After 60 days: Impressions of the Nikon 1 V3

My Perspective

This is a fabulous time to be a photographer. There have never been better tools to realize your vision. There have never been better opportunities to share it with the world. In keeping with that my early impression of the N 1 V3 is that it is a significant advancement and has become my go to – everyday camera and an important tool in my photo impressionism projects.

if its true that the best camera is the one in your hand, it may be time to think about switching hands.

almost alien, a jelly fish pulses through the tank at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. A  jelly fish pulses through the tank at Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto. At 2500 ISO there was some noise. But nothing that couldn’t be fixed post production. © Stephen D’Agostino

To put my viewpoint in perspective I have been a Nikon DSLR guy since the beginning (with a short Fujifilm S Pro dalliance). Starting with a F2 film camera I liked the ability to make manual decisions but grew to love the freedom autofocus and auto-exposure provided when time was of the essence. Big bright lenses were a staple in my bag which of course rivaled a small child in weight. I bought a D4 loved it and then developed sciatica and the photographic world ended. I couldn’t carry my kit.

dsc0895
Photographed with the Nikon N 1 V3. Another Jellyfish at Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto. At 4500 ISO there was some noise. But nothing that couldn’t be fixed post production. © Stephen D’Agostino

Travelling Mirrorless

The small mirrorless camera is not a new idea. The micro 2/3rds format has been with us for a while and Fujifilm, an early adopter, has produced some great mirrorless cameras. My introduction was the N1 J2 which proved to be a great travel camera (see my thoughts here).  What I longed for was a  Nikon camera to leverage my lens investment, a viewfinder to help composition on sunny days and good balance between size and holdability.  The N1 V3 doesn’t disappoint.

Right out of the box I knew I had something special. The camera is just big enough to fit in my hand. It feels well constructed. Add the grip and it feels sturdy. The controls are where a Nikon user would expect them; including the thumb wheel control dials. I added a long wrist strap from gordyscamerastraps.com.

photo Impressionistic image of a dragon boat
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. A fast shutter and viewfinder allowed this series of images to be stacked one on the other to create this impressionistic effect of a dragon boat,

I find I always have the grip attached. I think there are a couple of reasons for that. 1st it adds a secondary control dial which I seem to use a lot.  More important, the grip does just that; it gives the camera a solid feel in my hand.

The camera, two N1 lenses, batteries and the usual stuff fits nicely into Think Tanks smallest Turnstyle Sling Bag with room to spare for a phone and wallet. Portability – check.

photo impressionistic image of a dragon boat.
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. 20 images shot at 30 fps and then brought together with an opacity blend, I couldn’t have achieved this with the Nikon D4.

The viewfinder is an attachment. It goes on and comes off easy enough and provides a nice bright point of view. You can set it for  both grid lines and an artificial horizon which is a big help to me in image placement and composition. What I really like is that it adjusts image brightness in real time; meaning dark scenes are easier to compose because they appear as brighter previews based on your exposure settings.

The back mounted LCD screen is nice and bright. I like the way the LCD  articulates which allows for better composition when the subject requires an awkward point of view without feeling delicate.

 A series of images of dragon boaters brought together using an opacity blend to create a photo impressionistic effect. © Stephen D'Agostino
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. Shot at 30 fps, a series of images of dragon boaters brought together using an opacity blend and Matt Molloy’s time stacking technique to create a photo impressionistic effect. © Stephen D’Agostino

The kit 10 – 30 mm pancake lens has a really low profile and auto lens cap feature. No complaints about quality but I miss the barrel mounted “on/off” button of the other N1 lens I own. I now have to remember which lens is on the camera and what has to be done to start shooting. Not a great quality when you are in a hurry. I also miss having a filter thread. I use a variable neutral density filter a lot. As a result my 30-110 mm N 1 lens seems to be a permanent fixture.

