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Author Topic: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1  (Read 30973 times)

kirktuck

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #20 on: December 02, 2011, 05:49:40 pm »

The more I work with the little Nikon V1 the more I find to like about it.  We shot in the studio this morning for a children's play.  With the camera at 100 ISO what is not to like?

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2011/12/apple-boxes-very-mundane-accessory.html
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AndreasE

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2011, 06:09:20 pm »

Kirk,
love your down to earth stories. I am waiting on getting my V1 back to be able to use the small flash like you do. The J1 can't twist the flash head ....

Cheers and keep them coming,
Andy
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BJL

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2011, 07:16:01 pm »

... as soon as you have a separate lens, the Nikon 1 is not *that* much smaller than a NEX with the pancake, or a M43 with small lens. All of the mirror-less have lenses that stick out ...
The single moderately wide angle option of a pancake prime does not cover everyone's needs, so for people like me, one key question is how portable/pocketable is the camera with a standard zoom lens attached? That is one place where the NEX system fails for now, with its relatively bulky zooms. M4/3 instead now has two standard zooms that collapse for transportation, with in particular the combination of Panasonic's new GX1 and 14-42 X looking quite "jacket-pocketable". I do not know how the V1 with 10-30 compares for overall size with lens retracted, but at a guess its jacket-pocketability is distinctly better than any m4/3, NEX,  NX, or DSLR body with a non-collapsing zoom, but not as good as the GX1+14-42X zoom combo.

P.S. no-one talks about the Samsung NX system around here.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2011, 08:26:43 pm »

P.S. no-one talks about the Samsung NX system around here.

Yep.

It is a pity as they seem to be producing tools able to produce very good images.

Cheers,
Bernard

AndreasE

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2011, 08:02:28 am »

The single moderately wide angle option of a pancake prime does not cover everyone's needs, so for people like me, one key question is how portable/pocketable is the camera with a standard zoom lens attached?

The biggest size benefit the CX based System 1 can play to its advantage is the size of the camera&lens with the telezoom. The smaller sensor allows Nikon to build significantly smalelr lenses at the longer end. Take the 30-110mm as an example and compare it to the lenses of cameras with bigger sensors. The size difference at the shorter end is negligible.

BTW, the 30-110mm (equiv. 80-300mm @ FX) is the best lens in the current line-up of 4 System 1 lenses. Imho.

regards,
Andy
 
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kirktuck

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I played with the PD 10mm-100mm Nikon Series 1 lens today.
« Reply #25 on: December 08, 2011, 10:23:14 pm »

It's a great lens for video people.  And photographers who cross over.  The system lenses are better, overall, for still work.  More?

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2011/12/nikon-series-one-10mm-100mm-kirk-review.html
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #26 on: December 09, 2011, 11:44:21 am »

I have just added a few snaps captured in Seoul during a very quick walk through some old parts of the city.







More after the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bernardlanguillier/sets/72157627982747408/

Cheers,
Bernard

AlexRobinson

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #27 on: December 10, 2011, 05:52:53 pm »

Yep.

It is a pity as they seem to be producing tools able to produce very good images.

Cheers,
Bernard

I actually wound up buying an NX200, I was sold after Samsung lent us a sample to play with (Sadly there's only us and one other shop that stocks it in NZ so it mostly flies under the radar with people), viewfinder wasn't such a concern for me, while the NEX 7 has a fantastic one I know Samsung will have the same viewfinder or better in the NX20 next year. I love the size, it's tiny (with a 20mm it's the same size as an X10) and the files are plenty sharp and seem fine enough up to 800 ISO—I won't brave high ISO until Adobe supports the camera because the Samsung software is total crap to use. Samsung's prime lenses are indeed very nice, sharp enough and most importantly compact. They've even got a 24mm Zeiss rival coming next year which could be fun.

Downsides are enormous RAW files, 45mb a pop and it demands fast cards too. Normal Class 10 cards just take forever to process and I had to sink money into a 32GB 95 Mb/s Sandisk card. I have no idea why they're so big, a 5DII with roughly the same resolution is about half that file size. I guess Samsung doesn't compress at all or at least efficiently. Also locks you out of controls for a second or two when shooting RAW so this isn't a speed demon camera. Having said that, it's not a big issue as I generally don't change ISO very often so really all I'm changing is aperture and shutter speed which don't freeze. The UI is beautiful though, I wonder why Japan lags so far behind in this compared to Samsung?

