Nikon versus Micro Four Thirds comparison!
Image courtesy: Quesabesde
The image on top (Source: Quesabesde) shows the reason why I still prefer the m43 system over the new Nikon CX mirrorless cameras. While the Olympus E-Pm1 you see on the right is using a larger sensor it is still less high and less thick than the Nikon 1 V1! Beside that I find the Olympus E-PM1 design far more sexy 
Before you start bashing on me saying I am a fanboy, well I am NOT! I use cameras from different manufacturers and there are many things I like from the Nikon camera world (D700 and many of their lenses). But I simply cannot fell in love with the today announced Nikon cameras. The image quality of the V1 is good, but not as good as the one delivered by the m43 cameras. Check the ISO comparison at Focus Numerique. One more thing. The Nikon 1 V1 costs $899 on Amazon (Click here)! That’s $400 more than the price of the Olympus E-PM1!
And ePhotozine (Click here) posted also a J1 versus E-PM1 size comparison. In that case the cameras have about the same size but again the E-Pm1 is $150 cheaper.
Anyway, I am glad Nikon entered the market. More competition we have better it is for all of us (P.S.: Panasonic, can you please lower the price of your lenses and make them available earlier?)
Note: This is my very personal opinion. Other may have other needs and reason to like or NOT to like the new Nikon.
P.S.: E-PM1 shop links at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
UPDATE: Here is a size comparison with the GF3 made by Colorfoto.
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drawingyourattention
9 months ago |agree, for a camera with a smaller sensor its really big
Rick
9 months ago |Thank you for the photo comparison. Can someone do the same thing with the lenses? It seems like they totally screwed up in that it is too large for having half the sensor area of Micro 4/3s.
Joel Eisner
9 months ago |In particular the megazoom.. the 10-100mm has a 72mm thread and is over 500gm.. Huge compared to the Olympus 14-150 with its 58mm thread and 290g weight..
3434343434
9 months ago |even the e-pm1 beats the v1 in functionality.
the handling of the nikons are shit… pure noob shooter shit.
so it´s fair to compare the e-pm1 to the bigger nikon.
comparing it to the J1 makes no sense because that camera is total crap and not even worth mentioning.
Dummy00001
9 months ago |> agree, for a camera with a smaller sensor its really big
and that would have been forgivable if it had better grip or it was lighter.
safaridon
9 months ago |If you look at the J1 instead it is actually smaller. I for one would not complain about the weight as I would much prefer the feel of the all metal body like the GF1 then a cheaper lighter plastic one.
Actually the J1 and V1 lenses also with power zoom like the Pany X series are smaller than those of m4/3 for the kit and tele zooms with exception of Pany X of course and look to be better construction at least steel mounts and maybe bodies. Although a m4/3 fan I find the black J1 with kit lens to look very attractive to many. The 10-100 all-in-one lens in contrast is huge in comparison!
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |all Olympus has to do in the immediate term is start bundling the bluetooth module with their pens (for Free), increase their colour range and improve their marketing (especially in the USA) and they will have Nikon 1 beat hands down, not feeling Panasonic or Sony are threatened as much yet…
jules
9 months ago |How about to *finally* introduce a model with built in viewfinder?
This is total selfishness projected into “what people want – what people need” but shoots, I’ve read so much of that pattern in techie forums, here’s my turn (insert smiley here) : I don’t care about rectangular vs pseudo SLR shape. I don’t care about IBIS vs OIS. If there is no built in EVF, its not a real camera!
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@jules
I’ve only used my viewfinder for 2 photos out of 300,000 in 4 years, they are a bit old skool in my opinion but each to their own…
Boooo!
9 months ago |You shoot 205 photos per day???
3434343434
9 months ago |he has too.. because from the 205 pictures are only 1% good.
if only he had used the viewfinder….
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@3434343434
a viewfinder:
can’t do white balance
can’t do exposure compensation
lack of focus points
can’t do aspect ratios
subject can’t see you face/expressions
can’t reach the parts you can with a tilt and swivel LCD
can’t do critical focus
can’t shutter simulation
can’t do art filters/ black and white/ duotones
etc etc
Esa Tuunanen
9 months ago |No one was talking about old analog era mirror viewfinders or peep through holes.
>subject can’t see you face/expressions
You sure say landscape, thunderstorm etc. is going to give a damn about seeing my face?
Also funny thing how animals don’t seem to care about all those nature photographers hiding their face behind big ergonomic DSLR bodies.
Duarte Bruno
9 months ago |CAN’T SHOW YOU THE REAL DOF!
(wait just a minute, you are talking about an optical one right? because an EVF could do almost everything you mentioned)
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Duarte Bruno
as in bokeh character
if you are then talking about a EVF then you might as well as you the LCD, why duplicate a feature?
