The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

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pam.meier
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The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Just to get this off my chest first, I´m really the world´s worst reviewer, I hate testing lenses and photographing charts.
So this won´t be a real review - there are many excellent ones on the web that deal with the technical features of this camera. This will be just a report of my impressions.

A few weeks ago I came across an article on Steve Huff´s blog which intrigued me:
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2012/07/1 ... ig-litten/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This prompted me to buy a J1 which I had planned for months, because I was looking for a small camera with fast AF. When it arrived, I had to test it with one of my pet rats.
They´re very fast and keep moving all the time while they´re living in dimly lit cages. So this was one of the decisive moments - would I keep it or sell it.

Here´s Mr. Smart, heavily cropped and reduced red eye in post:
Image

When I found I was able to autofocus on a rat in available light and the little flash worked well, I decided to keep it.
To be continued.
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

When a family with kids and possibly a dog or other fast moving family mamebers choose a camera, it should usually be not too expensive, not too complicated and not too big.
I think the J1 was designed for that target group. Alas, at a rather steep price. I tried to get my brother interested in the Nikon 1 system when he got a new puppy, but at that price point of around 500 Euros you can buy a DSLR already, my brother wanted something decent. Many people will look at a smaller camera and feel it should be cheap with compact cameras available as low as 69 Euros. As I already said I myself waited for the price to drop to 379 Euros before I bought one kit with the 10-30 VR lens.

I expect other manufacturers to bring hybrid AF systems, Sony is said to be preparing to introduce it into its new FX-SLT, I guess it will also be implemented into the next generation of NEX cameras. Canon´s first mirrorless has a hybrid system which is said to be slow. So far only the Nikon 1 really has a capable AF system which comes close to DSLR performance.

It´s the first real point-and-shoot compact camera I could think of:
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When I spotted this fly-fisher I was able to freeze the action quite well. The camera doesn´t lag much.
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All images are cropped and compressed and mostly cropped to fit forum size limits.

One limitation of aperture priority was the rather slow shutter times the program chose. Usually as low as 1/30 or even 1/15 sec. Too low for many things. Now the new firmware is said to have fixed that, but I don´t notice any change. There is still no Auto-ISO that goes till 1600 ISO, the one almost anyone would prefer over Auto ISO 800 and 3200 :)
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

About dynamic rage, it´s usable. Here is an indoor image as seen from my laptop right now ;) They say the theoretical limit of noise performance is not far off in today´s sensors.
Makes me wish to see more cameras with a 1" sensor. The RX100 is said to have great image quality at 20 Mpix and one can only hope that more compact cameras will follow.

All my images are converted through ACR and this one was also corrected for barrel distortion. Jpgs just aren´t enough for me no matter what camera produces them.
Image

The 10-30 lens my camera came with is susceptible to veiling glare. One thing I didn´t know when buying the silver kit is that you can´t just buy the rest of the lenses in silver as they will only be available in white or black. But I may get a 30-110 lens in silver in case I want it. Chances are I will rather buy a RX100.

Here is some glare which is quite nice in a sunny picture like that:
Image
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Now for a chapter that I have not been able to solve yet. When in aperture priority at f5 with the sun casting shadows on faces, I would like to use the little on board flash as a fill light. Unfortunately, I have not been able to do it yet. The images are terribly overexposed. With a snapshot camera you don´t have too many takes on a subject.

Here is a sample image of today when I coaxed some farmers to pose in front of their little garden which door and fence was designed by their grandchildren. The camera tends to overexpose without flash, but using the little pop-up flash, the images were much to bright.

Image

A crop from the center area:
Image

I will have to look into this further and see if any of the P modes might help.
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Now for some landscape and cityscape impressions. When going on hikes, carrying a compact camera is a must. But will the camera deliver when one sees a nice site?
I think the Nikon 1 does deliver! The images are crisp and very detailed. At 10 Mpix they should be, too. Dynamic range - the ability to lift shadows - is usable. Recovering highlights is a different thing, but all Digital cameras have a problem there (except for the ancient Fuji S5 Pro).

