Nikon joined the competition in the mirrorless compact market a little over a year ago, choosing its own way. It seems to me that the company decided to create a technique for the most common “camera customer” in the world – the amateur photographers who are not very knowledgeable in photography but still want to get good results. This approach was formulated by George Eastman back in 1888 in the phrase “You press the button, we do the rest”.
A year later, an updated model for the mass user, the Nikon 1 J2, entered the market. Let’s try to understand the capabilities of the camera, how convenient for the amateur photographer is the whole complex, which also includes interchangeable optics and software.
It was easy enough to put myself in the shoes of the target audience of such photographic equipment, as I had no previous experience with Nikon compact and mirrorless models. Besides, the imminent deadline of the magazine was approaching, so there was not much time to get acquainted with the camera.
Sensor – CMOS, 10.1 million pixels, 13,2×8,8 mm,
The lens is interchangeable, lens mount Nikon 1,
Image stabilization – Nikon lens with focal lengths longer than 100 mm,
Dust-proof – antidust glass between the lens and sensor,
Display: non-tiltable, resolution 921 thousand. The camera is designed for amateurs who want to move to a new level of image quality, but at the same time have a very compact device,
Focus: phase-contrast hybrid system, 135 points. Modes: auto, spot, tracking,
Shutter speed ranges of 30-1/16,000s, long handheld, flash sync up to 1/60s,
Shooting modes – automatic shooting, advanced mode with a choice of 7 presets, the intelligent mode picture selection,
Spot metering, matrix metering, center-weighted, spot metering, ±3 EV compensation,
Flash – built-in flash, GN 5, correction ± 3 EV,
Sensitivity – ISO Auto 100-3200 with possible limitation,ISO 100-6400,
Picture formats – RAW, RAW+JPG, JPG, JPG panorama,
SD Secure Digital , SDHC, SDXC memory cards,
Continuous shooting – single shot, continuous up to 10 fps, continuous up to 60 fps, self-timer with delay, remote shutter, interval shooting
Full HD video recording with auto focus, 640×240 pixels high-speed video,
Interfaces are miniUSB B , miniHDMI, wireless remote control,
Power – EN-EL 20 rechargeable battery, 7.2V, 1020mAh,
Dimensions – 106×61×30 mm body ,
Weight 280 g equipped without lens ,
Approximate price – 18,490 Dollars. with a 10-30 mm lens
System features and ergonomics
So, we have the camera itself, a rich dark orange color, very attractive appearance, and three interchangeable lenses designed specifically for this system. The FT1 adapter lets you attach Nikon’s large selection of traditional D-Series interchangeable optics to your camera if necessary.
Ranges in 6 colors for camera body and lenses. The plastic of the front panel makes you feel solid and reliable. The body is largely devoid of protruding parts – which will be handy when carrying the camera in pockets, handbags, children’s backpacks. The possibility of spontaneous activation of the camera when carrying it is excluded.
Camera zoom lenses have two positions: shipping and working. In the first position the optics are compactly folded down and protected against mechanical influences. Cue system informs beginners how and when to move the lens to the working position.
The very high-quality liquid crystal display gives the user a good detail image that matches the result of the photograph. No artifacts, plumes behind moving objects, unnatural saturated colors.
The controls on the back panel are tightly placed, which might be a problem for people with big fingers. Mode dial is locked very securely and does not rotate at an accidental touch. Just above the selector is the all-important F button that controls many of the advanced features of the camera, but more on that later.
Small, built-in flash unit is triggered by a mechanical lever. It can be used only in fully automatic or so called creative extended mode, but you still have to activate it manually, assessing the need. Only when taking a night portrait, the system prompts the user to do so. This seems to me to be a bit of a departure from the principle of easy operation.
However, the high sensitivity shooting capability allows you to avoid using the flash during the day or indoors in reasonably good light. As an amateur photographer I did not set the sensitivity limit and in all situations I used the whole range up to 3200 ISO with all noise reduction modes on, trusting the automatic.
The result is good, with the best detail quality at 100 ISO, which is natural. When you increase the sensitivity from 200 to 1600 ISO, the result is almost the same. At 3200 ISO and higher the picture quality doesn’t always retain details, which is also natural. I assume if the owner decides to print photos 10×15 cm or slightly larger, he will not notice any difference in the photo print, the quality will be virtually indistinguishable.
The MENU button and the features of the mode controls
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a detailed manual on how to use the camera so I had to figure it out on my own by using my intuition.
Even though this camera is primarily intended for photography amateurs who don’t have a serious understanding of photography techniques, it has a great variety of modes and options. For example, advanced ones like the full manual M mode with spot metering. Many of the different “magic” settings are behind the MENU button and the small F button.
If you can’t get enough of the fully automatic modes, it’s these buttons that will give you the freedom of choice and the ability to fully control the camera, and that will be another level of Nikon J2 use.
Let’s return to automatic modes. I was very pleased with the smart picture mode that just takes a series of pictures with the camera silently selecting or assembling the desired result from the footage. No matter how hard I tried, the deliberate jerking of the camera during exposure did not blur the picture. In other auto modes, this kind of cruelty made the frame appear blurry.
