PurpWaltz

Really nice shot!

Beautiful - is this a pano?

This is such a wonderful shot!

Yes, the J5 does have some curious omissions. I agree about the IR sensor - it is always helpful to have a way to trigger the shutter remotely. I find the lack an of exposure bracketing function particularly irritating. But at its heart it is a capable camera with great image quality. I have even managed to eke out decent cityscapes at night with the J5, although its low light capabilities are hardly stellar.

Hi all, I have had the J5 for a year now, and based on my experience with this camera I have written a field report. The link is: https://purpwaltz.wordpress.com/2017/08/09/nikon-1-j5-review-a-field-report/ Hopefully it provides useful inputs to anyone thinking of buying the J5. Please let me know if you have any feedback. Mahesh

I did some testing today to evaluate the sharpness of the Nikon 10-100 mm lens (for the Nikon 1 system) relative to the Nikon primes 35 mm f1.8G, 50 mm f1.8G and 85 m f1.8G. The link is: https://purpwaltz.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/nikon-1-nikkor-10-100-mm-4-5-6-vr-lens-a-note-on-sharpness/ From my tests, I walked away with a lot of respect for the sharpness of the 10-100 mm lens, relative to the primes. As a result of these tests, I have decided to leave the 35 mm prime at home. Hope this article is helpful. Thanks.

Hi Jochen and bonsignore_ezio - very valid points raised. Maybe a bit of detail about the trek logistics will help clarify my choices. We will trek for six days at altitudes in excess of 10,000 feet, with views of the Himalayas in the distance on most days. The trek will be on well defined trails, and we will have villages en route with access to snacks and water throughout the route. I have opted to have my backpack carried by porters (I have to adhere to a weight limit of 8 kgs for the backpack), so I intend traveling with only a small day pack with some water, snacks and a poncho in case it rains. We will probably trek 6 hours each day (except for one day when we may be walking for ~10 hours), starting around 9:00 AM. During the trek, I intend carrying the Nikon V1 body on an Op/Tech sling with the 10-100 mm lens (FX equivalent 27-270 mm), along with the 10 mm prime, a couple of spare batteries and a spare memory card. This will allow me to capture the trek itself - candids, local scenes, etc. I will have a MountainSmith trekking pole that also doubles up as a monopod in case I need additional support for my camera. The Nikon J5 along with the primes, filters, tripod will be carried via porters to the camp site. On most evenings, I anticipate that I will have time to head out of camp to photograph during the golden hours (dawn and dusk) with the Gitzo 1001 tripod, and the J5 along with the 10-100 zoom and the primes. I believe that the J5 with its superior sensor will be better suited to landscape shots than the older V1. For wide angle shots I am limited to using the 10 mm (FX equivalent 27 mm) and the 18.5 mm (FX equivalent 50 mm). At the longer end I have the Nikkor 35 mm, 50 mm and the 85 mm. After reading your posts, I am leaning towards dumping the 35 mm, and carrying only the 50 mm and the 85 mm lenses. On the J5, the 50 mm is like a 135 mm lens, and the 85 mm is like a 230 mm lens, which should be well suited for situations where I would want to use a tele. I am keen on the primes because I do want image sharpness, which I am not sure that the 10-100 mm zoom will give me. Thanks much for your inputs - they are forcing me to think harder about my choices, and to carry with me only what I am sure I will use.

Gary - both the J5 and the V1 shoot in RAW. It is only when I use the built-in HDR function on the J5 that it switches to JPG. I will practice the HDR procedure as you suggest before the trip. On the D7100 HDR is very simple, as I have to set bracketing parameters and keep pushing the remote control. On both the J5 and V1, I need to manually adjust exposure compensation for each shot, making the setup more prone to shake and errors. But with practice I am hoping I will get better, and let Lightroom's align function sort out any minor camera shake. The other thing that I want to do is take panoramas, as the landscapes are likely to be breathtaking, and I don't have a wide-angle (or at least any wider than 27 mm in FX terms). I am hoping to get some wider angles of view using multiple shots with various primes - 10 mm (equivalent to 27 mm on FX), 18.5 mm (equivalent to 50 mm on FX) and even 50 mm (equivalent to 135 mm on FX). May also order a couple more extra batteries for the J5, whose batteries only yield 200 shots per charge. Your advice has been phenomenal - I am going to heed it for sure. :-) Thanks!

