Tag Archives: Nikon 1 System

Hands-on Review: Nikon 18.5mm 1-Nikkor Lens

Yucca amongst the names, Garden of the Gods, Colorado. I used the 18.5mm f/1.8 1-Nikkor lens for this shot, hand-held at f/2.0.

Along with the Nikon 1 V2 announcement in October 2012, Nikon also released a new 1-Nikkor prime lens, the 18.5mm f/1.8 1-Nikkor. This lens, designed for the Nikon CX-format sensor has an angle of view roughly equivalent to a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera body.

With the Nikon CX format, fast lenses are important for two reasons. First, the small format makes depth of field control hard, so anything with a fast aperture will help to deliver subject isolation and soften backgrounds. Second, while the ISO performance of the Nikon 1 cameras is excellent overall, these cameras are still noisier than large-sensor DX or FX DSLRs. That means anytime you can shoot with a faster aperture, your camera will be able to use a lower ISO for any given shutter speed. Read on for my review… Continue reading Hands-on Review: Nikon 18.5mm 1-Nikkor Lens

Nikon 1 V2 Hands-On First Impressions

Nikon 1 V2 (left) compared to the Nikon 1 V1. Other than the larger viewfinder, the V2 is actually smaller and lighter than the V1.

For the last year, I’ve used the Nikon 1 V1 as my primary travel/family camera. In general, I found it to be a good camera with some ergonomic quirks. In late October, Nikon announced the V1’s successor, the Nikon 1 V2. I took delivery of my V2 a few days ago and while I haven’t done complete testing, I thought I’d offer up some of my first impressions, especially with respect to what I thought the shortcomings of the V1 were back in February.

Main New Features

  • The Nikon 1 V2 offers a 14 megapixel CX-format sensor. The camera’s base ISO is 160, and is expandable to ISO 6400.
  • The body design and control layout is totally new and more in line with Nikon’s DSLRs.
  • The Nikon 1 V2 can shoot at 15 fps without any metering or focus limitations (as far as I can tell).
  • The V2 sports a small built-in flash unit.
  • The Nikon 1 V2 uses a different battery than the V1, the EN-EL21. This battery is smaller and lighter than the EN-EL15, and uses a dedicated charger. The battery life is good for around 300 shots, according to Nikon.  Continue reading Nikon 1 V2 Hands-On First Impressions