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Boooo!
is that too low an amount?
Ulli
9 months ago |Jules, a camera is only “not real” when you cannot make a picture with it.
ProShooter
9 months ago |Well, he’s probably a dinosaur and cannot shoot without a viewfinder. But thats his problem and I for one prefer a clip-on viewfinder that doesn’t make such an ugly bump that prevents me from putting the camera in my pocket…
jules
9 months ago |Ulli, I allow you to take some of my chosen words with a grain of salt
My point remains, lack of EVF is a very poor compromise.
Ulli
9 months ago |ok Jules, i can agree with that if the body doesn’t have an option for adding a (hires)evf. On the other hand, i can imagine consumers coming from a compact are used to look via the lcd screen only.
Eric
9 months ago |Wrong thread, moved comment. Side note; can we get a delete comment function?
Bizzarrini
9 months ago |The NIKON does have a built-in viewfinder, which you would have to buy with the Oly to make a fair comparison…
Bob B.
9 months ago |+1 It would have been fairer to compare the Nikon J1 to the EPM1. (I am not a fan of the NIkon camera…but fair is fair).
TR
9 months ago |Or compare the V1 with the G3
Bob B.
9 months ago |+++1 …..fair is fair.
MissingThePoint
9 months ago |While I agree I would have expected the lenses surely to be much smaller given the smaller sensor, I think everyone is missing the point. Every camera that has come out has had nearly identical operation and the changes have been in size, sensor, performance. Nikon actually tried to think out of the box a Little by providing still+video clip mode and the high speed mode…I’m not sure how often I’d use it, but it’s damn cool to have the option to do 400 FPS!!!
David Bateman
9 months ago |The Nikon has striped down options. This is not a feature, but rather lack of one. The mode dial on the nikon allows to select picture or video. So what, the mode dial on M43rds lets you select Aperture/shutter/manual/or movie.
How is a terrible loss of manual control “thinking outside the box”?
dumbo
9 months ago |400fps at 360p is useless for anything. camcorder have had golf shots function for many years, but noone uses it very much.
Duarte Bruno
9 months ago |Yea but, no but, yeah but 60fps @10MP is 5x the best I’ve seen so far…
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Duarte Bruno
that sounds like pulling stills out of video as is going to make for some lazy photography…
4 frames a second is OK for most type of composition shots anymore than that and you are usually getting duplicated shots that you are throwing away…
flash
9 months ago |Someone should do a real compare of the J1 to the V1. From what I read in the Nikon brochure and online the J1 has been stripped clean of needed features.
Such as sensor cleaning, which can’t be to good on an interchangeable lens camera. Is there any other interchangeable cameras that don’t have that?
There are a lot of others including build quality, shutter construction etc. The J1 is a much different camera then the V1. Does J stand for Junior and V for Vigilant? like the old pocket Kodak 620s. Looks the same but one is a real camera and one is well not.
At least Olympus did not strip needed features out of the Mini. Now I am glad the 3rd Gen Pens are almost the same.
Eric
9 months ago |Agreed. Makes no sense to me at all to compare the V1 to the E-PM1. The J1 is the proper comparison. As far as the looks; I like both. I love that my XZ1 is a no nonsense design; it’s just a camera. These Nikons remind me very much of that. No chrome accents, not retro, just a tool; nothing more.
Hopefully Olympus will take note of the V1 though. It’s well past time they make a model with a built in EVF.
io
9 months ago |+1
Anyway, both are enough small. This competition for the smallest camera is as crazy as the MPx competition.
Ulli
9 months ago |+2
I believe the Nikon is also better built.
Only the smaller sensor seems to be questionable, I mean, they could have chosen a 2x crop sensor instead and the body/lens dimensions would have stayed the same, right?
Anonymous
9 months ago |I agree with panasonic to lower the prices for it’s lenses & more is to speed out their GF pro camera production . Make it available on my birthday month , Oct .
AtlDave
9 months ago |Both are too big. Only when they can fit into a large pocket with the kit zoom will they be small enough for me. I bought an EPL2 earlier this year but ending up selling because it was a little too large. I was hoping the Nikons would be significantly smaller. Since they are not I am going to look at a GF3 or EPM1 with the X14-42 when that lens becomes available. I hope it is available as the kit lens with the GF3.
panasonic
9 months ago |GFX1 is strike back! from EOSHD
-FHD60P 24P
-New sensor
-EVF
-Rangerfinder L1 style
Leendert
9 months ago |Within two months! November?
This sounds cool to:
“I am also told to expect another Leica prime to be announced alongside it as well as a fast 40mm pancake.”
Tobias W.
9 months ago |Awesome. I hope it will be available in January.
