Blogger Event – the Nikon 1 – Who’s it for?
Yesterday, during my daily morning Twitter catch-up, my timeline was filled with info on the new Nikon 1 cameras and the mainly negative reactions on it from bloggers all over the world. Looking at the specs, I subscribed to the general consensus: the sensor is way too small, the glass too slow, manual settings are buried deep into the menus and no real hotshoe.
At night I was invited to a Nikon blogger event in Brussels. I basically went to catch up with some friends and complain the whole night about what a bad job Nikon did with their 1-series.
I got to admit that Nikon Belgium did a great job organizing a fun event for us bloggers and social media people. Great venue, delicious food, very friendly atmosphere, free massages, coctails, … Canon and Sony have been doing similar things for a while over here and I think it sparks a great conversation between the brand and its user base. It’s great to see that Nikon is seeing the importance of these kind of events too.
Maarten from Nikon, gave us a short presentation about the system. The specs couldn’t change my mind about the pointlessness of this system compared to other mirrorless systems. There was a lot of talk about “innovations” that, in my eyes, are just meaningless gimmicks for any halfway serious photographer. My twitter feed filled with similar reactions from other people.
(sorry about the crappy iPhone pic, left my GF1 in the car)
After the presentation we got to play with the new cameras. Usually at these events, you have to fight to get your hands on the only prototype camera available. But Nikon provided lots of the new cameras in all kind of colors and with different kinds of lenses.
It’s safe to say that the cameras look quite good but there are cheaper fashion accessories to be found. More important is that they feel quite good too. I think the “feel” of a camera is an often underrated feature. I shoot a lot more and better with a camera that feels right.
But the handling couldn’t convince me. It lacks the tactile and direct controls of my GF1 and the pictures on the LCD didn’t look half as good. Off-course this was only a very short test, so I won’t draw any final conclusions. But my first impression confirmed what I feared after reading the specs.
Talking to other photographers, a nagging feeling crept up to me that I somehow was missing the point. I’m a happy Canon shooter but despite all the friendly mocking, I think Nikon makes great cameras too. How can such a respected company, miss the point so badly? And who am I to think Nikon misses the point so badly? After all, they’ve been a leading brand for ages so they probably know what they are doing, right?
One thing was clear to me from the moment I read the specs: The Nikon J1, nor the V1 is a proper photographer’s camera. It’s not a challenger for the GF1, X100 or Sony NEX. I couldn’t figure out the target audience for the Nikon 1 series. Who is it for? That’s the question I kept asking myself all night. Well, not really “all night”, I won’t loose any sleep over a Nikon 
This morning however, I think I figured it out. What about my mom? My sister? They like taking pictures, documenting their family lives and their travels. They are pretty happy with their compact cameras but sometimes it’s really too limited. My sister usually needs to explain that the blurry dot in the distance is her son scoring the winning goal in soccer. My mom is frustrated that she can’t take sharp pictures of pottery in dark exhibition spaces without ruining the picture with the build-in flash. An entry DSLR costs about the same as a 1-series camera but it’s harder to handle and too big to lug around for the occasional picture.
I think the Nikon 1 cameras might be a great choice for people who can appreciate good pictures but don’t want to learn too much about photography. I know, I can shoot better pictures if I control the settings then whatever automatic function the manufacturers come up with . But then again, I spent and spend a good part of my time learning and practicing photography techniques. But let’s not forget that not everyone is like me (and luckily so).
To give these cameras a proper test run, I should keep my hands of it. It’s just not a camera for me. Instead, I should let my mother and sister use it for a couple of weeks and see what they come up with.
Conclusion:
- Do I think this is a great new camera system? NO
- Do I think other people might find this a great camera system? YES
A big thanks to Nikon Belgium for organizing this event and inviting me to it.
That’s exactly what I too think about the camera. One nice feature however is that you can also in full manual mode shoot 60fps of which all 60 frames will be saved. In some situations that can be a lifesaver.
But as I was talking to Maarten of Nikon he also said that the camera is indeed for people that don’t need a DSLR but have outgrown their compact cameras.
On the other hand, it think they are missing the point of producing a small camera and putting pretty big lenses on it. Anyway it was a nice event and I guess we can make up our minds once we have tested the camera for a while.
