Tech Blog

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The fact Nikon announced its first mirrorless camera system, the Nikon 1, is already in the past tense, but having been on hand at the event in New York where they unveiled the new models, my initial impression is that these will be serious cameras for users looking to upgrade.

The Nikon J1 and V1 both have 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensors, can shoot 1080i video at 60fps and 1080p at 30fps. The photo and video functions have been further integrated in that you can snap photos at will while shooting a video, and vice versa. Doing this causes no interruption in the video, either.

A new feature called Motion Snapshot grabs one still shot, along with a one-second movie vignette that are combined together for a slow motion video with music and a nice fade effect. Having tried it on some fairly mundane scenes, I have to admit that this feature could be a great move.

Speaking of which, Slow Motion Movie mode lets you slow down the framerate at any point you want to add a cool dramatic effect. Might work really well for that moment your kid scores a goal.

Oh, and I can attest to the speed of the cameras, as they can pull off 10fps on automatic focus. If you’re good with a manual focus, you can snap as many as 60fps. Again, not having really fast movement to work with at the event, I’m curious to see how these do in sports or party situations.

Scene Recognition mode is apparently an “all-encompassing” setting that applies to just about any shooting scenario. Whether it’s kids in the snow, a portrait or a sunset, Nikon 1 cameras have been designed to recognize thousands of different elements of a photo to choose the perfect one for the setting. Without having the right circumstances to shoot in, it’s hard for me to confirm this one. But if it’s true, it takes away a lot of time in fiddling with the settings.

Unlike some of their competitors, Nikon opted not to include special art filters or colouring effects, but does have Picture Control, a variation of the idea that lets you refine images with retouching effects — Vivid, Neutral, Monochrome, Standard, Portrait and Landscape.

And lastly, the lenses. There’s a sweet 10mm ‘pancake’ lens that keeps the camera’s form factor small, a 10-30mm, 10-100mm and a 30-110mm. I tried all of them, and they all seemed to perform well. The photos I shot of the cameras are with the 10-30mm lens.

Nikon is very quick to point out that the new series isn’t a set of “me, too” products that fall into an existing category like Micro Four-Thirds or the small form factor Sony developed with its NEX line. Despite the proclamation, it’s hard to see how this series is so vastly different, especially on the surface.  

Both cameras will be available on October 20, and the Nikon 1 J1 will sell for $649.95. It comes in white, while pink, red, silver and black models will see “limited distribution”.

The Nikon 1 V1 will come in black only and sell for $899.95. The kit lens for both will be the 10-30mm.