Nikon V1 thoughts

Without doubt the Nikon V1 has had its detractors, including yours truly.  The small sensor is the primary problem, with poorer high ISO performance and an inability to get shallow depth of field compared to a Sony NEX or even a Micro Four Thirds camera.  However the camera does have its advantages such as fast AF, solid build, long battery life and an inbuilt EVF.  Reviews have shown an ability to take lovely black and white shots and lenses that are very good quality.  In other words, actual performance was better than expectations.

At its release price of $899, it showed incredibly poor value against its competition, and now 18 months later, Nikon is still trying to blow them out, even though the updated V2 has been out for a while.  Henrys Outlet Centre has them, with the nice 10mm (28mm equiv) f2.8 pancake lens for a very tempting $260.   At that price, the camera looks like excellent value, and interestingly the going rate on Henry's eBay store is about $330, so values are actually rising.

The other good thing about the V1 is that it has an identical battery to my D600.  This means for only double and a bit for the cost of the battery I can buy a whole camera and lens!  Wild!  Even with this though, I am king of loath to invest in another system.  I already have Sony NEX, Leica M and LTM and Nikon.  That's really enough I think.

Nikon V1 - Massive Price Drop

The Nikon V1 certainly isn't the best mirrorless on the market, but at the recent price drop to $299 with the 10-30mm zoom, it makes a compelling case.  What this camera would work really well for is macro, the small sensor creating large depth of field even at 1:1 full frame equivalent.

With a Nikon 60mm micro, this would make a focal length of approx 165mm, and with loads of resolution, it would be great on the V1 high resolution sensor.

Other deals are out there too.  I see Henrys had an open box Pentax Q for under $300, and a Pentax K-01 with the ultra slim 40mm Pancake lens can be had for just over $400.  I love the Q for its tiny size and the K-01 because it can take regular Pentax lenses, with the excellent Pentax21mm f3.2 being a real treat for this camera.

 All sound like a bargain to me.

Lunenburg NS - Nikon D90 with Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm

Next Purchase Priorities

Right now I have a few things that would be interesting to purchase, but as always I have to have priorities and be realistic in what I buy.

Pro level FX standard zoom

There are two choices here, either the excellent and tried and true Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 or the new Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC.  The latter as had good initial reviews, and is the same or less than a used Nikon, plus adds stability.  My aim is to have an excellent low light zoom, that can also be good with video.  The only problem is that is a fairly expensive purchase.   

Priority Rating 8 out of 10.

NEX zoom

- Sony 16-50mm E mount collapsible zoom.  This is the kit lens that comes with the NEX-6, and a collapsible zoom would make it very pocketable.  No need for a Pentax Q or GF-3 when using this with the NEX 5n (see below).

 Priority Rating 7 out of 10.

More Mirrorless

I'm always fascinated with mirrorless cameras, and there's starting to be some deals out there now.  For $400, you can get a new one of the following:

-  Panasonic GF-3 with the tiny 14-42mm collapsible power zoom.  This quite a small camera and very useful. Add a 20mm f1.7 Panasonic lens, and this would be a great combination.   

Priority Rating 5 out of 10.

- Pentax Q with 50mm equiv f1.9 lens.  This is a truly tiny camera, and I reckon it would be great asa carry anywhere camera.  Also, using it with a K mount adapter and a 50mm macro lens would create some close up stunning shots due to high pixel density, large depth of field and ultra sharp macro lenses.  Priority Rating 6 out of 10.

- Nikon V1 with 10-30mm zoom.  This camera has excellent AF and would be good for shooting kids.  But really I have a D-SLR for that.  

 Priority Rating 4 out of 10.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24-85mm f2.8-4

Macro on a Micro Four Thirds

A couple years back I was at Edward Gardens taking a few shots when I saw a girl with a (then) new Olympus EP-1 with an adapted Nikkor 50mm f1.8 trying to take shots of a caterpillar.  Unfortunately the lens minimal focal distance didn't let her get anywhere close enough, so I decided to let her try out my Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8 that I happened to be using.  

The results on her camera were outstanding.  The bright light levels let her keep the ISO (and noise) down and still retain a fast shutter speed, while the 2 stops of extra depth of field created by the small sensor allowed her to get excellent sharpness across the whole of the caterpillar, even at f4. 

I tried to take a photo of the same caterpillar a few minutes later, and could not get a shot anywhere near as good.  The thin depth of field made this very tricky, and stopping down meant I had shutter speed issues to content with.

I suspect running this lens, or another full frame Nikon mount macro of some sort with the Nikon V1 or J1 with a F mount adapter would yield truly excellent macro results, as long as there was enough light around.

Nikon D90 and Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro