Review Date: October 24, 2011
Category: Point-and-Shoot to Beginner Amateur
Photoxels Silver Award – Interchangeable Lens Camera
HANDLING & FEEL
Compact mirrorless. The Nikon 1 V1 is undoutedly one of the most anticipated interchangeable lens camera. It succeeds with a compact and straightforward design that should be familiar to those thinking of upgrading fom a point-and-shoot digicam. In design, it takes its cues from the point-and-shoot world and in performance, from the DSLR world.
The Nikon 1 V1 has a nice heft (294g / 10.4 oz) to it and the construction is high quality. At 113 x 76 x 43.5 mm (4.4 x 3.0 x 1.7 in.), it is not exactly pocketable and though it should fit into a large coat pocket when the 1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 Pancake lens is attached, the best way to carry it is slung over the neck or shoulder.
The Nikon 1 V1 fits well in the hands and handles well even with only a short vertical raised bar that acts as a minimalist grip. I found the right strap eyelet to be somewhat in the way and would have preferred that it were inset into the body.
If you are using a zoom lens, you’ll need two hands to hold and handle the V1 since your left hand will be almost always positioned around the lens barrel either to extend/retract the lens and/or to zoom. A neat feature is that, when using a zoom lens, the camera turns ON as soon as you twist and extend the lens; no need to press the Power button. As with other extensible/retractable lens, the lens needs to be extended to operate the camera; otherwise a message displays asking you to “Rotate the zoom ring to extend the lens.”
The lens mount itself is a brand new Nikon 1 mount and the camera uses a new 10MP 1.0-in. ‘CX’ format CMOS sensor. This sensor is strategically sized between the tiny 1/1.7-in. sensor typically used in P&S digicams and the APS-C sensor found in most entry-level DSLRs.
The CX format sensor is about 1/2 the size of the (micro) FourThirds sensor and about 1/3 smaller than an APS-C sensor. If we rotate some of the sensors in the diagram above, we get a much better idea of the sensor sizes relative to one another. As you can see, each sensor is roughly half the size of the previous one as we go from Full Frame down to 1/1.7-in.
Because of the smaller than APS-C sensor size, the 1 NIKKOR lens system can also be more compact and portable than the lenses on an entry-level DSLR (which typically uses an APS-C sensor). The 1 NIKKOR zoom lenses feature a silent stepping motor (STM) which keeps autofocusing quiet, especially during movie recording.
There are four 1 NIKKOR lenses currently available:
- 1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 Pancake (35 mm equivalent: 27 mm)
- 1 NIKKOR VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 (35 mm equivalent: 27-81 mm)
- 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 (35 mm equivalent: 81-297 mm)
- 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 PD-ZOOM (35 mm equivalent: 27-270 mm)
Looking at the V1 from the front and top, the design with rounded corners reminds me a bit of the Leica X1, but the flat and squarish EVF hump gives the V1 a silhouette all unique to itself and instantly recognizable. The V1 comes in black or white (which color is offered depends on your country), as do the lenses. Both colors look good, though with the black you can be inconspicous while the white screams for attention.
The image sensor is a revolutionary new hybrid AF design never seen before in compact cameras. Most design using Phase-detect AF requires a mirror to reflect part of the light coming thru the lens onto the sensor. In the Nikon 1 sensor, 73-Point Focal Plane Phase-detect AF sensors are embedded within the image sensor itself! In fact, the camera will automatically switch between phase detection and contrast detect AF to best suit the scene. AF is very fast and precise in both good and low light conditions.
The front of the camera has the Self-timer lamp/AF-assist illuminator, stereo microphone, lens mount and lens release button. There is also an infrared receiver for an optional Wireless Remote Control ML-L3, though a long lens may obscure the receiver. A second receiver is located at the back of the camera under the four way controller.
To remove the lens, you press the Lens Release button and rotate the lens clockwise. To attach a new lens, you line up a chrome bar on the lens with the white dot (mounting mark) on the mount and rotate anticlockwise. We found the lens attachment/removal a bit stiff, requiring just a bit more force than we are used to.