But why would your family buy this camera instead of a GF1 or similar? I don’t see anything that’s better about the Nikon system compared to other mirrorless systems.
Good write-up, but I think the sensor being so small, your (or my) mum still wouldn’t be able to take half-decent photos in a dark-ish gallery.
[...] je meer informatie en een uitgebreid artikel lezen? Dan kan je dat bij Photoguru, Bert Stepahani of bij Dipfico. Uiteraard vind je hierover ook meer dan voldoende informatie op de Nikon website [...]
Why would I buy this if for the same price, actually, lower price I can get a Nex-3 that also has a larger sensor, I predict a quick demise of this camera series, had they made something similar with a larger sensor and the possibility of mounting current Nikon lenses the would have had a winner! and a place as a second camera in every Nikon shooter’s bag!
“My sister usually needs to explain that the blurry dot in the distance is her son scoring the winning goal in soccer. My mom is frustrated that she can’t take sharp pictures of pottery in dark exhibition spaces without ruining the picture with the build-in flash. An entry DSLR costs about the same as a 1-series camera but it’s harder to handle and too big to lug around for the occasional picture.”
Pretty poor justification above, with a longer lens needed to the sports scenario, and a faster lens needed for the museum scenario, as I’m sure you’re well aware. The Nikon 1 system does not provide any solutions to these issues not already offered, and in fact by the time you add a long lens, will the camera still be so compact..
As a Nikon user, I’m really not sure what would push me towards a Nikon 1 in place of something else like an Olympus EP or E-PL, aside from maybe improved autofocus (whch is not an issue for what I shoot).
Perhaps Nikon should have invited photographers’ moms and sisters, not photographers.
Completely agree with your post.
It’s unfortunate that the product page for the Nikon 1 reads like it’s the second coming of Jesus.
The camera is embarrassing when you consider Nikon claims to have invested their 50 years of experience into producing it. Then again, Nikon compacts have always been a disappointment. Nikon should stick to making great DSLRs.
And let’s us not forget about the upcoming Sony NEX 7, Samsung NX200 entries, and finally Olympus PEN E-P3 with “touch to focus” feature . They do promise a lot of new feature with much better quality, and they are supposed to be family friendly as well.
Nikon claims these cameras wil give them a bigger share of the COMPACT market.
Dont think complicating the use by detaching the lens and upping the price will do that. Also dont think the high framerate features will make people pay double the price Casio is asking for it. Shame, because the AF looks to be quite nice.
[...] The Nikon 1 – Who’s it for ? – Bert Stephanie [...]
[...] auf die Fujifilm X10 zu warten. Auch Blogger wie Patrick von neunzehn72, Ronny von Blogtimes und Bert Stephani machen sich so Ihre Gedanken. Begeisterung konnte ich auch hier nicht [...]
[...] en met ingebouwde flits) Zij waren er ook: @saravdv @Issuus @StefaanLesage @fredjefoto @BertStephani [...]
I’ve been looking at the pro arguments and I still am not convinced. Why would other people – amateurs who just want a better point and shoot – think the J1 or the V1 such a great system compared to the Sony Nexes, Olympus Pens or Panasonics? Go to a retail shop and you will see that these cameras all are the same size. Yet the J1 and V1: have far smaller sensors, only have 3 slowwwww lenses available, are more expensive than the m4/3 and Nex equivalents, and the Nikon 1 superzoom is honking big next to the Pana 14-140mm.
It seems to me that Nikon’s “target market” would have been better served by simply sticking that 1″ sensor into something similar to the Fuji X10. The target market is wanting higher quality, not removable lenses. And what advantage would a removable lens system with such small sensors hold, anyway? At least the Pentax Q makes sense because they are appreciably smaller than the other removable lens systems.
I think actually, Nikon just don’t get the compact camera market. Just look at their entry into the enthusiast compact: later than everyone else, while looking exactly like the Canon. Yet it sells, simply because it is a Nikon. Nikon has become the Microsoft of the camera world, folks.
Of course Nikon are still making great classic cameras – perhaps the 1 is not one of them! Hopefully Nikon will get their marketing right and catch up on lost ground with the release of the long awaited D400, later this year!
I think this was the reason i buy tis for my wife to use , instead of normal Compact camera..