If you've owned digital cameras for years and are now looking to upgrade, a Compact System Camera like the new Nikon 1 J1 is seriously worth considering. Anyone who has used a classic point-and-shoot is well aware of their limitations. Perhaps one of the most frustrating is the fact it takes a long time to focus and capture pictures, so many times you'll miss the perfect expression on your child's face. Besides response, quality of many cameras is not where it should be--especially in low light. Digital single lens reflex cameras (DSLRs) solve these issues yet they have their own baggage—they're big, bulky and can be very expensive.
Compact System Cameras--also known as mirrorless cameras--are fast, deliver the quality goods, are relatively affordable, let you use interchangeable lenses and are much smaller than DSLRs. That weight issue is important especially if you're carrying your camera around all day on vacation. The Nikon 1 J1 is the first CSC from a company well known for its DSLRs and Coolpix point-and-shoots.
Front of the J1
The stylish J1 is a 10-megapixel camera. In case you think this is bad—especially when there are so many 16MP point-and-shoots available—think again. The J1 uses a physically larger imaging sensor than the typical camera. By using a sensor with larger pixels, the camera captures more light and photos are much more lifelike. All Compact System Cameras use these larger sensors and--simply put--quality is just better than traditional digicams.
CSCs are also much more responsive than your classic digital camera. The J1 captures 10 frames per second (fps) compared to the typical 1 or 2 for a basic model. Now you'll grab that perfect smile, your child running on the soccer field—or almost anything else you can imagine. You also won't be twiddling your thumbs waiting for the camera to save a shot.
Nikon 1 J1
The next bonus for the J1 and every other CSC is the ability to change lenses. The J1 kit is supplied with a 3x zoom with a focal range of 27-81mm (35mm equivalent). The actual spec is 10-30mm but because of the sensor size, it's multiplied by 2.7x to get the real-world figure. This is fine for starting out but there are several other options including a 27mm fixed focus (10mm, no zooming), a 30-110mm (81-297mm) zoom as well as a 10-110mm (27-297mm). In the near future, Nikon plans to introduce the FT1 adaptor so Nikkor lenses can also be used as well.
Prices for the J1 kits are $649 for the camera and the 10-30mm lens, $899 with that lens plus the 10mm fixed focus lens. Also for $899 is a kit with the 10-30mm and 30-110mm while a special pink edition with those lenses in $929. Of note to the fashion conscious, the J1 is available in a range of colors and the lenses are color coordinated with the camera body, making for a very stylish outfit. (Our review sample was white as were the three lenses and even the lens hood.)
Back view of the J1
The J1 has very clean lines and rounded edges, weighing around 10 ounces with the battery. As you add lenses, the scales tip higher but even with the larger 30-110mm zoom, the camera did not weigh me down or seem unbalanced. The J1 is not covered with dials and buttons like some enthusiast models—it's really geared for someone advancing from a point-and-shoot. On the top you'll just see on/off and shutter buttons and a direct red-dot movie key.
The back has the many of the same controls as a basic digicam. It also has a very good 3-inch LCD screen (rated 460K pixels) that worked well under low- and bright-light conditions. On the top right is a mode dial that gets the camera ready to shoot. There are only four options compared to over a dozen found on DSLRs. You choose between Movie, Camera, Smart Photo Selector and Motion Snapshot. Movie is for shooting videos but the red dot is available if you want to quickly grab a clip if you're in still mode. Turn the dial to Camera, press the Menu key and you can pick how much you want to interact with it—from full auto to manual. Here you'll find Scene Auto Selector where the camera automatically adjusts to the subject in front of it. This is like Intelligent Auto or Smart Auto in other cameras and works well. Smart Photo Selector is a good choice for fairly static subjects. Here the J1 grabs 20 frames at 30 fps then picks the best of bunch. It checks to see if the subject's eyes are open or closed and if there's blur. This is a good feature but realize the camera slows down as it saves the photos and it's out of action until finished (it takes several seconds). Motion Snapshot is one of those features that sounds great on paper but doesn't play well in the real world. The camera shoots a one-second movie then combines a slow motion photo while adding a sound track. Cute at best this option is hardly worth the time.
Nikon 1 J1
You'll also find a four-way controller with center OK button on the back, again something very familiar for digicam users. This gives you direct access to exposure compensation, flash settings, self-timer and exposure/focus locks.
The Nikon J1 uses SDHC/SDXC cards and high-speed, high-capacity media is recommended (Class 6 or better, 8GB or more). It's supplied with a battery that's rated 230 shots which is not a very good specification. If you buy this camera, a spare would make sense if you plan to be away from an outlet for a good stretch.
The J1 In The Real World
When reviewing cameras I always set them to maximum resolution for stills and video. In the case of the J1, that equals 3872x2592 pixel images and 1920x1080/60i movies. Like most CSCs and DSLRs, the Nikon captures JPEGs and RAW files. Unlike JPEGs which you can quickly review on the LCD, RAW files have to be "developed" using the supplied software. Although more time consuming, the final results are much more accurate. Handling RAW files is not rocket science but it's more for enthusiasts—which you may become once you start playing with this camera or any CSC.
I had the camera for well over a month, taking hundreds of photos and dozens of videos. Before getting into the results, I will say the J1 is very responsive and easy to tote around—especially with the 10mm and 10-30mm lenses. Focusing was very fast without the hunting and grabbing of low-priced cameras. The J1 features 73-point AF which is far more than the typical digicam 3-points. This simply means when you press the shutter half way the camera is almost instantly ready to take a photo. This alone might be worth the price of admission for frustrated shutterbugs. The camera also has a rapid-fire continuous mode that makes it easier to capture fast action. Realize this is not a perfect system as I attempted to shoot skaters in Rockefeller Center and most were blurs not the beautiful shots you see on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
The basic role of a camera is taking good-quality photos and videos. Here the Nikon J1 did a very good job—for the most part (there's always a caveat, right?). I really liked the accurate color of the stills, sharp focusing and the camera keeping digital noise under control, even at high ISO settings; sensitivity can be adjusted between 100-6400. Photos taken at twilight were solid to 1600 but deteriorated beyond that point. This is far better than almost any point-and-shoot; they typically fall apart beyond ISO 400. This geek talk simply means you can take quality photos in low light. If you want to use the built-in flash instead of available light, just pop it open and fire away. The flash is extremely helpful for backlit situations and shooting indoors.
Model
The J1 has a smaller imaging device than Micro Four Thirds format cameras like the Olympus PEN E-PM1 and those using APS-C size sensors such as the Sony NEX-5N. Because of this, even photos taken outdoors which initially looked good, softened somewhat when enlarged to 100% on the monitor. This is far bigger than most will use but detail wasn't as sharp as competing cameras.
I reviewed the J1's movies on a 50-inch plasma via HDMI as well as on a notebook PC. The videos were quite good without the rolling shutter of many DSLRs. There were only a few compression artifacts (a good thing) and colors were accurate, just like the stills.
A few miscellaneous notes about the J1: Nikon should improve the menu system—it seems very dated and takes far too many steps to engage the settings you want. And I really don't understand why there aren't specific scene modes such as Portrait or Sports—other than Scene Auto Selector—or filter effects which are so prevalent on newer cameras.
Nikon gets good—not great—marks for its first Compact System Camera. Given its competitors have already released third and fourth generation models the J1 is a solid effort. If you buy it, you'll be pleased if you've taken its shortcomings into consideration. Please compare it to the similarly priced Olympus PEN E-PL3, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 or Sony alpha NEX-5N.
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