Playing with the Nikon 1

Golf007sd

@Ton: Do you have access to a telephoto lens...something above 200mm?

Juergen

Any ideas, how to shoot the Moon? I only get a very white blob in the viewer and there is no way to see the Moon sharp. Clear sky, manual f/8 - 1/200 - ISO 100. The V1 cannot focus on the Moon.

Hi Ton,
what is your longest lens? You see my moon-shot and the settings to it earlier in this thread. If you only see a blob, start with settings which would give you an underexposed photo, and work your way up to the right exposure level.

To find focus is a challenge. You need to have a rock-solid tripod, which does not move when you are fiddling around on your camera and lens. Then put everything in manual, and focus manually until you see the moon sharp. If you do not trust your eyesight (I don't trust mine), go back to autofocus and re-focus.

That will do the trick.

Best regards,
Jürgen

heartyfisher

@heartyfisher

Don't forget about the flange focal distance. DX lenses (like FX lenses) are designed to have 46.5mm of flange distance, which is not ideal for a mirrorless design.

True, but what I meant was if there was a DX sensor and a mirrorless DX lens it could use the Nikon 1 mount. and share lesnes just like for FX and DX .. except this would be for mirrorless CX and Mirrorless DX.

heartyfisher

Nice shot Ton Very sharp !.. I have just about decided to get the 70-200 F4 to play in N1-CX and DX format ! V3 coming soon ! I will be very interested in it..!

Re the moon go to manual mode set to 100 ISO and set at F5.6 and shutter speed of 500 and adjust from there.. :-)

[Deleted User]

Thanks all for your response. I don't mean the settings, that is no problem, but in the viewer (or LCD screen) from the Nikon 1 V1 I only see a white blob, unable to focus, auto or manual. I tried that too Juergen. To focus with the 70-200mm f/2.8 on the D300 or D600 is no problem.

I have the 70-300mm VR Golf, but the results on the V1 .....

OK I tried just once with the V1 and every day it is cloudy here, I wait for another chance and let you know the result.

DaveyJ

I now have owned the Nikon 1 AW 1 for long enough to have a pretty complete set of tests. Underwater this camera is simply amazing! I would rate this as the most easy to use and productive underwater camera I have ever owned. My oldest grandson will have a video on the internet. I shot with the Nikon 1 up thru the J3. Then the AW 1 came along and I bought the first one I could get my hands on! It is a great buy!!! For free diving up to 49 ft. it is considerably sharper than Go Pro which has been taking over a lot of the UW photography. Only two UW lens right now. A 6-15mm and a 30-100mm would make this a completely unbelievable UW camera. Also a great skiing camera, etc. We bought the white one, very attractive!

WestEndBoy

Since I bought my Coolpix A and D800, my 7 year old son has been following me around with the D800 around my neck and the Coolpix A around his neck. It is a thousand dollar camera and I am a little nervous, so what did I do?

I decided that I would find a cheap little prime compact for his birthday or Christmas.

I usually either have my 50mm 1.2MF or 50mm 1.4G on the D800 and the Coolpix A with its 18.5mm lens is a 35mm 28mm equivalent. I have taught him about the benefits of prime lenses over zoom lenses (faster, better IQ, zooming with feet etc).

But just try and find a prime lens for the price of a typical compact. The cheapest compact alternative that I could find was the Coolpix A, currently $900 at the future shop. May as well let him risk my camera. I could buy a D3XXX with a 35mm DX lens. But that is about $500. A couple of brands on B&H that I never heard of did not inspire me.

I searched for a month and then gave up.

But I was in London Drugs the other day and saw a J3 sitting on the shelf with a 10-30mm lens on sale for $289.00. But wait a minute, that lens does not look right......it was a 10mm prime left over for who knows how long.

Because it was open box and because of the mis-matched lens, I got it for $249.00 and will give it to him for Christmas.

Now he can follow me around with his J3 when I am shooting the Coolpix A and shoot exactly the same thing (10mm CX = 18.5mm DX, or close enough).

Is this the beginning of a budding photographer? Can I nurture him? Ask me in a year if I did a good job or wasted $250.00.

heartyfisher

Whups!! Forgot to update my signature.

All you need is a D400 and you will have all 3 nikon mount formats!

WestEndBoy

Whups!! Forgot to update my signature.

All you need is a D400 and you will have all 3 nikon mount formats!

That will be his 10th birthday if he takes to it. Hmmm....maybe a D3XXX or D5XXX.

But I do have all four of the sensor formats - FX, DX, CX and Film.

heartyfisher

Wasn't there supposed to be a new Nikon V3 announcement ?

DLGD4

Regarding the "how do I get rid of the white blob" question with the V1... there are two aspects:
1) setting the correct exposure
2) setting the correct FOCUS
What worked for ME was to use the "single focus patch" option, locate the patch in the middle of the frame, and then depress the shutter 1/2 way for it to focus (part 2, above). But the real trick is (1) the exposure. Put the camera on manual exposure, and use the "Sunny 16" rule (f16 for aperture, shutter speed @ 1/ISO). The surface of the moon is "essentially" the same distance from the sun as the surface of the earth, and so the same exposure applies as at noon on a sunny day, here. "Sunny 16" will get you well within "1 stop" of exposure, and THAT will change the moon from a "bright blob" to a properly exposed image with detail.
I hope that helps!

