Turns out a lot of folks have been asking me questions about the Nikon J1.  What is it?  Who is it for?  How does it work?  Is it any good?  Thought I’d take just a few moments here to put paper to pen so to speak, and give ya my insight!

Ok, so what is it?

The Nikon J1 is a small interchangeable lens system camera.  These cameras have image sensors that are much bigger and better at gathering light than compact cameras, and add the ability to swap out the optics.  They keep a smaller profile for convenience and are often far less complicated to operate than a traditional DSLR.  For more info on this segment of camera check out our blog post on EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeable lens) cameras!

For more on the design of the J1, I put together this little video . . . check it out!

Who is it for?

I think this camera is perfect for the new family photographer who wants easy operation, smokin’ fast performance in a smaller and more portable outfit than a traditional DSLR, but doesn’t want to sacrifice image quality by settling with a compact camera.  This sounds like about 85% of the new mommies and active 30-something’s that surround me in my little slice of the universe.

How does it work?

Well, by shrinking the physical size of the sensor and removing the traditional mirror and pentaprism elements (the guts of a DSLR), the engineers were able to greatly reduce the size.  The CX sensor in use, however, is MUCH bigger than that out of 99% of compact digital cameras so we don’t really sacrifice any image quality.

Also, by removing those mechanical bits we get to greatly increase the frame rate or the number of shots we can take in a second.  It’s actually twice as fast or more than Nikon’s entry level and intermediate DSLRs!

Is it any good?

You bet!  A lot of people get carried away with the idea that it’s “only” 10mP, especially now that we have compact cameras at 16mp or more and DSLRs in the 20s and 30s!!  There is a good reason the engineers went with this sensor . . . BALANCE!  The 10mp CX sensor will certainly allow for you to print upwards of 8X10′s, no worries!  It wasn’t too long ago I was selling prints commercially that were 2 feet by 4 feet from a 6mp camera.  This sensor lets us keep the system smaller without needing to increase the size of the optics or the body and maintain higher quality in low light.  And, a lot of the new family photographers are going to be taking thousands of pictures of first steps and baby pools and what not . . . don’t forget about memory card and hard drive space!

What’s more, High Definition Video!!

Oh, and it comes in different colors so you can keep your stylish edge!

For more specs or to pick one up for yourself, click here!

cheers,

Paul