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I read the OP and flipped through the last few pages but I'm wondering if I could get some real-world usage opinions on the Nikon 1 compact line. My sister is shopping around for a new camera and she's not interested in a DSLR and doesn't have the money for a micro 4/3s camera (from what I can tell) but the Nikon 1 J1, S1 and V1 cameras are all on sale locally and they caught her eye. I think the'd be better off with the J1 since it has a built in flash, and it also happens to be more on sale than the S1/V1 models. The kit comes with 10-30mm and 30-110mm lenses. From what I can tell these cameras seem to be decent enough for compact point'n'shoots, but is there another direction I should point her in? Thanks!
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May 16, 2013 13:16
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I was in the exact same spot, and ended up getting a J1, although now I wish I would have gotten the V1 with how marked down they are and how seldom my wife uses the onboard flash (never). My mom got a V1 and it has a fantastic build. My thought process was really similar to yours: m43 too pricey, p&s too lovely, NEX too big. So, it was between a J1 and some high-end point and shoots like the x10 and s100. The J1 kit wound up being cheaper than both, and also has a bigger sensor than both. The AF is lighting fast, 10/60 fps shooting modes, and even with the kit is very small. I also bought her the 18.5mmf1.8 lens, and it's very good. Come caveats are: sometimes wonky auto white balance, no dedicated dials for anything useful, crappy menus etc. Also, the JPGs get muddy at higher ISOs. But still better than any P&S. Overall A++ would buy again. N1 system is terribly underrated.
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May 16, 2013 17:52
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tropical posted:I read the OP and flipped through the last few pages but I'm wondering if I could get some real-world usage opinions on the Nikon 1 compact line. My sister is shopping around for a new camera and she's not interested in a DSLR and doesn't have the money for a micro 4/3s camera (from what I can tell) but the Nikon 1 J1, S1 and V1 cameras are all on sale locally and they caught her eye. I think the'd be better off with the J1 since it has a built in flash, and it also happens to be more on sale than the S1/V1 models. The kit comes with 10-30mm and 30-110mm lenses. Its small, its far better than a p/s and is really inexpensive for what you get. Get the J1 kit, she will enjoy it.
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May 16, 2013 18:51
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I have a J1 and can confirm that it is head and shoulders above point and shoots. Enough so where I consider it a pretty good value at its current prices. The AF is good and the image quality is way better than I expected. I don't think the system is underrated. The lack of control dials stinks. The available lenses are mediocre. Maybe if Nikon releases a really great body with a regular sized hotshoe and all the firmware perks of the higher priced DSLRs along with a kickass pancake lens and some reasonably priced wide primes I'll change my mind. I think that mft and fuji-X are better mirrorless camera systems. If your sister plans to grow in her photography and acquire lenses buy into one of those systems. If all you want is something better than a point and shoot the J1 is fine. Dren fucked around with this message at 19:21 on May 16, 2013 |
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May 16, 2013 19:09
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Awesome, thanks guys, I'll let her know! I would steer her to Micro 4/3 or Fuji-X but they're way out of her price range.
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May 16, 2013 19:38
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tropical posted:Awesome, thanks guys, I'll let her know! I would steer her to Micro 4/3 or Fuji-X but they're way out of her price range. Used Micro 4/3 is in the same price range as a J1 or V1 (if not cheaper), but you're going with the older sensors at that rate. You can find ep-1's and such on ebay for 100-200 all the time last I checked.
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May 16, 2013 19:52
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I'll mention the used market to her and m4/3 but I don't know if she's interested in that route. Thanks for the suggestion though!
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May 16, 2013 21:31
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tropical posted:I'll mention the used market to her and m4/3 but I don't know if she's interested in that route. Thanks for the suggestion though! You can get an Olympus E-PM1 for $288 from Amazon right now: http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-12-3M...ds=olympus+epm1 It's got the previous generation sensor, but that just makes the ISO about equal to the Nikon J1, and then of course Olympus has the best noise reduction jpeg processing in the business, in my opinion, and your sister probably won't be shooting RAW I imagine. Even though it's similar to the J1 in that it doesn't have any manual controls, I really think going with the m4/3 platform is better if she finds she has any desire at all to pursue photography further, get more lenses, etc. Honestly, if the 1 system still exists in 2 years I will be surprised.
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May 16, 2013 22:50
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Costello Jello posted:You can get an Olympus E-PM1 for $288 from Amazon right now: Oh awesome, it looks like the local Henry's has the Olympus E-PM2 with the 14-42mm kit lens on sale for $50 more than the Nikon J1 she was eyeing at another store! I'll try to steer her in that direction when I talk to her tonight.
