Overview
Nikon's new compact system cameras, or, to use its parlance, ACIL cameras, were finally unveiled after months of speculation and internet rumours.
Releasing not one, but two cameras onto the market, the J1 is the Nikon V1's smaller brother featuring a smaller body design. It loses the electronic viewfinder but does gain a built-in flash.
Other than the aesthetics of the camera, the J1's interior specifications are almost identical to the V1. They both use the new CX format sensor, EXPEED 3 processor and Nikon 1 mount.
The J1 is obviously aimed squarely at the beginner end of the market, and is available in a variety of colours including a candyfloss pink.
We spent some time with a pre-production J1 to see how it works, how it feels and what you can expect from the camera when the final version is available to buy.
Both of the new cameras, Nikon claim, have been designed from the ground up to feature a completely new design and sensor format. Keen to distance the cameras from other compact systems on the market, Nikon is calling this an "advanced camera with interchangeable lens".
Build quality and handling
The J1 is one of the smallest compact system cameras on the market, reminiscent of the size of the recently launched Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini.
The camera has clearly been designed with sleekness and portability in mind. While it's unlikely to be jeans pocketable, with the 10mm pancake lens attached, it's slim enough to fit into a jacket pocket.
Though it is small, the J1's finish and weight do give it an air of quality, and you certainly don't get the impression that you're using a toy, despite its diminutive size.
One of the benefits of opting for the J1 over the V1 is that you get an inbuilt flash. It certainly is useful to have a flash, and we can see that families looking to frequently shoot in low-light conditions will be attracted by this.
It is, however, not the most aesthetically pleasing part of the J1, sticking out an awkward angle in order to avoid the lens. It does also appear a little flimsy, as if a hard knock may damage or even completely destroy it, this is something we'll be keen to look at further in the full test.
Performance
Most of the features of the V1 can also be found on board the J1.
As the camera is aimed mostly at beginners, you won't find controls such as aperture or shutter priority on the main control wheel. This may be a little offputting to DSLR users at home with having these controls quickly available, but it does help to reduce the clutter on the rear of the camera.
Aperture priority and other exposure modes are available through a sub menu, and once you locate these, adjusting the aperture and so on is fairly simple. Adjustments can be made via the zoom switch at the top right of the camera, which again is a little unusual if you're used to a DSLR.
Nikon claims that both the cameras in the 1 range are the fastest cameras in the world, boasting a super high-speed AF system which instantly switches between Phase-Detection AF and Contrast Detect AF. During our initial tests we found that the camera could lock onto a subject quickly and easily.
Smart Photo Selector makes use of the new EXPEED 3 processing system that boasts speeds quicker than the high-end Nikon D3x DSLR. The mode starts to shoot photos while the shutter release is half pressed, continuing to shoot even after it is fully released. The camera takes 20 photos and then automatically selects the best five based on composition, red-eye and more for you to choose from. We can see this mode appealing to parents keen to capture a fast-moving child.
Sample images
Here are some of the images we've shot with the new Nikon J1 during our testing.
Although smaller than APS-C sized, the J1's sensor is large enough to allow depth of field to be restricted when shooting at f/2.8
Even in fairly low and very flat light the J1's AF system usually gets the subject sharp quickly
Despite the bright sky using matrix metering has resulted in a natural looking image with only slight underexposure of the foreground here
The bright sky is nicely balanced by the flash output for this low angle shot
There's little noise visible in this ISO 800 image
Using a sensitivity setting of ISO 3200 has made this image a little on the soft side, and although chroma noise is visible, it's not a major problem
There's plenty of detail in this ISO 400 shot taken with the 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 VR kit lens mounted, but chromatic aberration is visible along some backlit edges
The J1's AF system can latch onto and track fast moving subjects
When you don't want to use flash the maximum aperture of the 10mm f/2.8 lens comes in handy
Verdict
As we were using a pre-production sample of the J1, we were unable to capture any of our own photos with it. However, Nikon provided sample images from the V1 for us to look at. Given that the sensor and basic specifications are the same, we can expect very similar image quality from the two models, and what we've seen so far is promising.
We're looking forward to carrying out a full review, but the images provided by Nikon appears to show that the camera copes well in low light and that a pleasing depth of field effects can be achieved.
The new 1 range is a long awaited and intriguing prospect from Nikon. The J1 is cheaper and aimed even more squarely at beginner and family photographers than the V1 and as such it will be interesting to see how the camera performs in terms of sales.
Convincing the consumer who is used to spending £200 or less on a compact camera that they need to upgrade to a £550 "ACIL" could prove tricky.
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