PaulR said:
If like me you are having any problems with the view only coming up in the EVF instead of the rear screen, I found a tip that actually works from Earl Rich in Mont Vernon NH. Simply thoroughly clean the EVF and all will go back to the normal duel screens.
We forget sometimes the simple things, or maybe the the sensor in the EVF is super critical about light,
Either way this tip works , thanks Earl.

If they do a bundle at a super price like that which includes the 10-30 and 30-110, I'm in. Just what I'm looking for for my wife.

Nikon must have excess inventory they want to sell off. Why? That is the question. Didn't sell well so excess inventory built up? Or something new coming which will make this model obsolete? Let's all hope for a DX sensor mirrorless.

Must be time to bring this up again... Now that the J1 is out, the V1 is dramatically reduced in price.... something must be brewing. And on another note about the mirrorless cameras, is the announcement by Zeiss. I quote from their email to me.

"On Photokina 2012 we released informations about a new familiy of lenses for mirrorless cameras especially for Sony NEX and Fuji X.
First we plan to start with three focal lengthes : 12mm, 32mm and a 50mm macro lens. All these lenses will have autofocus and support all camera functions.
I think we will release more precise informations after the first tests with working prototypes.
The market start will be in summer / autum 2013."

This certainly brings a little more interest to the APS-C mirrorless entrees. Could it be that Nikon has recognized their error in the V1, J1, and for the money will produce an APS-C mirrorless.....??? Please note, the "error" is only my opinion as for the price point, I really would have liked to see something with an APS-C sensor.

Anyway, if anyone has a thought about what the price drop on the V1 means.... let them speak now or ...

#1 D3200, #2 D5100, #3 D3200 is update of D3100, #4 Yes, if you want to see what Nikon has coming out at Photokina. #5 Nikon will be with us in the current format for a long time I would think.

Probably, you should do a forum search on all of the above and see what others have said.

Here is one place to start, but there are threads on all the Nikon consumer cameras already on the forum.

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=2993

and http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=5216

My wife wants to take better pictures. Her birthday is this week.

Question #1: what's the best DSLR in the $350-500 range?
Question #2: is there a camera just above that range that I would be a fool not to consider?
Question #3: in the buying guide, the D3100 says "already updated." Does that mean the current D3100 is new or that there's a release due any day now?
Question #4: should I wait till Christmas to get her a camera because new models are due and prices will drop?
Question #5: EVILs are attractive but seem like a nascent breed and I don't want to get stuck with an overpriced camera whose format will be ditched in a few years.

Help, please.
Michael

You might check out stevehuffphoto dot com. He does "real world" reviews of all the M4/3, ILC compact bodies along with Leica M9 for his paid work. There are quite a few who are actually going for the J1/V1 just for pure ease of use, ram-around camera. That kind of blew me away for may shooting M9s over there. It's pretty amazing what he and other photographers pull out of those cameras.

@jonnyapple.... thank you. It may be, as I said, a body I will purchase as my carry around, being able to hide it in my purse (right next to the kitchen sink, LOL). As to the "not for motorsports" if the focus capabilities through the electronic viewfinder are good, this would be something like in the old days when we always followed the car with the focus ring. And, the brain is pretty good at this once diligent practice is completed.

But, it depends on the D400 and its ISO rating. And maybe on whether I sell a house...ha, ha, ha....

Seriously, what is the sensor like at say....5,000 - 10,000 ISO?

Msmoto, that Zeiss lens is probably the only one for the NEX line that will do the 24 MP sensor justice (full disclosure: I have only read reviews of the zeiss 24 and the NEX-7).

I own the NEX-5N and can tell a difference in sharpness between the kit lens and, say, attaching my f-mount tamron 17-50 2.8 (almost fair comparison) or my nikkor 50 1.8 (not really fair) with an f-mount to e-mount adapter. I'm looking forward to the pro-quality standard zoom they've been talking about since last fall.