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@panasonic
GFX1 will need:
wireless flash control,
exif date editing on camera,
battery grip available at launch,
built in time lapse,
Built in ND graduation filter,
Focus Tracking,
Customizable aspect ratios,
Wireless remote for photo and video functions
would be nice:
panorama function
built in wi-fi or bluetooth
apps
Sean
9 months ago |Why the fizzle would you want a battery grip for a GF series camera?!?! The whole point is to make it as small as possible! I would, however, love battery grips for pretty much every other m4/3 camera…
dumbo
9 months ago |what is a battery grip? if it is a grip that you attach to the camera with a bigger battery in it, why not carry a couple spare batteries which would be smaller and easier to fit your pocket.
seems outdated concept with today´s small rechargeable batteries
nd graduation filter seems a little annoying. just a built in 3 scale nd filter would be better. with graduation filters, i find i need to be able to move them depending on the framing.
wireless flash control would be bloody useful! and the rest of the list seems good
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Sean
for stamina …a journalist, wildlife photographer or a reportage photographer would like this optional accessory.
EOSHD.com have suggested it will take the same battery as the GH2
Jim
9 months ago |Nice list – can i add tethered USB control…
And FOCUS PEAKING
Alexander
9 months ago |Great List – hope they read it & are able to do it..
avds
9 months ago |Wow, that thing is THAT much larger than the Oly! Can’t believe it. I judged it to be way smaller based on release pics before seeing this actual side-by-side. Probably fell for the “smaller sensor = smaller body” assumption.
But I remember the other Nikon to be smaller. So this comparison is then not totally fair since these two cams also differ in functionality (EVF).
Jim
9 months ago |everyone saying “bad show” Nikon is bigger than m4/3 but has smaller sensor, but remember m4/3 is bigger then sony!! (body only)…
Elniorg\'s Journeys
9 months ago |Yeah… probably a picture with a big hand person…
Tobias W.
9 months ago |LOL.
I guess Nikon did not anticipate that Panasonic and Olympus would bring the GF3 and E-PM1 to market that fast! Those two models will kill of Nikon’s sales at their current price point. Nikon needs to cut price by half if they want to be competitive with Micro Four Thirds.
spanky
9 months ago |This is only true if you compare products. However, sales aren’t about products necessarily, but have a lot to do with production, marketing and distribution channels. In those areas Nikon beats the pants off Oly and Pana, which means they’ll probably still sell more product than either of those two combined.
In any event, Nikon will learn a lot from how their customers warm up to this mirrorless entrant. It could be good and bad for them. It’s quite possible that through Nikon’s marketing of their mirrorless cameras they end up bringing awareness to the mirrorless market, thereby driving their own customers to look at alternatives. Should be an interesting next few years in this segment.
Nathan
9 months ago |Okay, so it’s a bit larger and definitely overpriced. It will, however, perform well with C-mount lenses, since it will avoid some of the vignetting that you get with 4/3.
Not sure whether that really makes it that much more viable or competitive.
Ark-kun
9 months ago |>It will, however, perform well with C-mount lenses, since it will avoid some of the vignetting that you get with 4/3.
How will it avoid vignetting if the sensor is smaller?
Joe Benjamin
9 months ago |You just answered your own question.
Alex
9 months ago |You really like comparing like for like don’t you? Not!
Why compare the biggest Nikon with smallest Oly?
Arnold
9 months ago |Because C-mount lenses have a smaller image circle.
3434343434
9 months ago |even the e-pm1 beats the v1 in functionality.
the handling of the nikons are shit… pure noob shooter shit.
Miroslav
9 months ago |It would be better to compare it with G3, because of the viewfinder. And, I’d like to see comparisons with various lenses. Besides, E-PM1 is J1′s competitor, not V1′s. Nevertheless, it has IBIS and hotshoe in its favor over both Nikons. V1 has EVF on the other hand…
Fair comparisons:
J1 – E-PM1 – GF3 – NEX-C3 – NX200
V1 – E-PL1 – G3 – NEX-5N
Adam
9 months ago |Exactly!
And once you take the 5n ($649 usd) with an EVF addon ($349), that puts the price of the camera at $1000.
Vlad
9 months ago |%99 for the body, but anyway. Still not that far from the rest.
Adam
9 months ago |A more appropriate price comparison would be with the J1, not the V1 as the V1 has an EVF.
So E-PM1 is $499 and the J1 is $649, or a difference of $150.
Adam
9 months ago |Replied to wrong post…
Gasper
9 months ago |Here is also the comparison between J1 and E-PM1
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-1-j1-vs-v1-vs-olympus-pen-mini-e-pm1-comparison-17471
J1 lens is a bit smaller, but Pany X lens is the winner here
Miroslav
9 months ago |Excellent comparison! Nikon lens is a bit smaller, Oly has a hotshoe, Nikon a flash.
The biggest innovations i Nikon 1 system are electronic shutter and PDAF on sensor. I’d like to see both in m4/3.
Mike
9 months ago |What an epic fail on the size and weight front for Nikon.
The electronic shutter and dual AF will be good to hear more about.
safaridon
9 months ago |I am puzzled about the different basic body sizes between the two Nikon cameras sans EVF as clearly from the pictures the V1 is larger and higher than the basic one yet DPR review and this forum said the bodies were essentially the same size?
Ulli
9 months ago |well that 10-100 zoom looks impressive!
Mr. Reeee
9 months ago |Nikon did alright design-wise. The 1 series is very sleek and modern looking.
The lenses are look really good. The font is cool and the dots on the focus ring vs. traditional bars are really great and so simple.
As for IQ, who knows until we see real-world tests and not just shots of focus charts and such.
Ulli
9 months ago |modern looking but in a utility style way
Jim
9 months ago |Who cares how it looks – its what it can look at that counts
Mr. Reeee
9 months ago |Don’t say that too loud around here!
True enough, but it’s good to see Nikon stretching the envelope a bit and doing things a little differently.
Ulli
9 months ago |agree Jim
Steve
9 months ago |Here is a comparision of m43, NEX and Nikon with lenses attached.
http://www.bmupix.com/journal/2011/9/21/nikon-enters-the-mirrorless-market.html
io
9 months ago |thanks!
Alex
9 months ago |Now that’s a better comparison!
I agree, that Nikon could have made it smaller, but still is very comparable to the GF3 in size. Like to see the compact standard zoom that was displayed soon though.
I have been looking at the NEF file of J1 and it is very good! JPG is not so nice though in high ISO… Could improve in the production version?
Steve
9 months ago |I think we are seeing diminishing returns with smaller sensors if you want to have manual controls and good handling. Len design also has a big impact on the size of lens, not just the sensor size. Looks like m43 is hitting the sweet spot here.
EASY
9 months ago |You really should compare V1 against G3 – smallest M4/3 camera with EVF and they are about the same size.
Also price comparison is not valid J1/V1 are newer cameras and are not sold yet, it means that we do not know street price.
Maybe you wish to talk about strengths of Nikon 1 cameras?
Electronic shutter, AF tracking, hight burst rates, PDAF on sensor, tele advantage – dreams came true.
I wish that Pana/Oly were not sleeping for that long.
So it is fanboyism again – sorry…
ArKersaint
9 months ago |@ panasonic : thanks for the info
@ others : here is the thread
http://www.eoshd.com/content/4168/high-end-panasonic-mirrorless-will-be-gfx1
Regarding the Nikon strategy, i think they feared cannibalization of their present APSC line so much that they tried to reinvent everything from scratch just like Apple did with Ipod.
This resulted in an attempt to deliver a very very simple camera – J1 / V1 – with over-simplified interface without even PSAM dial…
I believe it was a mistake : unlike Apple’s geeks keen about revolutions, Nikon public should be expecting a real photographic tool.
Photography is technically a more complex art than phoning and surfing and Nikon should have capitalised in it’s main strengths.
I red in this site susch appreciation that Nikon had lost it’s soul… Maybe Thom Hogan is right saying that Nikon’s marketing isn’t to be accounting among Nikon’s strengths !
Thom Hogan
9 months ago |I’m not yet convinced that Nikon’s design target was a mistake. Having just spent a great deal of time with an E-PL3, while I appreciate all the customization/control on the camera, it’s awkward in practice. I’m not sure the Nikon 1 is any better, but there appears to be a design consistency towards set once and shoot. That will certainly appeal to the compact user coming up to a new system camera.
I’m not going to do a lot of commenting on threads about the Nikon 1, as I’ve got a ton of information/comments on my Web site and I really don’t like repeating myself. Certainly for my own use, I’m not sure that the Nikon 1 changes my use of m4/3 one bit. We’ll see when the cameras finally get here. But initial examination says the Nikon 1 isn’t the camera for me.
ArKersaint
9 months ago |Thanks for the answer.
For sure, there seems to be consistency in Nikon’s V1 and J1 body and interface design, however I am not sure this applies as well to lenses (too big to justify the sensor size in my opinion).
I am also not sure that Nikon DSLR owners will buy it for them as secund camera or for their wifes, due to the gap between the 2 series.
Interesting times however !
Thom Hogan
9 months ago |As I’ve noted on my site, the interesting bit about the Nikon 1 is that it works perfectly fine with existing F mount glass (assuming you’ve got the mount adapter). As in full performance AF, VR, etc. This opens up uses that people aren’t yet fully coming to grips with (not even sure Nikon is). The relatively small 50mm f/1.4G becomes a 135mm equivalent, the 35mm f/1.8 DX is a portrait lens (~90mm). Like the other mirrorless cameras the issue will really be wide angle. But even there we might have good (and inexpensive) existing solutions if C-mount is viable (don’t know yet what the camera does if it doesn’t see mount communication).
