Sensor size in J1 and SuperZooms? WIll they get bigger?

thamnophis

Do folks assume Nikon will stick with the 1 inch sensor in their mirrorless cameras or soon offer a larger sensor ala the competition?
I'm also wondering why the sensors in the super zooms are so small - if its physical limitations or marketing strategy? Any chance we'll see bigger sensors in the super zooms any time soon?

Thanks!

jonnyapple

I questioned the decision to go with the 1" sensor, but I guess it's not a lot smaller than m4/3. I think the idea was not to take sales away from their low-end DSLR line. I doubt they'll change it now, though, even if they wanted to since they have their line of 1 lenses.

The image circle of the lens can't be adjusted, although like Sony showed with the new full-frame e-mount sensor (e-mount was designed for a DX-sized image circle), it's possible that new lenses could be made that take better advantage of the mount.

PB_PM

The 1 series was a big miss step, targeted at too high a price point for the given features. They should have stuck with the J1/J2/J3 type camera and made it $499 as a advanced P&S replacement, taking over where the P7700 leaves off. The V1/V2 should have been a separate series with APC-S sensor and high end features to take over for low end DSLRs.

TaoTeJared

When Nikon began it's development of the sensor the m4/3rds sensors were already out - they knew what the competition was and they didn't choose a larger sensor. As Jonnyapple said, you can't change the sensor size without dumping all the lens designs and starting all over. Add to that they are still releasing new lenses, it's not going anywhere soon.

I agree with PB_PM that I too think it was a missed opportunity. If they would shrink the size down they would be better placed in the market I would think. The new LUMIX GF5 (GF3 before) are tiny and have a larger sensor with basically the same specs for consumers but much smaller - and it has more lenses.

TriShooter

I felt the same way as the other guys about the V1, perhaps more so because I have two Sony NEX cameras. But after playing around with the V1 like enough to buy several more of them. I posted a shot of a Mallard Drake and Hen on the PAD I took yesterday, on Sunday, which was cropped and enlarged 171 percent to get it back to the original size. I admit that I would not have tried the V1 if the price had not dropped to under 500 bucks, but now realize I was mistaken. Using this camera is fun, and the flash is amazing for fill lighting.

I like my V1s very much. They are a pleasure to use and have advantages over my NEXs for shooting wildlife. I definitely like the NEX best for low light situations, but the V1s do fine up to 800 ISO and 1600 in a pinch. I've taken some very nice pictures with it using 30 second exposures with the kit lenses at night. The V1 smaller format is one advantage and the high speed electronic shutter offers a lot as well, and the video is good and being able to shoot stills while video is also a neat feature.

I think Nikon will come out with a larger killer mirrorless DSLR at some point. Meanwhile and FT-1 and a inexpensive 300mm F4 AFS gets me up to 800mm which is fun for birding.

Below is a 30 second exposure with the V1 I took tonight in my backyard.

thamnophis

I have a super-zoom that is hard to beat for daylight, low ISO snapshots of birds, etc. But if I invest in a new general purpose camera I'm not going to spend money on one with a small(ish) sensor restricting me to ISO 800 and below. There are too many options for decent mirrorless cameras with much bigger sensors.

Nikons lack of a competitive mirrorless camera will apparently force me to jump ship for a Sony or Samsung.

thamnophis

Cell phone cameras are eroding Nikon and Canons P&S cameras. In an effort to protect their DSLRs, both have become nearly irrelevant in the rapidly emerging mirrorless market. Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung have become the new industry leaders. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer people care to lug around the DSLRs Canon and Nikon are struggling to protect.

I think we're seeing a fundamental shift in the world of photography. If trends continue, Nikon and Canon are going to become anachronisms.

PB_PM

People keep saying that cell phones are stopping P&S sales, yet Nikon posted the highest P&S sells ever (any brand) last quarter. Frankly, I don't buy it.

TaoTeJared

Nikon's gains are from picking up market share. Kodak & HP used to be in the top 5 and now both are gone so that has opened a big hole over the last few years. P&S sales (all companies) are much lower than what they were 5 years ago. The numbers are actually staggering to me at least. The ILCs and DSLRs are up though so I tend to believe the trend is that people are wanting better quality and moving that direction with their money, but for snapshots, they are just using phones rather than carrying P&S. I believe Thom was tracking this somewhere on his site.

TaoTeJared

Cell phone cameras are eroding Nikon and Canons P&S cameras. In an effort to protect their DSLRs, both have become nearly irrelevant in the rapidly emerging mirrorless market. Olympus, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung have become the new industry leaders. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer people care to lug around the DSLRs Canon and Nikon are struggling to protect.

I think we're seeing a fundamental shift in the world of photography. If trends continue, Nikon and Canon are going to become anachronisms.

I believe most serious photographers and pros would disagree with that quite fiercely. There is so many features that mirrorless bodies have not included that doesn't make it feasible for wide enough range for that segment of photogs.

I think for those people who buy DSLRs because they are under the impression that is the only way to get good Kid photos, or those who want a better travel camera will move more in the direction of ILCs due to weight, size etc. Mirrorless market is here to stay, and they are good, but there is not a chance in the world I would take one to a paid shoot.