Nikon 1 V1 anyone?

[Letrow]

I just purchased one of these with the 10-30mm lens attached. Still have to receive it though, so very curious on how it performs.
The reason I bought one is the absolute rock bottom price they go for at the moment. It is cheaper than most decent compacts and certainly cheaper than all the more advanced ones that I would be interested in. For that I get a good, sharp lens and ok camera body.
Buying a newer model did not nake sense, as it brings you up in the price bracket of the Sony RX100s and M4/3.
I have been looking for a good compact camera and this one, although it has some issues, might fit the bill.

Very fast focus (during the day that is), good enough to shoot moving dogs and other pets, interchangeable lenses (I could even buy an adapter and fit my existing F mount lenses on it), same battery as my D600 uses (now, that is interesting), small CX format sensor, decent image performance, made for the simple shooter (so DSLR owners might feel hampered a bit).

Current plan is to just use the 10-30mm lens, which comes with the package. Investing in other lenses does not seem like a good idea.

[tomdinning]

I got one about 3 months ago. I stick it in my handbag when I go shopping or take it on my morning walk. Seems to do the job nicely. One thing that annoys me. It has this dial on the back which I keep moving. It changes the mode from still to video and this weird setting where it takes a few shots for you and picks the best. Sound like my wife. I glued it down, fixed on single shot.
I got one of those adaptor things as well. It works with the Nikons and some Sigmas. Don't expect miracles from it. It's still a toy. But it's a camera. What more would you want?
As for the moving dogs and cats, buy yourself a 22 cal. And shoot for the eyes.

[Melkus]

I had one for about two weeks before sending it back. My main reason for sending it back was poor ergonomics I have big hands and there little to no hand grip so for me it was hard to get a grip on it. The other thing I did not like was there no dedicated ISO button you have to go back into the menu to change this. Most of the features a photographers like me want are there, but too many of them are buried within the menu. Small firmware changes, such as making the "F" button customisable and/or the self-timer button reprogrammable could make the Nikon 1 V1 a stand out. The Nikon 1 V1 hybrid AF system is very good when there enough light but I found out in low lights it did hunt some before it lock on, I feel with better lens this will not be much of a problem. Over all I really did like the Nikon 1 V1 it took some very good photos. The price of the Nikon 1 V1 has drop by 66% since it first came out, when a product like this drops that much in less than a year there is usually something wrong with the product, or the product fails to sell due to lack of mass adoption, in this case it was from lack of mass adoption another words it just did not sell. Nikon came a little late to the mirrorless market with its Nikon 1 system. The Micro 4/3 alliance already matured by then, with excellent lens choices, bigger sensor and lots of built-in features. Sony also gathered a big fanbase around its tiny cameras with big APS-C size sensors. Others were pushing hard with innovative designs, great lens choices and more. While Nikon wanted to capture the hearts and minds of many photographers, the product did not get the stamp of approval from the mirrorless community, mostly due to its high price tag. Many reviewers praised the Nikon 1 V1 camera, but could not justify its high price when compared to the competition. Not when Sony was selling its excellent mirrorless cameras like Sony NEX-5N for several hundred dollars less. And with Canon also adopting APS-C sensor size for its new EOS M mirrorless system, it was getting clear that Nikon would have a hard time competing in the mirrorless market. And now here we are the Nikon 1 V1 is the cheapest of them all (in the high-end mirrorless category)

Shot of my granddaughter. Nikon 1 V1 and 30-110mm lens

[Manfred M]

I had a chance to use a friends brand new Nikon 1 V2 a few weeks ago. I don't know what he paid for it, so I can't comment on its value. It has changed a bit from the V1, so again, a direct comparison is a bit difficult. I have medium sized hands and found it a bit small to use. The controls were all a bit tight together for me. I'm not sure about build quality, but it looked like some of the rubberized grip material on the lens was coming off. For me the real show stoppers were the quality of the electronic viewfinder; I just find the IQ is not a great representation of the scene. I understand that this has not changed from V1 to V2. I found that the tiny sensor meant I could not shoot the narrow DoF that I prefer.

Bottom line; this camera has all of the downsides of mFT cameras and none of the upsides. I am a Nikon shooter as we own a couple of D90 bodies and one D800. I think they make very good DSLRs, but the rest of their lineup is a bit weak.

[thequacksoflife]

Manfred I've used the V1 and own mFT. It has one upside that none of the mirrorless cameras have and that is usable continuous autofocus.

[Letrow]

So far I like it. The results not as good as with the D600 of course, due to the smaller sensor, but the performance is quite well.

It has some very nice features, such as burst shots and slow motion movie. Quite good quality for such a small camera. The camera (on electronic HI shutter) can do 10, 30 or 60 frames per second for short burst. Quite interesting for sports or analyzing certain movements. Slow motion is great for that as well.

It has all the features my DSLR has, but some things are more hidden, like PASM. Advanced users will miss the dedicated button for that, but it is in the menu and TBH how many times a day do you need to change that anyway.

It is small and you can't do everything you can do with a DSLR, but it works perfect as small back-up or take-along, which is what I meant it for. I can imagine that for someone with huge hands this could be to small. My hands aren't small though and it works fine for me.

I don't think that I will be investing in other lenses, that should be left for the DSLR really.
The Nikon 1V1 wasn't a success for Nikon I guess and the 1J1 performed better (although simpler), but my guess is that people liked the smaller size of that body better. I concur with Paul on that failure from Nikon to market it right.

The 1V1 does have a good EVF though, I don't fully agree with Manfred on that. It has 100% view and shows all the relevant information, so what more could you expect from this kind of camera? If you take all of the above and into account and the fact that it was much, much cheaper now than every serious compact or M4/3 camera I had looked at, the choice wan't difficult.

As a poor example (all my other shots were family shots, as it was too cold to go out this weekend):



Nikon 1V1 at 10mm (approximately 27mm full frame); 1/30sec, F/4 at ISO560

[Letrow]

Just a few shots to show what the Nikon 1V1 can do.
Just like the Ricoh this camera has its limitations in the higher ISO range, where it underperforms the Nikon D600. No surprise really, as the D600 can do really good photos up to ISO3200 and it's ISO6400 is acceptable.

But in normal light the Nikon 1V1 performs good and its light weight make it a pleasure to carry along.
The fact that it has EVF sets it apart from the other compact cameras and I notice that I use it quite a lot. The quality of the EVF is good, much better than the EVP that comes with the Ricoh, but not as good as the VF on the D600 of course.

On the Ricoh I use the screen most of the time, as the EVF is a bit poor.


Miami by night


Miami by day


Heathrow (by day)

It is quite inconspicuous.

It is a real pity that the adapter for the Nikon 1, which enables the use of all F-mount lenses is Eur 269, exactly what I paid for the camera + 10-30mm lens.

[Letrow]

Well, I have owned the Nikon 1V1 for almost a month and a half now, so given how fast the digital market is changing, I think I can give a good opinion on it.

Seriously though, for my purposes it does what it needs to do. Image quality is pretty good, although in low light it can absolutely not compare to my D600. That is no surprise of course, but if you look carefully at what you do it performs well.

The price is still very attractive. The camera is a bit older of course and has been replaced by the Nikon 1V2, but the lens hasn't changed and is of decent quality.
In the Netherlands this camera is still sold with full guarantee and if you own Nikon lenses already it is worth thinking about, because you can use it with the Nikon FT1 adapter, creating huge lenses (x factor 2.7).

I like the 1V1 model better than the 1V2. The latter has a huge grip, which doesn't appeal to me.
In good light the sensor produces good results, sharp enough for my purposes. You need to keep it under ISO800 though, above that in low light the image quality degrades quickly.

The EVF is good, I use it exclusively when I take shots, as I am not a big fan of looking at a screen while keeping the camera stable in two hands. The lack of controls is something that a lot of people have commented on, but I don't change the settings that much, so it is something that I can live with. Not ideal though.

If I want to travel light this is ideal, otherwise the D600 is better for me.



Overall, I would give it a thumbs up, but you have to be aware of its limitations. Don't discount it too easily though. With the 10-30mm lens (27-81mm full frame equivalent) it presents a flexible package, that gives the Nikon shooter a wider range of options.

[Letrow]

I have been thinking about the usefulness of the Nikon FT1 adapter for my camera lately. The adapter would allow me to put my other Nikkor F lenses (meant for full frame) on the Nikon 1V1. The angle of view of an F mount lens mounted on the FT1 is equivalent to that of a 35mm format lens with a focal length about 2.7 x longer.

So basically my Nikkor 105mm macro lens would become a 280mm macro approximately and my Nikkor 70-200mm would gain something to. It also supports autoexposure/autofocus and vibration reduction. Autofocus is available only with AF-S lenses; other lenses support manual focus only. The only AF-area mode available is Single-point AF and the camera focuses on the subject in the center focus point only.

So my only doubt is, is it worth it? First of all quality wise: the 1V1 has a different sensor than the D600 of course and especially on macro this might be hampering the overall quality. Also, shooting macro at 270mm equivalent, poses some challenges...

Anyone with experience on this adapter?