ArKersaint
9 months ago |You are quite right about DSLR users and existing F mount lenses, I did not know that. What I meant was about the interface, especially the buttons, which looks to me quite specific (no PSAM)… Maybe it will please, but that would imply a cultural spin !
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Thom Hogan
it seems that Nikon want to do all the thinking for the photographer with the Nikon 1 which doesn’t bode well for the D4, a complaint I remember hearing when the D3s came out (it can do everything for you).
I think people who purchase the Nikon 1 will soon tire of this approach…
Frederic Hew
9 months ago |Judging by the focus numerique samples the V1 is rivaling the G3 at ISO 6400, and retains much more details than the E-P3.
I’d like to see a raw comparison though.
zwagner
9 months ago |I noticed this as well. I think the V1′s ISO comparison shots actually look a bit better than the EP3′s, which is a little scary. That and the ridiculous fps help the camera to stand out a bit for me. But the fact that it’s ugly as sin, and the 10-100 lens is the size of a small bus, makes me happy I have the EPL-2, and still look forward to grabbing the EPM-1.
Thom Hogan
9 months ago |Now you know why I’ve been saying (and worrying about) that the Panny/Olympus sensors are sub-par to the expected norm. There’s much to like about the Pens and Gs, but they’re now getting squeezed at both ends (Sony at the top, Nikon below).
Jim
9 months ago |mmm only at 3200 ISO and 6400 ISO and only because of verry aggressive NR.
At all other ISOs even the PENs are giving better images (lower noise as well as way more detail/sharpness)….
But totaly agree I think the next PEN should have a sensor that delivers very good ISO 25K
Jim
9 months ago |If panasonic went for back side illumination and Quantum film as well as their patent on micro crystals all in 1 sensor they could potentialy have a sensor with up to 3 stops better performance!
2x for back side illumination,
2x for quantumfilm,
2x for crystal diffraction as opposed to filtration
http://www.invisageinc.com/page.aspx?cont=Pixel%20Comparison
6400 ISo like current 800ISO – in a m43 package, That would be one hell of a camera!!!!
Just Dreaming
YouDidntDidYou
9 months ago |@Thom Hogan
Panasonic have already stated a few months ago they are working on a new sensor to improve ISO and dynamic range…
ijack
9 months ago |I have E-P3, I think for better shadow noise, you really need to shoot in raw, their noise reduction is patchy. The chroma noise is pretty significant, while on GH-2, noise in similar setting is nearly non-existent.
Agent00soul
9 months ago |It might rival it per pixel, as it should with almost the same pixel size. But note that it has 50% less pixels.
Thom Hogan
9 months ago |To the crowd Nikon is marketing to, pixel count isn’t all that important.
Agent00soul
9 months ago |You’re right about that. But if the G3 has the same per pixel quality at say 3200 iso, but 50% more pixels, the whole image will look less noisy at a certain print size. It’s like back in the film days when you used fine grain film to get better looking prints.
Frederic Hew
9 months ago |Yes, but it still has as much details as the 16MP G3…
Bob B.
9 months ago |hmmmm..at the botom of the post…the GF3 next to the Nikon V1 makes the Nikon look ..ummmm… fuddy duddy? (technical term)….
…still no viewfinder though?!!!!
Give me my GF1 any day…with more tactile controls..etc. These cameras are all too small for me.
Mar
9 months ago |God, it’s ugly….
Jack
9 months ago |Wow, that thing is huge. And ugly. I do think a fairer comparison on size though would have been to the E-P3, since they’re both the high ends of their respective lines. I was never seriously interested in the Nikon mirrorless. Now I know I’m not. Too big. Too expensive. Too small a sensor.
Renato M.
9 months ago |this post almost everything I wrote in comments around Internet.
I think that sometimes the high-ISO performance doesn’t matter so much, since the most of your pictures won’t be in such a low light situation.
but my major problem with the nikon1 system – 1 stands for 1-inch sensor, I guess – is the price! it’s way too high. I expected the J1 to be around 400~500$ and the V1 around 500~650$. J1 is very comparable to the E-PM1 and well, the G3 is the cheapest camera with built-in EVF, but 900$ for the V1??
Nikon has gone delusional!
Daemonius
9 months ago |I prefer m4/3s over Nikon 1 cause..
1) they look more like camera and less like toy (especially E-P1/2/3)
2) they look nice (all of them have kinda nice design)
3) they have native 4:3 which is way better than 3:2 (tho 1:1 sensor with crop would be best)
4) they are cheaper
5) easier to use old lenses, 2x crop is bad, but 2.7x? thats nightmare..
