Review of Nikon 1 J1: Completely new Nikon Mirroless Digital cameras

The Nikon 1 J1 can be a stylish compact system camera featuring a 10-megapixel “CX” format sensor as well as the all-new Nikon 1 lens mount. Boasting continuous shooting speeds up to 60 frames per second at full resolution, Full HD video capture, an ultra-fast hybrid auto-focus system, Smart Photo Selector and also a unique Motion Snapshot Mode, the portable Nikon J1 offers more conventional shooting modes like Programmed Auto, Aperture and Shutter Priority, and also Metered Manual. Also agreeable can be a built-in pop-up flash with a guide amount of 5, a 3 inch rear display and an electronic shutter. Pricing $649.95 / 549.99 with a 10-30mm contact, $699.95 / 599.99 which has a 10mm pancake lens, or $799.95 / 699.99 in a very double-lens kit with all the 10-30mm and 30-110mm zoom lenses, the Nikon 1 J1 is scheduled to take a sale later this month.

The Nikon 1 J1 is generally crafted from aluminium with magnesium alloy reinforced parts and it is therefore heavier than you would think dependant on its size alone, weighing 234g for that body only. What’s more, it feels better quality than the official product shots maybe have you believe. Having an essentially grip-less design, the Nikon J1 is extremely much a two-handed affair that really needs you to definitely contain the camera’s weight inside left hand, clutching the lens, and employ your right hand for balance and operating the controls. This is really the best thing since it forces you to take note of holding the digital camera properly, which goes far towards avoiding shake-induced blur with your photos.

The camera’s clean, minimalist front plate is covered with the all-new Nikon 1 lens mount. Rather than to be a scaled-down version on the ancient F mount, it’s actually a brand spanking new design that delivers 100% electronic communication between the attached lens plus the camera body, from twelve contacts. Similar to for the manufacturer’s F-mount SLR cameras, there is a white dot for easy lens alignment, though it has moved in the 2 o’clock position (when viewed front on) to # 1 in the mount. The lenses themselves feature a short silver ridge on the lens barrel, which ought to be in alignment with said dot to enable one to be able to attach the lens to your camera. Of course this may require a little bit of getting used to, it really makes changing lenses quicker and much easier.

Without lens attached, you will see the sensor sitting right behind the plane with the bayonet mount. Such as the mount itself, the sensor is fresh. Measuring 13.2×8.8mm this “CX” format imaging chip has quantity expanse of the most popular imagers found in compact and bridge cameras such as the Fujifilm X10 and S100FS, only about half the spot of your standard Four Thirds sensor. In linear terms, a Four Thirds chip carries a 1.36x longer diagonal as opposed to Nikon CX imager. Since Four Thirds has a 2x focal length multiplier, the CX “crop factor” calculates to around 2.72, and thus a 10mm lens has approximately precisely the same angle of view as being a 27.2mm lens upon an FX or 35mm film camera. The Nikon 1 Nikkor 10-30mm standard zoom is thus comparable to a 27.2-81.6mm (or, practically speaking, 28-80mm) FX lens regarding its angle-of-view range.

Other Nikon J1’s faceplate is nearly empty, featuring just the lens release, a receiver for the optional ML-L3 infrared handy remote control, two narrow slits with the microphone either side from the lens, with an AF assist/self-timer lamp. There is not any grip whatsoever within the front on the Nikon 1 J1.

There’s 2 methods for powering around the Nikon 1 J1. You may either utilize on/off button sitting near the shutter release or, should you have a collapsible-barrel zoom lens attached, you can easily press the unlocking button around the lens barrel and turn the zoom ring to unlock the lens, an action that causes the digital camera to change on automatically. It is really an ingenious solution because you require to unlock the lens for shooting anyway. Start-up takes approximately a second - not even attempt to write home about however decent and entirely adequate.

It is possible to frame your shots while using rear screen - there’s no electronic viewfinder as on the V1 model, an important difference between the two. The LCD screen is really a three-inch, 460,000-dot display that boasts wide viewing angles, great definition and accurate colours only so-so visibility in strong daylight. We missed the EVF when using the J1 alongside the V1, either in bright sunlit conditions or when using the 30-110mm telezoom lens as holding the camera up to eye-level helped to stabilise the lens and prevent trembling camera.

The control layout is reasonably peculiar. The Nikon 1 J1 features a small, rear-mounted mode dial that lacks almost all of the shooting modes which can be usually seen on similar dials - that include P, A, S and M - though it has enough room to accommodate them. These modes can be purchased within the J1 nevertheless, you must dive in the rather long-winded and not entirely logical menu to locate them. The J1’s mode dial just has four settings, Photo, Video, Motion Snapshot and Smart Photo Selector. The four-way controller even offers four functions mapped onto its Up, Right, Down and Left buttons; including AE/AF-Lock, exposure compensation, flash mode and self-timer, respectively. Although this isn’t a bad range of functions, the truth that there’s no ISO button will doubtlessly create a wide range of photographers interested in acquiring the Nikon J1 for being unhappy.

