I have been loaned the new Nikon V1 to use – and write about – for a couple of weeks.
The Nikon V1 is a mirrorless camera which sits between a standard point and shoot and a digital SLR. And it has changeable lenses.
What I would like to try is the FT1 mount adapter which will allow some standard F mount Nikkor lenses to be used with the V1.
One of the first things I noticed when I picked the camera up was the weight – it feels good in my hand. Not D300 heavy, but more than you would expect with a point and shoot – and it is nicely balanced. I also liked was the thumb pad on the right hand side of the back. For a little bit of grip and stability.
The camera came with a 10-30mm lens and a 30-100mm. I’ll take a look at the rest of the accessories in another post.
I’ve been using it for a couple of days now and I’m impressed. I could see myself owning one.
The autofocus is nice and fast.
I keep a catalogue of street scenes and whilst I do love a gorgeous landscape, my real hobby right now is people. Anonymously. The Nikon V1 allows me to do this easier than my DSLR.
I took it to netball – the Mom’s all wanted to know more when they see how you can move between automatic and manual mode so easily and with the Smart Photo selector, the camera helps you to take the best shot.
I spent a couple of days shooting in Manual mode – including photographing my sunsets and then some mini powerboats on Lake Rotoroa.
The Continuous shooting mode photographs 10 frames per second and allows for around 5 or 6 photographs before it pauses to write.
And of course I wanted to see if the V1 came with that well known, stunning, Nikon blue. It does.
So would I?
Yes I would. I would have this camera as a second shooter.
As a walk around. I’d like to see a couple more lenses for it – a macro lens maybe. Definitely a prime. The 10-30mm is a nice lens but for a flat body like the V1, its just a little bit big.
5 more days to go until I have to give it back.
Is there anything that you would like to know about the V1?