The top of the camera is rather bare. There is from right to left, the Direct Movie button, the Shutter Release button, the Power ON/OFF button, the Power Lamp (which shines green), the Speaker and, on the other side of the EVF bump, the Multi Accessory port (which is covered with a plastic cover). Unfortunately, there is no built-in flash. The Multi Accessory port allows you to attach an optional SB-N5 flash unit or a GPS Unit GP-N100. You cannot use existing Nikon speedlights or Nikon’s Creative Lighting System.
When shooting video, you can zoom (since zoom is manual) and take still shots even while recording. So if you are anticipating an action, say a shot at the net during a soccer or hockey match, you can start the video and take still shots at the same time to ensure you catch the action at its peak moment, both in your still shots and certainly in the video.
Start-up (from Power ON to image appearing on LCD screen) is about 1 second. There is no practical shutter lag. You can record JPEG (fine, normal and basic), RAW and RAW+JPEG (fine). It takes about 3 seconds to write a RAW or JPEG file. Shot to shot times are about 0.6fps (6 shots in 10 seconds).
Continuous Shooting is 5fps (50 shots in 10 sec.) when shooting mode is set to M (shutter speed 1/125 sec.), but much less when set to P (about 2.8fps, 28 shots in 10 sec.). After about 50 Fine JPEG shots, the speed slows down as the buffer fills up. Interestingly, while the camera is saving to card, you can still take single shots as the buffer clears.
Continuous Shooting can be done using one of 3 settings: Mechanical shutter, Electronic shutter or High-Speed Electronic shutter (Hi). Continuous Shooting using Mechanical or Electronic shutter is both at 5fps but the lectronic shutter is completely silent, perfect for locations where you need to operate in the quiet.
The high-speed electronic shutter allows you to shoot continuously from 10fps, 40fps or 60fps, thus making it extremely easy to “catch the moment.”
On the back of the camera is a 3.0-in. high resolution LCD. At 921k-dot resolution, the LCD is extremely clear and sharp and is a pleasure to use inside or outside in bright light. Unfortunately, it does not tilt or swivel, nor does it gain up in low light.
If you set AF Area Amode to Single-point [MENU – Shooting mode – AF-are mode – Single-point], you have 15 x 9 = 135 AF points where you can tell the camera to focus. As always, Nikon’s implementation of AF Area is very intuitive: simply press the OK button and use the arrow keys to position the desired AF point. Unfortunately, I did not find a way to quickly return to center AF position.
There is a built-in 1.4 million dot high resolution electronic viewfinder (EVF) with Diopter adjustment control which is easy to set with one finger. There is an eye sensor beside the EVF that switches the display automatically from the LCD to the EVF when you bring the camera to your eye and back to the LCD when you take your eye away from the EVF. It’s not quite instant and you’ll experience a slight approx. 0.5 sec. delay as the display switches. The EVF juts out a bit from the back of the camera but not enough to prevent your nose from scrunching against the LCD.
Since the zoom is manual on the lens, there is no zoom lever and what looks like one is really the Playback zoom/thumbnail control which you use to magnify the image in Playback or to view your captured images as thumbnails. In PASM shooting modes, the Playback zoom/thumbnail control allows you to Program Shift (in P), change shutter speeds (in S, M) or change aperture (in A). When in Manual shooting mode, you use the Multi selector wheel to change aperture.
The F (Feature) button lets you select from different features, depending on which mode you’re on. When the Mode Dial is on Still Image, F brings up the Mechanical versus Electronic Shutter option no matter what shooting mode you’ve chosen in MENU. When the Mode Dial is set to Smart Photo Selector, F is inoperative. When the Mode Dial is set to Motion Snapshot, F brings up the Theme options: Beauty, Waves, Relaxation and Tenderness, which is simply the music choice that accompanies the associated video. When the Mode Dial is set to Movie, F brings up the Movie options: HD or Slow motion.
The Mode Dial is stiff enough and its placement at the back of the camera means that it’s less likely to shift on you by accident as you put it into — and take it out of — your bag. It has only 4 settings:
- The Motion Snapshot mode is a neat feature that may become a favorite of many. Each time you snap a picture, the camera captures a still image and about 1 second of video. When you view the motion snapshot, it is played back in slow motion over about 2.5 seconds, followed by the still image. Think Harry Potter movie, where still images on the newspaper or in frames tend to animate.
