Nikon 1 V1 FT-1 with Nikon 300mm F4

TriShooter · January 2013

Goose feeding on Pond 35mm @ 810mm shot at ISO 200 with F.71 at 1/400th.

The 300mm F4 is spectacularly sharp with the V1 / FT-1.

PB_PM · January 2013

Do you really need to start a new thread each time you post a photo? Maybe try the photo a day thread?

Kmdmd1 · January 2013

Terrific photo. Thanks for posting. I have been debating getting the 300 mm f/4 to pair with the v1 instead of using the 70-300 and it is nice to see the results. I saw a post on DP reviews by another photographer who uses this this combination for BIF with great results and to my eye, even better than the 70-200 f/2.8 II VR.

TriShooter · January 2013

Do you really need to start a new thread each time you post a photo? Maybe try the photo a day thread?

I agree with you that the photo a day section / thread is excellent and is useful to me and many others.

Your concern and post are well intended and taken as well intended by me.

My only goal in this section is to help keep this category of the forum going to a reasonable degree if there is anything worth posting that may help someone else that has, or is considering the a V1/V2 mirrorless camera which is an admittedly mixed bag of positives and negatives, but still very useful to some camera enthusiasts.

SInce this section of the forum is about the V1/V2 and mirrorless cameras I thought it important to get a few decent examples up so others can see for themselves real life results with some specific lenses, like the Nikon 300mm F4 in this thread which shows what the camera and the right lens on it can achieve because there is a learning curve to using these cameras. It takes more effort to get superior results which I enjoy.

I think it is important for users to get a feel for the V1/V2 with the FT-1 on specific lenses to help those interested see what the CX format can, and cannot, do for us now and may so for us in the years to come.

I respect your input and opinion, but think three new threads in this section since our new forum started is not being abusive, or getting carried away.

PB_PM · January 2013

I'm glad you took my post as it was intended, and I get where you are coming from as well.

TriShooter · January 2013

I'm glad you took my post as it was intended, and I get where you are coming from as well.

PB_PM, thank you, it was honest, and I appreciate your understanding of my intent. BTW, if you had any intention of being hyper critical you would have noted it was the fourth post not the third which I just noticed a couple of minutes ago. LOL. Thanks again for understanding my motivation. :-c

TriShooter · January 2013

@Kmdmd1

Thank you. I was one of the people in this forum that did not get the reason, or function of the V1 initially because I had several of the NEX cameras and thought they were better, and they are for some purposes. But for getting a shot like the one above is not the ticket because of the crop factor.

The detail in the picture is outstanding and the good news is that I am getting better at it the more I use this fun to use little camera. This camera does have a learning curve attached to it in terms of understanding what it will and will not for us, but at reasonable ISO setting produces incredible detail for those of us that like the idea of getting close without carrying big expensive optics in an environment where it is hard to walk.

The 300mm will take some shots that of birds in flight with some practice which is a blast, even on an overcast day as you can see in my first posts link. Yes some motion, but pretty fairly decent with a hand-held 35mm@810mm lens. It was honestly too cold to sit behind a tripod on the pictures from CT in an earlier thread, and nothing close to the quality I can get now with this combination.

PB_PM · January 2013

BTW I did get to test the V1 with the 300mm F4 last summer. I also put the TC14E on there, but it was way too long to keep steady for any bird shooting. It was much better without the TC. I gladly turned the V1 away, missed too many shots because the FT-1 disables continuous focus. I didn't like having to take hundreds of shots of a single bird just to get one in focus. Here are a few I got with the combo though.

V1, AF-S 300mm F4D IF-ED ISO200, 1/800s, F4

V1, AF-S 300mm F4D IF-ED, ISO280, 1/640s, F4

TriShooter · January 2013

@PB_PM

Those are great shots that really show what the camera can do in the right hands with the Nikon 300mm F4. Thank you for sharing them here. I share your experience at not having continuous auto focus tracking with the FT-1 using the af-s Nikon lenses. In my opinion, Nikon leaving this functionality off of the V2, and or the FT-1 was not smart. So will hope they realize it when they produce a V3, because they did not add it on the V2.

I would buy a 300mm for the V1/V2 or V3 in heartbeat if it produced pictures like the 300mm F4 af-s. In the meantime using a gimbal head tripod mount, which is best tripod head I have used on any camera, seems to give me enough time to focus most of the time. If the lens starts hunting I go to manual focus like I use to do on my older lenses like the Nikon 300mm F4.5 which lives in my "it use to great memory cabinet.".

On small birds like swallows I still have to pre-focus because even my D300 has trouble following them because they dart around faster than I can follow them for long enough auto-focus with continuous tracking to work. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I find it extremely challenging to shoot small darting birds, like swallows, in flight without pre-focusing for the shot.

Thanks again for sharing your beautiful shots from your testing of the V1, as well as your observation of dealing with no af-c tracking. I think this is probably the most common legitimate complaint about the V1, and is still the same on the new V2.

Msmoto · January 2013

Along the same lines, V1 with long teles', the new 800mm with TC would give 2700mm effective. mmm....

TriShooter · January 2013

@MSmoto

Only the BOLDEST and the BEST think like you !!!

The 800mm is by itself a serious challenge on its own right with a 2.7 crop, even without adding a TC. However, with a remote release, in the presence of calm weather and low haze, a V1 mounted on a tripod built like a Sherman tank that is mounted in thousands of pounds, or floating on a gyro foundation might work in a quiet setting, without any nearby roads, or other types of heavy machinery, if we remember to leave ten seconds for the rig to stabilize after looking through the camera to obtain the target and focus before firing.

Pushing the edge is always FUN to think about, because most of us know anything is possible given enough time, energy, knowledge and money. I like your idea, so please try it out at about 100 yards on a subject that covers at least a third of the frame, with normal field gear asap. LOL - I might really need one of those new 800mm lenses myself, and not even know it.

>-

Msmoto · January 2013

I think the idea of a gyro is great...but, we must remember the VRIII in the new 800 will help greatly in "Active" mode.

In a reality mode...the new 800 with its TC giving 1000 mm sounds like the wildlife photographer's dream on a new D400. A 1500 mm effective focal length is mouth watering.

However, I am looking forward to the D300s replacement to stick on the end of my 400 + TC2, and have 1200 mm and at a cost of about $9,000 less. We will see.

TriShooter · February 2013

@MSmoto Sounds like a plan. That kind of resolution and and the latest version of VR will be fun! I am still waiting too to see what Nikon does with the APS-C format. Time will tell but I am going to be a lot more careful than in the past about being first in line until I see a few models come out without dust, oil, and focusing issues next time around. I think that flood took a toll on Nikon, but expect them to get back on track.

Msmoto · February 2013

@ TriShooter

Amen! I do not have a D800 as a direct result of the left focus problems. Now, I am wondering if the D800 will become a D800s.

But, the 800mm lens is so tempting, and it is lighter than the 400mm f/2.8. My only problem is the $18,000.........Does praying help to win the Lotto?...mmmm

And, the new DX from Nikon...as you say, I will wait until I jump in as it looks like a crap shoot to purchase any new Nikon body lately.

But, this thread is about the V1...and I am not convinced this is the way to go. The sensor is just too small for me. I like to see a 30" x 40" image which is tack sharp.

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Nikon 1 V1 FT-1 with Nikon 300mm F4

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