[Deleted User]

I will try that DLGD4. The last month was only clouds and rain here.
With the FT1 on the Nikon 1 V1, you only have single focus and the focus point in the middle.
My settings for Moon shots are always manual.
I try f16 with 1/100 at ISO 100 and see if there is no white blob, but a Moon.

Symphotic

We've got 3 V1s around here and use them all the time. Keep the firmware updated, and note that there is a special firmware update for the FT1 that isn't the same as the updates for the other lenses.

Ton: I have shoot the moon in manual mode using live view and manual focus: Press the bottom of the of the Multi-selector (AF) and select "MF" . Press OK to toggle between using the multiselector wheel for focus or setting the aperture. When you have toggled to focus the playback zoom control allows you to zoom in for fine focus detail, and rotation the multi-selector lets you focus. Toggling back to the aperture control and the playback control allows you to manually set the shutter speed. Set the exposure setting until live view shows you a properly exposed moon. Remember, it's bright daylight on the moon, so you'll be looking at short exposure times, small apertures, and low ISO.

Take a shot, view in playback, and adjust and repeat until the histogram is centered and the focus is perfect.

If you are using an FT1 and a manual lens, you would only use the multi-selector for aperture control, of course.

It's easier to do than to explain...

[Deleted User]

It is very simple to shoot the Moon on a clear evening, f/8.0 - 1/400 with ISO 100 and you are there.

This one was with the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II on the D600
Cropped to 1140 x 760 a little Lightroom and that was it.



This one was with the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II on the Nikon 1 V1
Cropped to 1400 x 940 and a little bit more Lightroom



On the LCD screen from the Nikon 1 V1, I only see a blown out white blob, press the shutter half way and the white blob become a sharper and smaller blown out white circle, no detail at all, but the photo itself is good. It is the same on all apartures.

heartyfisher

I wanted to try that .. but its been raining the last couple of nights.. during the full moon..

[Deleted User]

Nikon 1 V1, 60mm f/2.8g

I made a serie, most were unusable due to enormous CA with this lens, LR helps a little in this.

Sorry can't find this photo anymore.

heartyfisher

Lets do the Nikon1 CX vs FX/DX sensor comparison discussion here?

[Deleted User]

Mediamarkt, a very big shop chain in Europe. The only Nikon 1's I saw in these shops are 2 Nikon 1- S2's, a pink and a white. This was in the biggest shop in Rotterdam. I think 2 things are the main reasons for that. First, the price !!, second there are many other camera's available from other brands, which are better or / and have much better marketing.

I have a Sony NEX-7, to upgrade I will go for the Sony ILCE 6000 body € 579.- now, instead of a Nikon 1 V3 body, cheapest price at the moment € 869.-, where I also need to buy a view finder € 369.- !!!.

paulr

I bought my V3 Body and lens 10-30 PD only, brand new with Uk warranty for £477 . I keep watching Ebay and bargains are there. I am well impressed with this model compared to its predecessors and I have owned them all.

henrik1963

Ton is right. The Nikon 1 V3 is way to expensive compared to other offerings.

Too bad bc the V3 has some special features. I hardly ever see one in the wild around here - most people have never even heard about them. Maybe Nikon want it to be a secret camera :-)

manhattanboy

Ton is right. The Nikon 1 V3 is way to expensive compared to other offerings.

Too bad bc the V3 has some special features. I hardly ever see one in the wild around here - most people have never even heard about them. Maybe Nikon want it to be a secret camera :-)

I agree the 1V3 was too expensive... I bought the 1j4 instead for $330. It was too hard for me to justify the >$1000 price tag of the 1V3 given that the same sensor and processor can be had for only a few hundred dollars.

Thus far my feelings are mixed about the J4 though. Love the colors and pics on the 1J4 compared to the 1V1, which looks muted by comparison. Love the tap to shoot feature of the J4. I wish the wifi option was better in its controls...frustrating that you can only shoot and not tap to focus, change shutter speed, etc. using the cell phone. I miss looking into a viewfinder, but now just treat the display as a large viewfinder...the delay from moving the lens to screen is about the same as you would see in the viewfinder.
The pop-up flash works surprisingly well. Altogether the J4 is a really nice "soccer mom" camera and Nikon should really market it to that segment. The price is still too high though...would have liked to see a <$300 version without the lens, although the self-closing lens and power zoom are nice "soccer mom" features...just probably not worth more than $50 given the IQ.
For DSLR shooters the controls are way overly simplified to the point of frustration. But that was probably Nikon's target user segment, not those users like myself who want the 1V3's IQ and speed improvements but are too cheap to pay for them LOL. I bought a stick on grip from online for the camera and it helps to hold it for composure since without the viewfinder you lose cheekbone stabilization.
The little I have shot with the 70-300 CX, you can definitely see the IQ difference between it and the included kit zoom. Will try to do head to head comparisons of the 1J4 and 1V1 this weekend if i get a chance.