6) plenty of high quality lenses
7) much better performace (just check samples from Nikon 1, thats superzoom level of picture “quality”)
8 ) ergonomics
9) Olympus has build in IS
10) superior EVF to everything except new Sony OLED EVFs
Thats pretty much everything I can think of.. Nikon 1 is simply failure from photographic and esthetic side of view, tho from marketing point of view its probably ok, simply new “pro” Coolpix. It will sell well “cause its Nikon”.
hlbt
9 months ago |The major problem I have about the new Nikon is that the just-announced Coolpix P7100 is superior in almost every aspect of body/interface design. Nikon is certainly not delusional, but are doing this with intent.
Mal
9 months ago |What is excruciating about these images is that it does NOT show the EPM1 with kit lens alongside the J1 with kit lens. And including a top view! That is the only meaningful comparison that can be made. But for some reason no one is showing it.
Trevor
9 months ago |As someone else posted above, look near the bottom of this page.
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-1-j1-vs-v1-vs-olympus-pen-mini-e-pm1-comparison-17471
Rob-L
9 months ago |It would have been more accurate to compare the Pen Mini,Pen Lite and GF3 to the Nikon J1, and the G3, GH2 and EP-3 to the Nikon V1.
These compare two cameras without a viewfinder to a camera with a built-in viewfinder. No surprise which one’s would be smaller!
AG
9 months ago |Thing is the Nikon 1 will get the brick & mortar shelf space and marketing push while the Olympus and Panasonic are only found online.
Panasonic really needs a GF version of the G3 with the 14-42x pancake zoom and market this to big box retailers. The V1 is just too ugly.
Dummy00001
9 months ago |Nikon commentator Thom – http://bythom.com/ – seems not too happy about the cameras too. Though he doesn’t dismiss them outright.
To me personally, the price alone kills the “Nikon 1″.
P.S. Though I would be seriously tempted by P300′s successor based on the same sensor tech.
st3v4nt
9 months ago |If only Panasonic and Olympus put as much effort to market their m43 system in Asia as Nikon did then the one that should worry about Nikon 1 launching is Canon….
Low Budget Dave
9 months ago |I am willing to wait for the review. Nikon makes good cameras, and lots of people buy them.
Fortunately, my local Nikon dealer also carries Olympus
sonynikoncanonleica
9 months ago |Everytime when ppl compare height of m4/3 against other mirrorless cameras their “forget” (on purpose) to mention the extra EVF.
If One put this awful ‘clump’ on the E-Pen then its much more taller than Nikon mirrorless camera. And the Olympus attached EVF is very uncomfortable in real life working: Put it on …and take it off …Blaah!
Neonart
9 months ago |I’d like to see that 10-100 lens compared to the Oly 14-150 or Pany 14-140. The 10-100 has no focal length advantage, no speed advantage, and appears to be much larger. What’s up with that?
Ben Y
9 months ago |I can’t get over how ridiculous and out of place that hump looks.
spam
9 months ago |True, but at least it’s there. And it looks much more sturdy than an external EVF on Olympus models.
Dana
9 months ago |Lets see how many ways can you be wrong?
First you price compare the least expensive olympus with the most expensive nikon. But wait, there’s more. The Nikon has a 1.4m finder built in. To get that on the Olympus will set you back $250. There goes you price difference.
Seriously? Sexier?
Fanboy!
Kylberg
9 months ago |It seems housing has similar weight and size to m4/3 and lenses the same. The major difference being the size of sensor. Price is similar. So in what area does Nikon 1 shine? Is it performance that can appeal to some enthusiast photographers?
The high ISO tests shows Nikon a little worse than E-P3 (And E-P3 a little worse than G3). Exactly what you can expect.
spam
9 months ago |It’s clearly not designed for enthusiast photographers so why look for that kind of features?
However, the basic technology with phase detect af on the main sensor and the high thruput of the sensor and electronics would make it possible to design some really interesting enthusiast models.
Alfons
9 months ago |This should finally drop the size concerns away from the 4/3 format. I quess Olympus and Panasonic had to go as small as they can to compete against smaller sensor systems.
The Nikon is just about the right size to be ok to handle. We must also remember that V1 here has built in flash and EVF. Olympus or Panasonic should find a way to make a small modular EVF unit. One that won’t stick out of the body when attached. Detachable EVFs do have the advantage as the EVF technology is still advancing fast.
Trevor
9 months ago |No built-in flash on the V1.
ArKersaint
9 months ago |+1 : Fully agree on the modular detachable albeit non proheminant viewfinder… on the left corner please !
om-4
9 months ago |No rocket science but the V1 lost the war.
