Nikon 1 J5 with 18-300mm lens for birding?

RichDitch said:

ishwanu said:

zm123 said:

RichDitch said:

Given your budget I would also go with a V2 instead of a V1. The V2 has a much better user interface, and has a good built in grip (the V1 needs an aftermarket grip with a long lens).

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Thank you for the advice.

Why do you recommend the Nikon 1 V2 over the Nikon 1 V3 and Nikon 1 J5?

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One difference is stated right there: a good integrated grip. Another difference is an integrated EVF, not provided in the V3 or J5. Some people also say the V2 has a better AF system than the V3. But a not-so-good difference is the lack of a hinged LCD on the V2.

RichDitch said:

If my budget were higher, would you recommend the V3 or J5 instead of the V2?

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It's about what you value. If you want the best sensor in a camera with no EVF support and not much of a grip, that's the J5.

If you want a camera with a very good (optional) EVF and a very good (optional) grip - both of which can be removed if not needed - but a not-as-good sensor, that's the V3. And those two extras usually add quite a bit to the cost.

Personally ... I happened to find a great deal on a basically new V3 with EVF and grip, and ended up selling my V2. Even though the J5 has the best sensor, I don't want one because of its handling limitations.

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Yes - this is an excellent response and I agree with all these points.

I’d characterize the cameras as follows:

• J5 good points - Best image quality in the N1 system. Excellent rear screen - articulated and touch sensitive. Nice user interface. Small and light. Quick access to many options on touch screen that eliminates menu diving.
• J5 not so good points - lack of EVF. Too small for some users. Can’t be used with the biggest Nikon AF-S lenses. Slow write speed with raw files and burst mode. Uses micro SD cards.
• V1 good points - built in EVF. Uses same large capacity EN-EL15 battery as my D7200 cameras. Sleek no-frills body feels very solid. Works with my AF-S 200-500.
• V1 not so good points - user interface requires lots of menu diving. On/off switch harder to use than lever. Control wheel easy to move accidentally off preferred setting. Can’t turn off image review after taking photo. Hard to hold with long lens without aftermarket grip. Fixed position non touch LCD.
• V2 good points - built in EVF. Build in flash plus hot shoe for either N1 external flash. Built in grip. User interface with dials. Works with my AF-S 200-500.
• V2 not so good points - Fixed position non touch LCD. Some options still require menu diving.
• V3 good points - EVF. Articulated rear touch screen. Quick access to many options on touch screen that eliminates menu diving. Good feel to optional grip. Three user settable function buttons. Can be set up for back button focus.
• V3 not so good points - small capacity battery. Must remove grip to change battery. Uses micro SD cards. Works with my AF-S 200-500. Annoying message that EVF is attached when turned on.

I recommended the V2 based on your budget. It is a nice and capable camera in the N1 system. But if your budget allows then the V3 is a better choice IMO.

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Not asked for, but I humbly suggest the J5, which has the best sensor and processor of them all.

The J5 with a loupe on looks ugly, but it is excellent with longer lenses. Its flipable display (you can angle it upwards 180° and downwards 90°) allows it to be used when cameras with a fixed display are a pain in the ***. This is also helpful when you shoot macro and night skies.

The main issue with the J5 is the small battery and the lack of a normal EVF.

Tord S Eriksson said:

Not asked for, but I humbly suggest the J5, which has the best sensor and processor of them all.

The J5 with a loupe on looks ugly, but it is excellent with longer lenses. Its flipable display (you can angle it upwards 180° and downwards 90°) allows it to be used when cameras with a fixed display are a pain in the ***. This is also helpful when you shoot macro and night skies.

The main issue with the J5 is the small battery and the lack of a normal EVF.

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I have read in various dpreview forum threads that the J5 has a "small buffer size". How does it affect continuous shooting? My current camera is a 10+ year old Panasonic Lumix TZ60/ZS40 superzoom compact camera, where 5 fps is the maximum speed that has autofocus on every shot. The people who are concerned about the J5's "small buffer size" ... are they comparing it against higher end cameras, or is the "small buffer size" going to be an impediment even for someone like me who comes from lower end cameras?

Frames per second and buffer size are two different things. Buffer size refers to how many shots you can continuously take before the camera slows or temporarily stops recording while it processes them. Frames per second can determine how fast or slow the buffer fills and is very dependent on camera model.

zm123 said:

Tord S Eriksson said:

Not asked for, but I humbly suggest the J5, which has the best sensor and processor of them all.

The J5 with a loupe on looks ugly, but it is excellent with longer lenses. Its flipable display (you can angle it upwards 180° and downwards 90°) allows it to be used when cameras with a fixed display are a pain in the ***. This is also helpful when you shoot macro and night skies.

The main issue with the J5 is the small battery and the lack of a normal EVF.

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I have read in various dpreview forum threads that the J5 has a "small buffer size". How does it affect continuous shooting? My current camera is a 10+ year old Panasonic Lumix TZ60/ZS40 superzoom compact camera, where 5 fps is the maximum speed that has autofocus on every shot. The people who are concerned about the J5's "small buffer size" ... are they comparing it against higher end cameras, or is the "small buffer size" going to be an impediment even for someone like me who comes from lower end cameras?

