How good IQ on the V1?

I haven't done a large print yet; but I have printed a crop that would be approximately 12x18in if printed large. It was a base iso kit lens image and could easily be printed bigger.

Low iso; the d200/300 would (slightly) beat it. But it easily beats the D200 at 800iso upwards and (at least) matches the D300. That's preety darn good for such a small sensor.

I'm using it more than the 2 dslr's (D200/300) for the majority of my work and I am very confident of printing up to and over  the 12x18.

For me the little V1 has been a revelation; it just gets out of the way and lets you shoot. The metering is much better than the 2 dslrs and the AF is fantastic. I haven't used it much for night/dark conditions yet; but I have shot in a bar a 2,200iso and it was better than the D300

To be honest; I never thought I'd say that about the camera when I bought it! I mainly bought it as a take anywhere camera; I didn't think it would replace my dslrs (mostly). Hope this helps a bit. 

Thanks, what lenses are you using?

Just the 10-30mm kit lens at the moment; but will be getting the 30-110 and the 18.5mm.

I purchased a V1 with the 10-30 and 30-110mm lenses as a supplement to my D5100. I think the D5100 is a lovely camera for its intended purpose BTW. The weekend before last I did an informal comparison of the two shooting similar photos with the two cameras. The D5100 had an 18-200mm lens. I was quite surprised to find the V1 more often than not gave a more pleasing result IMO in both RAW and JPEG than the D5100 offered under similar circumstances. The 30-110 in particular is a remarkable lens, giving very sharp results at the 110mm end of the range. In short image quality is fine. I don't really get it when people say it is a generation or two behind as in my experience it is as good as, if not better than the D5100 (using the Expeed 2 sensor which is also used in the D7000.

I suspect I will be using the V1 as my main camera, especially in conjunction with the FT1 mount adapter and AF-S 70-300mm VR for extra long reach.

Th V1's IQ is better than the D40's in every respect, and is better than the D3000 above 600 ISO. Dynamic range is virtually the same for all of these cameras, (check DXoMark for exact numbers, if you wish), but I prefer the colors from the V1. In fact the V1 is replacing both of those camera in my collection because it is a better camera than either of those two, IMO. Better build, better IQ, faster and better PDAF focusing, (in adequate light), higher performance, (10 FPS in RAW mode!). and the silent electronic shutter eliminates mechanically induced vibration blur, and all this in a much smaller package.

The best of the zoom lenses is definitely the 30-110, with sharpness across the frame even wide open and no distortion to speak of. The 10-30mm is OK, but is noticeable less sharp with more distortion than the 30-110mm.

Here is an example of the V1's IQ with the 30-110, (shot in RAW mode), I think it compares well to m4/3 and entry level DSLRs of similar resolution. (View the original to best judge the image quality).



The only thing holding back the V1 is the lack of some larger aperture zoom lenses.

- Jon

I purchased the V1 when it was on sale from BH for $299.

As a $299 camera, it is a good camera.

However, I was never really satisfied with the IQ, even with the FT1 adaptor and using lenses such as the 24-70, 16-35 VR, 70-200, 28 1.8, etc...

I originally bought it as a small travel camera.  And for that purpose, it was okay.

I gave the V1 to my 9 year old daughter to play with and learn photography and got myself a RX1 as a small travel cam..

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I am not a brand loyalist, I can take equally bad pictures with any brand...

V1 IQ is a match for DX DSLRs if yor not a pixel peeper an don't plan to make prints large than 12x18".

Here is a pic with a 1 meg crop.



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Canon A2E, Sony R1, Panny TZ5, NEX C3/Zeiss 24mm E Lens & Nikon V1

This is all encouraging to see because I just pulled the trigger on a V1 from BH with the 10-30 and 30-110 kit lenses for $399.

My wife and daughter are going to Hawaii during spring break on a school field trip thing and she didn't want to take the D90 and lenses because she thought they'd be too heavy and too much to lug around for the week.

We're hoping this V1 will make a decent travel camera for her.

I'm more than happy with what I've seen on the web so far... especially considering that this setup retailed for $1,150 when it was released according to Nikon's website!

Kyle

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Nikon D90, Nikon 17-55 F2.8, Nikon 18-105, Nikon 35mm F1.8 - Sony NX5U - Adobe CS5 Production Premium

Nakiphoto, I'm not sure. DXO does not really support this. Not that DXO is the be all end all, but it seems to be accurate for the most part.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Camera-Sensor-Database/Nikon/1-V1

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Camera-Sensor-Database/Nikon/D200

I dunno; I think the individual scores are pretty darn close! One thing I've noticed is that the V1 hi-iso noise is not as blotchy as either the D200 and 300.

As for the question, IMO the IQ of the V1 is very good.

For me the metric is IQ for cost. At this cost, it is a steal of a camera. The latest generation of M43 is better, as is NEX and Fuji (X system). But those cameras with lenses will cost double or even triple. If I were to buy a M43, it would be a 600$ EPL5. Add on to that a VF for 200$, and a 45mm portrait lens for 400$, and I've spent well over a grand. Fast zoom? That will cost you 1,100$. So things add up quick, and even with that model I'm not getting the IQ of a D5100.

What makes the camera great IMO is very good IQ + excellent build quality + blazing fast AF and a very good built in VF.

I agree the noise quality (fine grain) is very good. That's one of those qualities that doesn't show up in their testing. As is the way the camera renders pics which is very nice. If you all owned the older DSLRs and attest to it, it's welcome news. I haven't owned a Nikon DSLR.

I use a D300 for magazine and now gallery work and have a D200 as a back-up; but now I am using the V1 for 90% of my gallery work. For me; it has got to the stage where good enough is good enough.

I recently saw some work by Magnum photographer David Alan Harvey (Rio exhibition) that was shot with a GF1 and was printed 40x60 inch.... Even though "everyone" says that type of print cant be done with m43... So really; when it all comes down to it we've got really good gear now!

Oh; and because I now have the V1, the D200 will soon be sold....

Maybe this will help: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3383843

I paid the $1,150 entry price way back when and I'm still a happy camper. I originally bought the 10-30mm and 10mm dual lens kit then quickly added the 30-110mm and the SB-N5. About a month ago I purchased the 18.5mm. I am really interested in the 6.7-13mm but I'm going to wait and see what upgrades the V3 will bring with it first.

Good luck. It's a nice kit.

You don't need any specific lens to test that. Using the same lens on different bodies will give you the same answer.

Never printed anything large from the V1 but the reason why I sold the D300s and got myself a D800 was that the differences between the D300s and the V1 using the same lens, were too small, hardly noticeable at all, even at high ISO. Differences in DR in some difficult situations are visible, but differences in ISO noise (carefully processed in CNX2) are small.

Very little differences between the D300s and the V1, but huge between the D800 and V1, using the same lens.

Anyway, why worry? You have the V1, use it and enjoy it.

How good the IQ is depends more on your skill level and  the lighting conditions. Under bright, daylight or very favorable conditions a V1 will do a good job when compared to a D300s (assuming similar DOF and quality glass used) . Most people who purchased a DX D-Slr shot under favorable conditions and that is one reaosn they will  assume that the IQ is similar. Once the shooting conditions become challenging then the benefit of larger sensor cameras comes into play. a DxO Marklab comparison between the V1 and an 8-year old 6Mp chip from the D40 shows that the D40 is superior in ISO performance, DR and color accuracy. A current low end d-slr like the D3200 has superior ISO performance (1,100 vs 350) and superior DR, color accuracy and resolution.

Ditto!