Thoughts on the Nikon 1 series

[greg_kowalczewski]

<p><em>Pros that I know use what works for them and have been doing so for a while</em>.<br>

With each camera body purchase comes less excitement over the next, especially if they are sequential, because the perceived expectation of anticipated improvement is rarely matched in reality.<br>

Like a painter with a favourite brush, what is it that drives the urge to change? Lack of ability or lack of inspiration?</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p><em>what is it that drives the urge to change? Lack of ability or lack of inspiration?</em></p>

<p>I think a professional switches to a new camera when it offers a significant edge or when the old cameras are worn out to the point that they may start showing symptoms of old age. That significant edge is harder and harder to find in new models. I don't think the photographer's lack of ability or inspiration contributes to camera purchases among professionals - it's a business decision and the "edge" from using the new camera has to bring in significant additional money within a reasonably short time. I think it is mostly people who would<em> like</em> to be out there shooting and are tied to their day job tend to drool at new, unannounced cameras since they can do that behind their computers. People who <em>are</em> out there shooting are happy as they come.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>On a related note, here is a comparison among sensor sizes. The Nikon 1 sensor is very small, approximately half the area of 4/3.</p>

<p>A "standard" lens for Nikon 1 is about 20mm, which is a super wide on FX. With that 2.7x "crop factor," in my mine it is not very practical to put an F-mount lens on Nikon 1. Having such a big lens on a tiny camera is pretty weird, also.</p>

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[Dieter Schaefer]

<p>My thoughts on the Nikon 1 - not for me; the 2.7x crop factor alone made sure of that. Further thoughts: I don't get into a "the sky is falling crisis" because Nikon launches a camera series that doesn't conform to my wishes (or those of a few others). Indeed, I hope that Nikon did its market research proper and the the new line will be a success - I don't want to think about what will happen if it tanks. I certainly am not in among those waiting for the latest and greatest in FX; in fact, I believe the FX market has seen lot of attention by Nikon in the last years. I am a bit lost as to why Nikon still chooses to neglect the enthusiast amateur and look with a bit forlorn hope at the current lens list waiting for Nikon to fill some gaps and to update some lenses. </p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I just received our J1 test sample. This camera is small and so are the lenses.</p>

<p>I have the 10mm/f2.8 fixed lens on the J1. Next to it is a 62mm lens cap. I only have one F mount lens with me (the 60mm/f2.8 AF-S macro), and I was using that to capture this image. But that lens would be huge on the J1.</p>

<p>Nikon sent us the 10-30mm zoom, 30-110mm zoom and the 10mm/f2.8.</p>

<p>More later.</p>

<p>P.S. The J1 and all three lenses were made in China. Therefore, their production is probably not as affected by the flood in Thailand, although I have no idea whether they depend on any parts from Thailand.</p><div></div>

[ronald_smith6]

<p>That white body/lens looks very classy.....</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>I'm surprised that no company seems to have capitalised on the one true advantage of a small sensor size; and that's it's great depth-of-field. A dedicated macro camera using a small sensor to its best advantage would seem to be a no-brainer.<br>

Fit a small sensor behind a top-quality prime macro lens with superfast tracking AF and VR, and maybe build in a ringlight (switchable, of course). The EVF should swivel through every angle to make viewing easy as well, and it should have a good lens-to-subject relief. Then the whole thing needs to be no bigger and much lighter than a DSLR macro lens alone. I'd buy one!</p>

[yuri_sopko]

<p>I like the statement by Les Berkley:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>...consisting of non-photographers who heterodyne each other on the Internet...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If, you don't see a use for this style of camera, you probably never will, so then move on. I myself know others who love the smaller RF cameras. RF cameras have been around for a very long time and I think this is Nikon's answer to a digital RF.<br>

You get a Nikon digital camera, can swap lenses, and have all the control you need, without the bulk of larger system. That being said, and thinking about it some more, having a DX or FX sized sensor would force the lens size to be the size that they are currently. Have you handled a Sony NEX with it's zoom lenses? It's so cumbersome and obtuse in function. You have to really strive to use it.<br>

With this smaller format, Nikon can make smaller lenses, keeping the overall size of the camera system down. Since it's a Nikon, it's safe to say that the image sensor and the DSP behind it will be very good, as well the lenses.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<blockquote>

