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V1 to V3 users happy or disappointed?

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Corpy2 said:
Better ask: V2 to V3 users happy or disappointed?

I think it's one step forwards and 2 steps back.
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For me the V2 to V3 was worth it.

But for anyone else... probably not.

I like to shoot from the waist quite a bit, and the V3's tilting LCD and touch-screen allow this.

I also actually use the on-board flash from time-to-time. But I need to be able to tilt/bounce it (which the V3 allows too)

And if I'm being honest, I really, really like the aesthetic of the V3 with grip attached. It's my '3rd ideal' Nikon1.

My ideal Nikon1 style would be a retro Nikon SP design.

Next would be the V3 with grip attached style... but with an integrated viewfinder in the corner of the body.

My 3rd preference would be the current V3 design.

So unless Nikon comes up with #1 or #2 I expect to stick with the V3 for a long time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mars_observer/
 
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MikeyLikesNikon said:
MarsObserver said:
Wu Jiaqiu said:
i like them and dropped all my DX bodies because i liked them so much, i do miss shallow DOF so i am on the look out for a cheap D700 this year for the odd bit of shooting.
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Due to the close focus ability of the 18.5mm I actually find it can produce some beautifully shallow DoF if you're photographing something small and can get in close.

And the 32m f1.2 produces a nice shallow DoF from shooting from further (portrait) distances.

But what I find missing is a bokelicious lens for shooting in that mid-range.

Something in the 14-16mm range, f1.0, and I'd be a happy camper!
Member said:
The sensor size is a bit of compromise, but for most things for me i don't think it makes a huge difference.
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I can't comment on the V2 to V3 transition but I do enjoy my V3 system with the tri-fecta of zooms. The only thing I miss is a good flash system.

Umm... the 9-30 sort of exists already, but with a camera attached.. the Canon G7X. It's a great addition and 2nd camera body to compliment my V3 system.

Looking forward to a potential V4 (with the wish list of improvements) and 9-30 F1.8-2.8

Apologies for being OT.
MarsObserver said:
MarsObserver said:
Keep your fingers crossed that they produce the 9-30 F1.8-2.8 that was patented recently!
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I hope so. I think fast glass will really help the N1 stand-out from other 1" systems.

Good, fast glass can also help bring balance to overall IQ when the sensor is lacking (ie. by allowing you to keep the ISO low) - M4/3 had done well with this strategy knowing that the sensor is at a disadvantage compared to larger ones, but offering some great glass to compensate.
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I am delighted to have asked the questions and started this post. We have received some excellent replies and interest.

I can see the V3 and V1 as a back up would also work well for me. I could not see me giving up my D800 or FX system for very large prints, at least not in the immediate future but light full frame mirror less with light weight and top class LCD viewfinders must be considered in the future.

The D800 can allow me to crop if necessary but with the V1 I crop very little and usually use it like a 35mm film camera, cropping/composing accurately in the viewfinder.

Once again many thanks for your comments.

john B. North Wales
 
Hello Bill,

since you are able to compare the v3 to some mFT bodies I would like to hear you comments on the following issue. I'm a V1 user for 2 years now and I just decided I need a bigger sensor body for some shallow DOF goodness. So I got the GX7 + 20mm/F1.7 and, while I'm happy with it I'm rather surprised at the lack of speed compared to the old V1. Not talking about AF or FPS but the shutterspeed. So when I set both cams to mechanical shutter, Mode M and MF, same ISO, speed, apertue and hit the shutter release then the GX7 seems to need 3x the time to take the photo than the V1 and its much noiser and I feed a more pronounced shuttershock. I'm wondering if you noticed the same and if your OMD is compareable to the GX7 in this regard ... I wonder if the GX7 in generall is rather slow or if the v1 series is simply that fast compared to other systems ...

Many thanks.
 
SidePod said:
Hello Bill,

since you are able to compare the v3 to some mFT bodies I would like to hear you comments on the following issue. I'm a V1 user for 2 years now and I just decided I need a bigger sensor body for some shallow DOF goodness. So I got the GX7 + 20mm/F1.7 and, while I'm happy with it I'm rather surprised at the lack of speed compared to the old V1. Not talking about AF or FPS but the shutterspeed. So when I set both cams to mechanical shutter, Mode M and MF, same ISO, speed, apertue and hit the shutter release then the GX7 seems to need 3x the time to take the photo than the V1 and its much noiser and I feed a more pronounced shuttershock. I'm wondering if you noticed the same and if your OMD is compareable to the GX7 in this regard ... I wonder if the GX7 in generall is rather slow or if the v1 series is simply that fast compared to other systems ...

