Nikon 1 V1 price drop

[David Jones]

Some of you may have noticed that the Nikon V1 has fallen dramatically in price as they clear the shelves for the V2. As I like electronic viewfinders and wanted a small camera for everyday and social use, I bought one.

It is designed as a point-and-shoot camera and you have to work with this - but now I have started to appreciate the design goals I am really getting to like it. I was hoping my wife would enjoy using it and she does, which is a good and a bad thing! I was hoping to use it this Friday to discretely shoot a band and now I cannot because she is taking it with her when she goes away for the weekend.

In short, it is small, discrete, feels well made, is unsettlingly silent (on electronic shutter), and fast, both for focus and frame rate. How else are you going to get a camera with a full EVF for under £300? It also appears to provide files that work well for B+W renders.

All images have uploaded with little to no post-processing (apart from the B+W render), and with minimal or no cropping. Most are full-size uploads to Flickr for the pixel-peepers.


Nikon V1 in action. by berriff, on Flickr


Monochrome version by berriff, on Flickr


Towards Beinn-y-Phott by berriff, on Flickr


Vents by berriff, on Flickr

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More "try out" shots:


Ramsey Town Band Subscription Concert November 2012 by berriff, on Flickr


Party Favours by berriff, on Flickr


Nikon V1 kit lens at 81mm equivalent; uncropped by berriff, on Flickr

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"Why 2 cameras?" - the question my wife kept asking. She understands now. The Nikon 1 bodies are not even the smallest in their class but the V1 does make the A57 look and feel like a big lump. I still have no regrets about getting the A57 - horses for courses as they say.


Large and Little - Sony Alpha 57 and Nikon V1 by berriff, on Flickr

 

[Pete Askew]

Thanks David, that's really interesting. And it does produce a nice B&W image doesn't it?

 

[David Mitchell]

Thanks for posting up this mini review I have always wondered about the Nikon V1 along with some of the other mirrorless cameras, how are you finding the EVF? The one issue I have found with the new mirrorless cameras is the lack of an optical view finder or indeed any view finder on some as they seem to use the large screen on the back. I would prefer to use a view finder as it would feel like i'm actually using a camera rather than just pointing a random screen at something.

It seems to have all the benefits of an SLR for image quality and lens changing but not the bulk of an SLR but still retain the feel of using a camera. It also seems that the shutter can be set either as an electronic or mechanical shutter, a plus for me

 

[David Jones]

The EVF on the Nikon is very clear and includes a diopter adjustment. My eyesight is far from perfect and it works well for me. I should point out that I have been using a Sony SLT for the past year and I have no problems using EVFs. You can navigate the menu system in the viewfinder which for me is a major advantage and one reason I switched to a Sony SLT.

There is no option for a histogram except in display/review mode. The only thing I would change is to add a display of the current ISO selection when on Auto. You can at least see your current menu selection whether a fixed value or an auto range. Given the target user I accept this as a reasonable compromise.

Yes, the shutter can be quickly changed between Electronic and Mechanical in single-shot mode - the "F" button is dedicated to this action. It is really strange having a totally silent camera after many years of using focal-plane shutters. The silence is important for burst mode and allows you to capture natural sequences where the sound of a shutter would be distracting.

It is an oddball (misunderstood might be a better word) camera but if you can work with the essentially point-and-shoot design philosophy then it has a lot to offer. I was confident I would get value for money but I like it more than I expected. If you have any more questions please ask. Also, the Reference Manual is downloadable from the Nikon website.

Edit: I should mention that not everyone will like the absence of a built-in flash. I have got fed up with the awful red- and white- eye on the shots my wife takes with our little Canon Ixus; the results never look right to me when the usual tools are used to edit it out. First I am going to see how far we get using only natural light photography. If I have to buy the separate flash unit then it will at least give some separation between the flash unit and the lens centre line.

 

[David Mitchell]

Thanks for the comments, I think the J1 is basically the V1 without the EVF, I will probably have a look around once the next generation of the camera comes out, I found that the camera I wanted to get was a rangefinder camera with a digital sensor....then found its basically just Leica who makes that sort of camera which I really can't afford lol The V1 is certainly is a tempting camera to get though let us know how you get on with it.

 

[Ahmad Bhai]

It is designed as a point-and-shoot camera and you have to work with this - but now I have started to appreciate the design goals I am really getting to like it. I was hoping my wife would enjoy using it and she does, which is a good and a bad thing! I was hoping to use it this Friday to discretely shoot a band and now I cannot because she is taking it with her when she goes away for the weekend.

I know full well the feeling of being relegated

It is such cute camera isnt it. Really the b&w portrait is wonderful.

I had the J1 throughout Paralympics & wished i had it during the summer when i saw Soul2sSoul for their first reuinion in HydePark as part of Olympics in the park.
I had nex5 and gave up on nex5 (toooo sloooow and not image stabilised) thus missed many olympic moments.
Thankfully J1 came to the rescue for paralympics.

I think the 1inch sensor is like an ideal for everyday photography, street, family, sports, safari, travel .
The V1 evf is nice but at the time it was too expensive for me. Now it is affordable.
The 30-110 (80-300) i had when fully extended was a third of Olympus m4/3 40-150 (80-300) and so much easier to keep steady.
And the speeed well i did chuckle to myself seeing pro photographers and knowing my J1 was firing faster and tracking was as good

I did look into manual C mount lenses that were 1" (as there are 1/2" & 2/3" C mount lenses which dont cover fully the V1J1 sensor).
There were real exotics like angenieux, kern paillard, wollensak.
I did buy those chreap 24mm f1.4 & 37mm f1.7 c mount for my EP1 but didnt keep them long enough to try on J1.
V1 J1 dont have manual focus assist thus i dont know how well i would have done.
V1 J1 kit lens was i found really jerky when zooming for video, i would think C mount zoom like a Canon 11-70mm would be smoother.