<p>"I'm surprised that no company seems to have capitalised on the one true advantage of a small sensor size; and that's it's great depth-of-field."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yup, that's why I still get good use from my decade-old Olympus C-3040Z. The tiny sensor helps ensure adequate apparent sharpness in candid snapshots even wide open at f/1.8. With 35mm film cameras I usually need to stop down to f/5.6-f/8 for comparable DOF and satisfactory apparent sharpness. That means I need faster film or to push Tri-X or TMY to 1600.</p>

<p>The upper limit of ISO 400 isn't any worse a hindrance than my older compact rangefinders with 35mm b&w film. If I stop down a bit to f/4 or so, I can preset the focus manually to the desired zone or hyperfocal setting and bypass the sluggish AF response.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>"A dedicated macro camera using a small sensor to its best advantage would seem to be a no-brainer."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Ditto. I use the C-3040Z more often for closeups than my dSLR with macro lenses, especially for illustrating items for online sales, or to demonstrate darkroom techniques. More than adequate for web display.</p>

<p>Bokeh-addicts and photographers who routinely print larger than 8x10 wouldn't be satisfied with tiny sensor P&S cameras. But the characteristics of the tiny sensor combined with appropriately tiny lenses suits my preferences for candids and occasional closeups.</p>

[Rene11664880918]

<p>That's sweet!<br>

I'm so tempted to play with one of them..... but in the back of my head I keep thinking I should wait for a 2nd generation. Then again it could be a nice xmas present from myself!!</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Back in the 1980's, I used to say I could simply pick up any Nikon SLR and started using it without ever reading the manual. That really changed with the D100, which took me a while to figure out. After a few DSLRs, now I can use any new Nikon DSLR without the manual again. However, with the J1, I spend about an hour on the manual again.</p>

<p>One feature that I am sure will bother a lot of people is that none of the Nikon 1 lenses has a focusing ring. On the two zooms I have on loan, the 10-30mm and 30-100mm, the only control on the lens is the zoom ring, plus a zoom creep lock button; Nikon clearly has learned from the 18-200 version 1 zoom creep issue. On the 10mm/f2.8, there is no control at all. In other words, the only way to focus is AF. There is no VR on/off button on the lens either; that is in the menu on the body, so is the Active/Normal VR selection.</p>

<p>If you are familiar with Nikon DSLRs, the J1 has a lot of the same controls, but you frequently have to go to the menu, but that is expected and even the D3100 has some of those same limitations due to the lack of dedicated buttons on the body.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>Bjorn reports there is a manual focus option hidden deep into the menu system (in the V1) but it's reportedly not easy to achieve precise results with it (in the same way that is possible in other cameras in live view) because of insufficient magnification of the image in the display.</p>

<p>In Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras, when you touch the manual focus ring (of some dedicated MFT AF lenses) and rotate it, the display automatically zooms to maximum magnification to make focusing easier.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Ilkka, you are right. Upon checking the menu, there is a manual focus option. The J1 has no viewfinder, so the only way to compose is to use the back LCD, similar to live view. The J1 has a multi-select ring on the back, and it functions similar to a command dial on Nikon SLRs. You rotate that ring to manual focus.</p>

<p>I am glad that at least there is still a way to manual focus.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>It should be pretty obvious that I am learning about the J1 and its lenses myself. When I have a little more experience with them, I'll start a different thread in a few days.</p>

<p>Here is an image of the lenses I have on loan. The three Nikon 1 white lenses are the 30-110mm/f3.8-5.6 VR, fully extended to 110mm, the 10mm/f2.8 "prime," and the 10-30mm/f3.5-5.6 in its lock position. See the L mark I highlighted with a red circle.</p>

<p>On the back row for comparison purposes, I have the Leica M 40mm/f4 rangefinder lens and the Nikon 50mm/f1.8 AF-S.</p>

<p>On the zooms, you cannot take pictures when the lens is in the lock position. You press on that round black button to unlock it, and the lens extends outwards even to its minimum focal length.</p><div></div>

[rossb]

<p> I slept on it and decided thumbs down! </p>

[Rene11664880918]