I'm pretty happy with my choice, it's a huge shift to be able to get SLR quality in something so tiny, a total revelation to someone who's used to carting round Nikon SLR gear and a Pentax 67. I only worry about the weather sealing, I've shot with my Nikons in rain and bad conditions with no protection more times than I can count without issue. Other thing is finding the right bag for it, at the moment I'm using an old Sigma lens case to carry it. Also, why these cameras come with a neck strap is beyond me, does anyone actually use one on a camera this small? it has—or rather had those stupid triangle strap things on it which dig into your hands which I despise. I just use a little wrist strap off a compact camera and it's much better.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #28 on: December 10, 2011, 08:19:07 pm »

RRS now has an L bracket for the V1.

http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=B1V1-L-Set&type=4&eq=

Cheers,
Bernard

OldRoy

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #29 on: December 11, 2011, 10:25:56 am »

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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #30 on: December 11, 2011, 09:44:58 pm »

Terrific value, as ever....
Roy

Well, the V1 is a camera that is of course designed and optimized to be used handheld, but its low ISO performance is similar to that a Canon 1Ds of a few years back in terms of DR, resolution,... so it might in fact make sense to use it on a tripod in some cases.

This one was shot handeheld at 110m (300mm equivalent). Some of the blur was added in post:



Cheers,
Bernard

« Last Edit: December 11, 2011, 09:47:03 pm by BernardLanguillier »
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #31 on: December 13, 2011, 05:35:04 pm »

Thom Hogan has now his review online:

http://www.sansmirror.com/cameras/nikon-j1-review.html

For those who do not know him, Thom is IMHO the best digital photography resource on the internet.

Cheers,
Bernard

UBUS

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #32 on: December 18, 2011, 08:27:07 am »

Another comprehensive review/field test of the the Nikon V1 (part one) by Brad Hill


http://naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html



Cheers

ubus
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JBerardi

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #33 on: December 18, 2011, 09:38:36 am »

Quality has zero absolute meaning. Most 4:3 camera users are very happy about the images delivered by their camera relative to their needs. All I am saying is that the J1 does about as well in a slightly smaller, much more responsive and more silent package.

Cheers,
Bernard


The image quality that Nikon is squeezing out of the smaller sensor in the 1 series cameras is impressive. But isn't that all about the 1s having very advanced sensor technology? I mean, if you stitched a bunch of J1 sensors together into a 4/3s sized sensor, you'd have a way better 4/3s sensor than any of the ones that are currently available... right? Isn't it fair to assume that, even if they're similar today, the m4/3s system has a much higher theoretical ceiling on it's image quality?

And to be clear, I'm not saying the 1 cameras are bad because they have small sensors. It's not like there's no advantages to a smaller sensor. I'm just wondering if my assumptions about the two systems going forward are accurate.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #34 on: December 18, 2011, 10:11:32 am »

True, but not all sensors are commodity items that can be bought off the shelf.

Camera companies have been investing a lot of cash to create sensor differentiation, by themsleves or with partners. Canon was successful at that game for many years. Since 2007 Sony and Nikon seem to have the upper hand. It remains to be seen to what extend Panasonic decides to invest more in sensor technology to tap into the potential of their sensor size.

In the end though, what really matters is the not the absolute quality, but the quality relative to your needs. In other words, are the current 4:3/J1-V1 not good enough for what you would like to do with them? According to DxO Mark, up to ISO 400 the sensor of the J1 is nearly as good as a Canon 1ds, the full frame reference most pro landscape/fashion shooters were using 6 or 7 yers ago to sell fine art (still on display today). With probably better AF and more accurate exposure. Is that really not good enough for those cases when you intend to use a mirrorless camera?

Following image was shot at ISO1100 with a bit of noise reduction in post. I had been focusing on the sunset more to the right. I realized in an instant that the train was leaving and just reframed and pressed the shutter, that took perhaps .5 sec and the J1 managed to focus on something... I had to leave 2 mins after and that was the only chance to get the shot.



