Month: March 2014

26/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

Nikon-1-V3-with-Nikkor-70-300mm-f4.5-5.6-VR-lens

Phantomas, a Rangefinderforum.com regular, has posted the first user impressions and sample images here. He goes on to conclude that:

Nikon 1’s were never cameras for me, but V3 suddenly opened up potentials. If 35mm equivalent (preferably f/1.2) was to come out I would have no reservations about using it on the street, sensor size shyness would then fly to hell. It is true that this camera is the most “enthusiast”-ready in Nikon 1 line-up.
To summarise my sudden fondness of it, disregarding the feel and solidity, I would say it comes down to how I see using it, especially on the street, with the combination of tilting touchscreen and instant AF point selection. Viewfinder certainly makes this camera “serious” and for me it’s a much, but I’m not going to dismiss additional opportunity given by the above combo. And of course- the right move in the GUI improvements suddenly made this camera usable.

24/03/2014 / / C-Mount 25mm f/1.4
23/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

At the time of writing there are a couple of very cheap Nikkor 10-100mm f/4.-5.6 non-PD lenses being offered over on AmazonDE. With the price of around €385 they are well below regular street price of €440. So act fast if you want to grab one of these. 😉

Nikon-1-Nikkor-10-100-mmUpdate: Sold out!

20/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

DxO Mark has just posted their results after testing the yet to be released Nikon 1 V3 camera. Just like the V2, the V3 is inferior to the V1 in regards to overall image quality. The new 18 Megapixel sensor, provided presumably by Aptina, is nowhere near as good as the 20MP BSI 1” sensor from Sony, found in the RX100 MkII and RX10 cameras. The V3 doesn’t even fair favourably when compared to the Coolpix P7800 compact camera. It is only better in regards to noise performance, but has inferior color depth and dynamic range.

DxO-Mark-test-Nikon-1-V3

19/03/2014 / / Samsung NX mini

Today Samsung has officially announced its NX mini interchangeable lens camera, with the 20MP BSI 1” sensor. The NX mini will be released with three new lenses: a 9mm f/3.5 pancake (24mm FF equivalent), 9-27mm f/3.5-5.6 collapsible standard zoom (24-71mm equiv.) and a 17mm f/1.8 Normal prime (45mm equiv.). The former two and the NX mini are supposed to start shipping in early April, while the letter will be released at a later date.

Samsung-NX-mini-SMART-Camera

18/03/2014 / / Samsung NXF1

An hour ago DPReview forum user Jerry0619 has posted first images and partial specs of the yet to be announced Samsung NXF1 1” interchangeable lens camera. According to the presentation slides the new camera will offer a 22fps burst mode, it is however not specified whether with continuous AF or with fixed AF after the first frame. Battery life is CIPA rated at almost 700 shots (!), which is quite amazing for such a small camera and such a tiny battery. The pancake will have an RRP of $179 and the compact zoom an RRP of $249. One presentation slide also mentions a 17mm f/1.8 standard prime, which’s pricing is yet to be determined. It is funny however, that Samsung uses a Nikon 1 Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8 presentation image on that slide (the girl with the gently blurred background). 😉 There will also be an adapter for mounting APS-C NX lenses on the 1” NXF1, which will cost $149.

The kit consisting of the 9mm f/3.5 pancake and camera will cost $/€449 while the kit with the 9-27mm zoom will cost $/€549. The pricing for the kits with either the 9mm and zoom or 17mm f/1.8 and zoom is yet to be determined.

UPDATE: Samsung has officially announced the NX mini. It will be available for pre-order on April the 1st according to AmazonUS.Samsung-NXF1-front

18/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

Yesterday TomTom has released the first hands-on video with the Nikon 1 V3 on YouTube. Improvements that caught my attention immediately are the much faster power-on time and image scrolling compared to my V1. While you have to wait a bit for the V1 to power on (or wake up from stand-by), the V3 seems to be instantaneous in this regard. Scrolling through images also seems to be much faster and smoother with the V3. The AF doesn’t seem much faster under lowish lighting conditions compared to my V1. This could be because of the 6.7-13mm UWA lens which was mounted on the V3 during the hands-on and which I don’t have. The swivel touchscreen can be tilted up to 90 degrees up or downwards. Many other swivel screens can also be tilted 90 degrees upwards, but are limited to about 45 degrees downwards.


14/03/2014 / / Nikon 1
14/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

Today Nikon has announced the 3rd generation of its higher end Nikon 1 camera, the V3. It features a new 18MP 1” sensor with 171 on-chip phase-detect AF points and almost 100% coverage, the brand new Expeed 4a image processor, a larger buffer for 40 RAWs at 20fps with full AF-C and a touchscreen with the usual features (touch-to-focus, touch to take a photo, etc.). The video side of the camera has also been drastically improved. It can now shoot 1080p video at 60fps and 720p at 120fps. The resolution in the 400fps and 1200fps modes known from the V1 and V2 has been increased somewhat. And now brace yourselves for the bad part…are you ready? The kit consisting of the V3, the new 10-30mm PD lens, DFN1000 add-on EVF and GRN1000 hand-grip, will cost you a whopping £1049.99/$1199/€1249. The V3 together with the 10-30mm PD will set you back £799.99/ €949. In continental Europe there will finally be a body-only option, which will cost €849. Canadian buyers will supposedly be able to purchase the camera with the EVF, but without the 10-30mm PD and the hand-grip, which is the best//cheapest option for photographers looking to upgrade from their V1/V2, like myself. Nikon_1_V3_10_30_PD_DFN1000_GRN1010_angle

13/03/2014 / / Nikon 1

Several hours ago Peter from Nikon Rumors has posted that Nikon is going to announce the V3 around midnight EST/early morning GMT. Now Andrew Reid from eoshd.com has posted a short article with images and video specs of the V3 ahead of the supposed announcement. It reads as follows:

The Nikon V3 will be the first mirrorless camera to feature 120fps HD slow-mo at 1280 x 720 resolution. Also available are 400fps and 1200fps at lower resolutions. Nikon have added an electronic stabilisation mode (called EVR) and 1080/60p to round out the spec.

This is what the Nikon 1 V3 looks like. nikon-v3-front