Here is an image from a small town that will be published in one of the local newspapers. I lifted the shadows slightly which you will see in the 100% crop. In the overview I created a blend layer with soft light and gaussian blur, the crop is original.

Image
Image
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

When visiting cities and sites, the question is about distortion and the use of aperture. I normally use some distortion correction when converting the RAW image in ACR which is easy and works very well. About aperture, one might want to use a higher f-stop when it is very sunny, f8 would be my maximum, but when the light is dim, using f5.6 is also fine, border sharpness is totally acceptable. But I usually don´t check for it at 100% ;)

Image
Image

I have a Sony RX100 and let´s see how it will perform when it will arrive.
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Today I was able to use the pop-up-flash as a fill in light when the sun was very low and the objects I desired to photograph were in the shadow. I know the files from the J1 can be lifted quite well, creating a little noise which can be also be smoothed with a denoising software.

What I truly miss in that camera is the tilt LCD display of my NEX cameras. These two images were taken from ground level and it was hard framing from down there.

Using the flash as fill:
Image

Lifting the shadows in post:
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I was applying some Topaz Adjust to create a pseudo HDR effect. I don´t always like it, but with animal fur the extra midtone contrast usually shows more detail.

Well, this could be the end of my little snapshot report. My RX100 is waiting in the local post office to be picked up, so chances are you will soon read something about Sony´s 1" sensor compact here on this forum.
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Well, not so fast, the RX100 is going back on Monday. As much as people praised its fast AF on fora, it´s totally useless in low light.

This image was a breeze for the J1:
Image

It was impossible for the RX100, so it´s going back. I ordered the Nikon 1 pancake 10 2.8 and tele lens 30-110 instead, so chances are I will continue posting some snapshots here.
Vincent De Vos
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by Vincent De Vos »

Your report and pictures make me want a J1 ... Thank you.
Which lens for family and travel pictures?
How good is the viewfinder in the J1? I prefer this way than to aim at a screen ...
Greetings.
Passioned by beautiful pictures, not a very active photographer though...
Regards,
Vincent

PS I use google translate a lot to write better English. So, if mistake, I's google, not me. ;)
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Hi Vincent, I got all the lenses available at the moment and like all of them, very decent performers.
The pancake is nice and compact, but the kit zoom may be the family and travel lens 10-30 mm.

The J1 is the cheapo Nikon 1 that has no viewfinder. I personally don´t mind using a LCD for framing.
You may want to look at a V1 kit which is discounted these days as the J2 is already announced and the V2 may follow soon.
Reading people´s feedback on the internet, most are pleasantly surprised by the Nikon 1. I wouldn´t hesitate to give it to my goddaughter who is twelve and know she will be able to take cool images with it.

I don´t see much advantage in the new J2 other than the better LCD, so picking up a V1 at a bargain price might be an option.
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antonmuller
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by antonmuller »

Hi Pam, great review with nice examples you made about the J1 - I am very happy with mine too, great little take-anywhere camera, fast AF and reasonably good DR and picture quality in good light. Just a few from the past year :

November 2011 - J1 + 10mm pancake
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December 2011 - J1 + J1 + 10-30mm
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January 2012 - J1 + 10-30mm
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Image

May 2012 - J1 + 10-30mm
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May 2012 - J1 + 30-110mm
Image
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

Hi Anton, these are great! The Nikon 1 seems a little on the cool side, though, I like to set white balance slightly warmer :)
pam.meier
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Re: The Nikon J1 - a snapshot "review"

Post by pam.meier »

I would like to add that with the current firmware it seems to be impossible to use the flash for fill light in sunny situations.
At 1/60 sec there is just no way of exposing such a shot right. Even in M mode it is not possible to use shorter exposure time.
That to me is the only real draw back of the J1.
ritaB
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Qualified for 2012' best topic vote

Post by ritaB »

Qualified for 2012' best topic vote

Sincerely,
RitaB
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