This weekend i tested my new Nikon V1 and tested if it held up against my Nikon D7000 for action.
Ofcourse i know the standard kit lens is no match for a beast like the AF-S 80-200mm F2.8, so i decided to use the 80-200 F2.8 for both camera's using the FT1 adapter, and here are the results:
D7000, 1/500, ISO 800, F2.8, -0.7EV
D7000, 1/500, ISO 800, F2.8, -0.7EV
Both D7000 shots are slightly underexposed with -0.7EV, because the D7000 tends to blow out the whites if you don't.
V1, 1/640, ISO 720, F2.8
V1, 1/640, ISO 800, F2.8
V1, 1/320, ISO 640m F2.8
About these images: The D7000 was shot with a match on real grass, hence the greener grass. The V1 shot a match on Artificial grass. Both render the color of the grass correctly. I will make another test soon of the same match.
Both tests were done with the same weather (very clouded/dark) both between 3 and 4 PM on the same day.
All images were RAW files, loaded into Lightroom and unprocessed. No sharpening or noise reduction was done. And no color correction either. So both will normally be sharper and prettier. But when comparing i like to use the raw results which i can use to tweak (i always shoot raw, since having an awesome shot of me and my girlfriend in a Gondola in Venice being ruined by the gondolier who turned the mode dail, leading to an overexposed shot which could have been saved if it wasn't for JPG basic, small)
Same settings for both camera's turned out about the same under the same conditions. The ISO, Shutter and Aperture were about the same. So you don't lose any light when working with the smaller camera. A big misunderstanding is that larger sensors capture more light, but this is not shown in the settings. for a perfect explanation on this there are a lot of resources on this which i won't go in deeply here.
So my findings between the 2 cameras? Let's start with what is the same, and follow with what is different. This is only based on the test i did with the pictures above. Both camera's were set to Continuous autofocus (3D focus for the D7000) and to shutter priority.
ISO:
The ISO performance up to ISO 800 seems to be about the same. At base ISO the Nikon 1 has more noise, but if this is a bad things depends on its use. It's "Film like grain" so in normal prints you can't be bothered by this. Up to ISO 800 i think both are good. ISO 1600 is usable. The Nikon D7000 is a tad better, but just slightly and i think in normal use not noticable.
Autofocus:
Autofocus on both the Nikon D7000 and Nikon V1 is excellent. It's fast and snappy, especially with the Nikon AF-S 80-200mm lenses. For other lenses there might be a difference ofcourse, but the Nikon AF-S 80-200mm F2.8 is one of the fastest focusing lenses available. And this is shown on both systems. I'm not able to find which one is faster in focussing. The Nikon V1 does seem to focus in much quicker intervals, but this is probably because the 80-200 on the V1 is actually a 216-540. So things get out-of-focus much faster. So that is a tie.
Buffer and FPS:
The Nikon V1 has some advantages over the D7000. The V1 has 10 FPS with autofocus, and the D7000 has 6 FPS. Besides that the V1 has a bigger buffer then the D7000 and that is a big difference. the V1 has a buffer of ~35 images @ 10 FPS, against the ~10 images @ 6 FPS. The V1 is allmost twice as fast, and is able to keep shooting twice as long. Thats impressive in my books. The V1 is a clear victor here
Raw:
Well, there is not much to say here. It's 12 bit VS 14 bit here. So the Nikon D7000 wins this round.
Actual use:
So it might seem the Nikon D7000 is going to stay at home from now on? well... no thats not the case. Because there is one major flaw with the Nikon V1. After every shot, and during every burst, you get to see the image you just took. That way during a burst you have no way of telling if your subject is still moving in the right direction. To add to this, after your shot it stays there for about a second. A second that is lost, after which if the subject has moved you'll miss the shot. I allready sent a feature request to nikon about this. The V2 does not have this problem, because you can switch the Image preview OFF. This seems like a simple firmware update, but nikon seems to refuse to add this to the Nikon V1. Making it more painfull to use.
Conclusion:
I'll probably use the V1 for sports anyway, just for the added reach (with the nikon V1 i can shoot players across the field, about 90 to 100 meters, and get the players fully into frame) as with the DX Nikon D7000 i can only get usable shots on one half of the field. If you double the focal lenght, thats like a quarter of an image you'll get. But the D7000 still has some extra's i wouldn't want to miss. And that is the 14 bit raw which is nice, and an optical viewfinder which does not show me the last image taken.
So it will stay for sports.... but it's a close call for the Nikon D7000
About this review: These are my findings and opinions as an amateur photographer. I don't make any money with these pictures (yet, this might change in the near future). If you have different thought on this topic please share them with us. I will update this post with other information i find in testingthe V1 against the D7000.
TO DO FOR ME:
Do another comparison, in better weather using faster shutter speeds and a monopod. Also use a smaller aperture.
