# Nikon 1 J1 Compact - Urgent Reviews please.



## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Hey folks,

Right, just a little insight:

Me and the Girlfriend are going on Holiday in 4 weeks, and she randomly said she wanted to get a Camera before we go.

So, I thought about it and offered her to go halfs (Still have our own money! Well, she has hers. I spend all mine on Fish and the likes) and this is what we have part decided on, being a good camera by a reputable brand, that we can use for all sorts of scenarios. *Including Tankshots*  

Heres the product in question : Nikon 1 J1

Can you guys (you camera wielding Pros!) let me know(soon!) if its any good, Especially seens as its £100 off at the moment, and I want to jump at the chance. 

Thanks in advance,
Nathaniel


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## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2012)

Hmm..totally underwhelming. A 2.7 crop factor means that the sensor is 3 times smaller than that of a 35 mm camera. And why do you need interchangeable lenses on a tiny compact camera? That just means you're more likely to get dirt on the pint sized sensor every time you swap out a lens. And at the price of a DSLR? No thanks, just get the Coolpix compact which does the same thing at a more affordable price...

Cheers,


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Ha, okay Clive. Your verdict : 'No way!'

It is a sexy camera though


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## Ian Holdich (14 Aug 2012)

is that the max you want to spend?


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

She nearly fell over at the suggestion..  so kinda yeah.


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## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2012)

Oh mate, yeah, for sure very sexy, but why buy a camera for sex appeal? Remember the APS cameras? The new format that was supposed to be a game changer? It was a farce because it was a tiny sensor, and when it comes to camera sensors, for image quality, size matters. 

It would be OK if the price was £59, no worries at all. But at over 300 quid? Nikon can't be possibly be serious (and I'm a Nikon guy). When I saw the crop factor 2.7 it stopped me dead in my tracks and I virtually fell off my chair. What are they thinking?

Cheers,


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Ah okay, I know absolutely nothing about cameras Clive.
So, I suppose asking people helps. 

What are the key points to look at in cameras? I know it can't be down to Pixels alone..

How did you draw a 'Crop Factor' of 2.7 from the information given on the currys website?
cheers,


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Is this a better camera altogether at a cheaper price?

NIKON Coolpix S6300 Compact

This is possibly the most likely, Relatively cheap for a couple of 22 year olds 

NIKON Coolpix S9200 Compact


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## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2012)

Hi mate,
             I guess it depends on what you want to do with your camera as well as what your price range is as Ian alluded to. Do you want ease of use? Maximum quality? Small size? Will you be taking just holiday pictures, or will you want to do other things more to do with art? You have to define your parameters and that tells you what to look for. I assumed by your choice of model, that you wanted something with interchangeable lenses and small size. So maybe if those are the qualities that you value most then I understand the choice but the values isn't really there when there are other compacts around.

When I clicked on the "more info" button it gave a list of the product details. Scrolling down you can see the dimensions of the sensor is 13.2mm x 8.8mm, whereas 35mm film is 35mm x 24 mm. So the sensor width is 2.7 times smaller than 35mm. Also see where they describe the zoom lens "10-30mm" and they also list the perspective of that lens compared to a 35mm camera lens as "27-81mm" which is exactly 2.7 times as wide. So looking through this camera lens at a 10mm setting, you will see exactly the same amount of perspective as if you were looking through a 35mm camera lens set to 27mm.

The pixel count is just a multiplication of the number of pixels in a row times the number of pixels in a column. So the number comes out to a value over 10 million - but that means the pixels have to be really small to be able to fit that many in a space only 13.2mm x 8.8mm = 116 square mm. That means the pixels are not as capable of gathering light as quickly and as accurately as larger pixels can so the camera's CPU has to do a lot of tricks to remove the noise generated by those tiny pixels. But removing noise also removes detail from the image.