One needs a different Canon in the mirrorless wars to reflect on finding a view on top.
flash
9 months ago |It was beaten with a bunch of M1s come to think of it.
Ben Y
9 months ago |Anyone else thinks this looks like a very early hypothetical prototype of a Pentax Q?
Trevor
9 months ago |As Gasper posted above, this really is a good comparison.
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/nikon-1-j1-vs-v1-vs-olympus-pen-mini-e-pm1-comparison-17471
I don’t know why Admin is keeping the V1 to E-PM1 up; as everyone has mentioned, it should be the J1 compared to the E-PM. He may be traveling though, so I’ll cut him some slack
As for price, I think they are right in line. The J1 at $650 has a flash, electronic shutter, and a power zoom lens which clearly the E-PM lacks at $499.
The V1 is exactly the same as the E-P3 at $899 and comes with a power zoom lens, metal body, and an EVF. The V1 does lack a flash though.
I’m not saying it’s a m43 killer, but Oly and Panny are probably worried.
Agent00soul
9 months ago |Are you sure the lens has power zoom? I thoght only the 10-100 had power zoom. And the E-PM1 includes an external flash, doesn’t it? And further, the E-PM1 can accept an external EVF (optional), which the J1 can’t.
david
9 months ago |You are correct; according to the Nikon press release on dpreview, only the 10-100 has a power zoom.
Trevor
9 months ago |I stand corrected. You’re right on all counts. With that in mind, the $650 is probably a little high compared to the E-PM1.
MK
9 months ago |i’m worried about your thought process here. the whole point of going for a smaller sensor was to maintain good IQ (relatively speaking) AND decrease the size of the camera (AND AND AND AND the lenses). The J1 is the same size as m43 bodies. The lenses are basically the same size. The lens options are doo doo. This leaves me with many questions.
Why is the prime 2.8? Why are the zooms so slow? Why would anyone who does not own F-mount lenses care about an adapter? I’m not going to carry around a lens and use only 30%(or less) of that lens by virtue of a smaller sensor, it defeats the purpose of the camera. Why is the long tele 750? Who the F would buy a tele that slow for so much? Why does the flash on the V1 look like it is a fisher price toy? Why does the camera look so ugly? I have never seen a camera so ugly. Pronea looks better. Its great that the camera has such a good processor. What is the point of processing when the actual object that collects & focuses light (lenses not sensor) is mediocre?
This camera is perfect if Nikon wants to compete with m43 models such as E-PL1. Even then the E-PL1 would probably be better given that it is dirt cheap.
Ben Y
9 months ago |It’s a shame, if they made some simple design tweaks at least the lines would resemble a familiar camera shape. This looks better, in my opinion.
http://i.imgur.com/3EEd8.jpg
alexander
9 months ago |I guess on Nov 3rd we cold stop to talk about Nikon. …. http://photorumors.com/
Canon will present their mirrorles system.
up to now I would say Pen (& G) Series are all in all in advantage! Good so. Go on.
mahler
9 months ago |These comparisons show how pointless the Nikon 1 system is. Another photo brick on the market, with – after Pentax Q – the worst design so far.
AlexV
9 months ago |Others pictures comparison with many camera available here:
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/duels.php?ty=1&ma1=31&mo1=1521&p1=11887&ma2=32&mo2=1328&p2=10526&ph=20
Giovanni B.
9 months ago |Give a look at the synoptic table of size, weight and sensor’s size here: http://goo.gl/ixG6X
Ciao
hiplnsdrftr
9 months ago |J1 with built in flash, smaller size and streamlined body design actually seems like a more preferable camera to me than the V1.
Eugene
9 months ago |I think Nikon didn’t expect the GF3 and E-PM1. Also, Nikon doesn’t want its DSLR to be cannibalized. If people see that mirrorless cameras are on par with DSLRs no one or less would buy DSLRs. But they gave the Nikon 1 nice specs like high-speed video to make it look attractive. But Olympus can do that already with their i-Speed cameras, even faster with 1000000 FPS.
I’d still prefer the Pen over the Nikon 1. I just wish they would integrate the three systems together; FourThirds, Micro FourThirds, and i-Speed.
Tom
9 months ago |I don’t think the nikon is perfect, but many of the claimed flaws here are not, in my opinion, fair.
Body size: manufacturers can now shrink cameras to the poInt of being nearly inoperable. I’m glad nikon didn’t (handling may or may not be good, but at least it isn’t too small.
Sensor size: pixel size is pretty similar to the 16mp panasonics. Image quality may be comparable (and I firmly believe that 10 mp is more than enough for this type of camera, so the extra 6 mp wins panasonic no poInts in my book)
As for the lack of pasm modes, yeah that is pretty unacceptable seeing as how there is room on the dial for them.