 

[Pete Askew]

More really useful information. Thanks Ahmad.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

The B&W of your wife with the teddy bear packaging stuff (whatever it is!) is REALLY beautiful

 

[Hamish Gill]

I was very tempted by the Nikon 1 series cameras at one point ...
In the end the sony rx100 won out ... Then when the cravings for changing lenses hit the nex5n seemed the best choice for me...
the speed of the Nikons is very impressive though ... And I'd love to play with the super high frame rate video!
A big sensor for my random lenses won the day the day though

 

[Dave Cawley]

What should I do chaps ?

.
Hi Guys

Thanks for that. Is £229.95 right including lens ?? Click here to see it ?

Or could I buy from Amazon and still claim the £50 cashback ?

Jill and I both use elderly Ixus's for sreet work, at this price I could go for two !

But look here it's got built in flash

What should I do chaps ?

Thanks

Dave

 

[David Jones]

The B&W of your wife with the teddy bear packaging stuff (whatever it is!) is REALLY beautiful

Thanks Rob. To me it proves some of the value of the Nikon 1 range design philosophy. It was so easy to seize the moment. Processing was in desktop Snapseed. They are teddy bears and she is packing party favours for our daughter's imminent wedding, the excuse for buying this excellent little camera.

 

[Dave Cawley]

I need to decide in day !

.
Hi Guys

Thanks for that. Is £229.95 right including lens ?? Click here to see it ?

Or could I buy from Amazon and still claim the £50 cashback ?

Jill and I both use elderly Ixus's for sreet work, at this price I could go for two !

But look here it's got built in flash

What should I do chaps ?

Thanks

Dave

I need to decide in day !

Thanks

Dave

 

[David Jones]

Dave, I find it hard to decide for myself, let alone others! I bought the V1 and have not tried the J1. I would miss the viewfinder. The V1 also has a better LCD screen, evidently, and a larger buffer for burst mode compared to the J1, but no built-in flash. If you must have flash, get the J1. If a viewfinder is more important, get the V1. Optically and sensor-wise, they are identical. I have not even held a J1 let alone tried taking pictures with one so I cannot really comment any further. What I can say, though, is that I really like the V1 and it should be good for street work.

 

[Hamish Gill]

Dave (Cawley) you must check out the sony rx100 before you do anything ...

 

[Dave Cawley]

Size matters

.
Hi Hamish

It's twice the price ! or is it?

Is it thinner, this might be it ?

Need HD video too.

Thanks

Dave

 

[Hamish Gill]

It is smaller, thinner for sure, genuinely pocketable and the video knocks the socks of the nikon especially in the area of its steady shot (which is remarkably good)

[video=youtube;3E5YT4a7z7A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E5YT4a7z7A[/video]

Here is my blog on the sony ... http://www.realphotographersforum.com/digital-cameras/7093-diary-sony-rx100-user.html

There a few tips in there for getting the best out of it inc adjustments of the jpeg output etc.

 

[Dave Cawley]

The Nikon has two big press shutter buttons

.
Hi Hamish

OK, on the video above, a lot of the time towards the end the Nikon is better! However, you know I never get a second shot. The Nikon has two big press shutter buttons, one for video the other for still. This is a fast advantage.

The concept is for me to mostly use the D700 and Jill the compact, using both still and video. Again, no second chances, the events don't stay still for more than 100mS !

I love the thinness, and that might swing it, but there is the price too!

Dave

 

[Pete Askew]

Just to add my thoughts. I like the video on the RX100 very much but I'm still struggling with it as a stills camera - I don't think I've ever had as many mis-shots! It's clearly me, but there you go!

 

[David Jones]

If I could have stayed in the Sony camp then I would have. The RX100 with an EVF - now that would have got my interest but it would also lift the cost well above what I can justify for a second camera. This thread started off with looking at the V1 as a sub-£300 bargain, which I think it is. I can also accept that the RX100 is a better camera in many respects.

 

[Hamish Gill]

.
Hi Hamish

OK, on the video above, a lot of the time towards the end the Nikon is better! However, you know I never get a second shot. The Nikon has two big press shutter buttons, one for video the other for still. This is a fast advantage.

The concept is for me to mostly use the D700 and Jill the compact, using both still and video. Again, no second chances, the events don't stay still for more than 100mS !

I love the thinness, and that might swing it, but there is the price too!

Dave

proce, well, only you can decide ... IMO, it's very worth the difference. The video button sits under the side of your thumb on the Sony.

Just to add my thoughts. I like the video on the RX100 very much but I'm still struggling with it as a stills camera - I don't think I've ever had as many mis-shots! It's clearly me, but there you go!

i actually wonder if yours is broken ... I literally can't miss with mine!
i don't want to start offering egg sucking lessons here, but how have you got it set up?

If I could have stayed in the Sony camp then I would have. The RX100 with an EVF - now that would have got my interest but it would also lift the cost well above what I can justify for a second camera. This thread started off with looking at the V1 as a sub-£300 bargain, which I think it is. I can also accept that the RX100 is a better camera in many respects.

as a sub £300 bargain, there is no doubt in mind mind it is ... Well, a bargain ... I'm still half tempted by one ... As I am the pentax q ... I have no need or these things but I just like the look of them!
so yeah, apologies for the thread crap, I am indeed in agreement with you, just trying to offer an alternative option for Dave.