Phantomas
Well-known
I got a sample of the new Nikon 1 V3 and today got a chance to slowly put it through it’s paces, so I thought I’d share some thoughts about it.
First a disclaimer - I’m not a Nikon 1 system fan. I’ve tried them, but the infamous sensor size (which I was willing to forgive, but) coupled with non-intuitive GUI was putting me off using them at all. Going a couple of levels into menu to change ISO renders camera useless for me. Although I must admit, they have their pluses, like speed and AF for example. Sensor size was important because I give big priority to lenses. Any mirrorless system is in it’s infancy, as far as lens availability goes, but Nikon 1 limits use of third party for obvious (FL multiplier) reason.
Having said that, V3 turned out to be quite a bit different.
First impressions: let’s not beat around the bush, they are positive, very positive in fact. This is not a detailed review and will not even start to cover all the functions, but I’ll mention what I liked and didn’t like about the camera and some quirks that may be helpful (or obstructing) in type of shooting I personally do. And even though bitching can’t be prevented, let’s just admit, your milage, use, requirements will vary. This is my personal perspective and is not here to convince you. I’m also not putting this camera into price/value perspective nor compare it to others on the market. You can decide that for yourself.
First thing that strikes taking this camera into hands is that it’s very solid. It feels well constructed and dense. The hold on the camera is not the most ergonomic out there, but good enough. I have immediately put the optional grip on it and kept it on it, so no further comment on gripless use. Grip makes a world of difference though. Camera falls very well into the hand and you get 3rd programable Fn button, on-board ergonomic control wheel and dedicated shutter button (making front control wheels and shutter buttons double, but without even giving it a thought there was no confusion in use - once the grip is on its controls are naturally used). Camera is also quite handsome, and to my eye becomes more so with the grip and viewfinder attached. With or without the grip the camera weight feels comfortably solid but not heavy at all.
Now, here is the part that made me like this camera a lot - tilting touchscreen (*ducks). Let me explain - touchscreen is very responsive and smooth to use. I had no confusion or mis-touches, didn't have to fondle pressing it hard (of course gloved use is a different story). This in combination with tilting screen make it perfect for candid/waistlevel shooting. You can program it to behave different ways. I had it set for selecting focus point with the finger and shooting with shutter button. Some may prefer to set it to select focus point and shoot simultaneously. Imagine street use - you have the screen tilted up, you look down on it, tick your subject in the frame with the finger and voila - you have well focused shot, instantaneous, candid if you wish.
But, of course it has a EVF, which at first seems strange not to be tilting like with the competitors, but then again, you have tilting screen. Viewfinder resolution is good, I don’t know what else to say about it, it’s obviously not optical, so. There is one downside to touchscreen/viewfinder combo - viewfinder sensor sensitivity will often interfere with touchscreen operation, sensing your hand approaching and turning screen off / viewfinder on. In practice it can be avoided turning viewfinder on manually.
GUI - HUGE improvement. And that is down to couple of simple things: (a) touchscreen (again) allows you to quickly tick and icon (honestly, ISO is probably the most useful one) to change the setting, and as I found it to be responsive and good size for my fingers I was quickly changing it that way; and (b) very simple “F” button (similar to Niko DSLRs) that gives you non-busy screen with key functions that, again, you can change at a touch. No more going levels into menues. Apart from that it has 2 (3 with the grip) programmable Fn buttons that you can set to whatever, if you don’t like the touchscreen (or for winter, gloves).
What else? It has two (front and back) controls (plus the compact-style wheel on the back panel). Wifi connectivity. PSAM dial.
And of course, the camera will deliver very fast AF and operation, like Nikon 1 did before.
Image quality is good, although to me the size of the sensor has logical effect to the noise level, I’m being tough comparing it to FX DSLR output though. Overall image quality is still good with good dynamic range to work with.
Movie on this camera, given frame rate range should be good, but I haven’t tried it. There are enough clips on internet of people producing attractive 4K slowmotions. It has been debated, but I can confirm - it has a dedicated external mic jack.
PROS:
- Touchscreen
- Much improved (no complaints now) GUI
- Solid feel and looks
- Fast AF (and fast overall response)
- Very fast and comfortable onscreen focus selection
- Size (and weight)
Cons:
- Uses micro-SD card (dammit!)
- External viewfinder use = no space for external flash (not a con for me, don’t use them on such systems). It has a built-in one though.
