Teardown of the Nikon V1 camera

By [NR] admin | Published: November 4, 2011

Chipwork did a tear down of the Nikon V1 camera. This is what they found inside:

  • Aptina image sensor
  • EXPEED 3 processor manufactured by Nikon
  • 1GB of DDR2 memory
  • Epson E03100F0A video processor chip

Related posts:

  1. Nikon D5100 teardown
  2. Nikon D600 teardown
  3. Chinese smart phones producer BBK rumored to start using Nikon Expeed image processor in their devices
  4. This is the upcoming Vivo phone with rotating Nikon-branded camera and EXPEED processor
  5. Nikon preparing a new monstrous image processing engine
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  • Jabs

    1 gig of DDR memory – so that’s one reason for its’ speed – cool.

    • PHB

      That is pretty impressive on a compact.

      I guess we can expect even more in higher end bodies with bigger batteries.

      Aptina don’t offer the sensor for general sale so I suspect that they are fabbing a design that includes at least some Nikon proprietary technology.

      http://www.aptina.com/products/image_sensors/

      The Chipworks folk have a detailed review of the sensor available for a mere $15,000.

      • ShaoLynx

        On the battery of the N1: it is fairly large, not that much smaller than the one used in D700.
        I pulled the trigger on a N1V a week ago — I like the snappiness, new functions and the IQ. I’ll add the little flash and the the converter ring when they become available.

        • photodog

          Could you please report a bit of your experience: what lens(s) have you got? How does the image-quality come out (at 100% view if possible)

          • ShaoLynx

            There was just one option: 10-30mm kitlens.
            On IQ, allow for a few more days: I’ll compare it to my D700+24-70mm.
            Not a fair comparison, but about right in focal range (and I don’t have anything else — body that is).

          • Our detailed hands-on review of the Nikon V1, 10-100 VR PD-Zoom, 10-30mm VR and 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens along with head-head comparisons with the Olympus EP-3 are coming soon.

            As for IQ, I think a lot of people will be very surprised. This will be real-world testing, no test charts or controlled studio shots. I can already tell you that I’m actually very amazed at the quality Nikon was able to extract from this small sensor. I’ll hold further comment for now, look for the article on NR very soon.

            • ShaoLynx

              OK, OK, you win 😉
              Couldn’t possibly compete with that.
              Looking foreward to the results.

      • billy goat

        The Chipworks folk have a detailed review of the sensor available for a mere $15,000.

        Makes you wonder what dpreview detailed reviews are worth.

  • mshi

    It beats Fuji X100?

    • Frosti7

      Of course it does!
      it beats any sony fuji or panasonic, just because its a nikon!

      • Matsuoka

        Indeed. Nikon is handling king and high speed king and color king and lens quality king and style king and has some very secret magical technology in all of their sensors

        • Worminator

          Your for got your /s tag…

    • yes because x100 is not complete (AF and MF sucks) and targets much smaller market. there is only one competitor to CX line and it is nex

      • What are you talking about??? CX has NO competition! It stands alone, towering above all other cameras, big and small. Sony, shmony!

      • Mark

        Yes it targets the lowest common denomenator and is therefore THE BEST.

      • …and this idiot was criticizing me on Carl Zeiss Planar 50/1.4 topic. Did you lose a connection with planet Earth?

        • turn on your sarcasm detector and go shoot noob

          • Calibrator

            So now it’s our responsibility to recognize your awkward attempts at sarcasm? Try a smiley for a change…

            • not really. but if you are offended by somebody’s post, then you will probably have heart stroke in few days.

          • Your attempts to manage some kind of sarcasm are offensive. That’s the way you could easily end up with grinded teeth in real life.

    • Ronan

      It doesn’t even come close to the X100 lol

  • Iris Chrome

    I’m very curious as to why Nikon would place a QR code inside the body. I tried to scan it but image doesn’t seem to be big enough/resolved enough for my phone’s camera to pick it up.

    Admin, do you have any other higher resolution picture?

    • Ha ha ha, I did exactly the same thing…and my phone also couldn’t read it.

    • The QR code is for the manufacturing process. It’s common to find QR codes on certain electronic parts used in the manufacturing process of an electronic product.