<p>I was in my local camera store today and had a little chat with the manager. He said they are getting only 52 units and they are already all sold. He doesn't know when the rest of his order will arrive. I'm talking about a very small town in the north of Japan.<br>

I wonder how bad this is for Nikon...... </p>

[breogan_gomez]

<p>Man, they don't know what they are doing... LOL!</p>

[studio460]

<p>Rene said:</p>

 

 

<blockquote>

<p>I was in my local camera store today and had a little chat with the manager. He said they are getting only 52 units and they are already all sold . . . I'm talking about a very small town in the north of Japan.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's great news! Unfortunately, I predict the US market may be a bit different than Asian ones. Hopefully not. I would like to see Nikon successful with its new ILC. Perhaps not the ideal product for many of us here, but maybe they've hit on something. It would be interesting to know the demographics of his pre-order customers--specifically, sex. Maybe the stylish J1, in its array of fashionista-inspired colors, is finding increased appeal among young women.</p>

 

[studio460]

<p>Adrian said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Give us some sign that [Nikon is] still a company that is focused on photography.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Nikon <em>is</em> focused on photography. They're also focused on profitability, growth, and increasing revenue. The upgrading point-and-shoot customer represents millions of unit sales, and if Nikon can successfully market a product that fills the gap between 1/2.33"-sensored point-and-shoots, and both, micro-4/3rds and APS-C ILCs, good for them. It's a niche worthy of attention. The more healthy Nikon becomes, financially, the better for all of us.</p>

[wmervine]

<p>Had a chance to play a little with a V1 and the short zoom at our local photo expo. EVF is not bad, and the controls and shutter are reasonably quick. Feels like the lovechild of a point and shoot and an slr. Not a bad bit of kit and hope it sells well, although local pricing is pretty steep. Also got to play with a Pentax Q. Way too small for me but really cute. V1 feels more like a camera. But think my fav in that range was the fuji X10.</p>

[rossb]

<p> I went to Keeble and Schuchatt, Palo Alto, Ca today for the 4th time in my life. It's pretty far but I was out that way for another reason and stopped in. I wanted to see the Nikon 1 and the Nex 7 but they did not have them in stock. I chatted with the guy for a while about it and they are getting some but he did not know exactly when. He did not think they were necessarily going to sell out that well but he did not really know. He said it's hard to guess what people are going to buy when they come in. </p>

<p> I then went up stairs to check out the Leica collection and enjoyed that quite a bit. I would like to shoot a M3 or 4 if I could. </p>

[studio460]

<p>I expect the US market response to be much more tepid in comparison. Although, I'm probably destined for a Nikon J1 and a 10mm f/2.8 CX lens in black myself. However, if the APS-C sensored, Samsung NX200 was available as a body-only kit (it only comes in a $900 bundle with a lens I don't even want), I would've likely chosen that instead.</p>

[peter_cohen]

<p>Here's a glowing review of the Nikon 1 from Mark Wallace at Adorama TV in case folks haven't seen it. I believe that in his pro life, he shoots Canon, although in his video series he seems platform-agnostic.</p>

<p>For what it's worth: http://www.adorama.com/ALC/Article.aspx?alias=Nikon-J1-AdoramaTV&utm_source=ET&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Email102311Nikon<br>

<strong><br /></strong></p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Peter Cohen, thanks for the link to Adorama TV. I just watched it and I wouldn't call that a "review." It is more like an infomercial helping (Adorama) to sell the Nikon J1. Mark Wallace definitely likes to use the word "spectacular."</p>

<p>Photo.net received a J1 test sample from Nikon USA, and I have been using it for a week+. While Nikon has done a good job, the Nikon One system has its share of drawbacks and compromises. For example, Nikon uses a small 2.7x sensor so that Nikon's mirrorless system can be smaller than Micro 4/3 and Sony's NEX, but it'll also stear it more towards entry-level consumers. I find the J1's high-ISO capability quite borderline around ISO 800. Therefore, you are giving up about 2 stops compared to the D7000/D5100.</p>

[peter_cohen]

<p><strong>Shun</strong>: I'm still laughing from your comment about Mark's use of the word "spectacular." Good call ;-)</p>