Nikon 1 V3

Vipmediastar_JZ

I saw the promotional video and for sports it looks great maybe BIF too. The closest to BIF i get to are pigeons in the city. That is probably a camera I would use for street but I never really like the first one that came out and returned it.

adamz

@Jurgen - no it doesn't have the regular hot shoe - only the dedicated one as in v1 and v2

I'm also eager to play with the new zoom 70-300 as I'm wondering how much better it is than the regular N70-300vr + FT1 adapter as price wise, it's almost 3x as much.

manhattanboy

I saw the promotional video and for sports it looks great maybe BIF too. The closest to BIF i get to are pigeons in the city. That is probably a camera I would use for street but I never really like the first one that came out and returned it.

Have you seen the sample pics?
http://nikonrumors.com/2014/03/14/nikon-1-v3-sample-photos.aspx/

The ISO for sports in broad daylight using the pricey new 80-400 VR is 800 at 1/1000 for the shot of the gentleman going over the high bar. The softness and noise IMHO are not great for this camera and I again wonder why not get a 7100 for less money instead.

TaoTeJared

As I have said on the all the Nikon 1 series, I really would like to "like" them, but these prices! All know I'm not one to shy away at prices for when the product is at a high standard but something is really off with Nikon on these. When I see a Sony A6000 for $800 with a lens, 24mp DX sensor, and fully updated AF that will probably stand up to the V3 I just scratch my head and ask "what is it that Nikon has $400 more of?" On the flip side, I could easily justify an Olympus OM-D E-M1 - That is only $200 more.

That said I really do like the design, look, hand-grip and EVF included and optional if you want to slim the camera down. I think that is a great idea! The video adds a bunch of possibilities for people. If I did a lot birding or wildlife, this would be the system for sure with the 70-300 in my bag, especially with that video specs.

Only thing that is really Bad about it is the lack of CLS and a MicroSD?!? WTF? Slowest cards on the planet - and too small. That is just a weird play.

NSXTypeR

As I have said on the all the Nikon 1 series, I really would like to "like" them, but these prices! All know I'm not one to shy away at prices for when the product is at a high standard but something is really off with Nikon on these. When I see a Sony A6000 for $800 with a lens, 24mp DX sensor, and fully updated AF that will probably stand up to the V3 I just scratch my head and ask "what is it that Nikon has $400 more of?" On the flip side, I could easily justify an Olympus OM-D E-M1 - That is only $200 more.

Only thing that is really Bad about it is the lack of CLS and a MicroSD?!? WTF? Slowest cards on the planet - and too small. That is just a weird play.

That's what I said. And then everyone jumped on me. It's an extra card format to worry about. I know it's small, but if it's just SD cards it's just SD cards. It's consistent. It's one less thing to worry about.

I think Nikon would be stupid not to sell this body only. Some Nikon 1 owners probably would like to upgrade, but would like to buy the camera without the power zoom. If it really is $400, then that's a good deal there.

Ade

To me, the V3 looks like a camera catered for the Japanese market. It has a design language reminiscent of Sony products. Even the fact that it takes microSD screams "Japanese" to me. (microSD is big in Japan because most Japanese phones have microSD slots).

I can't blame Nikon because Japan is probably the largest market for Nikon 1. At the same time, I'd hate to read once more in Nikon's next financial report that Nikon 1 sales are strong in Japan but soft in Europe and in the Americas -- it would be a self fulfilling prophecy.

Still the V3 is now Nikon's flagship 1-system camera, and it looks to be capable. But I'm not part of Nikon's target market for this camera and would not consider buying one.

TaoTeJared

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I think Nikon would be stupid not to sell this body only. Some Nikon 1 owners probably would like to upgrade, but would like to buy the camera without the power zoom. If it really is $400, then that's a good deal there.

I'm interested but wondering what the body only price will be.
This may be flawed logic, but..
US kit price on B&H is $1200 (all rounding up)
grip alone = $160
viewfinder alone = $300
10-30 lens alone = $300
So V3 body is = $410?!?

Those number are off and in dream land. MSRP for the V1 is $400, V2 - $799 and the J3 is $400 with a lens. They wouldn't sell the body for less than the V2 when released. That had the grip and EVF built in. So the body would probably be $900 like the V2 (bit higher) when released. What separate items sell for, and what they are worth in the "kit" never lines up and is always a huge difference. Realistically the "kit" lens is probably worth 1/2 and the cost to build it is 1/3 of what they charge.