      • anon

        They’re not Quick Response codes. They’re simply 2D barcodes. No phones required.

    • no, I don’t have hi-re image, try enhancing in PS

    • BornOptimist

      In the repair manual for the P5000 it says you have to scan QR code for several operations. Like calibration of the VR circuits, replacing the sensor, replacing lens module etc. This code has to be scanned with a special Nikon software (called DscCalDi.EXE for the P5000).

    • F

      Forget it the code has nothing to do with info on the d800

  • Julien M.

    QR codes were originally created by the japanese companies to track products and components in factories. So I don”t think it’s any surprise.

    • Iris Chrome

      Interesting. Did not know that before.

  • FX DX

    It’s interesting to see how the audience of this site went from “Nikon 1 being POS” to “it beats all other brands in the market”. As soon as we have a new false rumor of D800, I am sure Nikon 1 will turn into a shitty camera again.

    • R R

      +1

    • AM

      Nikon1 is a POS and still beats all other brands in the market.

      • Matsuoka

        my friend who is a Nikon fanboy told me that Nikon has some “exclusive” clever technologies in all their sensors

        I asked him where did he get that info and he says “just believe, Nikon rules” lol

        • Andrew

          …and you don’t believe him? How did you get here, did you lose your way and click on the wrong link?

    • Bjrichus

      @FXDX – I also noticed the lack of knocking the V1/J1 lately. I think what has happened is that the actual camera is not quite as large a lump of poop as we were all expecting from the specs alone – it’s only a small lump of poop instead. 🙂

      • Bondi Beach

        A small lump of ashed-on poopster?

        • Bjrichus

          GROAN!!!!!

      • Mock Kenwell

        No, it’s just that some if us non-believers don’t feel we have to beat a dead horse. It’s not made for us, so now it’s time to sit back & hope it sells while we wait for the D800. Personally, I’d love to see them put the J1 tech into a truly pocketable, fixed lens S95 killer. This system is still too big for such a small sensor.

        • Bjrichus

          @Ken – now – you have a good idea there, but it is unlikely to ever happen.

          My feeling is that Nikon want to please the “Hello Kitty” buyer rather than those of us looking for something to compare with a Leica M9 but for under $500.

          An exaggeration I know, but it does highlight the different market places they are aiming at, one is worried about the colors use to paint the camera with and the other about the rendition of color in the pictures (amongst many other aspects of ‘image quality’).

          Oh well.

          • Tuan

            Does buying a M9 make me more of a competent photographer? Your comment is just a repeat of marketing BS.

          • Mock Kenwell

            Well, we all like to talk about how Nikon Coolpixes are aimed only at consumer P/S targets, but Nikon is trying to make a camera for us. It’s the sad P7100. It’s about the same size as this new N1 series. Put a bigger sensor in there with a fixed 28-120 f/2 and RAW and they could own this niche. So we’re not asking for much, just making suggestions for the one and only serious compact they are trying to make for us.

  • ennan

    I tried out the V1 vs the X100 a few weeks back. The V1’s AF is lightning fast and it’s high ISO is a lot cleaner than I expected. Feels good in the hand too although I’d have liked more buttons. Menus are nice and easy to navigate though.

    The X100’s menu felt awkward in comparison. Colours and high ISO were nice and it also felt good in the hand. The viewfinder is weird but cool.

    I’m waiting to see what fuji’s mirrorless system is like and I’m also hoping Nikon make a “pro” version of the V1 with more buttons.

  • Don

    Yes, they opened up the V1 and inside they found… the D800!

    • spam

      Pity it’s a coolpix on the outside

    • photo-Jack

      Taking aglass ball looking into the future you may be even right: The NEX7 comes with a 24 MP sensor – 24MP like the D3x. (before anyone explode read further…)
      Given 10 years of further R&D who says that a P&S interchangeable lens camera couldn’t have reached the D3x output by then…
      Not too long ago even pro cameras had only DX and they began with sensors with less resolution than a standard cell of today.
      So in 10 years from now…

  • lumiere

    Just what we need a pro version of an over priced, over engineered, interchangable lense point and shoot camera. There are way better options than this waste of time. I do not care what brand of camera it is, they could of used this supposed genious on a camera that has a bigger sensor.yes do not spread the bs that sensor size does not matter….it does especially at this price point. I still remeber the pentax 110 interchangeble lens camera system up until then 110 film was used in point and shoot cameras now was a great idea.