There exists a button on the rear labelled “F” but alas, this is simply not a programmable function button. In Photo mode, it allows you to quickly choose from the continuous shooting modes, during Video mode it lets you toggle between regular and slow-motion recording. There’s two more vital controls about the back on the camera, together with a scroll wheel throughout the four-way pad plus a rocker switch marked that has a loupe icon. The scroll wheel is needed to set the shutter speed in Manual and Shutter Priority modes (once you’ve found them in the menu, that may be), while the rocker switch controls the aperture. The reason it’s got a loupe icon beside it can be this control is employed to focus upon an image to check on for critical concentrate Playback mode. Last but not least, you’ll find four small buttons across the navigation pad, flush resistant to the rear panel from the camera, including Display Mode, Playback, Menu and Delete.

So what on earth are the type shooting modes within the mode dial about? The Photo or Still Image mode, marked with a green camera icon, is the place you will need to be more often than not. While using mode dial set for this position, it is possible to pick your desired exposure mode in the menu. The Nikon J1’s Scene Auto Selector is a brilliant auto mode the place that the camera analyses the scene when in front of its lens and picks just what it thinks would be the right mode for that particular scene. You can even make a choice in the conventional PASM modes, which supply you with full menu access plus the power to manually set the aperture, shutter speed, or both (Program AE Shift comes in P mode). ISO and white balance may also be manually selected, only in the menu, as mentioned previously.

Certainly there’s AWB and auto ISO at the same time, using the latter coming in three flavours (Auto 100-400, 100-800 or 100-3200) allowing you to specify how high you wish the digital camera to look in the event the light gets low. It’s also possible to pick from three AF Area modes, including Auto Area, when the camera takes control over what it focusses on (this isn’t an excellent mode to own as the default because the camera obviously can’t read the mind and may give attention to something more important than your actual subject); Single Point, where you can pick one among 135 AF points first by hitting OK and moving the active AF point throughout the frame using the four-way pad; and Subject Tracking, where you pick your subject, press OK and let the camera in order to that subject mainly because it moves around, so long as this doesn’t happen leave the frame of course.

The Nikon 1 J1 has an intriguing hybrid auto-focus system that mixes contrast- and phase-difference detection in a similar fashion as being the Fujifilm F300EXR did. This will give the Nikon 1 J1 to focus extremely quickly in good light, even on a moving subject. This company claims the Nikon 1 system cameras will be the fastest-focusing machines on the planet, this also matches our experience - providing there’s enough light. When light levels drop, you switches to contrast-detect AF which, though faster compared to most cameras, isn’t nearly as quickly as the opposite method. It’s always you that decides which AF technique to use - anyone does not have any affect on this.

Normally, the J1 in most cases only turn to contrast detection when light levels are low. In good light, we were able to take sharp photos of fast-moving subjects. The Nikon J1 certainly doesn’t disappoint here. Manual focusing can be possible, even though Nikon 1 lenses would not have focus rings. If you need to focus manually, you firstly have to hit the AF button, choose MF, press OK and then use the scroll wheel to regulate focus. To work with you using this, the Nikon J1 magnifies the central the main image and displays a rudimentary focus scale across the right side on the frame - but those include the only focusing aids you get. There’s no peaking function available as on some rival models.

The J1 comes with an electronic shutter (the V1 boasts an analog shutter). It is absolutely silent (the main objective confirmation beep could be disabled through the menu) and allows the usage of shutter speeds you wish 1/16,000th of the second and, with all the Electronic Hi setting selected, lets you shoot full-resolution stills at 60 fps. Note however that although it is a major achievement, it’s tied to a buffer that will only hold 12 raw files. Additionally, the usage of this mode precludes AF tracking - you will need to lower the frame rate to 10fps if you would like that -, and the viewfinder goes blank as you move the pictures are being taken. The only application you can imagine where shooting full-resolution stills at 60fps could really prove useful is AE bracketing for HDR imaging. As of this rate, a few 5 bracketed shots could be taken in less than 0.1 second, rendering small movements that could otherwise pose alignment problems - like leaves being blown within the wind - a non-issue. Alas, the Nikon J1 will not offer this sort of feature - actually it doesn’t offer autoexposure bracketing by any means.