When you see a Nikon 1 J1 with a 10mm & a 10-30 for $250 -marked down $350 from $599 at B&H that give a good indicator how inflated the prices are though. (Hell of a deal for the camera if you can live with ruby red.) The V1 seems to have settled to $300ish (refurbished) with a 10-30 lens which is a 54% mark down (from $650) when it was released. That has to be almost the cost to make them at that price though.

BabaGanoush

For about the same price (a little more, but not by much), I'll be getting the Sony A6000 and an 18-200mm E mount lens to add to my collection of travel cameras, which now include an RX100, an RX10, the Panasonic G6 + half-dozen M43 lenses from f=7mm to f=300mm. If Nikon were to release a pro-body version of the plasticky D7100, I'd forgo the A6000, but I'm tired of waiting for the Nikon DX dream camera.

PS: Those first sample shots that've been posted for the V3 were taken not too far from where I live, a 5 minute drive at most.

PB_PM

Even the fact that it takes microSD screams "Japanese" to me. (microSD is big in Japan because most Japanese phones have microSD slots).

I cannot think of a smartphone/tablet on the market other than the iPhone/iPad that do not have a Micro SD card slot, so that alone has nothing to do with Japan.

adamz

there's a lot talk about A6000, I've played with it last week and... it's a great camera, though AF is not as fast as the one from V1. I really liked the compactness of it and the fact that EVF is build in, not to mention standard hot shoe and image quality. What I didn't like:
- it's sony - the value will drop even faster than V1
- menu is way to complicated - when I shoot I don't have time to search for specific settings. in nikon (especially v1) everything is very intuitive. can't say this about sony.
- sony kit lens is a joke. I had nex before and was disappointed. on the contrary, I use the v1 with the kit lens and out of the box it delivers good results. other good lenses (18.5/1.8 and 10/2.8) are damm cheap, comparing to sony equivalent (zeiss)

adamz

one thing I really don't like about the new v3 is microSD. sure the cards are cheap, though they require to have one more type of cards in your wallet (I already carry SD and CF).

Msmoto

I would like to have manual settings on a camera, maybe like the Df. Or at least, an info screen with dials I can turn to set the parameters. OK, it sort of has this. Now, for verticals overhead, a tilt screen….gosh, tilt is only for horizontal overhead…..

The size……. …... with all the lenses I have, used with the FT-1 adaptor, I can hang a D7100 on the lenses and be the same size package……

The focusing… if this will track as well as they are suggesting, now we are getting into what I might want.

How about a Nikon X VX with an APS-C sensor, accepting F mount lenses, and with dials like a D4? Now we are talking.

NSXTypeR

I would like to have manual settings on a camera, maybe like the Df. Or at least, an info screen with dials I can turn to set the parameters. OK, it sort of has this. Now, for verticals overhead, a tilt screen….gosh, tilt is only for horizontal overhead…..

The size……. …... with all the lenses I have, used with the FT-1 adaptor, I can hang a D7100 on the lenses and be the same size package……

The focusing… if this will track as well as they are suggesting, now we are getting into what I might want.

How about a Nikon X VX with an APS-C sensor, accepting F mount lenses, and with dials like a D4? Now we are talking.

That sounds really cool, but I doubt Nikon would be so innovative considering how conservative they have been.

You know what else I could get for $1200?

A Sony RX10. Another 1 inch sensor and probably a larger camera but it has a much faster aperture. Keep in mind the Nikon 1 still does not have a fast zoom.

Ade

I cannot think of a smartphone/tablet on the market other than the iPhone/iPad that do not have a Micro SD card slot, so that alone has nothing to do with Japan.

Tons of current flagship smartphones & tablets for the US/European markets do not have a microSD slot. Examples: the Google Nexus 5, 7 and 10; Motorola Moto X and Moto G; HTC One; the Nokia Lumia 920, 928, 1020; the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX; the LG G2.

Consider: the HTC One sold in the US/Canada does not have microSD. But the HTC One sold in Japan is a different variant with microSD. Same with the LG G2. The one sold by AT&T / Rogers does not have microSD, but the version sold by NTT DoCoMo in Japan has it.

There are also many Japan-only smartphones, like the Fujitsu Arrows, NEC Medias and the Sharp Aquos. All of them have microSD slots. While the iPhone (with no expandable storage) dominates the market, it would be "impossible" for a Japanese domestic smartphone not to include a microSD slot. It's just part of the current design language, along with a slew of other Japanese-only features.