    • ennan

      I’m not saying sensor size doesn’t matter. I use a D3 – I know that bigger is better. But the V1 is a decent camera – performs well considering it’s small sensor and it’s bloody fast. It’s not for me though – not because of the small sensor – If I want quality low light or depth of field I have my D3.
      If I’m going to get a mirrorless (at the moment I’m not tempted by anything on the market) it would need to offer me something my main camera doesn’t i.e. small, decent quality, fast, decently priced and have decent controls. The V1 is small, decent quality, fast but lacks in the price and control area.

  • Been there guy

    Gee… I swear I can almost see a new Ansel Adams coming out of this “1 system”!

    • PHB

      It is way better than any 35 mm camera and film that existed during his lifetime.

      And don’t forget that Adams spent years playing about with Land Polaroid photography.

      Adams would have been amongst the first buying one. It is not a D3. But guess what, you don’t need another D3.

      • spam

        Agree, 10MP and reasonably good DR and high Iso performance beat 35mm film in almost all aeras.

  • Ff

    Look at the bigger picture.

    Every advancement in camera technology works in our favour. Some of you act as if Nikon cant focus on more than one thing at a time. Just because a business plan is followed that is not in line with your superiour marketing and business sense doesnt mean a thing.

    There is life outside of a d800

  • Tony

    V1 is more on software side then hardware, so I hope it will go down to $499 soon. Then I might buy one of those.

  • The Man from Mandrem

    Out of curiosity, any idea how Aptiva compares to Sony in Image CMOS performance? I thought Sony was the king of the hill? On a related note, how does Apple A4S stack up in image quality? Any real data on this?

    • spam

      Sony is king, Aptiva seem to match or beat Panasonic.

      • Quantum Efficiency:
        Nikon 1 = 57%, Sony NEX C3 = 45%, Olympus E-P3 = 41%

        The only major area where the Sony beats the Nikon is in read noise. The Panasonic sensor in the E-P3 doesn’t beat either the Nikon or Sony in any of the usual measurement categories.

        Size does matter. If the Nikon 1 sensor were m4/3 size, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, you’d be praising the Nikon sensor. If the Nikon 1 sensor were APS size, we’d be having an interesting conversation about whether efficiency and capacity trump read noise, or vice versa.

        Put simply, the measurements on the Nikon 1 sensor are quite good. Scale that up and you’d have a sensor that would be hard to top.

        • spam

          Do you have numbers for the 16MP Sony? Btw, agree that Nikon is quite good, it seem to match or beat the 12MP Panasonic sensor on high Iso performance even though it’s half the size. IMO it’s not quite at the GH2/G3 level though.

          • spam

            Forgot that the C3 has the same sensor as 5n

        • Tuan

          My wish list: a Nikon 1 with 6-8MP sensor.
          This surely never happen, but is it sound crazy?

          Anyone have the same MP-preference with me?

          • The 10mp sensor still has room for improvement. Read noise is still higher than state-of-the-art.

    • Tuan

      This sensor is likely a Nikon design, or contains Nikon exclusive technologies. I doubt that any other camera manufacturer can use that sensor.

      • spam

        You’re right that it’s a Nikon design, but Nikon is still dependent on Aptina’s process tech to get a good sensor.

    • Aptina (n, not v) was hawking a CMOS APS sensor over a year ago that they claimed was state-of-the-art. A few I know in the business who are still close to sensors say Aptina has a number of interesting tech aspects to their sensors. I mentioned almost a year ago that I believed that Nikon was working with Aptina on something. Now we know what it was.

      Not sure what you mean by A4S, do you mean the iPhone 4S, or the CPU instead it, which is an A4?

      • The Man from Mandrem

        Yes. Typo. I was wondering about the Apple iPhone 4S. Typed it wrong. It’s supposed to have extremely good sensor.

        I just googled Aptina and their 16MP APS-C sensor won some awards for performance. I think in Design News or somewhere they describe some innovative technology they use to achieve good signal to noise. Do you know if Aptina uses the old Micron fab in Avezzano or make chips somewhere else?

