1st Impressions; Nikon 1 V1  The Nikon 1 V1 camera has been available for quite some time.  In fact, its successor, the Nikon 1 V2, is already available.  Recently, the V1 has been on deep discount sales which is when I purchased mine.  And, I really like the camera.  It’s not a DSLR and it has some drawbacks, but what it does well, it does really well.  To me, it has two big advantages; it’s smaller, lighter than a DSLR and it has a 2.7 crop factor.

So, the V1 has become my go to camera for my daily walkabouts.  Most of the time, the AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR lens gets attached through the FT-1 adapter.  Although it’s f4.5-5.6, as long as there’s enough light, depth of field  has not been a 4/02/2013 Suburban Robinproblem.  With an effective focal length of 189-810mm,  the backgrounds are adequately blurred and the bokeh seems nice to me.   The 70-300mm is known for it’s sharpness; image quality has been quite good.  Good handholding technique is a must at the long telephoto focal lengths, but with some practice, I have been able to get sharp images.  On my walkabouts, good local wildlife shots have become a bit easier.  Did I mention how light it is to carry?

Occasionally, the AF-S 50mm f1.4 G gets attached, via Ft-1 adapter, for a portrait or a landscape.  After the crop factor, it becomes a very sharp f1.4 135mm lens.

Then for family snaps and an occasional landscape, the kits lens CX 10-30mm f3.5-5.6 VR has produced  some nice images.

A third, rather unexpected, advantage becomes obvious as soon as you begin to use the camera; fast and accurate auto-focus.  Yes, it’s noticeable.  Oh, when a long telephoto is attached, it can hunt if it starts way out of focus.  It’s particularly handy when using a telephoto lens, since the electronic viewfinder isn’t as clear as a DSLR viewfinder.  The autofocus only works on the CX lens and Nikkor AF-S lens through the FT-1.  I tried manually focusing the AF 80-400 f4.5-5.6D ED VR lens.  It works just fine with a tripod, but handheld, it’s a bit awkward and difficult for me to get a sharp focus.  And, as you might expect, mated to the AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 ED VRII, with an effective focal length of 189-540mm, it works beautifully.

There are many features and functions that I have not used yet.  I’ll post more impressions after I have used them enough to comment.

For me, the only negative to the Nikon 1 V1, so far, is the unique flash shoe and flash system.  It seems like a silly design for a first class company like Nikon just to make a few more bucks on new flash units. So, I did not buy a flash.

Bottom line; the Nikon 1 V1 has become a nice accessory camera for me.  It will not replace any of my DSLRs and will not even replace my P7000 point & shoot, because of the non-standard flash.  After reading the specs for the V2, it does not change anything.  Hopefully, as the Nikon 1 series evolves, it will become a viable backup camera.

But for now, again; what it does well, it does very well, for me.

4/15/2013 Canada Goose

Find more Nikon 1 V1 and V3 experiences posted under IMHO.