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May 16, 2013 23:34
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The OP kinda confused me on this issue, so: My family has a bunch of old F mount Nikon glass. Nikkormat old. From what http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm says, worst case scenario, it'll mount just fine in a D5100 body? Is that page accurate and trustworthy? I'd rather my father not ruin his first DSLR.
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May 17, 2013 04:33
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PFlats posted:The OP kinda confused me on this issue, so: It should mount fine, unless he has a few rare lenses (like the 6mm fisheye). The issue is that you probably won't have a working meter, so you'll have to guess on exposure. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/compatibility-lens.htm is a useful site for checking compatibility, and I should hav eput it in the OP to begin with.
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May 17, 2013 04:47
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Some of the old non-AI Nikkors have a bit of a lip on the aperture ring that keeps them from mounting properly on newer F-mounts (like the original 50/1.4) and would need to be "cut to AI" to mount on your D5100. Otherwise, shoot away... and watch your histograms because they won't meter on your camera.
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May 17, 2013 05:10
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Moon Potato posted:Some of the old non-AI Nikkors have a bit of a lip on the aperture ring that keeps them from mounting properly on newer F-mounts (like the original 50/1.4) and would need to be "cut to AI" to mount on your D5100. Otherwise, shoot away... and watch your histograms because they won't meter on your camera. I have mounted a nonAI 50mm on D70, D100, D200, and D700 without issue. YMMV on other nonAI lenses though.
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May 17, 2013 05:30
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8th-samurai posted:I have mounted a nonAI 50mm on D70, D100, D200, and D700 without issue. YMMV on other nonAI lenses though. Is it the 1959 model with the "amber" coating? I inherited one of those and it won't mount on my D90.
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May 17, 2013 05:37
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Moon Potato posted:Is it the 1959 model with the "amber" coating? I inherited one of those and it won't mount on my D90. There was no 1959 F mount 50m f/1.4 http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index2.htm . You sure that isn't a 58mm or an f/2?
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May 17, 2013 06:07
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PFlats posted:My family has a bunch of old F mount Nikon glass. Nikkormat old. You need to buy a prosumer body. A DX00. Make sure whatever body can handle a custom focus screen as this makes it much easier to focus. Also consider buying a film body or having anything you have cleaned. The Nikkormat has a really nice large screen. It is hilariously overengineered for the price it sells for in the rabbit-ear or AI editions.
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May 17, 2013 06:40
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8th-samurai posted:There was no 1959 F mount 50m f/1.4 http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index2.htm . You sure that isn't a 58mm or an f/2? I have one of those 50 1.4's, they don't mount properly on anything except my FE film body. Not sure if it's a 1959 version or whatever but it is definitely a 50 1.4 and looks just like that 58mm lens. edit: it'll also mount on a m43 system with the appropriate adapter. 1st AD fucked around with this message at 06:50 on May 17, 2013 |
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May 17, 2013 06:45
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1st AD posted:I have one of those 50 1.4's, they don't mount properly on anything except my FE film body. Not sure if it's a 1959 version or whatever but it is definitely a 50 1.4 and looks just like that 58mm lens. Well they mount on D70, D100, D200, and D700s just fine. The aperture ring does not interfere with the AI coupling ring on those models, the lip ends up above it.
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May 17, 2013 06:57
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8th-samurai posted:There was no 1959 F mount 50m f/1.4 http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index2.htm . You sure that isn't a 58mm or an f/2? My bad. They started making it in 1966. It's one of these: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/50mm-f14-s.htm Allstar adapters don't fit on it either.
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May 17, 2013 08:18
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Weird. That's why I say YMMV when it comes to non AI because the official word is they doesn't work with newer mounts but in practise... 
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May 17, 2013 08:39
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tropical posted:From what I can tell these cameras seem to be decent enough for compact point'n'shoots, but is there another direction I should point her in?
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May 17, 2013 11:29
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What's a good long lens that has similar visual characteristics to an AIS 50 1.4? I love the poo poo out of that lens for video work, even the weird purple CA visible when it's wide open, and generally I'll either pull back or use crop mode on my D600 in order to avoid changing lenses. So is there something in the 105-135mm range that has similar characteristics?
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May 20, 2013 07:16
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1st AD posted:What's a good long lens that has similar visual characteristics to an AIS 50 1.4? I love the poo poo out of that lens for video work, even the weird purple CA visible when it's wide open, and generally I'll either pull back or use crop mode on my D600 in order to avoid changing lenses. So is there something in the 105-135mm range that has similar characteristics? I would look into the 105mm f/2.5 or f/1.8 AIS.
