Nikon 1 V2 Review Part 2 Overview

System   With it's oddly named  1 series of cameras, Nikon created a completely new camera/lens/accessory System.  The arrival of a totally new system is an uncommon event in the history of photography. The 35mm film formatbegan 100 years ago. This has been adapted to use digital sensors in recent times but modern full frame DSLRs still use the same lens mount and back focus distance as earlier film camera models.  Popular APS-C DSLRs use the same lens mount as their full frame brethren. Once a manufacturer starts rolling out lenses and accessories in significant numbers the opportunity for change is lost.

The Mirrorless invasion  The arrival of mirrorless interchangeable lens technology has forced several manufactureres to commit to a completely new lens mount and imaging system.  First up were Panasonic and Olympus with the Micro Four Thirds system. These were followed by Samsung NX, Sony NEX, Fuji X and Canon EOS M each using the larger APS-C sensor. Then came Pentax with the diminutive  Q system which began with a 1/2.3" sensor but recently changed to a 1/1.7" sensor.

Nikon CX 1" sensor  It has seemed to me for several years that the sweet spot for sensor size in a Mirrorless ILC is Micro 4/3.  This has a sensor diagonal of 21.6mm. Being mirrorless, the bodies are decently compact but large enough to provide good ergonomics. The sensor is small enough to permit the design of really compact lenses of high quality. But Nikon went with the even smaller 1" or CX size which has a diagonal of 15.9mm and an area about half that of M4/3. Making a decision about sensor size is always going to be a bet on the future. It seems to me the aim is to go small enough to allow the creation of a truly compact system, but large enough to ensure good enough image quality for the target user group. Why did the Nikon guys [they are all guys] decide on the CX sensor size ?

I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Nikon product development meetings when this decision was being made. Alas, I was not so any thoughts of mine are pure speculation.

Features The Nikon 1 V2 has a curious mixture of features and capabilities.  Some of these make it one of the most high powered cameras in existence. The V2 can shoot still RAW photos at 15 frames per second for 47 shots before the frame rate slows, with continuous autofocus on each frame. On my tests with photos of moving motor vehicles in varied conditions the camera with 10-100mm f4-5.6 lens gets about 60% of frames sharply in focus at that rate. The EVF refresh rate is the best I have ever seen on a camera, delivering the appearance of continuous streaming video even with still photos. You cannot find better high speed frame rates than these on any other camera at any price.

Yet the same camera does not have a manual focus ring on any of it's zoom lenses and has one on only on one prime lens at the time of writing. The procedure for implementing manual focus is so tedious and the process so imprecise, I doubt many owners would ever use it.  There is no direct access to ISO adjustment. But there is direct access to several cute, fun features such as Motion Snapshot Mode and Best Moment Capture Mode.

User I bought the camera with 10-100mm lens to  see if it would be suitable for photographing grandchildren's sports. My wife who enjoys bird watching grabs it for birds, in flight or otherwise. These are fairly specialised photographic subjects. It would be quite suitable for general and family photography. However, I don't see it as being more suitable for general photography than the many competing mirrorless or entry level DSLR's at a similar price point, all of which have better image quality,  unless small size is the primary criterion for purchase.