Price: totally, outrageously overpriced. And here I was thinking Olympus was ripping us off…
There are definitely some cool features, and since panasonic doesn’t seem to have the best sensor design, I believe they may be able to squeeze image quality comparable to m4/3 (remains to be seen). With good lens selection I can see this really working for a lot of people, but I kind of suspect they won’t make those lenses for fear of people ditching their slr lineup. A really good 100-200 mm lens would make this a wildlife photographers dream. Good macro lenses will also be great (wide dof). I’m curious where it will go, I see fantastic potential even though I think they’ll waste that potential to make it a soccer mom camera with lousy zoom lenses.
Giovanni B.
9 months ago |Hi Tom
my disappointment is not for the body size of the Nikon, but for its sensor size. I don’t like a focal length multiplier of 2,7!
Also, you don’t have any advantage from such a small sensor: not only the body size, but also the lenses size is equal to other mirrorless camera, with a larger sensor.
This, at least, is my opinion.
Ciao
Giovanni
blastingmill
9 months ago |how is it that this camera can auto focus f-mount lenses, with an adapter, while m4/3 can not auto focus SHG 4/3 glass?
this sensor size makes sense for nikon. they can get their entry into mirror-less, develop their technology without cannibalizing their dslr market. then eventually release a full frame or apsc mirror-less camera, when they’ve matured in the technology.
Olympius
9 months ago |“how is it that this camera can auto focus f-mount lenses, with an adapter, while m4/3 can not auto focus SHG 4/3 glass?”
Well, m4/3 can autofocus 4/3 glass, but it’s slow. But why would anyone want to put SHG glass on a Pen anyway? If you want to use lenses that big, buy a DSLR for them.
But anyway, there are a lot of Nikon DSLR cameras, like the D3100 and D5100, two name a couple, that can’t even focus all of Nikon’s AF lenses –just a subset. I have a feeling, that despite having phase detect on the sensor, there’s going to be a LOT of Nikon lenses that aren’t going to work with the “1″.
FWIW….I’m extremely underwhelmed by this “1″ system — I’d rather have a Fuji X10. Or any of the Panasonic or Olympus micro 4/3 cameras. Or even any of the Sony NEX cameras, and I don’t even like the Sony NEX cameras.
This another camera for the Japanese school girl market….especially that pink monstrosity they’ve come up with, with the matching pink lens.
If they ever have any more problems with Godzilla wanting to destroy Tokyo, they should just line the beaches with those pink J1′s….that will keep him far, far away….
- Olympius
Jim
9 months ago |I want to put F2 zooms on my pen… I just cant afford it… why do you need an SLR – I’m happy with my 135mm F2.8 on the PEN and even my 300mm F4.5 OM…
But beyond diverging form the original question a straight answer is that the Nikon camers have PD sensors in built and m4/3 dont.
So m4/3 is trying to use the lens motors in a way they were never designed to (i.e. move,a bit more, bit more, bit more, bit more, now back a bit, back a bit, forward a bit, done! – this jerking is not how the PD AF motors like to work – they want a single signal saying move hear and then they will charge at full speed to that point – they just want a single signal not hundreds per second!)
The PD sensor in the nikon can provide this single command to the AF motor. But because CDAF is a trial and error approach it will never be a single command approach… hence most 4/3 lenses hunt, judder and focus slowly on PENS….
CDAF motors/lenses are essentialy stepper motors able to hunt back and forth quickly, with precition and recive changing commands very very quickly!
Note: the Oly 14-52 f2.8-3.5 4/3 lens is optimised for CDAF and works acceptably on the PENS… so does the mighty 12-60 F2.8-F4… not as fast as the newer m4/3 lenses but fast enough to be very usable.
blastingmill
9 months ago |why do you suppose Nikon went with a PDAF design while Olympus went with a CDAF design, for mirrorless?
blastingmill
9 months ago |My concern is that I own a handful of zuiko HG and SHG lenses and want continue to use them well into the future. I own an E-5 and use it with much satisfaction.
For shooting video, I am not concerned as I would shoot manual focus anyways. But for stills, I almost exclusively use autofocus. Those HG and SHG Zuiko lenses will go down in history as being some of the finest lenses ever made.
As long as Olympus provides a camera to operate these lenses, I will be happy.
Raist
9 months ago |@admin and whoever is calling the Nikon V1 huge:
- it has a built in EVF. Add the EVF to that Pen and see how big it is
- A bit bigger than EPM1 hardly makes it “wow that thing is huuuge” though I understand as you go smaller the difference are bigger than photos suggest when you hold them.
Mark
8 months ago |Not only is the Nikon huge, it is ugly. I’ve seen UV-housing with more style and taste. EVF or not, the Olympus atleast makes sense as a mirrorless camera.