- Although hasn’t happened yet - pottential of clumsy operation of (back) buttons and touchscreen does exist
- Viewfinder sensor sensitivity (interfering with touchscreen interaction unless turned off)
- Sensor size (gotta be mentioned)
My conclusion: Nikon 1’s were never cameras for me, but V3 suddenly opened up potentials. If 35mm equivalent (preferably f/1.2) was to come out I would have no reservations about using it on the street, sensor size shyness would then fly to hell. It is true that this camera is the most “enthusiast”-ready in Nikon 1 line-up.
To summarise my sudden fondness of it, disregarding the feel and solidity, I would say it comes down to how I see using it, especially on the street, with the combination of tilting touchscreen and instant AF point selection. Viewfinder certainly makes this camera "serious" and for me it's a much, but I'm not going to dismiss additional opportunity given by the above combo. And of course- the right move in the GUI improvements suddenly made this camera usable.
Pictures: now, I don’t post pictures that do not represent what I usually shoot, and the below are certainly far from my usual repertoire. So don’t be harsh, I’m not posting these for my photographic taste, but for a quick no-frills illustration of the camera’s output. I only had 40 minutes to shoot random banalities while I took the dog for a walk before it got dark. Serious use will come later.
All shot on 10mm f/2.8 prime, except the dog, shot on 32mm f/1.2 lens. FL conversion is 2.7x.
Camera runs beta firmware. All shots straight out of the camera JPEGs, no editing. All ISO 800 except man waiting (200) and blurred bikers (400). Except man waiting, shot in muted Amsterdam dusk.
First a disclaimer - I’m not a Nikon 1 system fan. I’ve tried them, but the infamous sensor size (which I was willing to forgive, but) coupled with non-intuitive GUI was putting me off using them at all. Going a couple of levels into menu to change ISO renders camera useless for me. Although I must admit, they have their pluses, like speed and AF for example. Sensor size was important because I give big priority to lenses. Any mirrorless system is in it’s infancy, as far as lens availability goes, but Nikon 1 limits use of third party for obvious (FL multiplier) reason.
Having said that, V3 turned out to be quite a bit different.
First impressions: let’s not beat around the bush, they are positive, very positive in fact. This is not a detailed review and will not even start to cover all the functions, but I’ll mention what I liked and didn’t like about the camera and some quirks that may be helpful (or obstructing) in type of shooting I personally do. And even though bitching can’t be prevented, let’s just admit, your milage, use, requirements will vary. This is my personal perspective and is not here to convince you. I’m also not putting this camera into price/value perspective nor compare it to others on the market. You can decide that for yourself.
First thing that strikes taking this camera into hands is that it’s very solid. It feels well constructed and dense. The hold on the camera is not the most ergonomic out there, but good enough. I have immediately put the optional grip on it and kept it on it, so no further comment on gripless use. Grip makes a world of difference though. Camera falls very well into the hand and you get 3rd programable Fn button, on-board ergonomic control wheel and dedicated shutter button (making front control wheels and shutter buttons double, but without even giving it a thought there was no confusion in use - once the grip is on its controls are naturally used). Camera is also quite handsome, and to my eye becomes more so with the grip and viewfinder attached. With or without the grip the camera weight feels comfortably solid but not heavy at all.
Now, here is the part that made me like this camera a lot - tilting touchscreen (*ducks). Let me explain - touchscreen is very responsive and smooth to use. I had no confusion or mis-touches, didn't have to fondle pressing it hard (of course gloved use is a different story). This in combination with tilting screen make it perfect for candid/waistlevel shooting. You can program it to behave different ways. I had it set for selecting focus point with the finger and shooting with shutter button. Some may prefer to set it to select focus point and shoot simultaneously. Imagine street use - you have the screen tilted up, you look down on it, tick your subject in the frame with the finger and voila - you have well focused shot, instantaneous, candid if you wish.
But, of course it has a EVF, which at first seems strange not to be tilting like with the competitors, but then again, you have tilting screen. Viewfinder resolution is good, I don’t know what else to say about it, it’s obviously not optical, so. There is one downside to touchscreen/viewfinder combo - viewfinder sensor sensitivity will often interfere with touchscreen operation, sensing your hand approaching and turning screen off / viewfinder on. In practice it can be avoided turning viewfinder on manually.
GUI - HUGE improvement. And that is down to couple of simple things: (a) touchscreen (again) allows you to quickly tick and icon (honestly, ISO is probably the most useful one) to change the setting, and as I found it to be responsive and good size for my fingers I was quickly changing it that way; and (b) very simple “F” button (similar to Niko DSLRs) that gives you non-busy screen with key functions that, again, you can change at a touch. No more going levels into menues. Apart from that it has 2 (3 with the grip) programmable Fn buttons that you can set to whatever, if you don’t like the touchscreen (or for winter, gloves).
