As I mentioned in another thread, I was recently looking to replace my point and shoot with something a bit more up to date. That then progressed onto something with manual controls, which ended up progressing to a Nikon 1 - mirrorless compact system camera. I hadn't intended to buy one of these type systems, but it was such a good deal for the twin lens kit I couldn't resist. I practically paid for the lenses and got the body free.

Anyway today is the first time I've had to try it out, took the dog to the park and took a few snaps. It fitted in my pocket, which is the whole purpose of this purchase - for somethig portable. It isn't the top of the range one, it was just good value for the price I paid - I couldn't have got a better one for that amount of money, and I wasn't after replacing my main SLR, as a mirrorless system really couldn't do that for me! I didn't want to spend a fortune on what is essentially a portable snapper for when I don't want to lug an SLR around.

So here's a few shots I took, fairly simple to use, though not as ergonomic as the D300 (obviously!) They aren't the best in the world, but I think it has the potential to be a nice little thing

Smile by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Piggy by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Citrus Fresh by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Wait.... by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Muddy Boy by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Berry Bush by dreamzscape, on Flickr

Oh Hai by dreamzscape, on Flickr

They look good and sharp. Nice colours, and composition.

looks a good bit of kit! long depth of field - might be nice to add fixed focal length fast lens like a 50mm f1.8 maybe, the bokeh and usability during the winter opens up a whole load more possibilities and depth of field effects. They usually are super sharp too.

Nice photos though

It has it's own set of lenses which are smaller than the standard Nikkor lenses (though you can buy some adapter to let you use your normal Nikkor lenses), the pancake 10mm lens is supposed to be good, but I really want the 18.5mm 1.8 that's just come out!! I don't want to spend lots on this system though, so going to wait a while and if I find a good priced lens then maybe buy it

ah cool, i just thought full on dslr, so even better accolade for your camera then, its a very dslr look to the pics

It's this (see picture). They're not technically an SLR, though they do have interchangable lenses. They're called 'compact system cameras' and are basically like the next one up from compacts and bridge cameras. They have a bigger sensor and generally are better performers. All down to the individual camera though. This one has a smaller sensor than most of the other CSC systems (but bigger than all bridge cameras), however it has better image quality than many of the ones with bigger sensors for the same price (known as four-thirds sensors). Sony have now put a DSLR sized sensor in one of theirs it seems (though still not as big as a full frame sesnor which you get in the top end SLRS). so yeah, it does pretty well for what it is super handy - the body is the same size as come of the coolpix point and shoots, so the only extra size is the lens. They have made special retractable lenses for it though, so it takes up a little room as possible. Clever

Very nice!

Sharp, good saturation and great composition and feel. I think the Nikon 1 is a cracking bit of kit and they make superb day to day cameras, as against lugging out the SLR! I'd also recommend a fast prime. I've gone back to film for a while and love my old Contax 50mm 1.8 T* Zeiss lens. Makes you have to think about composition!

Nice pics.

I've toyed with these CSC's and I love the concept (small, light, interchangeable lenses, etc.) but it's the DoF (or lack of control over) that gets me and the reason I'm selling up (Olympus Pen E-P3).

I could spend more on f1.8 lenses, but there are other issues that niggle me as well. Apart from the extra cost of several decent lenses (and no decent zooms as a walkabout lens).

I'm going to try an EOS-M when I can get hold of one (as I can use all my pro-lenses with the adapter) and it has the same sensor as the 60D so should be pretty good quality wise. On paper, it seems like a win-win situation for me.

The secret with CSC's and decent DoF seems to be get close to the subject and get the subject away from the background. Use lighting to separate the subject from the background further and then you are on to a wining system...

Bulgaria - that's so random, I have a contax 167MT that is my dads but I've sort of stolen, along with a load of zeiss lenses! I bought a canon digital body to put them on (with an adapter) bit of a pain with them being manual focus but it's nice to be able to use them without feeling like I'm wasting film!

KB - as I said I'm certainly not trying to replace my SLR, and I have that for when I want to go out talking 'proper' pictures. I don't expect this to perform in the same way as its a different beast! I simply wanted a smaller portable camera with manual control that I can just pop in my pocket for a change lol!

If I want nice dof or macro shots I have my D300 and 105mm macro

My compact is an old ixus 50, so this is in a completely different league!