My impression of image quality is quite good. I only see grain at the top end of the ISO range.  Nothing that can’t be addressed post production. At 160 ISO there is great colour fidelity and faithful tonal reproduction. In other words rich and true.

My Special Considerations

Photo Impressionism is my passion. For the N1 V3 to work for me  it has to give me the options I relied on the D4 for.   For the most part it does.

Photo impressionistic image of a dragon boat.
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. Shot at 30 fps, another series of images of dragon boaters brought together using an opacity blend and Matt Molloy’s time stacking technique to create a photo impressionistic effect. © Stephen D’Agostino

From a sensor size point of view  the N1 V3 has about 2 million pixels over the D4. That is important for me because I often work with “the picture in the picture”.

The camera is really fast. Blindingly fast actually. After moving to Lexar’s fastest micro sd card the camera will sustain long bursts of raw images at 30 fps without choking. Slower cards give you slower performance. This new speed allows me to time stack moving subjects in a way I can’t with the D4’s 11 fps. Based on my early experiments I think these long fast bursts are going to become an important tool for me.

A Purple Allium photographed in the round as an example of photo impressionism. © Stephen D'Agostino
Photographed with  the Nikon N 1 V3. A Purple Allium photographed in the round. On a bright day this image could not have been captured without the N1 V3’s viewfinder to place the image. © Stephen D’Agostino

At the other end of the shutter range I found that setting a low ISO (160 is the lowest) stopping down with a variable neutral density filter and shooting in shutter priority provides a good slow shutter result. For my slow shutter work I would have prefered a lower ISO. On the other hand 12,800 ISO creates some great “natural light” opportunities at night.

I was surprised to discover there is no multiple exposure mode.  I have relied on in camera multiple exposures since my earliest impressionistic  images so this was a setback. My understanding is that in camera multiple exposure is software driven so I am hoping a future release will solve this obvious failing.

A couple of complaints

No camera is perfect.  This one is no exception. Here is my list of issues I would love to see Nikon address.

multiple exposure mode – I’m not sure why a camera as feature rich as this does not support up to 10 frames in camera multiple exposure. Given the popularity of photo impressionism I would have thought that would be a given.

battery port – you have to remove the grip to change batteries. WTF!

A photo impressionistic take on the cupcake. A Prairie Girl cupcake photographed in the round as an example of photo impressionism. © Stephen D'Agostino
A Prairie Girl cupcake photographed in the round. Using the viewfinder to place the subject for this series of shots was crucial to the technique. © Stephen D’Agostino

viewfinder – I was disappointed to read that Nikon recommends you take the viewfinder off when travelling to avoid damage. In bright conditions that really slows down spontaneous shooting. As well, the viewfinder is just the mirrored LCD view. That means the viewfinder can go blank when the camera is processing or shooting can be interrupted when previews are posted. That matters when you are tracking a fast moving dragon boat. I would have preferred an always on live view option.

micro sd – I am looking at my collection of fast cf, sd and xqd cards. I really don’t want the complexity of carrying around yet another media type. Besides, a micro sd is hard to keep track of out of the camera on big shooting days.

colour space – Being able to choose your colour space is awesome. But the choice is limited to Adobe RGB and sRGB. The sensor is good enough to support Pro Photo, Nikon should too.

Conclusion

A photo impressionistic take on the cupcake. A Kelly XO Bakery cupcake photographed in the round as an example of photo impressionism. © Stephen D'Agostino
Photographed with the Nikon N 1 V3. A Kelly XO Bakery cupcake photographed in the round by taking a series of images all around it  and then merging them together using an opacity blend,. The viewfinder really helps subject placement which is crucial to this technique. © Stephen D’Agostino

At the risk of being labelled a Nikon Fan boy I have to say I love this camera. The N 1 V3 more than makes up for its few failings with speed and portability. Nikon users will immediately find the controls intuitive. It has the tool set I need for my passion absent in camera multiple exposure mode.

From my point of view; if its true that the best camera is the one in your hand, it may be time to think about switching hands.

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