After much waiting, and lots o' leaks, Nikon finally unveiled its mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera line. But while you'd think the veteran Nikon would debut to an audience with pent-up demand for its product, signs point to Nikon fans greeting the Nikon 1 series J1 and V1 with less enthusiasm than expected. For example, Nikon Rumors ran a poll with over 30,000 respondents--most likely Nikon fans--that indicate as of just before the announcement, almost two thirds of them aren't planning to buy the camera(s). And that was before they'd even seen or had final specs for it.
Nikon 1 J1
(Credit: Nikon USA)That may be due in part to the sensor, dubbed "CX" to match the company's DX and FX mount/sensor systems, which turns out to be a surprisingly small, low-resolution version with a magnification factor of 2.7x, putting it between Olympus/Panasonic's Four Thirds sensor and Pentax's extra-small model.
While Nikon will likely be able to keep the photo quality up thanks to the relatively low resolution and support for 12-bit raw files, the smaller sensor negatively impacts the ability to get a nice shallow depth-of-field at a wide aperture, even with old Nikon lenses mounted via an adapter.
On one hand, it sounds like Nikon's pulling out all the stops with respect to autofocus, introducing a hybrid system that automatically determines whether to use contrast or phase-detection autofocus. Both Olympus and Panasonic have pushed contrast AF pretty far, though, so it remains to be seen how much of an advantage this confers on the cameras' performance.
Nikon has also done some interesting things with motion/movies, including a Motion Snapshot mode, which records a still image and about a 1-second clip, then plays it back at about 0.4x speed (slow motion) with music. There's also Smart Photo Selector, a 20-shot burst mode which saves the camera-determined best 5.
Here are the camera specs in their competitive landscape:
| Nikon 1 J1 | Nikon 1 V1 | Olympus E-PL3 | Olympus E-P3 | Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 | Sony Alpha NEX-5N | Sony Alpha NEX-7 | |
| Sensor (effective resolution) | 10-megapixel CMOS | 10-megapixel CMOS | 12.3-megapixel Live MOS | 12.3-megapixel Live MOS | 12.1-megapixel Live MOS | 16.1-megapixel Exmor HD CMOS | 24.3-megapixel Exmor HD CMOS |
| 13.2 x 8.8 mm | 13.2 x 8.8 mm | 17.3mm x 13mm | 17.3mm x 13mm | 17.3 x 13.0mm | 23.5mm x 15.6mm | 23.5mm x 15.6mm | |
| Focal-length multiplier | 2.7x | 2.7x | 2.0x | 2.0x | 2.0x | 1.5x | 1.5x |
| Sensitivity range | ISO 100 - ISO 3200/6400 (expanded) | ISO 100 - ISO 3200/6400 (expanded) | ISO 200 - ISO 12,800 | ISO 200 - ISO 12,800 | ISO 100 - ISO 6400 | ISO 100 - ISO 25,600 | ISO 100 - ISO 16,000 |
| Continuous shooting | 5fps n/a (60fps with fixed AF and electronic shutter) | 5fps n/a (60fps with fixed AF and electronic shutter) | 4.1 fps n/a (5.5fps without image stabilization) | 3.0 fps unlimited (LN) JPEG/17 raw | 3.8fps unlimited JPEG/7 raw | 3 fps unlimited 10 JPEG/6 raw (10fps with fixed exposure) | 3 fps unlimited 10 JPEG/6 raw (10fps with fixed exposure) |
| Viewfinder mag/ effective magnification | None | 0.47-inch 1.44 million dots 100% coverage n/a | Optional | Optional | None | Optional | 0.5-inch 2.4 million dots 100% coverage 1.09x/.73x |
| Autofocus | 73-point phase detection, 135-area contrast AF | 73-point phase detection, 135-area contrast AF | 35-area contrast AF | 35-area contrast AF | 23-area contrast AF | 25-area contrast AF | 25-area contrast AF |