        • Not sure where Aptina is making the Nikon 1 sensors yet. I’ll have to ask around.

          I’m still trying to assess the iPhone 4S. It uses an 8mp Sony BSI sensor for the main camera, and as we all know, Sony has been pushing out good silicon lately. However, I suspect that much of the improvement we see in an iPhone 4S over a 4 comes in two other areas: the lens is far better, and there’s now an image processing ASIC running many things, which allows for better optimization of both focus and what you do with the image data.

          Whatever the case, in bright light the iPhone 4S is getting close to compact camera range. Given that we have built-in HDR techniques in the camera app (and more choices via other apps), you can actually get a pretty good set of data out of it.

  • John Richardson

    So … like … where’s the mirror, you know the little flippy up thingie.

  • broxibear
    • Been there guy

      That’s the date their supply line dried up!

  • Sorry, this one is not on my dance card.

  • Nicholas Wojciak

    I finally got to try one of these out. I’m a big Nikon fan, but these feel really cheap and crappy.

  • Nau

    the question is
    if they managed to put ram in this little camera why d800 rumored to be so ‘slow’

    cant they put more ram (ddr3 as well) in a bigger body and make 36megapixel shots fly with something like 10 frames per sec ?

  • One More Thought

    Actually the Nikon 1 series is very well built; I got to try to out a J1 at Best Buy and it’s a pretty nice machine.

    I do hope Nikon sells a ton of their 1 series equipment…one, to help them and their employees out financially through this difficult time, and two, to silence all of the critics who bemoan this camera.

    Again, it’s a sweet machine for what it is designed to do; I do believe it is a bit overpriced, but time will tell.

    • Matsuoka

      Time will tell what?
      The camera is indeed an overpriced POS?

      • One More Thought

        Yes, time will tell if the product sells well at its current price point.

        And no, the camera is not a POS; it’s got a lot of good features; have you used one?

        It seems to me that most of the critics have never even used this camera but are judging from the spec sheet. Read the comments of those who have used one.
        For instance, if you go to dpreview.com and read the comments of those who own the camera, you will get a different point of view.

        • it’s all about my FX

          I’ve used the J1 and it is NOT impressive.

          IQ is mediocre at best. It is essentially an expensive p&s with interchangeable lenses.

          Thank you very much.

  • Benny Ginn

    I think I know why the giant leap to 36mp D800……to retain current users from Canon new exciting ventures into cinema…….temporary head-start and offset innovation suprise from Canon……distract MF users……got to get new customers to offset those switching to Canon Cinema

  • NR Flamer

    WHERE IS THE NIKON D800????? WHAT AN OUTRAGE!!!!

  • Simon

    After seeing what Canon has announced in the last 24hrs this breakdown of the V1 is underwelming.

    • One More Thought

      There’s no comparison. What Canon just announced is a $20,000 video camera. Professional studios will buy this camera.
      Sure, it’s a great piece of kit, but it’s meant for an entirely different market than the Nikon 1 series. Surely you can appreciate that.
      To compare the Nikon 1 cams to the new Canon C300 is like trying to compare a nice Honda with a Formula 1 race car.

  • Marko

    Aptina ? They better stick with Sony, imho. Aptina is hardly a strategic partner.

  • Well, meanwhile we discuss about the V1/J1 Canon deals C300 vs Red Scarlet.
    This is a very high jump in levels. I hope we are discussing V1 vs Leica M9 , Nikon has the expertise in Still Image don´t she (enterprise)?

    I know the D700 is more camera than 5D mk II (if not i´m not be lazy to switch to canon). But where is the DX video 60 fps? Simple task. Where is the DX pro body with the DX 3500 CAM AF? D7000 AF is failure.

    Where is the D700s with almost 1 stop D3s sensor lower?

    Where is the 2.5K FF camera “in stock”?

    F@#$#$

    • John Richardson

      Get some scuba gear and go get them.

      • Heheheheheh… Great one!

        But Nikon had a lot of time before the flood right? And made what?

        V1/J1 – Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

        Nikon waste a lot of time and efforts to fill the NO DOF MARKET (LOL), meanwhile the other companys like Sony (nex), Canon (1dx, C300 and another DSLR to be anounced), even Ricoh and Olympus surprise. We, loyal costumers (this is really a bad move, buy a lot of glass from one brand, it´s better have 2 systems with less lenses, trust me) who works and make money with photography, always searching for the best technology, are on THE LIMBO. No pros news, frequently out of stock states (if we whant a new pro body, go for the used shop =D).