Moving on to film mode, the Nikon 1 J1 has some pleasant surprises here. Most notably, the camera can be set to shoot Full HD footage, therefore you even be able to choose between 1080p @ 30fps or 1080i @ 60fps, according to whether you’d like to assist progressive or interlaced video. If you don’t need Full HD, in addition there are 720p @ 60fps, which can be really smooth but still counts as hi-d. Secondly, you obtain full manual treating exposure in video mode. It is an option; you don’t need to shoot in M mode however, you can if that’s what you require. Thirdly, you receive fast, continuous AF in video mode, and it works well, especially in good light. Movies are compressed using the H.264 codec and stored as MOV files. You will discover separate shutter release buttons for stills and video, and thanks to this - and also the massive processing power on the Nikon J1 - you’ll be able to take multiple full-resolution stills whilst recording HD video. This works vice versa too - you’ll be able to capture a movie clip regardless if the mode dial is with the Still Image position, by just pressing the red movie shutter release. We’ve discovered that in this instance your camera will forever record it at 720p/60fps.

Not only is it capable of shooting regular movies in HD quality, the Nikon 1 J1 can also shoot video at 400fps for slow-motion playback. The resolution is leaner and the aspect ratio is definitely an ultra-widescreen 2.67:1, but the quality is adequate for YouTube, Vimeo etc. These videos are played back at 30fps, that is greater than 13x slower than the capture speed of 400fps, enabling you to get creative and show the world numerous interesting phenomena which happen straight away to see instantly. The Nikon J1 goes even more by offering a 1200fps video mode, though the resolution and overall quality is just too poor for your to get genuinely useful.

The third icon around the mode dial represents Smart Photo Selector. This feature allows your camera to capture a minimum of 20 photos for a single press from the shutter release, including some that were taken before fully depressing the button. The digital camera analyses anyone pictures in the series and discards 15 ones, keeping the five it thinks might be best regarding sharpness and composition. This feature could be genuinely useful when photographing fast action and fleeting moments.

Finally, there exists a so-called Motion Snapshot mode the place that the camera records a concise high-definition movie - whose buffering starts at a half-press on the shutter release, so again includes events that had happened prior to the button was fully depressed - and as well needs a still photograph. The movie plus the still image are residing in separate files however the camera can combine them into a single slow-motion clip with background music. It’s fun but we’re not able to really envision people by using this shooting mode often. (If you observe the video on the computer, it’ll play back at normal speed, without sound, this mode is absolutely only interesting if you observe the clip in-camera or hook you nearly an HDTV through an HDMI cable.)

The Nikon J1 stores pics and vids on SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, and props up fastest UHS-I speed class. The camera is run on a reduced EN-EL20 battery to its V1 big brother, which is consequently capable of producing considerably less shots on a single charge, managing around 230, eventhough it does help to make you body small. The camera’s tripod socket is made of metal and is also found in line with the lens’ optical axis. This also means that changing batteries or cards is not possible whilst the J1 is attached with a tripod, because the hinges of the battery/card compartment door are way too close to the tripod mount.

So, how did we love to utilizing the Nikon 1 J1? On one side, we liked it lots. In good light, its auto-focus strategy is indeed faster than just about anything we’ve used thus far, the ability to track and lock consentrate on a variety of truly fast-moving subjects, and yielding many sharp images in situations where our keeper rates have never been very high. Additionally, its high-speed continuous shooting modes have allowed us to capture interesting moments that we’d have surely missed as we had used a slower camera. The built-in pop-up flash proved more useful what has modest guide number might suggest, while using clever design minimising red-eye.

However, the Nikon J1 does have it’s share of frustrating idiosyncrasies you start with anyone interface that pushes you to dive into the menu gain access to functions as common as exposure mode, ISO speeds and white balance. While Nikon obviously cannot add extra buttons to your finished product, they are able to at the least have the “F” button customisable by way of a firmware update. Also, as there is a passionate button for exposure compensation - the good thing - I didnrrrt are able to activate an active histogram, although it could have made exposure compensation much more useful and to make use of. Again, this might likely to end up fixed in firmware.

We missed the V1’s smooth, high-resolution electronic viewfinder, particularly in bright light or when using the telephoto lens which does not lend itself well to being held out at arms length. The J1 merely has a glass dust shield as it’s defense against unwanted debris, instead of the more proactive sensor cleaning unit that this V1 offers, plus the smaller battery means that you’ll need to buy a supplementary that you get through a day’s heavy shooting. Lacking an accessory port ensures that almost not one of the Nikon 1 accessories are compatible with the J1, for example the external flash and GPS unit.

Something more important we did not like could be that the camera would always show the photo just taken for a few seconds onscreen, and now we didn’t find a way to turn this instant postview function completely off (while you can at any rate cancel it using a half-press from the shutter release). Finally, as the camera is usually fast and responsive, you takes excessively long to wake up from sleep mode if this has become idle for quite a while, causing several missed shots.

All things considered, the Nikon 1 J1 can be a smaller than average compact, high-performance system camera they enjoy its our government would use a few tweaks to its program to raised suit the needs of serious amateurs. The intended market you work in of casual users will cherish it for its sheer speed, built-in flash, lightweight plus the fun features it provides. Allow us to now observe how the Nikon 1 J1 fared inside the image quality department.

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