Agreed, better than a compact - in some respects.

But I can't live without shallow DoF. It's too much a part if me. I dream about a 50mm f1.2....

Depends what you want, to me that's needed for a very specific purpose, mainly portraits and macro. I thought of getting a smaller camera whilst walking round Prague with my compact (as I'd already done it with my SLR) and I just wanted to be able to get good quality photos whilst wandering about. There was no call for a shallow dof, they were urban landscapes.

There is dof with the J1, even with this lens which isn't overly wide, but there is next to none with a compact. I have managed to get some dof even with the random snaps I've made, but at the end if the day, if I was out to take portraits I wouldn't be taking a little entry level snapper with me!

I have another photo of the red bush, just focused on one branch and the rest is bokeh, but I didn't put it in Flickr so I can't show you lol

I complimented my DSLR with a Canon G10, when I first got it I wasn't too impressed, however a year or two on I took it to tenerife for a weeks holiday and left the DSLR at home, I am now more than happy with the images I got from it.

I like your images, very clear and with good DOF, does this compact suffer from shutter lag? They are also taken in good light, have you tried low light high ISO, just curious as I like the concept of interchangeable lenses on a "pocket" type camera.

Check out some of the reviews. It only has an electronic shutter, from what I read lag isn't bad, I've literally only used it today so I need to get used to it before I can decide what is good and bad. If you want one as a secondary camera it's probably best to pick a price and compare them a (properly) to see what is best for your money.

Yeah I've tried some high iso, it's not that bad at all, you get a useable image, though obviously SLRs with larger pixels have a big advantage there, however it's miles better than my little compact bless it. If that's particularly what you were after then again you have to look into all the different ones on the market. This one isn't the best one for high ISO.

Very nice pics Loz

Well done

Very nice pics Loz

Well done

Agreed.

Looks a nice bit of kit and does what you want with aplomb

Loz, thats way beyond random!

Sounds like i've a set up like you and your dad! I've 3 Contax bodies, 139, 159MM and a 167MT, plus a suite of Zeiss T* lenses. I come back to my 159 every time as it was my first decent SLR and everything falls to hand intuitively. The 167 is an absolute gem of a camera, especially with the added battery pack/grip (first camera to have auto bracketing). This was always my choice for motor sports. I like using them as It makes you really think about what you are about to do before you press the shutter, you get to a point where you know if you've got the image you want or not! I do nearly all of my B&W this way these days, I used to dev & print too, but not done that for a while

Yeah my dad has a yashica fr1, which he prefers, probably because he had that longer and got used to it. I pinched the contax because its a bit more up my alley what with it auto winding on and stuff haha! I still have a film in it from ages ago that I need to finish. I have all the stuff to develop and print, only done black and white so far in the dark room but think me and the bf might invest in colour chems too.

I also have a Nikon F80 as I wanted a film camera that would auto focus etc!

Edited 18 November, 201213 yr by Loz

Just seen your post to sell your Olympus KB, making me realise just what an awesome deal this was, especially with two lenses, all brand new!

I had a long play with the Nikon (and other CSC's) at Focus this year as I was looking to buy one for many of the same reasons as you.

The Olympus E-P3 has a larger sensor than your Nikon with better results at higher resolution and ISO. It also has a number of features not on the Nikon. Although both are CSC's, they are in different leagues.

Unfortunately the Olympus didn't live up to my expectations and needs once I'd got one to use in the real world and the Nikon fell very short of my needs even in the exhibition hall. I wasn't prepared to spend loads more on lenses just in case it still didn't live up to my needs.

I am not going to deny that the Nikon is a lovely little camera (it was one of the first CSC's that I tried out and was at the top of my list until I played with one) that will do a better job than a compact (although placing its images side by side with the Olympus XZ-1 might show that a f1.8 lens on a compact can yield more DoF control on small sensors).

The Canon G1 X with it's APS-C sensor still fell short as the lens is only f2.8 (at the wide end) - f5.8 (telephoto). I shoot almost everything at f4 which on a M4/3rds sensor is f2 and on the Canon APS-C somewhere between the two. Lenses on either system are either prime (fixed focal length) with f2 or f1.8 or zoom lenses with f3.5 at best (wide) and f5 (telephoto).

The small sensor in the Nikon just made the situation even worse for me.