        That´s the point. Nikon had time just to make a decent pro mirrorless, the V1 must be APS-C, minimum requirement. Let the J1 with 2.7 no DOF sensor.

        Now we have 2 itens to look and don´t buy.

        Still Nikon, but thinking about 2 FF systems.

        It´s a discussion right?

        Cheers!!!!

        • Whine-Killa

          Please put your head in a plastic bag, tie it tight around your neck, and breath very very deeply.

  • anon

    I don’t know… i still don’t really “Get” this camera. It’s trying to be like a portable mini DSLR, but in order to really use it to it’s full potential, you’ll need multiple lenses, therefore, a bag, making it not THAT much more portable than a dslr. So in that case I’m going to pickup my dslr and take that. If i really want portable, then i’m not as concerned about image quality, but convenience. I’m going to dump the bag and lenses and take a p7100 or G12. Not to mention i did finally get a chance to try this out the other day. I found it miserable to handle. I have big hands, and this thing is tiny. It’s not comfortable for me to get a good grip on the body with my right hand and push the shutter. Build quality seems nice. I’m sure image quality is good, but there is just no place in my life for this kind of camera. People getting into interchangeable lenses are doing so because they want to start taking better pics than what compacts can do, which leads to wanting to have more control over settings. The V/J1 still has everything done through menus, which is slow and cumbersome just like P&Ss. I don’t know.. I’m not knocking these cameras, i’m sure they are good at what they do. I just don’t like the concept. My thought is if you want interchangeable lenses, then you want the bulk of good lenses and a body with more physical controls.

    • Mock Kenwell

      I’ve been saying this all along. After the early gadget adopters fade from view, I’ll be curious to see how this system sells. P/S graduates want shallow DOF–this cam is weak at best in that regard. P/S grads want value–this system nickels & dimes them to death with the endless accessories. P/S grads want to take better shots in poor lighting conditions–NEX, M4/3 & DX outperform it for a similar price. P/S grads want portability–once you pile on the accessories, you may as well have a DSLR with you.

      This cam has impressive AF and video capabilities–I just don’t know if those features resonate with P/S consumers.

      • No. P/S graduates want focus speed and no shutter lag. They also want better low light performance. Those things so far outweigh “less DOF” in surveys that you’ll note that none of the mirrorless companies are really touting “less DOF” in their marketing materials.

        I’m not sure that m4/3 outperforms the Nikon 1 in low light, by the way. And depending upon what the goal of the person buying the camera is, it may hold its own against the NEX better than you think.

        I actually don’t have any real issues with those parts of Nikon’s decision making. The problem I have is that you have this in-between camera with fewer controls than cameras on either side of it (Coolpix or DSLR). If you’re trying to grow users from Coolpix to Nikon 1 to DSLR, there needs to be a more defined progression than Nikon has achieved. I find a P300 easier to control than a Nikon V1, for instance. That’s wrong.

        • Young Boy

          Working with kids I can tell you – they want dslrs, cos dslrs are cool – mirrorless is for them same category as p/s – uncool. And you would wonder – but they prefer black and C or N, not colorful P!
          Why they like it – exactly for the fact they can “play” with all the controls, etc… Dunno about other age groups, but with this price, anyone with brains and definite budget would go for D5100 for the same street price! That leaves only people who have better cameras then entry DX class and want something smaller (and have enough cash) and class of “fashion freaks” buying camera as accesoir, not photographic tool. Probably rich pensioners as well…
          And one thought about Nikon philosophy of “limited control” – that is very consistent by them, as if they suppose automatic modes are wiser than photographers – why there is no ISO or WB button under D7k? Why Canon consider their followers intelligent enough to handle these functions with direct access?

          • Go back and read what I wrote, carefully. I did not write “P/S graduates want mirrorless over DSLR.”

            The camera makers are betting that there is a market between P/S and DSLR, and so far they’re being proven correct: mirrorless is an area of clear growth in camera sales where compacts are down and DSLRs are relatively flat.