- The Smart Photo mode captures a number of images as soon as you half-press the shutter release button and for the next 90 seconds (or when you fully press the shutter release button), then selects the best shot and 4 other best candidates for you to choose from.
- The Still Image mode is really the Scene AUTO mode which you’ll use for taking most of your pictures. It automatically analyses the scene and selects from Portrait, Landscape, Night Portrait and Close up scene modes. If it cannot match any of the 4 scene modes above, it defaults to AUTO mode.
- The Movie mode allows you to selct HD or Slow motion (use the F button to select). Slow motion is recorded at a fast 400fps (640×240) or 1200fps (320×120) and played back at 30fps. In HD movie, a neat feature is fade in/fade out effect (white or black) to help with scene transitions.
As you can see, the Mode Dial is not your typical Shooting Mode Dial: PASM shooting modes are available but accessed from the MENU. This means that you can select a PASM shooting mode when Smart Photo, Still Image or Movie is selected on the Mode Dial. Yes, you can select shutter speed and aperture manually in Movie mode.
It takes some practice to capture the video and still image just the way you want. Here’s what I’ve found:
First, select a theme from the 4 available to serve as your background music: Beauty, Waves, Relaxation and Tenderness. [I don’t believe you can upload your own themes.]
Half-press the shutter release button to get the camera to start recording (it will keep only about 1/2 sec. of footage), fully press the shutter release button to record a still picture and keep pointing at the scene to let the camera record a further 1/2 sec. after you snapped the picture.
Let’s say a child is blowing the candle on a birthday cake. As the child approaches the cake, compose and half-press the shutter release button: the camera starts recording. When the child blows out the candle, snap the picture: the camera captures a still shot and keep 1/2 second of the footage prior to this. Keep pointing the camera as the child looks to you and smiles: the camera records 1/2 sec. of footage after you snap the picture.
What you end up with is: a shor tmovie showing the child approaching the cake, blowing out the candles and then turning to you and smiling, plus a still shot at the precise moment he/she blows out the candles.
You cannot press the Playback button without turning the camera on first (though you don’t need to extend the lens). You can display a histogram in Playback (but not in Shooting mode).
The Multi selector has: UP = AE-L/AF-L, RIGHT = Exposure Compensation, DOWN = AF (Focus mode), LEFT = Self-timer (10s, 5s, 2s, remote 2s, remote). You can also rotate it to select an option or browse thru photos in Playback. You can select AF = Manual to manually focus the lens: press OK and use the Scroll Wheel to manually focus. The image is magnified and the high resolution screen helps a lot to determine focus.
The DISP (Display) button cycles thru display options, including a grid display (if turned ON in Setup).
The Delete button allows you to delete the image displayed or selected. To delete more than one or all images, you’ll need to access the Playback Menu.
On the bottom of the camera, the tripod mount is centered to the lens and inline. The battery door hides the battery and SD Card compartments. There is a latch to hold the battery in place and you won’t have to worry about inserting the battery the wrong way because you can only insert it in one way. You will not be able to change battery/memory card when the camera is on a tripod. When you attach large lenses, they might come into contact with the tripod head and you should then use the optional Tripod Adapter TA-N100 which adds a couple of inches of height to separate the lens from the tripod head.
Included in the box is a rechargeable Li-ion battery EN-EL15 that can take about 350 shots (CIPA standard) on a fresh charge. A battery charger MH-25 recharges a depleted battery in approx. 155 minutes.
The Nikon 1 V1 uses the SD / SDHC / SDXC memory card.
In use, the Nikon 1 V1 handled very well and I did not have any frustration using it, as is often the case with new system cameras. Nikon wisely keeps the layout as you would expect from a point-and-shoot digital camera, with the minimum number of buttons and other more advanced functions and features hidden from sight and accessed via the MENU. The MENU itself is straightforward and you won’t get lost navigating hierarchical trees of options.
All in all, the Nikon 1 V1 is well designed and built and succeeds in being a compact mirrorless that turns out to be extremely good. Enthusiasts would have preferred more control buttons but then Nikon has publicly stated they are targeting point-and-shoot photographers. Those wanting to upgrade from a P&S digicam but don’t want the size, weight and complexity of a DSLR now has another capable choice in compact mirrorless DSLRs.
Next: Nikon 1 V1 User’s Experience