I think that the new Sony RX-1 is almost perfect for me. Full frame, f2 aperture, small, light - it's just expensive (c.£2600) and a fixed lens. Had it been an interchangeable lens with more primes or zooms to come, I'd have been a lot more interested and might even have been able to ignore the price tag for the 'perfect' camera....

Once the EOS-M hits our local shops, I'll check that out as it should work out nicely with my Canon lenses (I accept that carrying large DSLR lenses negates much of the reason to buy a CSC - but at a wedding I already have my 'L' lenses and main body, the EOS-M would be lighter to carry as a second body (with another DSLR in the car) and could be used with decent glass or as a small, unobtrusive compact (with a decent 60D sensor) and full HD video with a pancake lens).

Horses for courses.

For the price though the Olympus is not worth that much extra. The sensor size thing is a bit of a dead argument, it might make it yield a little more dof, but I can't see it being significantly more, and the Nikon sensor outperforms the Olympus's sensor for image quality, dynamic range, colour depth - everything except ISO, but that will be due to sensor size.

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Cameras/Compare-Camera-Sensors/Compare-cameras-side-by-side/(appareil1)/744%7C0/(brand)/Nikon/(appareil2)/724%7C0/(brand2)/Olympus

They 'tie' on snapsort, but even they have shown that the Nikon's sensor is better for image quality

http://snapsort.com/...vs-Olympus-E-P3

I checked all this out before I bought the Nikon, there was another olympus at a smilar price, around the £300 mark, but the nikon gave better IQ. I should point out I was ONLY interested in IQ, because to me what else do I need from a camera? HDR? Not really, for the rare occasion I might want it I can do it myself and have more control over it. 3D photos? No, I can't view them so no point. The little trinkets weren't of interest, the only thing that might interest me is the better ISO, but I'm not going to sacrifice everything else and pay more money just for that when I have an SLR that outperforms both of those anyway lol. The Nikon was by far the best image quality for that price. Possibly better than some more expensive ones too! I wanted a decent picture from a 'second' camera, so this is the one I picked

Edited 18 November, 201213 yr by Loz

Definitely go for the colour stuff if you can, just remember its far more temp sensitive than B&W and you'll be fine

With regards to your dad, my mate had an FR1 & 2, that's what got me into Yashica/Contax. Couldn't afford new cameras when I started, so I had a SH Yashica FXD to start with, followed by an FX103. Still have them although the meters are now a bit hit and miss! Hence when money was a bit more available i bought the 159 & 139 and ultimately 167MT.

I'm not gonna suggest I'm a camera collector, but I've still got my dads OM10s and an old EOS650 my mate gave to me when he went digital!

I'm a bit like you and don't want my "still" cameras to do 3D or movies etc. I just want them to produce the best images possible with the least number of vices! If I'm being honest the one camera I really miss in my Mamiya 645. You should have seen the transparencies I could get from it!

I'm sure I'll get round to the colour thing eventually lol. It is quite a frustrating thing to do sometimes, as I use the outhouse as a darkroom, so I have to struggle to get it lightproof and then if it's winter I need a heater etc, so I often put myself off doing it :(

The J1 does HD video but I'm yet to actually try it. I suppose it is nice to have the function but I don't think I'll make a lot of use out of it. I will make a concerted effort to use it though lol

Lol, Yep my darkroom is in the attic and not really light proof! I have two options.... winter evenings freeze myself to death, but the light leaks are negligible or summer evenings, warm but battling light contamination!

Keep us posted on how you get on with the J, though i'm sure that the by the looks of your images you are on to a winner

I complimented my DSLR with a Canon G10, when I first got it I wasn't too impressed, however a year or two on I took it to tenerife for a weeks holiday and left the DSLR at home, I am now more than happy with the images I got from it.

on a "pocket" type camera.

Since my daughter has nicked my EOS 20D for her degree, I have been using a G12 for 18 months. I've been really impressed with it as a compact camera.

Depth of field could be better, in fact everything 'could' be better, but as an overall package it is great. It just about fits in a pocket. You can control just about everything you want to, and for my work I can just about hand hold at 3200iso in the dark and get acceptable results for my clients needs. I can turn off all the lights on the front so it is discrete!!

Back to OP. The Nikon 1 series looks like a great piece of kit for what you want it for.

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i do not want your camera!! i want your dog loz :love:

Hahahaha!! He's a cutie