Hence I think it's natural for the V3 to use microSD.

heartyfisher

I like it .. will wait for more sensor performance data in reviews but its looking good :-) lots to like and no big negatives..

manhattanboy

I like it .. will wait for more sensor performance data in reviews but its looking good :-) lots to like and no big negatives..

Double check the image quality on Flickr at full res before pulling the trigger. All I can say is that it is not DSLR like yet.

adamz

@NSXTypeR - sony RX10, as nice camera it might be, have you ever tried to use it? I had, and till the time I've managed to zoom in I've finished my short nap

adamz

picture from V1 and 18.5/1.8 lens:

have no problems with printing it to A2 size, so if this what I see from v3 and it's performance in shadows (being app 2-3 stops better than v1) that it's a winner for me.

adamz

one more from V1 (this time with FT1 and N70-200/2.8)... can't do this with sony

[Deleted User]

I 'am with Adam. My Sony NEX-7 is now a usable camera for 2 month, only due to the 1000.- euro 16-70mm f/4 I bought. Every week since I bought it, the body went down in price and as Adam said, the menu is terrible.

Nikon 1 V1, FT1, 70-200mm f/2.8, (540mm) ISO 200, 1/400 at f/3.2
A little post in LR.



I connected the 70-200mm f/2.8 to the NEX, everything was manual and I mean everything.

BabaGanoush

@adamz: Regarding your criticisms of the Sony A6K and the RX10, I could not disagree more strongly. With regard to the zoom on the RX10, the manual zoom is very slow but the electronic zoom using the W/T lever is as fast as any other superzoom camera (many of which I have owned) and it's fast enough for most uses but, admittedly, not for sports or any other high-speed action. But that's pretty much true of the nature of all such cameras in the superzoom category. As for the menu of the A6K, if it has the same layout as the menu on the RX100, the RX10, and the A7, which I believe is the case, then the UI is actually quite good. The layout is very logical and I have no more trouble finding things in the Sony menus on my RX100 and RX10 than I do on my D800. Plus,Sony offers a "Quick Menu" that's the equivalent of the Nikon "My Menu" and there's also a "Quick Navi" screen that displays all of your major camera settings and allows you to adjust them from that one screen. Couldn't be simpler or more intuitive.

PS to Ton: The UI on the Sony A6000 is entirely different from that of the NEX-7. The layout of the menu is very different for those two cameras.

NSXTypeR

@NSXTypeR - sony RX10, as nice camera it might be, have you ever tried to use it? I had, and till the time I've managed to zoom in I've finished my short nap

It's true that I have not used a RX10, but in the short time I've used a RX100 I did like the camera very much, and it is a camera I wish Nikon had an equivalent to. I think the Coolpix P340 comes close but if I'm not mistaken the sensor is smaller.

I think if the RX10 is anything like the RX100, which it very much should, it would give the V3 a run for its money.

adamz

RX10 is neither close to RX100 not to mention RX1, which I think is a brilliant camera. Not knowing why sony decided to make the rx10 not a camera everybody expected: aps-c size sensor with 35/1.8 equivalent lens.

As for sony menu, well... I like when things are intuitive, and changing iso on a touch screen is not intuitive for me at all.

SquamishPhoto

As I have said on the all the Nikon 1 series, I really would like to "like" them, but these prices! All know I'm not one to shy away at prices for when the product is at a high standard but something is really off with Nikon on these. When I see a Sony A6000 for $800 with a lens, 24mp DX sensor, and fully updated AF that will probably stand up to the V3 I just scratch my head and ask "what is it that Nikon has $400 more of?" On the flip side, I could easily justify an Olympus OM-D E-M1 - That is only $200 more.

You're making the exact same case against the V3 that PitchBlack makes against the Df, except you don't realize it.

WestEndBoy

I wish the Nikon 1 system had a DX sensor. Then I would think about it. The J3 in my signature is really my 8 year old's.

The low light performance is quite pathetic. It is a much bigger step (practically, have not bothered to determine if technically) from the J3 to my Coolpix A (DX) than it is from my Coolpix A to my D800.

Has the V3 improved on the J3? Almost certainly. But it is still a CX sensor. You can't shine a sneaker, and Nikon has tried. I doubt that anything over 10 megapixels is going to be noticed with a Nikon 1 lens. My D800 sensor is almost 10 times bigger and challenges my 85. I would have preferred better low light performance.

Sensor size trumps everything (almost).

Not to say the J3 is a bad camera. It may even be worth the price. And the target market is still seduced by megapixels.

I am sure that Nikon could squeeze a DX sensor into the Nikon 1 form factor if they tried.