Cheers,
Bernard
« Last Edit: December 18, 2011, 05:54:23 pm by BernardLanguillier »
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #35 on: January 10, 2012, 02:49:23 am »

For those interested, Uwe Steinmueller has recently published his review of the V1:

http://www.outbackphoto.com/CONTENT_2007_01/section_gear_cameras_2012/201201103_Nikon_V1_J1/index.html

He seems to like it a lot.

Cheers,
Bernard

dreed

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #36 on: January 10, 2012, 02:37:52 pm »

In the end though, what really matters is the not the absolute quality, but the quality relative to your needs. In other words, are the current 4:3/J1-V1 not good enough for what you would like to do with them? According to DxO Mark, up to ISO 400 the sensor of the J1 is nearly as good as a Canon 1ds, the full frame reference most pro landscape/fashion shooters were using 6 or 7 years ago to sell fine art (still on display today). With probably better AF and more accurate exposure. Is that really not good enough for those cases when you intend to use a mirrorless camera?

I think there is a huge challenge here.

The first is psychological - is an expensive camera still required to "get the shot"?
As a professional, if you turn up to a shoot with a model holding a J1/V1, are you going to be taken seriously?
Would you get asked to leave and come back with a real camera if you had a NEX or similar small camera, despite the merits of its IQ?

The next is for the manufacturers.
If cameras such as the J1, NEX, etc, can provide the IQ of professional cameras from as little as 6 years ago, then how do you justify your client base spending 5 or more times the price of something like a NEX series camera? Interestingly, both the D4 and 1DX come with something that you'll never find on small cameras: built in gigabit networking. And then there's battery life, ease of use whilst rotated 90 degrees, autofocus tracking but the list is getting shorter...

The real danger is for the DSLRs in the sub-$3000 price range, especially those where the autofocus isn't particularly good/reliable and the feature set is rather, well, "basic". Does that remind you of anyone? (Hello Canon!) So then to replace the DSLR with cheaper and equally capable cameras that are smaller just requires overcoming various hurdles in our mind about what a camera needs to be in order to create a worthwhile image.

To this end, if I had the choice of a NEX-7 and A77SLT, I'd go with the NEX-7 because the A77SLT doesn't offer me anything that the NEX-7 doesn't have. If I get right down to it, all that I need is a bunch of "C" locations along with PASM and accurate (100% magnification) review. Accuracy of metering is pointless because I nearly always ETR and that more or less boils down to tweaking things to get the histogram as far to the right as possible without blowing, so to that end, how well the camera gets the white balance or 1/50 vs 1/80 is meaningless to me.
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BernardLanguillier

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #37 on: January 10, 2012, 05:40:55 pm »

The next is for the manufacturers.
If cameras such as the J1, NEX, etc, can provide the IQ of professional cameras from as little as 6 years ago, then how do you justify your client base spending 5 or more times the price of something like a NEX series camera? Interestingly, both the D4 and 1DX come with something that you'll never find on small cameras: built in gigabit networking. And then there's battery life, ease of use whilst rotated 90 degrees, autofocus tracking but the list is getting shorter...

The real danger is for the DSLRs in the sub-$3000 price range, especially those where the autofocus isn't particularly good/reliable and the feature set is rather, well, "basic". Does that remind you of anyone? (Hello Canon!) So then to replace the DSLR with cheaper and equally capable cameras that are smaller just requires overcoming various hurdles in our mind about what a camera needs to be in order to create a worthwhile image.

I wonder if you would not be underestimating by a large margin the impact marketing has on us.  ;)

Cheers,
Bernard
« Last Edit: January 10, 2012, 06:00:39 pm by BernardLanguillier »
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armand

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #38 on: January 20, 2012, 05:26:04 pm »

It seems that not everybody is in love with these: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikonv1j1/
Too bad, my search for a compact camera for travel or light hiking is still on.

stever

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Re: Rob Galbraith reviews the Nikon J1/V1
« Reply #39 on: January 20, 2012, 09:01:33 pm »

i've been looking pretty seriously at these alternative for some time now and have a GX-1 on order as the best compromise of size/weight and image quality combined with a UI that doesn't have serious errors or omissions.  although i will try to avoid spending money on lenses, it's reassuring that Panasonic has a pretty full range of high quality lenses available now rather than some day. 

all of the mirrorless cameras/systems have errors/omissions/problems so it's a matter of deciding which is the least bad for your purposes (with the understanding that not just the camera, but the whole system may need to be replaced in 2 or 3 years)
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