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Digital Cameras

Nikon n1 v3

crisscross
 
Posts: 70

Nikon n1 v3

Post Wed Aug 19, 2015 7:58 pm


I decided in January that I had to down-size, that is down-weight, from my Nikon D7000 with 16-85 & 80-400 lenses. Despite pretty unenthusiastic reviews, I opted for the Nikon 1 v3 as it seemed about the only interchangeable lens camera that did seriously lose weight (I am 75 and have heart problems). It came with 10-30 and 30-110 kit lenses (all x 2.7 for 35mm equivalent) and I knew I wanted the 70-300 lens despite it costing more than everything else put together, including the optional electronic viewfinder. I thought I might want better lenses than the kit, but the weak link is the 1 inch sensor, not the lens quality.

The whole kit travels in the bag that came with the 80-400 and also probably weighs less including a couple of spare batteries. After a few weeks I was prepared to sell all the DSLR kit, which also included a Canon 500D close up ring that used to screw onto the 80-400 for bastard macro....it didn't go and it suddenly ocurred to me that it might push-fit into the 70-300 Flare hood (HB-N110)...and it does....and works far better than it ever did with the 80-400.

It's no good pretending there is no loss of quality, though on quasi-macro there is actually distinct improvement - see first results at http://www.pbase.com/crisscross/dragons BUT I can now take the whole kit on an outing whereas I was previously having to choose one lens or the other.

All my 'recent' galleries are taken with this camera http://www.pbase.com/crisscross/root&view=recent The kit has been particularly good on architectural interiors, where I was afraid I would have to keep the D7000 + 16-85.

The horrid things are the controls which are a nighmare, the batteries that barely last an hour-and-a-half trip and having to waste space with video and the video button taking prime place. The lense change is fiddly and needs getting used to and the 'proper' lenses need a push and turn to actuate, wasting time from pick-up to shoot. You have to buy a special mount to use the 70-300 on a tripod, but in practice I have yet to need one.

The good thing is that the lenses all have very fast AF and you can set high-speed repeat that often gets good results if you have the patience to edit out the discards.

The reviews all said Nikon didn't know who they were designing for, but one answer is a geriatric having to downsize without too much loss of quality. If you can shoot so there is no crop, there isn't too much loss of quality unless perhaps you had to do large prints. I do miss the user settings of the D7000, including a high ISO 1/3000sec for when a bird appears. I find however that the camera works no worse at ISO1600 than ISO400, so tend to shoot at fast speeds rather than having to waste time changing. I never trust a camera to do anything automatically. I have only used in UK, where the light is pretty poor for much of the time

Anyone else got experience to share?

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