This ios not to say that the images will be crap, only that they won't be as high a quality as if the picture was recorded by 10 million larger, higher fidelity pixels distributed over an area 35mm x 24mm = 864 sq. mm. Nw, this is OK if you never intend to enlarge the image or to print poster size. The images will be good enough to email and web posting, but if you want to enlarge the image, say, to crop out the parts of the image you don't want and to keep only the part of the image that you like, you'll find that the quality degrades faster than if you were using a camera with a larger sensor.

That is why medium format cameras have a higher quality than 35mm cameras and why large format cameras, that have a negative size of 8 inch by 10 inch have the ultimate quality. There is simply more information in the image and so resolution and quality is better. So it's less the number of pixels, but the size and quality of the pixel that determines overall quality of the image.

Cheers,


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Hey Clive,

Yet another in depth analysis, of the cameras capabilities.
Although I don't understand it totally (I will after I read over a few times more), I trust your judgement that my money would be better placed elsewhere.

The camera is to be as versatile as possible, With a fairly good close up detail would be fantastic (for shooting tanks). I really wanted to purchase a DSLR, but believe at the moment, I will be better putting a lot less money into getting a point and shoot, Primarily because I am not a photographer, and images will be of tanks for here, or snaps for facebook (no doubt!). 

so, What about the S9200? The price seemed to please my GF more than the Nikon 1.

Thanks for your comments & insight,


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## Antipofish (14 Aug 2012)

The fuji X100 is a lovely camera (words of a mate of mine who is a semi pro street photographer).  But its another £200 on top   But for about the same money you could end up with something like the Canon 40d which is a cracking camera....  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canon-EOS...al_Cameras&hash=item58954fcd4f#ht_6849wt_1186 

Do you want something that will only ever take "holiday snaps" ? Or do you want something that you can build on and develop into a decent bit of versatile kit ?  You are putting in halves here dude, and if you play your cards right you could end up having much greater use of it ultimately, so why not go for something thats gonna serve you well...


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Very true mate, might just sack it off. 
Can't foresee me getting a camera any time soon if not though.

I can't go for a DLSR, she'd struggle to get it in her clutch bag.


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## Ian Holdich (14 Aug 2012)

thats a shame mate cos theres some right bargains here

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from= ... non+camera

if not though, i'd stick to the iphone and get instagram (the app that with make Gail of Corrie look sexy)


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Ha True Iain, I've got both of them 

Might swap the K for an N and get one of these: 

NiXoN


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## ceg4048 (14 Aug 2012)

Whitey89 said:
			
		

> What about the S9200? The price seemed to please my GF more than the Nikon 1.


Yeah mate, that's certainly more reasonable. Tiny sensor as well but at least the price isn't as outrageous. The L610 compact is due out in a few weeks if you can wait. Also look at the Canon equivalents, the G series, Powershot and IXUS. Ignore anything with GPS (who cares?).

Cheers,


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## Antipofish (14 Aug 2012)

ceg4048 said:
			
		

> Whitey89 said:
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I can second the G series.... very nice cameras indeed, and you can probably pick up a real bargain second hand if you want.  I would personally always prefer a good second hand camera than a mediocre new one.


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## Nathaniel Whiteside (14 Aug 2012)

Thanks again Clive, I do like the look of the L610 too.
I'll play it by ear, You know what its like before holiday. I didn't even think about a camera for holiday.

I've got an iPhone, What more could I need 

Yeah Chris, 
I know what you mean, but trying to find a decent compact to take tank shots sounds like a longshot.
equally, trying to convince my GF to go halves on a camera, the size of a small child, for taking on nights out.


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## Aqua sobriquet (15 Aug 2012)

I've got a DSLR and picture quality is very good but it's too bulky to take everywhere so it gets left behind a lot.
A Professional Photographer once said " The best camera is the one you have with you at the time"


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## ghostsword (18 Aug 2012)

I think that your best bet would be the G series.. For holidays it is absolutely amazing camera. 

Strong, good performer and with a good battery life. 

I bought one for my mom to take to Portugal. She dropped it on water and after a good dry it still works..  


___________________________
Luis 
@ghostsword


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## Antipofish (18 Aug 2012)

I think you should get her a box brownie !


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