I am sure this smart mode will let you get a sharp picture even if you take it out the window of a jeep racing through an off-road terrain… Though, fully automatic photography leaves the photographer with minimum possibilities to interfere in the result – it is good for simple “memory snapshots”.
I found the advanced shooting mode to be the most interesting, because you can prompt the camera for the type of scene night, portrait, panorama and the specifics of lighting. So, absolutely anyone, even if they do not have any skills with photographic equipment, can get sharp high-quality photos when shooting a variety of scenes.
Test shooting with interchangeable optics
The standard lens is a Nikkor 11-27.5 mm/3.5-4.5
The simplest subject is a standard, typical, amateur photographic landscape. The sunset setting brings out the gold of the sculptures, making them stand out against the fall evening sky. As expected, the picture quality is flawless in fully automatic mode, no need to change settings. When the task became more complicated – there was a bright glare from the sun in the frame and therefore a significant difference in contrast – I used the D-lighting mode to extend the dynamic range.
Details in the shadows and in the light are not lost, the color and saturation of the sky are preserved. Due to the small geometric size of the sensor, the depth of field in the landscape is quite large, we can say from the foreground to infinity, when using a wide-angle lens. When shooting a vertical panorama “on the fly” without a tripod, I didn’t change the settings and as a result, on the first try I got a correctly stitched shot, with the sky and details in the shadows.
After changing the lens to another tripod, the long focal length Nikkor 10-100 VR, let’s try shooting portraits, details and movement.
Nikkor long-focus lenses with focal lengths from 30 mm to 100 mm are equipped with the proprietary Vibration Reduction System. The autofocus lens continuously adjusts shutter speed, aperture and sensitivity to keep the subject sharp, even at high magnification. It helps when you’re shooting unprepared and you can see an interesting scene out of the corner of your eye, but you don’t have time to judge, so you have to rely on the camera automation.
Let’s try a challenging shooting mode with up to 60 frames per second that has never been possible with interchangeable lens cameras before. Kart racers were flying by me on the track, confidently entering the turn… Of course, it takes some finesse. I pre-focused on the car’s path, then quickly moved the camera as if following the driver.
The 60 frame rate was very fast. We can’t shoot indefinitely: only 12 frames in a burst are available, then a few seconds of recording and the athlete goes into the next lap. Slow down the burst speed with the MENU button to 30 fps and force a low sensitivity. The result is the traditional “walk-on” shot, with only the face in the sharpness area and all the other details blurred and emphasizing the swiftness of the movement. Fast and accurate autofocus even for reportage photography.
White balance for field shooting was, as always with Nikon products, a bit cold, but accurate, even when shot under mixed lighting or with modern light sources.
When shooting indoors under incandescent light and with a flash, you can trust the automation, but with skill you can take control in your own hands. The long focal-length lens helps in shooting a portrait, the possibility of manual correction of the general exposure and flash light power helps to keep the light pattern, delicately highlighting the face.
It is theoretically possible to put on the camera “SLR” lenses Nikon using the adapter FT1. Unfortunately, using such a system imposes many restrictions on the use of automatic modes, on the accuracy and quickness of focusing.
Conclusions
Nikon 1 J2 camera allows you to make high-quality images in many shooting situations without any special knowledge or skills. Small size and the ability to buy a “double kit” a camera and two lenses for not much money will obviously attract the attention of those who choose their first mirrorless.
A large number of manual settings gives ample room for creativity to the inquisitive amateur photographer who wants to take the first steps in creative photography. The camera also shoots in RAW format.
Tested with pictures
1. Vertical panorama, collected directly in camera. Nikkor 11-27.5, AutoISO 1400, 1/250s, f/3.5.
2. Landscape with bright and dark details. Dynamic range expansion mode is on.
Nikkor 10-100 VR lens, AutoISO 180, 1/250 s, f/4.5.
3. Wireframe shot with shutter speed of 30 fps.
Nikkor 30-110 VR lens, AutoISO 200, 1/200 s, f/3.8.
4. Snapshot reportage with multiple selection mode.
Nikkor 30-110 VR lens, AutoISO 450, 1/100 s, f/5.6.
5. In creative auto mode, the camera sets the sensitivity to a higher value for reportage photography.
Nikkor 11-27,5 lens, AutoISO 2500, 1/60 s, f/4,5.
6. Fully automatic mode when shooting with a wide angle lens in simple conditions. Nikkor 11-27.5 lens, AutoISO 280, 1/250 s, f/4.2.
7. Long focal length lens helps to capture details of an event from afar.
Creative auto mode, Nikkor 10-100 VR lens, AutoISO 720, 1/125 s, f/5.6.
8. Mixed color balance from different color sources required correcting a RAW file in a graphics editor.
Creative Auto mode, exposure compensation +1 EV, built-in flash compensation -1 EV. Nikkor 30-110 VR lens, AutoISO 1100, 1/60 s, f/3.8, light background correction mode.
Can someone who has used the Nikon 1 J2 mirrorless camera share their experience? I’m particularly interested to know if the double kit option is worth considering for beginners. Any tips or feedback would be greatly appreciated!