Nikon Boldy Takes Two Steps Back…

Nikon’s first new system camera since 1959 features a 13.2mm x 8.8mm sensor with a 2.7x crop factor. Huh?

Nikon had the opportunity to develop a new camera system with the first new lens mount since 1959, and what did they do?…

Nikon’s entry into the mirrorless market could have been a stunning one. A camera that could have served both the consumer market, and also the proamateur market as a backup camera. A camera that could have educated and helped the consumer on their journey to learning the art of photography. But no, instead we get this; a consumer toy.

Actually, I have to thank Nikon for saving me money by producing a camera I will never buy. The upside is that this camera in no way competes with their professional/DSLR line.

Nikon FT 1 Lens Adapter

First, the Sensor
The Nikon System 1 features a new sensor size and designation. The “CX” sensor is 13.2mm x 8.8mm; a mere 13.4% the area of a full frame sensor. (By comparison, a DX sensor is 44.4%, and an FT/MFT is 28.1%.) This is a step downwards from the already area-challenged FT/MFT standard! But what’s more important is the crop factor. At 2.7x, this lens is extremely difficult to work with. Part of Nikon’s selling point is that there’ll be an adapter for F lenses. But honestly, what’s the point of that? So you can use that ultra-wide 20mm f/2.8 lens you bought as a “normal” lens, and your 50mm f/1.4 as a telephoto? Please.

Second, the Flash
Two words; Proprietary Hotshoe. Need I say more? I might have bought just the flash alone to use with my Coolpix P5100 if it conformed to the Nikon standard. So, another sale is lost.

Third, the Price
This camera is clearly aimed at the consumer. So why does it carry a price tag greater than a D90? For about $300.00 less, I could have the outstanding D5100, and never look back. What is Nikon doing with all the profit they make off the sales of this camera? Oh that’s right, pumping it into R&D for their DSLRs. Never mind.

The back of the camera screams consumer. The function dial would have been a nice touch, if it actually had functions, like exposure mode and scene modes. It’s overkill for the four positions it has.

Rear View: Nikon V1’s interface is nothing new.

The V1’s little brother, the J1 makes much more sense price-wise, but does away with the EVF. So it’s a mirrorless, finderless, camera. The key word here is less. Why would I want to pay $900.00 for this, when I can buy the faster Canon S95 for $500.00 less with full manual control and a retractable lens? Now that’s a pocketable camera. And, no lenses to have to carry around.

This Nikon 1 System is nothing new. It’s been done before…

Minolta 110 Zoom SLR. You read right, SLR.

If ever there was an upgrade that was overkill for its format, the Minolta 110 Zoom SLR was it. All the features of an SLR, in the teeny, tiny 110 film format. Yes, it had good image quality for a 110, but it was still a 110. A mere 25% of the area of a 35mm frame. And yet it was still about twice the image area of the V1/J1s frame size, and had both auto exposure and aperture priority with exposure compensation.

Pentax had a similar camera…

Pentax Auto 110 SLR

Considerably smaller than the Minolta, the Pentax Auto 100 has more in Common with the V1 and J1 as it’s a fully automatic camera; no user selectable exposure settings, but TTL metering. Excellent quality, simple to use, tiny lenses.

So, the Nikon 1 System is basically in the same class as the Pentax Q…

Pentax Q, Nikon J1’s biggest competitor.

True, the Nikon’s sensor is a tad larger, but that really only means that the lenses will be larger as well. And isn’t compactness the whole point?

If you compare the value of the Sony Alpha NEX-7 against the Nikon V1, the difference is enormous, but the price is only marginally greater. The Sony is the clear winner here. Nikon could have produced a competitor to the NEX-7, which could have used its own lenses, plus existing DX lenses with an adapter, potentially increasing lens sales for Nikon overall. But they didn’t. What were you thinking, Nikon?