Wow, some phenomenal advice here, Gary - many thanks! HDR: HDR is supported on the J5, but the image is converted to JPG by the camera. I prefer bracketing and shooting in RAW, then working the final image in Lightroom. There is no bracketing function in either camera (such a shame!), so I need to adjust exposure compensation each time, which is both time consuming and error prone. I am also taking graduated ND filters, so I try and get a sunrise/sunset situation right without having to resort to HDR. Cold: Yes, it will get cold, and sunrise is expected around 5:30 AM in those parts, so I need to prepare well for those conditions. Great idea about bringing a flashlight with a Red lens! Had not thought of that, but it is so obvious! :-) I will post updates post my trip with learnings, so it may help other folks as well. Thanks, Mahesh

Hi Gary, Thanks for the great advice! I am not as familiar with both the V1 and the J5 as I am with the D7100, so I need to take lots of pictures with both to increase my familiarity with both. The 10-100 will fit in both cameras, so between this general purpose lens and the primes I think I have a good set of lenses for many situations, without lugging a ton of weight. My trip is planned as follows: Week 1 - Gangtok, Sikkim. We will be staying at a hotel, and playing tourist, but with some hiking thrown in. We will probably drive up to some altitudes (14,500 feet above MSL), and per my research we can expect wet weather. So your tip about plenty of plastic bags is bang-on! :-) While in Gangtok, I plan to have the V1 as my main camera (as it has a viewfinder, and I like its usability a lot more than the J5), while we wander the strets of Gangtok and neighboring areas. Week 2: The actual trek - we will hit the trails for a week, staying in a mix of tents and local "tea houses". No power in tents of course, and I am told not to expect a lot of power options in the tea houses as well. I have 7 batteries for the J5, and 6 for the V1 (both cameras take different batteries). The J5 yields ~200 shots per battery, while the V1 yields ~400 shots per battery, so I should have enough juice for the entire trek without encountering AC power. I will of course carry my chargers with me so I can charge any drained batteries. Numbering the batteries - what a neat idea! :-) BTW, I am taking your advice to heart - starting today, I am going to practice using both cameras as much as I can, particularly stuff like bracketing, changing ISO quickly etc. I would like to take a lot of shots during the golden hour, and being able to bracket shots and do HDR shots with multiple images is something that I am looking forward to doing. Also, since I do not have an extra wide angle option (the 10 mm on a Nikon 1 system is the equivalent of a 27 mm on a full-frame), I plan to do some panorama stitching in Lightroom with multiple shots. Thanks again for your excellent advice! Mahesh

Greetings everyone! I am getting back to photo.net after years! I first got onto photo.net when I used to live in the Boston area, in the mid-1990's and I continued through my move to California in the 2000's. In the meantime I had kids, moved continents (to the land of my birth - India), and photography became something I indulged in only on vacations. My weak excuse(s) are work and family. ;-) Over the past couple of years, I have had the occasion to go to the mountains in India a few times, each time with my DSLR and a bunch of lenses in tow. To celebrate my 50th in August last year, I went on a week-long trek in the lower Himalayas in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. I was unprepared for how breathtaking the landscapes were, and I had the time of my life photographically with my Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 16-300 mm and a Sigma 10-20 mm, along with a couple of prime Nikkors. Although I was satisfied with some of the pictures I took, the weight of the gear (including a Slik Carbon Fiber tripod and an RRS ballhead) did interfere with my overall experience. Which brings me to the views I would like to hear from the folks on this forum. I am heading to the Himalayas again in April for two weeks, and this time I have decided to travel a lighter. While trekking/hiking, I plan to use a Nikon 1 V1 with the 10-100 mm Nikkor as a general purpose setup, where I can take pictures of my companions, and the general sights I see during the trek. For the mornings and evenings, when we camp, and I can do some serious landscape photography during the golden hours, my choice is the Nikon 1 J5 with a bunch of primes - 10 mm f2.8, 18.5 mm f1.8, 35 mm F1.8 (DX), 50 mm f1.8 (FX), and the 85 mm f1.8 (FX) - the DX and FX Nikkors will be usable on the Nikon 1 system via the FT-1 adapter. For tripod I will carry my trusty old Gitzo 1001. I will have some graduated ND filters, and a circular polarizer. Of course a lot of spare batteries and memory cards. This is the first time I am ditching my DSLR with the associated big glass for a trip to the hills. While I am glad to shed the weight, I am also a little concerned that I will not have the familiar gear with me, and I will be heading out on a trip with breathtaking landscapes and scenery armed with the Nikon 1 system for the first time. I would love to hear your experiences traveling light when in a lap of nature. Is there stuff I should absolutely have? Stuff that I have listed that I can leave at home? Thank you all, and may you find the best light! Mahesh