The 5N comes highly recommended by me. Sony should pay me something for how many family members/friends I've convinced to buy one. I got it for the video, but it's no slouch for stills if you've got time to nail the focus (for you, just read this as "not for motorsports!"). I can't tell a difference between that sensor and the one in the D7000. For me, the important milestone that sony and Nikon hit with that sensor is that I get acceptable ISO 1600 shots of things like birthday cakes and family gatherings in indoor lighting with no flash. It's nice to not be such a nerd. ;-)

It is easy to see how with a Zeiss lens, the cost of the NEX 7 becomes about $2400 USD. With one lens...a 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss Prime. But, the sensor specs look good and it really seems to have the potential for as outstanding camera, not really a pocket model, but a camera one can easily keep in a purse (Mine looks like a camera backpack, sorry) slide under the coat or such. While the DSLRs tend to be way too bulky.

Anyway, thanks for the input, so far...and if "knee-con" does not come up with a D400 in September....I will see what is available in the mirror less, like the NEX 7.

I was messing about with a couple of M4/3 cameras a couple of weeks ago. Once you put a zoom on them, they are anything OTHER than "compact" (but you knew that).

Looking at the IQ out of most of them, my old trusty backup D3000 is a good match. In my view and if IQ is your #1 priority for anyone on a tight budget (not Mrs M, I am sure), or unless you really do need a non SLR type of body, I'd say you'd get better results out of a D3200 or a bargain D3100 than an M4/3.

Interestingly the D3000 and until this week, even the D3100 bodies and kits all seem to be on some kind of special offer or dare I say "clearance" right now (oops, should not have used the "clearance" word, but there you go). Not long now before more rumors?

Whatever.....

The Xpro1 seemed bigger and feel more "chunky" in the hand than the Sony to me, not that the Sony is small or toy like (see my remarks above about how big things get with a telephoto zoom lens on), but the Fuji was just a little bit "more"... Maybe I just prefer the more traditional shape and proportions?

OK, relighting this thread so if any folks have had experience with this Sony NEX 7, good or bad, it would be nice to hear from them now. My trusty Olympus 1030SW has become more work to shoot than it is worth, and I need (want) another sort of point and shoot, but also want big format image quality.

So...let's hear from the SONY NEX 7 folks, please....

@PaulR - where do You see here so many talkers. Most of ppl on this forum share their own experience. If You are referring to specific topic take into consideration the time such topic was started and when the last post has been posted. This particular topic started at the very beginning of J1/V1, when the cameras were announced. As for NSX and his post, well.. who wouldn't want to have more external controls. Not having a dedicated iso button for some of us is very important so is the way auto iso works.

As for my earlier posts I think that right now, when the price of V1 has dropped in some places (in Japan it's +/- $650), this camera becomes more and more interesting. At least that's my case. I'll not pay for it +/-$1000 (current price in my country), as I think it's way overpriced, but for $400 less it's a good camera, especially now when we have the FT1 adapter and can made a mad telephoto lenses with this incredible 2.7 crop, i.e. 300/4 gives You 810mm/f4!! ad TC 1.7 to it and You have 1377mm /6.8!

Because I'm interested in a camera with more external controls?

I use a D40 and even that has some menu driven items. I've gotten tired of that and I wouldn't want that in a product I'd buy in the future.

Not having a PASM mode dial (no matter how easy it is to get to in the menu) is sense of which way the camera was made for.

And it's also my opinion. I'm not stopping you from buying the camera.

I'm not saying it's a bad product, it's just a product I wouldn't be interested in its current state.

Not to mention the price of it is above and beyond equivalent products from the 43 system and it also has a lack of CX mount lens choices.

In my opinion it's not a fully developed system yet, unlike the DX and FX cameras.

Why is that the people who knock this camera don't even own or have used one, for a reasonable time . This forum seems to be full experts who read everything about a particular product and then become so called experts sharing their readable untested knowledge.