Many thanks.
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Yes the V1 is that fast !

I've compared it to some Oly and some Sony, and they are not in the same league
 
I have had my V1 since Nikon launched it, been very pleased with the results, when the V3 launched I bought the kit, however after 6 months I have sold the V3, very disappointed with the noise in the images even at base ISO, also if you try to lift the shadows in the raw file I was getting horizontal lines which correspond to the PDAF sensors, Nikon support offered no help other than use capture NXD rather than Lightroom!!

Geoff
 
Thanks for that Geoff, I don,t like the sound of that.

anyone else with the same experience with noise..?.

john
 
I thought I would jump in on this since I am currently evaluating the V3 vs V1. I was able to pick up a V3 kit at Amazon for 800, so felt ok about that price. I have had both the V1 and J1 since early on but did wait to get them both on fire sale/used prices. I will try to not be too redundant because I found most of the objective reviews of both cameras to be spot on. I find Thom Hogans review of the V3 to spot on, and agree with his overall opinions of the systems (people often mix those two things, I see thm as different.)

in summary:

The V3 shooting experience is much better, much better control. I love the buttons coming from my my d7000 kit is much more natural. To be fair though I had gotten pretty quick with the V1.

The image quality is not quite as good in my opinion. Yes more pixels and a little sharper, but noise is something that can't be ignored. I feel I can shoot at 800 with V1 without much worry, the V3 I worry more about handling the noise.

The frames/second is just awesome on the V3.

If I were to put all my thoughts together at this point I would say get the V3 to pair with the 70-300cx for birds. If that is not your thing, I would keep using the V1.

I find myself wishing it was the V1 sensor in the V3 body!

I will probably keep the V3 and the 70-300 will live on it. I am also going to keep the V1. Hey they are small, the whole kit fits in a bag nicely right? :)

V3 IS fun to shoot with.

check out my Flickr site to see some recent V3 shots.

I should also note, that for me, I do not consider this a complete system. I still use my DSLR for my more serious landscape work and I am looking at upgrading those systems also. Dynamic range and shadow noise just not where I need it to be. Maybe a full frame mirrorless in my future to pair with my N1 kit. Like many I am getting tired of lugging all that big glass around.
 
SidePod said:
Hello Bill,

since you are able to compare the v3 to some mFT bodies I would like to hear you comments on the following issue. I'm a V1 user for 2 years now and I just decided I need a bigger sensor body for some shallow DOF goodness. So I got the GX7 + 20mm/F1.7 and, while I'm happy with it I'm rather surprised at the lack of speed compared to the old V1. Not talking about AF or FPS but the shutterspeed. So when I set both cams to mechanical shutter, Mode M and MF, same ISO, speed, apertue and hit the shutter release then the GX7 seems to need 3x the time to take the photo than the V1 and its much noiser and I feed a more pronounced shuttershock. I'm wondering if you noticed the same and if your OMD is compareable to the GX7 in this regard ... I wonder if the GX7 in generall is rather slow or if the v1 series is simply that fast compared to other systems ...

Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Most of my life, I've used film cameras and except for the Brownie Hawkeye I got for my 10th birthday and two SLRs, all of them were rangefinders. The GX7 was my first real digital camera and my choice was made largely because it was in my mind, a rangefinder camera. Before the GX7, all I had was my iPhone and a Canon P&S that I never used. I got the GX7 with the 14-42mm kit lens and after about three months, I gave it to my son because I didn't like the GX7. However it had nothing to do with focus or shutter speed and I didn't have any digital camera history to compare it with. I do know that the 20mm f/1.7 is noted for slow and noisy autofocus but have never seen any comments regarding MF. The 20mm also has a history of CA, purple fringing, and banding at high ISO, on Olympus bodies. All of that is documented in posts on the M43 group.