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As I rarely take series, I can say if the cameras you mention are better or worse in that respect, and I don't do videos.
Someone else will surely know!

And the quality of the card matters a lot if the buffers are small, if they are big, as in the D500, it matters much less. So the faster the card, the better it is!

--
tordseriksson (at) gmail.....
Owner of a handful of Nikon cameras. And a few lenses. DxO PhotoLab 8 user.
WSSA #456

20 frames at 20fps continuous autofocus. There does tend to be a bit of focus lag and a slow write to the card. You probably also have to consider that the 18-300 which is not the fastest motor.

zm123 said:

I have read in various dpreview forum threads that the J5 has a "small buffer size". How does it affect continuous shooting? My current camera is a 10+ year old Panasonic Lumix TZ60/ZS40 superzoom compact camera, where 5 fps is the maximum speed that has autofocus on every shot.

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I don't have a J5, but the documentation says the buffer holds a maximum of 20 shots at frame rates of 10, 20, 30, or 60 fps. Then you will have to wait while files are being written to the card. For comparison, the V3 buffer holds 40 files. At the slowest frame rate (5 fps), you will get more images than the buffer nominally holds because the first ones will have already been written to the card when the last ones are captured.

I don't get continuous autofocus at any burst speed with my V3, not even the slowest one.

I have this lens & can confirm it works well with the J5. Using it handheld is no problem as both hands can be used to grip it,using my thumb to activate the shutter touchscreen. It's a good lens to use because of the wide angle short focal length .I have missed shots using other lenses with a narrower range.

J5 spare batteries are not easy to get & beware of poor ones on eBay, advertised as the real thing.I would suggest the J4 which has a fixed touchscreen and much better battery availability. Expro have new J4 batteries available but not J5.

Roys said:

I have this lens & can confirm it works well with the J5. Using it handheld is no problem as both hands can be used to grip it,using my thumb to activate the shutter touchscreen. It's a good lens to use because of the wide angle short focal length .I have missed shots using other lenses with a narrower range.

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Thank you for the information and photos! The photos are very helpful for visualizing the size of the proposed camera setup. I now have some questions ...

• What do you mostly photograph using your J5? I assume that there's a good reason for using a lens that can reach 810mm focal length equivalent.
• What focus modes do you use on your J5 + FT-1 + 18-300mm lens? AF-S? AF-C? Manual focus?
• Do you feel limited by the unchangeable center autofocus point?
• Is it easy to make small manual focus adjustments to slightly tweak the focus distance set by the autofocus?

Roys said:

J5 spare batteries are not easy to get & beware of poor ones on eBay, advertised as the real thing.I would suggest the J4 which has a fixed touchscreen and much better battery availability. Expro have new J4 batteries available but not J5.

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Roys said:

I have this lens & can confirm it works well with the J5. Using it handheld is no problem as both hands can be used to grip it,using my thumb to activate the shutter touchscreen. It's a good lens to use because of the wide angle short focal length .I have missed shots using other lenses with a narrower range.

J5 spare batteries are not easy to get & beware of poor ones on eBay, advertised as the real thing.I would suggest the J4 which has a fixed touchscreen and much better battery availability. Expro have new J4 batteries available but not J5.

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Thanks for posting these actual shots of the 18-300 on the J5. But could you also show the lens at 300mm? And it would be interesting to see photos of you holding the J5 with the 18-300 at 300mm. I limit hand holding a J5 to lenses no longer than the 85/3.5 macro as I can’t stabilize the setup nor accurately compose on the rear screen without a viewfinder.

Here’s a J5 with the native 18.5/1.8 with an aftermarket lens hood for comparison to the 18-300 set to 18mm.


J5 with native 18.5/1.8 lens.

I agree about the issues with getting good batteries for the J5. I have more bad ones than good ones and worry about their long term availability.

--
You can see a lot just by looking.
And you can learn a lot by reading the manual.
WSSA #449

I find the J5 to be a fun versatile camera and always provides good pictures when using other devices would be a lot more serious.

I have found the J5 & long lens to be ideal in crowd situations. Holding it above my head tilt screen down & continuous shooting mode..

Ken Rockwells review on this lens is a good read. He praises the vr & states manual focus is no good at the wide end, due to the amount of turning needed on the manual focus ring.

I generally find af mode irrelevant unless it's motorsports but use af-c,

Fixed focus point is point the camera at the subject,half press on the shutter & recompose

Handheld pics from today - no success with light aircraft overhead due to the lack of a viewfinder!


300mm


128mm


38mm focal length the crows perch


300mm focal length, Crow taking flight uncropped



Favourite pic of today big crop from 35mm focal length edited. Blackbird

The lens extends a further 95mm however due to the lightweight construction feels no different to when it's retracted.. Feels a lot better than the 10-100mm non pd Nikon 1 which I always found to be a bit odd.

I do have homemade grips - modified ergo bahco file handles but have tried this setup today without any grips & it was ok. Best technique is to brace oneself against something or bend elbows against stomach & waist shoot .

Further info on the grips available in my gallery for anyone interested.

Roys said:

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I noticed that your lens is a Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm f/3.5–6.3G rather than the Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm f/3.5–5.6G lens that I mentioned in the first post of this forum thread. But that's okay. I'm interested in the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G too, since it is smaller, cheaper, and lighter than the 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G.