Nikon V1

Mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras, or ‘hybrids’, are increasingly popular because they slot neatly into a sweet spot between compacts and DSLRs, in terms of both size and performance. It’s no real surprise then that Nikon, one of the biggest players in the world of photography, is chasing some of this lucrative action with the introduction of the Nikon 1 camera system.

This is a major move for Nikon, involving a break from more than five decades of the famous F lens mount. Two 1 series bodies are available, the top of the range V1, as reviewed here, and the simpler Nikon J1. Both feature a new sensor size and the all-new 1 lens mount.

The V1 boasts a high resolution (1,440k dot) electronic viewfinder (EVF) but a built in flash is missing in action, which is not unusual for this class of cameras. The sensor is a 10MP “CX” unit, which at 13.2 x 8.8mm is sized between compact and Nikon DX (or APS-C) DSLR sensors. Strangely enough, despite the reduced-size sensor, the V1 is by no means the tiniest camera in its class, although the lenses are diminutive thanks to the small mount. The CX sensor implementation has opened Nikon up to some criticism as most of the competing hybrids are fitted with the bigger DSLR sensors. As it turns out, this point is somewhat moot because the CX sensor isn’t overloaded with pixels and it’s a state-of-the-art unit, that performs very well indeed.

Nikon has taken aim at the top of the consumer market with the V1 – the brochure outlines topics such as “Simplicity defined” and “Groundbreaking automatic shooting modes”, and the camera is definitely designed to make shooting as easy as possible. In fact, the mode dial only offers access to still, video, Smart Photo Selector and Motion Snapshot modes; the usual P, A, S, M exposure modes can only be accessed via the menu system. This focus on simplicity doesn’t mean that the V1 is shortchanged from a performance perspective; it features a fast autofocus system based around no less than 73 potential focus points, its Expeed 3 image processor is unfeasibly quick for a pricey DSLR, let alone a hybrid, and the combination of mechanical and electronic shutters means that the V1 can shoot full resolution images at up to 60 frames per second (yes you read that correctly).

The aforementioned automatic modes are a step above the usual clever modes found on many cameras – the Smart Photo Selector in particular is superb for shooting kids, taking twenty shots starting as the shutter button is depressed and continuing briefly afterwards. The camera examines these shots and selects the best five based on composition, focus and facial expression before presenting the top choice; the results are surprisingly good.

The V1 is attractive and solidly built; it’s not ultra light but does feel rugged and durable. The controls are relatively basic but well placed, while the menu system is simple and easy to get around. The EVF is small but clear and very sharp with no banding or jagged edges, while the 3-inch 921K dot rear LCD is excellent, albeit fixed in its orientation. Overall handling is a major strong suit and the V1 always feels as though it’s keeping up with the user thanks to the speed of the AF system and image processor. The continuous shooting abilities let the V1 shoot a huge batch of photos and be ready to go again in an instant.

The V1 review unit came with the 10-30mm VR f3.5-5.6 zoom (27-81mm equivalent 35mm), 30-110mm VR f3.8-5.6 superzoom (81-297mm equivalent) and 10mm f2.8 pancake (27mm equivalent) lenses. There’s a powered 10-100mm zoom available but it’s really designed for video capture.

I shot a lot of my test images in manual mode (aided by the nicely laid out twin controls) but the automatic modes do a great job as well, seldom failing to pick the optimal exposure setting, while the overall AF performance is spot on with both static and moving subjects. Image quality is consistently high under just about all circumstances, the JPG images are quite sharp and well-saturated without being too vivid in their colour rendition. They look natural and generally needed little tweaking in software. My series of high ISO test shots showed that while the sensor is smallish, it’s not lagging behind anything in its class in terms of control of noise or grain. You’ll see some noise around 1600 ISO and up. If Nikon’s engineers had crammed 16MP on there, things would be different but I’ve got no qualms about the quality on offer.

The Full HD video footage was a pleasure to watch: nicely defined, well exposed and staying tightly in focus. It often looked as though it came from a DSLR optimised for video capture. Full resolution stills can be shot with no interruption during video recording. The slow motion mode – which shoots at up to 1,200fps – is a lot of fun and might just convince family and friends that you’re moonlighting as an action movie director.

I enjoyed using the V1 and never felt that I needed more camera or more glass, even with scenes involving fast movement or challenging compositions. Besides the lack of a built-in flash (not atypical on hybrids), the only other issue is the top mounted accessory socket cover, which got dislodged four times on the first day alone. I settled for just leaving it in the camera bag but this ruins the lines of the body; a sliver of black tape might be the answer.

That annoyance aside, the V1 is a seriously capable and well specified camera system with heaps of features that also just happens to be very portable – retract the lenses and you can get a twin lens kit into a camera bag that can barely tote a full-sized DSLR body. After spending the last five months travelling with nothing but a tiny pocket camera, I’m thinking that I would have been far better off with a V1 twin lens kit.