The only MF I do anymore is prefocus for street shooting. My E-M10 wins hands down against the V3 for this. My 12mm f/2.0, 17mm f/1.8, and 12-40mm f2/8 all have what is known as the snap ring feature. Pull the focus ring back and you get a distance scale and hard focus ring stops at infinity and close focus. On the V3, the lenses have no focus rings, in MF all you get is a bar that shows close focus and infinity, and anything in between is pure guesswork. I've never run a test to compare them like you did so, I can't tell you how much of a difference there is, if any, between the two cameras.

Before Nikon released the V3, Olympus claimed to have the fastest AF cameras in the business. If you go to some of the test sights, they will tell you that the E-M10 with any of the Olympus primes will autofocus in well under a second and will do that going from close focus to infinity. I use my E-M10 with two f/2.8 zooms and now two primes, since I gave two of my primes to my son. All have blazing fast and highly accurate AF. But, the lab experts claim the V3 AF is even faster. We are talking about well under a second here so, I can't tell the difference between the two cameras.

--
Bill S.
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” Henri Cartier-Bresson
 
Thanks Will,

I will have a good look at your images, in the meanwhile thanks for your time and opinions.

I think we are probably thinking the same way with regard to our equipment.

I will comment a little more when I have had a look at your images,

regards

John B.
 
Will,

I have now had a look at your galleries, excellent work.

I am not a "Birder" but do cover a lot of classic motor sport and animals, I use a D800 for serious work now but love the V1 kit and the light weight responsive focus/shutter.

I have been successful with the V1 but find the image post view just makes following anything just limits the ability to pan, It is a matter of one shot and guess the rest as I am sure you are aware. I just thought the V3 with also the addition of tilting screen and wi-fi would be great but am beginning to think that if there is a noise issue or doubt about the image quality over the V1 I would not be satisfied with the camera.

In the UK there is an offer for the Full kit plus a 10mm lens for £769 so I have been tempted but wonder if the cost is just not worth it just to have the extra functions. Maybe a good deal on a V2 would solve the major, perhaps only, problem I have with the V1.

www.flickr.com

RED FROG ( Austin Healey) SPRITE

Explore RED FROG ( Austin Healey) SPRITE’s 455 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com

Above is a link to my Flickr so you may be interested in what I use my camera for.

Regards

John B
 
bowman said:
Will,

I have now had a look at your galleries, excellent work.

I am not a "Birder" but do cover a lot of classic motor sport and animals, I use a D800 for serious work now but love the V1 kit and the light weight responsive focus/shutter.

I have been successful with the V1 but find the image post view just makes following anything just limits the ability to pan, It is a matter of one shot and guess the rest as I am sure you are aware. I just thought the V3 with also the addition of tilting screen and wi-fi would be great but am beginning to think that if there is a noise issue or doubt about the image quality over the V1 I would not be satisfied with the camera.

In the UK there is an offer for the Full kit plus a 10mm lens for £769 so I have been tempted but wonder if the cost is just not worth it just to have the extra functions. Maybe a good deal on a V2 would solve the major, perhaps only, problem I have with the V1.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/redfrog724/

Above is a link to my Flickr so you may be interested in what I use my camera for.

Regards

John B
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I gave into the temptation of that offer from WEX John (as I had a trade-in credit left from selling my last m4/3rds lens) so the V3 has joined my V2 in my "Sport and Birding" bag.

My idea was that one would have the 70-300CX permanently attached and the other would be used as the interchangeable lens body for shorter lenses + macro

Its still early days yet but I'm beginning to think that I may stick with the V2 as my "long action" body with the V3 for everything else as I'm not yet convinced that the V3 has better ergonomics + IQ than the V2 with its built in EVF and slightly lower noise levels

They make a great combination though as I can fit all my gear (excluding the 85mm macro + FT-1) in my Lowepro Nova 180AW shoulder bag and cover all eventualities.
 
There is no problem panning with the V1. I used mine extensively in motorsport without any issues.

If you shoot in burst then the image review does not rear its ugly head until the end of the burst. A quick half tap on the shutter and it gone.

I now have a V2 and of course its much nicer not having that image review and the body style + controls are nicer too. I do find the V2 files a bit noisier than the V1 but also slightly more detailed.