            I believe that the mirrorless pricing is clearly wrong, especially Nikon’s. If a competent compact is US$300 and a really good DSLR is US$700 (with lens), that doesn’t leave a lot of room, and logical point in between is US$500. But that’s not where anyone is pricing their product. They will, with time, be forced to, I’m almost certain. Canon, by being the last to enter, will find themselves entering into price wars from the beginning.

            As for the controls issue with the Nikon 1 (and other Nikons, for that matter): I believe that Nikon gets to design decisions the wrong way. They need to be asking “what does the user really need, and what will they need as they grow with the camera?” They seem to be designing to “how can we remove years of learned camera technique decisions from newcomers?” We’ll see what happens when they launch the high-end Nikon 1 model (maybe next year, as it’s already been shown and handled in Japan, including some options we haven’t seen yet, like a real i-TTL hot shoe [now there’s your Nikon Rumor for the day ;~]).

        • Mock Kenwell

          I’d love to see the data you refer to Thom. I’d like to see what research fed the development of this system. The points I bring up come just from personal observations, as dozens of colleagues, friends & family members seem to ask me what camera to get when they decide to upgrade. The points I shared were their main points of concern.

          I went into Best Buy yesterday to hold and shoot these cams. The Nikon is the most expensive. To the consumer, it’s the same size as the GF, Pen and NEX systems. Even with the lens attached, frankly, the size & weight differences are minimal. The DOF on the 10-100 was better than the samples I’ve seen to date, so that’s good, although the interface is clumsy and unintuituve. But the Nikon had no special display, no accessories, and no collateral explaining what’s great about it. Ask the two BB attendants and what do you get? They don’t know what’s special about it either. One thought it was M4/3.

          My concern is this. Nikon is coming late to the party with a similarly priced (we have to assume 1 prices will drop a bit), similarly sized camera with a smaller sensor and slower lenses. Their system points of difference and how they intend to communicate them at point of sale are currently challenged. Without accessories, the N1 has no prayer.

          Further, this cam’s special qualities, interestingly enough, seem to me to be more in the realm of video, an area that Sony should be able to answer at least to a degree in upcoming iterations of the NEX series. BTW, we know the N1 system is not intended to compete with NEX, but consumers will, and are comparing NEX, M4/3 & N1. I saw it happen with two consumers yesterday. BB attendants were pushing them to NEX.

          • I wish I could share some of the data I’ve obtained via both my surveying for companies and other surveys I’ve seen, but unfortunately, those are not public info. And I’m not saying that “shallow DOF” doesn’t come up. Instead, what I’m saying is that it isn’t the number one request of a P/S user moving up. I’ll have to go look at the numbers, but I don’t remember it being in the top three. Focus speed is right there at the top, and by a very healthy margin.

            As for your BB comments: when have I ever said that Nikon was any good at marketing? ;~) The J1 and V1 aren’t bad cameras, but as you point out it’s not obvious to the casual buyer how they fit Nikon’s own lineup let alone against the competition. There’s no clear message being presented. That’s even more strange given how good the video is.

  • AV.GirL

    Canon 1Dx is gonna put nikon out of business…! Sell ur nikkor while you can!!

    • Robert Stewart

      No way and why would I want to?

    • Mock Kenwell

      Oh look! A girl troll!

    • bahaha

      Now that is the funniest thing i’ve heard all week.

      Good one Canon fangirl.

    • You believe everything your little Canon friends feed you, don’t you. How about you read up on Nikon a little before you go trolling around on a Nikon Rumors site. You’ve probably never even heard of a Nikon D3s, let a lone the D4. Do yourself a favor – educate yourself; life is much easier this way.

      Typical.

  • broxibear

    Apparently “Camo Bear” is going to feature in a few tv and press adverts for Nikon, here’s the making of the first advert…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr7ZmpLHApg

    • @broxibear, I know you are excited about this ad, but I’ve seen better from Nikon 🙂

  • Jools33

    I had a Nikon J1 and a Panasonic GF3 side by side today in a shop in Sweden – and the 2 bodies were almost exactly the same size – just in the GF3 you get a bigger sensor for less money – and no external flash. So these new Nikon bodies are pretty much the same size as micro 4/3 bodies.

  • Mark

    The CX line so far is a joke.

