In lack of faster native telephoto zooms for Nikon 1 cameras, I’m constantly contemplating buying the Nikon 1 Nikkor 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6. This humble link collection with reviews, samples and videos is the product of my ongoing research about the lens. Maybe someone else will find it useful as well. 🙂
Reviews
„The 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 is a great compact telephoto zoom lens for the Nikon 1 camera system. With its collapsible barrel design, compact size, low weight and a great optical design with integrated VR, it nicely complements the 1 Nikkor VR 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens to extend the range of the Nikon 1 cameras at a low cost. Optically, it is a sharp lens with good contrast, colors and bokeh, and its performance is pretty good in the center at all focal lengths, while the corners start out somewhat softer at 30mm and significantly improve towards the long end of the lens. It has very little chromatic aberration issues and while distortion starts out a little strong at 30mm, it pretty much goes away from 40mm onward. While the Nikon 1 10-100mm VR in some regards shows better optical performance, the Nikon 1 30-110mm VR is more compact; plus it weighs and costs 3 times less, having a great price to performance ratio. Overall, the Nikon 30-110mm is a great telephoto zoom lens for the Nikon 1 cameras. I really enjoyed shooting with it while testing the Nikon 1 V1 and J1 cameras.”
“The 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm is a nice compact tele zoom lens, that delivers very good to excellent sharpness throughout most of the zoom range. Only at the longest focal length it performs on a lower level.
Distortion is quite pronounced at the shortest setting, but moderate for the rest of the zoom range, which is typical behavior for this kind of tele zoom lens. Vignetting is generally well controlled, as are CAs, which by default are removed by the camera already when shooting JPGs.
Given its quite long (equivalent) focal length, the lens even offers some creative potential regarding depth of field, despite the small sensor size of the Nikon 1 cameras.
The build quality is on a high level for a lens in this price class. AF action is virtually silent and very fast. After some issues at system launch, the VR now works as promised when the latest lens firmware is applied.
So, in summary the lens delivers a lot of value for a very affordable price.”
“The Nikon 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 is a surprisingly good telephoto lens for the Nikon 1 system. Sharpness is very good to excellent, with only the extreme borders being somewhat soft at the 30mm setting…Chromatic aberrations are kept to an absolute minimum, and vignetting isn’t much of an issue, either…Bokeh is nice and creamy when you can throw the background sufficiently out of focus, but it’s not always easy to do given the relatively short [actual] focal lengths and slow maximum apertures on offer.
In terms of mechanical quality and features, the tiny lens is surprisingly well built for the price, and comes with Vibration Reduction on board. However, it’s controlled via the camera menu and there’s no focus mode switch or focus ring on the lens, either. The latter makes manual focusing an awkward exercise that you won’t want to perform very often. We did like the collapsible barrel design and the fact that unlocking the lens powers on the camera as well, if needed.
Auto-focus speed with the lens mounted to the Nikon 1 V1 is sensational in good light, allowing you to photograph fast-moving subjects with ease. Due to factors inherent in the 1 System cameras’ design, low-light focusing is a lot less spectacular, though.”
“With its compact dimensions, low weight, low price and decent performances, this lens will certainly appeal to the target audience. The sharpness of this lens remains pretty constant from the center to the corners. If you compare the resolution of the Nikon 30-110 mm to lenses on SLRs with an APSC sensor, this lens performs averagely. This is a good achievement for such a small and inexpensive lens.
The disadvantages of this lens, distortion at 30 mm and vignetting at full aperture can be properly corrected in a photo editing program afterwards. But the question is whether the target group of this lens will do so. The falling sharpness at the longest focal length, you will find in most cheap telephoto zoom lenses. You cannot have it all.”
“As this lens is specific to the Nikon 1 system and one of only four lenses available currently, we can’t make our usual ‘buy/don’t buy’ recommendations. If you’re attracted by either of the Nikon 1 camera bodies, this lens takes up where the 10-30mm leaves off and is the only tele-zoom lens on sale at present.”
“The Nikon 30-110mm ƒ/3.8-5.6 VR really surprised us – for its small size and weight, it produces excellent photographs. If you’re interested in buying a Nikon J1 or V1, this an excellent complement to the 10-30mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 VR kit lens.”
- ueberlicht.de (German)
“Wie eingangs beschrieben, ist die Auswahl an Teleobjektiven für das Nikon 1-System noch sehr überschaubar. Möchte man ein Teleobjektiv kaufen, fällt die Wahl daher mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit auf das 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110 31:3,8-5,6. Und diese Wahl ist sicher keine schlechte. Gemessen am Preis und den geringen Abmessungen ist die Leistung dieses Objektivs gut. Nur im Telebereich zeigt es eine zu geringe Schärfe.
Doch über diese Einschränkung wird man wohl hinwegsehen können, wenn man dafür ein Motiv fotografieren kann, das sonst zu weit entfernt gewesen wäre.“
Samples
- stevehuffphoto.com
- Nikon 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 Flickr Group
- Review of the Nikon J1 on taishimizu.com with RAW files with the Nikon 30-110 f/3.8-5.6
- Most interesting photos of the Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 on Flickr
Videos
- Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 Unboxing by TheSnapChick
- Video sample with Nikon J1 and Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6
- Another video sample with Nikon J1 and Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6
- Nikon 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 Unboxing by Appleproductz
- Nikon J1 with 10-30mm & 30-110mm Kit Unboxing by MirrorlessReviews
- Squirrel Eating Breakfast On Nikon J1 with 30-110mm @ 1080p
- Coots and Their Babies On Nikon J1 with 30-110mm @ 1080p
- Nikon 1 J2 ORANGE Unboxing (10-30mm & 30-110mm Kit)
- Muntjac Deer On Nikon J1 with 30-110mm @ 1080p
- Nikon V1 High speed movie sample (@400 fps) cat vs fly
- Nikon 1 V1 slow motion video capture
- Lathe slow motion 1 – 400 fps – Nikon V1
- Nikon 1 J1 with 10-30 and 30-110 Dual Lens Kit Unboxing 2013
How you can support me in bringing you more Nikon 1 love?
If you’re intent on buying the Nikkor 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6, consider making your purchase through amazon, by using the following links: AmazonUS, AmazonUK and AmazonDE.
You won’t pay a dime more than when making a direct purchase on amazon, but I will receive a small commission. Thanks for the support! 🙂
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Ivan,
Great info. And thanks a million for your input on the Nikon1 discussion group on Flickr when I contacted you. Much appreciated.
I find that the V1 and the lenses all punch above their weight; I actually think the V1 just might become a cult classic. The Rodney Dangerfield of cameras, for sure, but you just have to love the way it always rises to the challenge without even breaking a sweat.
Looking forward to more Nikon1 love right here on this site.
Jan
I think so as well.
V1 is a camera which which gives you this “I’ve got your back, don’t worry!” feeling, and I love that!
Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave such an uplifting comment. 🙂
Kind regards,
Ivan
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