| Shutter speed | 30 - 1/16,000; bulb; 1/60 sec x-sync | 30 - 1/16,000; bulb; 1/60 sec x-sync | 60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes; 1/4000 FP sync | 60-1/4000 sec; bulb to 30 minutes; 1/4000 FP sync | 60-1/4000 sec; 1/160 sec x-sync | 30-1/4000 sec.; bulb; 1/160 sec x-sync | 30-1/4000 sec.; bulb; 1/160 sec x-sync |
| Metering | n/a | n/a | 324 area | 324 area | 144 zone | 1200 zone | 1200 zone |
| Flash | Yes | Included optional | Included optional | Yes | Yes | Included optional | Yes |
| Image stabilization | Optical | Optical | Sensor shift | Sensor shift | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Video | 1080/60i /30p, 720/60p H.264 MPEG-4 QuickTime MOV | 1080/60/ 30pi; 720/60p H.264 MPEG-4 QuickTime MOV | 1080/60i AVCHD @ 20, 17Mbps; 720/60p @ 13Mbps | 1080/60i AVCHD @ 20, 17Mbps; 720/60p @ 13Mbps | 1080/60i/ 50i @ 17 Mbps 720/60p @17 Mbps AVCHD or Motion JPEG QuickTime MOV | AVCHD 1080/60p @ 28, 24Mbps, 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbps, 1080/60i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4 | AVCHD 1080/60p @ 28, 24Mbps, 1080/24p @ 24, 17Mbps, 1080/60i @ 17Mbps; H.264 MPEG-4 |
| Audio | Stereo | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input | Mono | Stereo; mic input | Stereo; mic input |
| LCD size | 3-inch fixed 460,000 dots | 3-inch fixed 921,600 dots | 3-inch tilting 460,000 dots | 3-inch fixed OLED 614,000 dots | 3-inch fixed touch screen 460,000 dots | 3-inch tilting 921,600 dots | 3-inch tilting 921,600 dots |
| Battery life (CIPA rating) | 230 shots | 350 shots | 300 shots | 330 shots | 320 shots | 430 shots | 350 shots |
| Dimensions (inches, WHD) | 4.2 x 2.4 x 1.2 | 4.4 x 3.0 x 1.7 | 4.3 x 2.5 x 1.5 | 4.8 x 2.7 x 1.4 | 4.2 x 2.6 x 1.3 | 4.4 x 2.4 x 1.6 | 4.8 x 2.8 x 1.7 |
| Body operating weight (ounces) | 9.8 (est) | 12 (est) | 11 (est) | 13.0 | 9.3 | 9.3 (without flash) | 12 (est) |
| Mfr. Price | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | $499.95 (body only, est) | $599.99 (body only) | $1,199.99 (body only) |
| $649.95 (with 10-30mm lens) | $899.95 (with 10-30mm lens) | $699.99 (with 14-42mm lens) | $899.99 (with 14-42mm lens) | $599.95 (with 14-42mm lens) | $699.99 (with 18-55mm lens) | $1,349.00 (with 18-55mm lens) | |
| $899.95 (dual lens kit) | $1,149.95 (dual lens kit) | $699.99 (est, with 17mm lens) | $899.99 (with 17mm f2.8 lens) | $699.95 (with 14mm f2.5 lens) | n/a | n/a | |
| Ship date | October 2011 | October 2011 | September 2011 | August 2011 | July 2011 | September 2011 | November 2011 |
Compared to the J1, the V1 has an accessory port for flash and a proprietary GPS unit, as well as a built-in EVF.
At launch, Nikon will have four Nikon 1-mount lenses available: A main kit lens at 10-30mm f3.5-5.6 (27-81mm equivalent), a 30-110mm f3.8-5.6 (81-297mm equivalent), 10-100mm f4.5-5.6 (27-270mm equivalent) and 10mm f2.8 (27mm equivalent). All but the fixed focal length lens use Nikon's VR optical image stabilization.
I've got mixed feelings about this duo. Though they have some novel sounding features, I don't think they're particularly compelling. And while I'm not a member of the more-pixels-at-any-cost club, I do think 10-megapixels is a bit low for the price and class of camera. And the battery life for the J1 looks terrible. Had Nikon come out with this system a couple of years ago--even last year--it might have been more of a no-brainer. A lot will be riding on the shooting experience, performance and photo and video quality. Even more than usual.
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20108944-1/nikon-reveals-svelte-mirrorless-ilcs/#ixzz1Yb5BfAI4
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