  • Chris

    There are limits to the amount of patience people can stand, getting a little annoyed with nikon’s silence now on the d700 replacement camera, this has gone on long enough. Even if they just let us know something is coming would be all is needed to ease the tension. Ive come close to saying f”%&k it a few times now.

  • Been there guy

    For a few of those understand that patience is a virtue, and Santa would eventually put your guys on the good list and reward you with a Nikon 2, when the Canon guys are playing with EOS 1Dx mark II and EOS C300 mark II.

  • Pete

    Did I say this before? ‘Maybe Nikon really is letting FX digital die. They’ve had no completely new FX cameras since 2008, and clearly DX works great and gets better all the time. There isn’t much money in pro gear or FX compared to the mass-markets of DX, so maybe that’s it for Nikon (digital) FX cameras.’ What’s more, Nikon 1 appears to be one heck of a quality product, another aspect which really feeds such thoughts. Those of us here who really do get out and shoot, I am sure we ‘pursue every last iota of quality’ but are ‘also highly pragmatic, too.’ If we can achieve the same final result carrying 10 pounds less gear, we’re going to do it. Picking something smaller that FX (or, for the sake of argument, even DX-DSLRs), simply because it allows us more ability to range on and off the trail, and with care, we don’t really give a lot up – or do we?

    • Been there guy

      That doesn’t make any sense. What does Nikon going to do with all the FX lens?

    • Mock Kenwell

      Um, last year, Nikon released more FF lenses than any year in their history except one. So explain to me why they’d do that if they were dropping FF?

      • pete

        “…explain to me why they’d do that if they were dropping FF”
        Just remember: before ending their manual focus range of film SLRs they introduced their masterpiece FM3A and just before they ended their AF film SLR range they introduced the F6. With both cameras Nikon made sure they produced the best of their respective categories thus making sure that Nikon will be remembered as the leader in these segments. Similarly, the FF primes they introcuded recently can be seen in this tradition of “line coronation”.
        ;o)

    • I don’t think Nikon has any intention of letting FX die. However, most of their sales volume and profit are coming for lower end stuff now. The need to iterate faster to keep Canon from stealing high market share is also gone. So I would say that, like Apple with the MacPro, is slowing down their iteration cycle a bit, or at least not feeling pressure to push it.

      Ultimately, though, you can’t let a status (halo) product die when you have competitors with status products. So we’ll see more FX when Nikon gets around to it.

      My worry is this: Nikon intended 2011 to be an FX year. The quake unsettled that. Now that we’re officially in “delay” mode, I think Nikon is also discovering that maybe they didn’t need to be on hard four-year boundaries with the high-end, as Canon has also slowed. My worry isn’t for this generation of FX gear, which I expect to see happening in the next six months, but what Nikon might decide for the future. Instead of a soft iteration in 2013 and a hard one in 2015, they might shift those dates outward.

    • Hsjahahag

      You are right DX is getting better all the time.. Yet a d7000 still lags behind a d700 when it comes to noise.

      Also as good as dx sensors get, a fx sensor is going to be better.

      People want the best not “good enough”. Then maybe you’re a hobbiest who’s fine with noisy images with a huge DOF. Myself, I still prefer my “old” D3s over my “new” D7000.

  • Vertigo

    Since the D800 announcement was delayed, is there any chance that both D800 and D400 would be announced together ? Or will it take 6 more months to see a D400 coming ?

    • Been there guy

      Santa is not gonna come around to tell us this year, or is he?

  • Jools33

    Given the situations in the factories both in Thailand and Japan – it seems pretty clear that Nikon will be delayed in releasing the new FX lineup – patience is required…
    Personally I’m very happy shooting with my D3 still.

  • The price point confuses me. Technically, it’s between a DSLR and a pro-sumer point-and-shoot, but it’s priced like an mid-grade DX DSLR kit. For more money, I get a camera that’s smaller and lighter than a DSLR, but has an inferior sensor and won’t fit in a pocket anyway.

    Pretty big early-adopter tax on that baby.

  • Anon

    If Nikon J1 sensor is that good, then you people shouldn’t worry about 50mp on APSC. Scale the sensor size up and see how many MP it produces.(I’m too lazy to calculate it myself.. :P)

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