. [Select for priority upload (FTP)] sends it ahead of the photos already waiting.
• For many photos at once, open [Filtered playback criteria] in the playback menu and tick [Select for upload (FTP)] › [Pictures not uploaded]. Then in playback, choose [Filtered playback] in the i menu, and [Select all for upload (FTP)]. These items appear only while the camera is connected.
• If the signal was lost, turn the camera off and on again: marked photos carry on uploading. The camera keeps the marks when switched off.
• Avoid [Options] › [Upload folder] for this. It marks every photo in the folder, even ones already sent.
• The SnapMila app names any missing file numbers, so you know what to resend.

For your next event

Change nothing in the camera. Each photo goes to the event that began last: its day, one of its functions, or the event you chose. The banner at the top of the app and the dashboard shows which one, and its Change sends the next photo to another event.

Troubleshooting

How we made this page

On 29 October 2026 we went through Nikon's Z8 Reference Guide for firmware C 3.10 and matched each setting to SnapMila's FTP server: port 21, passive mode, FTP or FTPS, the home folder, JPEG files only, up to 60 MB each. The same server settings work with the Nikon Z50 II we tested on. We will add the result of a Z8 test to this page.

Nikon's reference guide says that internet FTP connections, and FTP servers running third-party software, are not supported. SnapMila runs its own FTP server on the internet, so Nikon does not guarantee this connection.

Sources

• Nikon Z8 Reference Guide — Connect to FTP server, FTP servers: connecting via wireless LAN, uploading pictures, filtered playback, troubleshooting and error codes, Wi-Fi specifications. Checked 29 October 2026.
• Nikon Download Center — Z8 firmware C 3.12 and earlier changes. Checked 29 October 2026.

Using SnapMila at your events

• For event photographers
• For event managers
• For corporate events
• For weddings