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May 20, 2013 08:02
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I've never used the AIS 50 1.4 so I can't compare directly, but I just picked up a 105mm f2.5 and it's both really nice and crazy cheap. Mine was $105 from KEH. So, if it doesn't work out, you're not out a whole lot.
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May 20, 2013 15:25
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My AIS 85 1.4 gets some intense fringing when wide open, I think the 135mm f/2 is pretty much the same wide open, too, I'll see if I can dig up some samples.
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May 20, 2013 16:18
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My AI-S 105/2.5 is razor sharp wide open and does well on portraits too. It's definitely one of their classic lenses.
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May 20, 2013 16:33
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I picked up the f/1.8 version of the 105 AI-S and like it a lot. I got a pretty good deal on it ($270 on eBay) which is pretty much the only reason I went for it over the 2.5. It's quite sharp wide open (see this complete unedited snapshot: http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3727/8757362073_901fa5a458_o.jpg (1/1250, f1.8, iso 100)) and it does have CA like crazy when wide open on sunny days, I unfortunately don't have anything that shows that on a sunny day at the moment but you can see some of the CA on the truck.
PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 16:55 on May 20, 2013 |
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May 20, 2013 16:51
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I haven't used the 105 much for video yet but will be on upcoming projects. If there's anything I could send you a quick clip of to get a sense for the lens on video lemme know. My only issue with it so far is that the focus ring is a little stiff. Not a super exciting shot and it's at f4, but here's a full res, minimally processed sample with studio lights: http://jonhustead.smugmug.com/photos/i-PXftXST/2/O/i-PXftXST.jpg Don't have anything other than snapshot wide open: http://jonhustead.smugmug.com/Other/D800-Tests/i-8XLbL7g/0/O/_JON9641.jpg http://jonhustead.smugmug.com/Other/D800-Tests/i-npLDB7N/0/O/_JON9626.jpg http://jonhustead.smugmug.com/Other/D800-Tests/i-NM5QmT2/0/O/_JON9601.jpg
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May 20, 2013 19:08
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Stupid lens question: Is there any reason, other than VR which I do not need, to get the new Nikon 70-200 f/4 for $1400 instead of one of the older Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 lenses? About the only thing I think the new one has going for it is it is lighter, which I would really appreciate but for nearly twice the cost I can probably deal with.
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May 22, 2013 23:47
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:Stupid lens question: So.. faster glass gets you a shallower depth of field and faster shutter speeds. the VR gets you anti-shake which means you can handhold at lower shutter speeds. So it really depends on what you are going to be shooting with the lens as to which one you want.
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May 23, 2013 00:04
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If it's anything like the newer 2.8, it'll be stupid sharp and have silly focus breathing. What body do you shoot?
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May 23, 2013 00:18
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DOF isn't a concern. I've borrowed an 80-200 of the sort I mentioned and it is perfect. D800e, so obviously I would notice if it were anything but perfect. Their capabilities are, as far as I'm concerned, the same. The question would be if there's anything else I don't know about. "No," is an acceptable answer.
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May 23, 2013 00:22
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Yeah the newer 70-200's are a step above the older stuff. The price is only real gently caress-you on the 4vr, especially since the tripod collar is another $200.
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May 23, 2013 00:24
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The 80-200 2.8 is a fine piece of glass. In fact, Nikon still makes them, along with whatever updates of the 70-200 2.8 vr2 are happening. The 70-200 f4 doesn't come with a tripod collar, but is lighter at the same time. It's likely the 80-200 2.8 would keep its value better than the 70-200 f4, if that matters.
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May 23, 2013 00:43
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JAY ZERO SUM GAME posted:Stupid lens question: I havent used the f4 version i have however used a One Touch 80-200 2.8 vs a 70-200 VRI 2.8, results are the same from a D700 body.
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May 23, 2013 15:24
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echobucket posted:the VR gets you anti-shake which means you can handhold at lower shutter speeds. The key being the "hold" bit, as VR does not help at all with subject motion.
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May 23, 2013 19:58
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 New lens day 
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May 31, 2013 02:58
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copen posted:
Lose hood within 2 weeks, never give a poo poo again.
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May 31, 2013 03:05
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Best loving lens. I almost got 2 years before I lost my hood.
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May 31, 2013 03:09
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Truth. I so regret first getting the 50mm that won't autofocus, not because of the 100 bucks I wasted but because that's a whole year during which I could have gotten such better shots. I swear the plastic 'clips' that come with Nikons neckstraps are designed to come off and break your camera. Need to remember to replace them with safety pins when I get home but its been one close call too many.
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May 31, 2013 04:05
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