What else? It has two (front and back) controls (plus the compact-style wheel on the back panel). Wifi connectivity. PSAM dial.
And of course, the camera will deliver very fast AF and operation, like Nikon 1 did before.
Image quality is good, although to me the size of the sensor has logical effect to the noise level, I’m being tough comparing it to FX DSLR output though. Overall image quality is still good with good dynamic range to work with.
Movie on this camera, given frame rate range should be good, but I haven’t tried it. There are enough clips on internet of people producing attractive 4K slowmotions. It has been debated, but I can confirm - it has a dedicated external mic jack.
PROS:
- Touchscreen
- Much improved (no complaints now) GUI
- Solid feel and looks
- Fast AF (and fast overall response)
- Very fast and comfortable onscreen focus selection
- Size (and weight)
Cons:
- Uses micro-SD card (dammit!)
- External viewfinder use = no space for external flash (not a con for me, don’t use them on such systems). It has a built-in one though.
- Although hasn’t happened yet - pottential of clumsy operation of (back) buttons and touchscreen does exist
- Viewfinder sensor sensitivity (interfering with touchscreen interaction unless turned off)
- Sensor size (gotta be mentioned)
My conclusion: Nikon 1’s were never cameras for me, but V3 suddenly opened up potentials. If 35mm equivalent (preferably f/1.2) was to come out I would have no reservations about using it on the street, sensor size shyness would then fly to hell. It is true that this camera is the most “enthusiast”-ready in Nikon 1 line-up.
To summarise my sudden fondness of it, disregarding the feel and solidity, I would say it comes down to how I see using it, especially on the street, with the combination of tilting touchscreen and instant AF point selection. Viewfinder certainly makes this camera "serious" and for me it's a much, but I'm not going to dismiss additional opportunity given by the above combo. And of course- the right move in the GUI improvements suddenly made this camera usable.
Pictures: now, I don’t post pictures that do not represent what I usually shoot, and the below are certainly far from my usual repertoire. So don’t be harsh, I’m not posting these for my photographic taste, but for a quick no-frills illustration of the camera’s output. I only had 40 minutes to shoot random banalities while I took the dog for a walk before it got dark. Serious use will come later.
All shot on 10mm f/2.8 prime, except the dog, shot on 32mm f/1.2 lens. FL conversion is 2.7x.
Camera runs beta firmware. All shots straight out of the camera JPEGs, no editing. All ISO 800 except man waiting (200) and blurred bikers (400). Except man waiting, shot in muted Amsterdam dusk.
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
It seems like a nice and compact rig that produces nice results.
Some people might not like this statement , but the nice thing is that so many other digital cameras fit this category in today's present camera world to choose from.
We have a good choice of high quality gear and the resulting images are pretty much indistinguishable from one brand to another brand.
That is my two cents worth.
Some people might not like this statement , but the nice thing is that so many other digital cameras fit this category in today's present camera world to choose from.
We have a good choice of high quality gear and the resulting images are pretty much indistinguishable from one brand to another brand.
That is my two cents worth.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
I picked up a V1 back when they were new (and full price :bang: ) with the intention of making it my everyday carry camera; I shoot a fair amount of action with my DSLRs, and also urban candids with my RF and EVIL gear. I thought the V1 might be able to handle both duties on days I didn't want to carry a more capable rig - the photographic equivalent of a small folding knife on my keychain.
It never really worked out for me, though. I was considering picking up a V2 if they ever blow them out on clearance, but maybe the V3 would be a better fit. I'll probably sell off the V1 and most accessories in the meantime.
I keep waiting for the Nikon 1 system to come into its own - maybe the V3 is the mature product it needs.
It never really worked out for me, though. I was considering picking up a V2 if they ever blow them out on clearance, but maybe the V3 would be a better fit. I'll probably sell off the V1 and most accessories in the meantime.
I keep waiting for the Nikon 1 system to come into its own - maybe the V3 is the mature product it needs.
Jamie Pillers
Skeptic
I've had my V3 for a couple of months now. I'd say your review is right on the mark. I like it for the same reasons you have. And I find that I'm using it more and more, leaving the DSLR at home much more often now. I notice that you one mentioned the 10mm and 32mm lenses. I've been using the 10-30mm zoom. That lens along with the touch screen make the V3 a very powerful little street photography kit.
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
How secure is the EVF? Not having a lock really bothers me...