REVIEWED: THE NEW NIKON J1

It has to be said, when some of the specifications for Nikon's new mirror-less compact system were announced it sparked more of a negative than positive reaction at first. Our main concern was the size of the sensor used, as it is considerably smaller than that used in its APS-C sized sensor rivals like the Sony NEX-C3 & Sony NEX-5N or even the Micro FourThirds used in the Panasonic LUMIX GF3 & Olympus PEN EPL3. In fact, its sensor size falls more in-line with the likes of the Canon Powershot G12 or the exceptional new Fujifilm Finepix XP10. If the reduced sensor size was a means of reducing both the size of camera & lenses, then unfortunately I have to say they haven't quite succeeded, as it is physically the exact same size of the Panasonic LUMIX GF3.


But any initial concerns were soon put to rest when actually getting your hands-on the NEW Nikon 1-J1 and you soon realise its place in the market.

• The Nikon 1-J1's 10.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor actually delivers exceptionally good quality images, rich in tone & detail even under difficult lighting conditions (for example, extreme bright or indoor, even night). 
• Auto WB is very good resulting in very accurate colour rendition
• Intelligent Auto + P, S, A, M controls
• Quick & Responsive AF system, allows easy capture of fast moving children, sports & wildlife.
• 3" LCD screen is fantastic- recycles very fast at 50 or 60 Hz for flicker reduction. Screen colour accuracy is very good & quality is very good, actually surprised us its only 460K dot screen. (even favoured the Nikon's LCD to Sony's 921K dot TruBlack LCD)
• Up to 60fps in full resolution
• 1080x1920/60i HD movie
• Slow-Motion Movie
• Optional Lens mount adapter FT1 to use any of Nikon's Lenses (only AF-S or AF-I will maintain auto focus)   

The Nikon 1-J1 is the ideal camera for someone who is looking for a small compact camera which will offer lots of versatility. This camera has very user-friendly functions for beginners and also offers all the manual functions for Professionals & Enthusiast's alike. Offering compact inter-changeable lenses & also utilising Nikon's existing lenses (with optional lens mount adapter FT1), I do think the Nikon 1-J1 is the perfect complement to a Nikon DSLR user. Having 2.7x magnification on the lenses (for example, a 300mm lens becomes 810mm), its ideal for sports & wildlife photography & movie. The camera does come in a variety of colours for the fashion conscious & the only criticism is we were not overtly keen on 'Periscope like' pop-up Flash. We feel the Nikon 1-J1 is a step up from the advanced compacts & also shines amongst its compact system rivals, overall we are extremely impressed with the Nikon 1-J1.

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