Shoot the same match under the same conditions.
Any tests you come up with.
Ofcourse i know the standard kit lens is no match for a beast like the AF-S 80-200mm F2.8, so i decided to use the 80-200 F2.8 for both camera's using the FT1 adapter, and here are the results:
D7000, 1/500, ISO 800, F2.8, -0.7EV
D7000, 1/500, ISO 800, F2.8, -0.7EV
Both D7000 shots are slightly underexposed with -0.7EV, because the D7000 tends to blow out the whites if you don't.
V1, 1/640, ISO 720, F2.8
V1, 1/640, ISO 800, F2.8
V1, 1/320, ISO 640m F2.8
About these images: The D7000 was shot with a match on real grass, hence the greener grass. The V1 shot a match on Artificial grass. Both render the color of the grass correctly. I will make another test soon of the same match.
Both tests were done with the same weather (very clouded/dark) both between 3 and 4 PM on the same day.
All images were RAW files, loaded into Lightroom and unprocessed. No sharpening or noise reduction was done. And no color correction either. So both will normally be sharper and prettier. But when comparing i like to use the raw results which i can use to tweak (i always shoot raw, since having an awesome shot of me and my girlfriend in a Gondola in Venice being ruined by the gondolier who turned the mode dail, leading to an overexposed shot which could have been saved if it wasn't for JPG basic, small)
Same settings for both camera's turned out about the same under the same conditions. The ISO, Shutter and Aperture were about the same. So you don't lose any light when working with the smaller camera. A big misunderstanding is that larger sensors capture more light, but this is not shown in the settings. for a perfect explanation on this there are a lot of resources on this which i won't go in deeply here.
So my findings between the 2 cameras? Let's start with what is the same, and follow with what is different. This is only based on the test i did with the pictures above. Both camera's were set to Continuous autofocus (3D focus for the D7000) and to shutter priority.
ISO:
The ISO performance up to ISO 800 seems to be about the same. At base ISO the Nikon 1 has more noise, but if this is a bad things depends on its use. It's "Film like grain" so in normal prints you can't be bothered by this. Up to ISO 800 i think both are good. ISO 1600 is usable. The Nikon D7000 is a tad better, but just slightly and i think in normal use not noticable.
Autofocus:
Autofocus on both the Nikon D7000 and Nikon V1 is excellent. It's fast and snappy, especially with the Nikon AF-S 80-200mm lenses. For other lenses there might be a difference ofcourse, but the Nikon AF-S 80-200mm F2.8 is one of the fastest focusing lenses available. And this is shown on both systems. I'm not able to find which one is faster in focussing. The Nikon V1 does seem to focus in much quicker intervals, but this is probably because the 80-200 on the V1 is actually a 216-540. So things get out-of-focus much faster. So that is a tie.
Buffer and FPS:
The Nikon V1 has some advantages over the D7000. The V1 has 10 FPS with autofocus, and the D7000 has 6 FPS. Besides that the V1 has a bigger buffer then the D7000 and that is a big difference. the V1 has a buffer of ~35 images @ 10 FPS, against the ~10 images @ 6 FPS. The V1 is allmost twice as fast, and is able to keep shooting twice as long. Thats impressive in my books. The V1 is a clear victor here
Raw:
Well, there is not much to say here. It's 12 bit VS 14 bit here. So the Nikon D7000 wins this round.
Actual use:
So it might seem the Nikon D7000 is going to stay at home from now on? well... no thats not the case. Because there is one major flaw with the Nikon V1. After every shot, and during every burst, you get to see the image you just took. That way during a burst you have no way of telling if your subject is still moving in the right direction. To add to this, after your shot it stays there for about a second. A second that is lost, after which if the subject has moved you'll miss the shot. I allready sent a feature request to nikon about this. The V2 does not have this problem, because you can switch the Image preview OFF. This seems like a simple firmware update, but nikon seems to refuse to add this to the Nikon V1. Making it more painfull to use.
Conclusion:
I'll probably use the V1 for sports anyway, just for the added reach (with the nikon V1 i can shoot players across the field, about 90 to 100 meters, and get the players fully into frame) as with the DX Nikon D7000 i can only get usable shots on one half of the field. If you double the focal lenght, thats like a quarter of an image you'll get. But the D7000 still has some extra's i wouldn't want to miss. And that is the 14 bit raw which is nice, and an optical viewfinder which does not show me the last image taken.
So it will stay for sports.... but it's a close call for the Nikon D7000
About this review: These are my findings and opinions as an amateur photographer. I don't make any money with these pictures (yet, this might change in the near future). If you have different thought on this topic please share them with us. I will update this post with other information i find in testingthe V1 against the D7000.
TO DO FOR ME:
Do another comparison, in better weather using faster shutter speeds and a monopod. Also use a smaller aperture.
Shoot the same match under the same conditions.
Any tests you come up with.
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