Nikon 1 V3

This looks like a really exciting camera with some pretty impressive capabilities both on the video and still side. The V1 is really maturing into a serious camera I think.

Some standout details for me:

20 fps RAW continuous focus, 60 fps fixed focus

1200 fps low res video

Modular - strip it down to slip in the pocket, add grip, viewfinder etc as needed

Use it with all my Nikon lenses, not new I know, but a 20 fps action camera with my existing 70-200 sounds impressive

WiFi

18 MP high ISO capability - be interesting to see how the dynamic range etc compare to the DSLR's

I think this could be a serious traveling underwater and wildlife camera particularly if Nikon get serious with some WA lenses; actually I see they make a 6.7-13. Hmmm getting better. Now what about housings Nauticam?

I have recently used their AW1 underwater while snorkeling, Worked great at 15 fps, with tack sharp focus. Can't wait to see the new v3 with the cx 70-300mm for topside wildlife. a Housing could make this a great UW camera. Light weight and less bulk than a dslr system.

I am interested in this camera, also.

Nice specs on the camera.

I like the crop factor. Using this camera in combination with the Nikon full frame lens adapter would be a real bonus.

The only drawbacks I can see with this camera is external GPS, and an external viewfinder. You can only use one accessory in the hotshoe at a time, so it will be a trade off between automatic location identification or seeing what you want to photograph in strong sunlight.

I hope someone will produce an underwater housing for this camera.

I have been contemplating getting a Fuji XE-2 camera but was waiting to see what Nikon is bringing to the market with the Nikon 1 V3.

Both cameras would be great for topside stuff but I doub anyone would be making an underwater housing for the Fuji X-E2.

Pragmatically, I should opt for the Nikon over the Fuji, but emotionally, the Fuji is hard for me to resist. As for the Fuji X-E2, I like the manual, or analog, dials and f-stop rings from days gone by and have always enjoyed the colour rendition out of my old Fuji S2 Pro, but the camera build quality was not as good as the Nikon brand at that time. This is no longer a concern with the Fuji X-E2.

So now that the Nikon 1 V3 is on the market, I am still no closer to making a decision, as I find the devil is always in the details.

The good thing about having to make the choice between cameras is that I will really enjoy whichever camera I finally pick.

Thumbs up:

- Higher Resolution sensor with higher ISO capability

- Faster focus, more focus points

- Faster shutter, 20fps wow.

- Smaller profile

- 120fps slow mo 720p video

- tilt LCD with higher resolution

- Touchpanel LCD

Thumbs Down:

- Eliminating the EVF and making it external

- Yet another 10-30mm lens. What's that, 4 of them now?

- The new 10-30 doesn't even have a filter ring or hood! Ridiculous.

- Sold as the complete kit only with lens, EVF and grip. No choice.

- EXPENSIVE! Jeez, $1200? That's a D7100. or almost 2 Olympus EM10's

- Using the accessory shoe for the EVF making it useless

- 120fps slow mo 720p video instead of 1080p.

- No 4k

- Yet another battery! jeeez

- micro SD. What, are they going for the GoPro market?

- Only two decent primes in their lens lineup. All of the zooms with the exception of the 6.7-13mm are mediocre and slooooowww.

I sold my V1 and all my lenses recently. The 1 series has great promise, but it's overpriced and Nikon keeps totally changing it's mind on what the "V" series is supposed to be. I went to Olympus OMD with roughly the same overall size, better sensor and stellar lens selection, not to mention just being cheaper. Yes, the Nikon 1 is impressively fast to focus. Other than that, it's a "Fail" for me.

JMHO,

JP

Not really useful specs for underwater. Price is way too much. The alternative mirrorless offers are better due to the better lens line more appropriate for UW photography.

Dedicated macro and good wide angle lenses are missing from the Nikon-1 lenses.

The only advantage of the N1 system was the fast Af, but sony seems to have caught up.