The only way to find out if camera is any good is to use it in various field conditions, Even then, opinions depend on the experience ,the operators has.
I put my money where my mouth is and bought one, Like all cameras it as a place and should not just be disregarded.
I use a D3X and when it comes a D4 and will stilll use the V1 It does not bother me what the camera is, as long as it gets the results I wanted. I love to see peoples expressions when they see this body attached to 24-70 lens Technology always moves on
I recommend this camera to everybody and I am a user! not a talker.

If anyone is interested, DPReview has their review up on their site.

I haven't read it, but it seems like they have the same concerns most of us have over external controls.

Hurry up guys, buy the product so that Nikon can release a CX camera with better external controls!

There are several lenses in the pipeline for next year, including a collapsible one, telezooms, etc…
I wouldn't expect an increase in the sensor size, but I do hope they will shorten the time between single shots which is about a second and a half. That would really get me crazy if I bought a V1 today ! :(
Hopefully a new firmware will take care of that soon. I hope !

It's definitely a favorable review. But I'm still waiting for Nikon to either lower the price significantly or scale up the sensor size.

Some Black Friday deals were awesome- I think I saw a Panasonic GF3 was available with the kit lens for $500.

That's almost as low as the Panasonic LX5.

Nikon seriously needs to find a way to push out more lenses or lower the pricing significantly.

Steve Huff has just added a part 2 to his test of the V1 on his web site.

Well worth a read :)

Just read Steve Huff's review and found that it's a very good one. Honest and very accurate. I'm glad you pointed this out NSXType-R.

Although I was unable to borrow the V1 for a day or two, I had the pleasure to play with it in my favorite shop, and I must say I am very impressed with its quality. It feels like a real camera :) And from what I saw here and there on the Internet, the results are simply amazing ! As Steve Huff says, making it better would have harmed Nikon's DSLR range. A sign of the future ?…

Just an update, Steve Huff just posted his full review- the title of the review is "The Camera I wanted to hate."

CTLG, I'm looking forward to your review too.

Especially with the latest patents from Nikon, the retracting lens especially, the V1 could be really interesting.

I'm somewhat glad it's made in China, it seems to be selling well. The floods could have made it lose a lot of momentum.

rbid said:
My D70s has more than 50K (in 6 years), and I hope my D7K will do more than that. (I have read that it was programmed for 150K actuations)

Yes, the D7K's shutter was tested and rated for 150k actuations, just like the D700.

casperwb said:
.

good going Rbid

That is getting your moneys worth out of it.

If the D40 can make that many memories for your daughter, think about how far something like a D7000 will go.

good going

My D70s has more than 50K (in 6 years), and I hope my D7K will do more than that. (I have read that it was programmed for 150K actuations)

CaryTheLabelGuy said:
You fellas would be glad to know - there is no rolling shutter issues with the electronic shutter on the V1. It seems like a global electronic shutter, honestly. I could detect no rolling shutter at all in my shots of propeller driven aircraft that I shot today. The props are all perfectly strait. As a matter of fact, there was no way for me to tell I was even using the electronic shutter over the mechanical one from just looking at the shots.

Whatever Nikon has done on the Nikon 1, it's working - very well. I also did some preliminary rolling shutter video tests last night and compared them with the Olympus EP-3 and the results were jaw dropping.

I'll hold future comment until I'm done with my testing and publish the article. Just wanted to pass this a long, for now.

Thanks CTLG for your comments. I look forward to your article. Truth be told, I love my D7000 and I got it instead of the D700 at the time due to video. I occasionally film my kids doing things but after a year of ownership I realize how rarely I use video. Because of that, I have a crazy idea in the back of my head to someday sell/trade the D7K for a D700 for full frame, and then get a V1 for video and pocket-ability. I think that would make a very nice photo enthusiast/family videographer combination.

Thanks NSXType-R ! Nice comments from Steve Huff…

It shows that many went too fast in shooting down a camera that is now appearing to be quite good. OK, the price is not right yet, but wait a few months and it will be down enough to make everyone happy :)