33502807.8ad4d9b3.jpg




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Thanks Sonyshine,

Great shot of the sidecar racer, here is one of my V1 motorsport shots:

https://flic.kr/p/nFigna

I have used the V1 for quite a lot of motorsport shots and find it great to take on rallies or social gatherings when competing. Just so small and quick, able to get a quick shot an so easy to carry.

For a single shot, which is usually what I need and even for video I think the V1 is excellent, I can pan with it and do but just thought the V3 may be easier. I also thought it would be quicker to change modes when under pressure but definitely do not want to sacrifice any image quality so am still sitting on the fence with WEX.

I also have a Olympus 50-200 and more 4/3rds stuff that I have been keeping in case Olympus introduced camera that would appeal to me and would be able to use my excellent lens. However I returned to Nikon about six years ago and now am committed with FX and Nikon 1 gear.

I am not a "Birder" but dogs and motorsport also require some fast action so therefore am very interested in looking at your images and hearing what you have to say.

The WEX offer is so tempting today but for £769 I can see other possible purchases. New lens or heaven forbid an adventure into FUJI!

Again many thanks for your interest

John
 
V3 is o.k. for grab shots, touristy stuff. But not for PJ gigs i.e. editorial, deadline, in the field, indoor action, press conf, civil disobedience, crime scenes, car accidents,.... which changes too fast & is too varied for the V3.
 
Brian,

Thanks for your post and info regarding 4/3rds and WEX. I just got your post confused with Sonyshine, please read my reply to him.

The WEX offer set me off on this adventure, I should have sold my Olympus gear years ago now probably worth very little.

My original post has certainly prompted a few very interesting replies and I am now probably more confused than ever!

I used a D700 for five years together with the V1 and often looked at images from both and was amazed how good the V1 could be. I upgraded to a D800 a year ago and do find the images from this can be amazing. However on a 27" monitor the difference can sometimes only be detected by the EXIF data.

www.flickr.com

RED FROG ( Austin Healey) SPRITE

Explore RED FROG ( Austin Healey) SPRITE’s 455 photos on Flickr!
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com

Regards & Thanks again

John B.
 
Nice old Jag! The only thing I have too keep an eye on is that when setting the shutter speed low for panning that the aperture does not close down too much - otherwise diffraction softness kicks in.
 
Love the car photos. I actually just sold an MGB that I was neglecting! :) May use the funds from that to by a D750 for more serious landscape work...

Price cannot be ignored in the discussion. I would probably not have picked up the V3 kit had I not been able to get it used for 800 US used. The WEX deal is pretty much the regular retail price in US dollars but I know that can be apples and oranges also. Honestly, I think if I had paid the full retail of 1200 US I would have sent it back. The improvements over the V1 are just not enough for that price.

Also, for me, I will probably keep the 70-330cx on the V3 as my wildlife kit and still use the V1 for travel etc...

Just my thoughts, either way I am still and enthusiast of the system in general.

Will
bowman said:
Will,

I have now had a look at your galleries, excellent work.

I am not a "Birder" but do cover a lot of classic motor sport and animals, I use a D800 for serious work now but love the V1 kit and the light weight responsive focus/shutter.

I have been successful with the V1 but find the image post view just makes following anything just limits the ability to pan, It is a matter of one shot and guess the rest as I am sure you are aware. I just thought the V3 with also the addition of tilting screen and wi-fi would be great but am beginning to think that if there is a noise issue or doubt about the image quality over the V1 I would not be satisfied with the camera.

In the UK there is an offer for the Full kit plus a 10mm lens for £769 so I have been tempted but wonder if the cost is just not worth it just to have the extra functions. Maybe a good deal on a V2 would solve the major, perhaps only, problem I have with the V1.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/redfrog724/

Above is a link to my Flickr so you may be interested in what I use my camera for.

Regards

John B
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Coffee Lover said:
V3 is o.k. for grab shots, touristy stuff. But not for PJ gigs i.e. editorial, deadline, in the field, indoor action, press conf, civil disobedience, crime scenes, car accidents,.... which changes too fast & is too varied for the V3.
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I would think the V3 would be good for all that... so long as the light is good (which granted, often it isn't).

Can you elaborate CL? Is it the lack of fast lenses that you don't like?

Just curious.
 
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