I agree this camera is expensive; but it will be interesting to see how the IQ compares to m4/3 and even Nikons own DX line like the 7100. With the lens convertor which I have there is a wide range of Nikon lenses that may make this a pretty impressive action camera. I have to wonder if anyone has tried the nikon 10.5 or even the Tokina 10-17 on this camera. How do the Nikon macro lenses perform on this camera? For me it's attractive to keep one camera system and have this camera simply add into my kit for use for travel diving. A lot will depend on the housing design as well. Allowing use of the convertor and standard Nikon lenses will help. I know this camera does not make sense for those already vested in m4/3, but it may make a lot of sense for those with existing Nikon kit.

I had the same idea with buying the V1. Same battery as the D7000 and D800. Same lenses with the converter. It would make a lot of sense going back and forth from small to large kit. In use however, the 1 series is simply a half-baked concept.

We now know other than having more pixels, the IQ is pretty much the same as the previous sensor and is considerably inferior to M4/3. (see photo below with DXOMark's comparison to Olympus sensors). I have both an Olympus EM5 and an EPM2 and either one is quite noticeably better than my V1 in terms of image quality.

As to how those other lenses work on the Nikon 1, in my experience I'll say pretty well. One issue is it only does spot focus/metering, but that's not too big a deal. The 105 VR works quite nicely with it as does both my 35mm and 50mm 1.8's. I never tried the 10-17, should've done that. Is a matter of fact, I was pretty happy with the full size Nikon lenses on the V1. The 60mm macro works even better than the 105. One thing about the 1 series is all of the images, even at 100 ISO have a "grain" to them. Some people might say the images are noisy. It's not too unpleasant, but it's certainly not as crisp as my other cameras.

It's the standard lenses that are a let down. They aren't horrible, just not stellar which is kind of what I expected from Nikon. And a 105 or a 70-200 feels too big on it; doesn't balance well.

Last year I took the V1 to Switzerland with the standard lenses, my 50mm 1.8 and 60mm 2.8 and no other camera. It certainly did the job and I'm still happy with the photos.

I won't say the Nikon 1 series is a horrible camera. Just don't use it beside an EM5 with some decent lenses because then all of it's deficiencies become apparent. The images from the 16mp Oly sensor really are hugely better than the Nikon 1 series in my opinion. Lens selection is much better too and suprisingly, an Olympus EM5 with a 25mm 1.8 lens is almost the exact same size as the V1 with the 18mm 1.8 on it.

Just my opinion.

I think it's a fantastic supplementary system for nikon owners, but I don't see the point to build an underwater system around. Adding convertor will kill the size advantage and due to the crop factor wide angle will be still problematic.

Hi , I have the v1 which is about the same as a d200 for image quality . The size is what makes it an appealing system for me as a supplementary family adventure camera rather than taking the d800 everywhere.. I have just purchased the aw1 which I have only snorkeled with so far using the sb105 as a slave strobe with reasonable results as a budget uw system for money outlaid . An uw version of the 6.7-13 mm lens would be a welcome addition . I don't think I would bother housing the v1 or newer versions such as the v3 ,for the cost I think the omd system would be a better bet. . The 10.5 dx lens using the ft1 adapter is no wider than the nikon 1 10-30 lens but has a lot of distortion from being a fisheye design .

i love my nikon 1 j3. similar specs as v series i think? but it has the dedicated NIKON made underwater housing.

i can post review of the set up later, but you can see samples pictures taken with nikon 1 j3 here:

scroll to 2d photos

http://luxemiles.com/?cat=7

The autofocus on nikon 1 series are the only few that have both contrast and phase autofocus, making the autofocus extremely fast.

Very useful for underwater focus. Very easy to change settings.

Oh and it does panoramic underwater photos easily! True panoramic! I have some samples i will post it later. It is soo cool

And if you see a stargazer, you can shoot videos at 400 fps... Any dslr that can do that and are that versatile?