More on the Nikon 1

I suspect that by now everyone knows I like the Nikon 1 cameras. They work for me in many situations and enable me to just take pictures, which is the point of having a camera. Every photographer is a little different, so it may or may not work for you. One photographer it does agree with is Craig Litten. He published a new project on nikonrumours.com and I wanted to share it with you.

Not only do I love the images, but it also confirms everything I have been saying about the Nikon 1 …. 😉

P.S.: Just in case you missed this bit of information, the Nikon 1 V1 with the 10-30mm VR kit lens is now $299 at a number of U.S. camera retailers.

What Matters Most?

Okay, this one is more personal than other posts. Luckily, I believe it will end up being quite short.

Let’s consider the following three characteristics of a camera:

1. Focusing speed
2. Low light/High ISO performance
3. General image quality

If there was one of the above camera parameters you could choose to be the best, which one would it be?

This is a simplification and there are clearly too many variables to guide us to a single definitive answer as everyone will define their own set of parameters and assumptions. I myself cannot come up with one single answer. The best I can do is two:

• For landscape photography, I only care about 3. AF is almost non-important for that type of work and I can usually shoot in low light at base ISO due to the mostly static nature of the subject; as a result, the number of shots failed due to technical reasons is low compared to the keepers as long as the IQ is good enough.
• For day to day photography (family, urban, action, sports, everything else), I find that my answer has evolved over time. Initially I felt that IQ was of utmost importance. Along the way, I fell into the pixel-peeping pit and thought noise and loss of DR or colour depth were cardinal sins. After going through many, many missed shots, I believe now that the most important technical element of an image is focus (landscape photography excluded). I can live with a smaller print size or some blown highlights. Remember those ISO400 slides or prints from film?! The grain did not bother us. Why should a little luminance noise in the sky or in the shadows bother us today? If we lack enough pixels to print big, we can still print smaller or enjoy a good photograph online more often than not.

On the other hand, an out-of-focus or a back/front focused shot is ruined 99 times out of 100. This is why whenever I put down the DSLR looking for something smaller, I go for the Nikon 1. Thanks to the stellar AF and general camera speed I shoot many more keepers with the 1 than with any other camera I used. (As a side note, I am baffled when camera reviewers overlook the importance of AF in selecting a camera; many of the highly recommended mirrorless cameras offer AF performance that is barely better than the point and shoot compacts).

Then again, if you do not mind the weight (real AND financial) you can pick up a D4, D800E or 5DMkIII and have the best of (almost) all worlds, except for size, of course. 😉

What about you? What is the one camera characteristic you value most for your shooting style and/or assignments?

Holiday (Camera) Shopping, Part 1 – Full Frame Cameras

(Nikon D5000, Nikkor AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 200, f/4, 1/320s).
I have been testing the AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 lens. These images will not win any National Geographic contests, but they are perfect to illustrate the qualities of the lens: very sharp corner to corner, great macro performance, exceptional colour rendering, reasonably fast and without any major flaws. The one relatively minor issue I noticed was a small amount of axial CA. I know this is to be expected with a fast prime, but there was no indication in any reviews I had read that this would be the case. The D5000 or J1/V1 seem to be unable to correct it, but Capture NX2 all but removes it.
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

(Nikon D5000, AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/1600s).
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

Christmas is just around the corner and shopping in North America has started in all its fury with the Black Friday mayhem.

As a side note, I always thought the line that the auto dealers use around here in their commercials – “there has NEVER been a better time to buy a <year, make and model>” – is silly, if not downright stupid. Imagine my embarrassment when I realized I was about to use the same line: I don’t think there was ever a better time for photographers looking for a new camera. I am definitely not going to pretend this to be an exhaustive or complete overview of what is available out there. This is just a sample of the huge selection we have in front of us.

Pro Action/Sports/Wildlife – Nikon’s D4 flagship is $6,000; low light performance second only to the Nikon D3s, the D4 shoots 16MP frames at 10fps. If you want a Canon, the 1Dx will get you a faster camera at 14fps and possibly better ergonomics; you give up IQ and a little bit of low light performance while paying $900 more. Either way, plan for buying fast lenses that will set you back many times what you paid for the camera bodies.

Pro Landscape Photography – Get the Toyo-View 810GII 8×10 View Camera ($7,300) and a sturdy tripod. Seriously. Oh, you mean you want a DSLR??!! 😉  Well, if you are ready to give up the yet to be matched image quality of 8×10 sheet film for a camera you do not need Sherpas to carry for you, I can offer the DSLR with the highest rated sensor among full frame and medium format cameras: the Nikon D800E. Word on the street is that the D800E price will drop soon to $3,100. At 36MP you can print up to Size Enormous or shoot 15MP in DX crop mode with your DX lenses.

Caution:

1. To squeeze every ounce of IQ the D800E has to offer, you need very high quality glass.
2. Assuming you have lenses to match the sensor, your shooting technique and discipline must be flawless.
3. The 800E will be prone to moire under certain conditions (shooting fashion and scenes with fabrics or tight patterns come to mind)

If you don’t mind spending $100 more for significantly less sensor and perhaps better ergonomics, you can get the Canon 5D Mark III.

Pro All-Purpose Full Frame DSLR – here, the choices are clear: Nikon shooters will get the Nikon D800 for $2,800 and Canon shooters the Canon 5D Mark III for $3,200. If you don’t have any “priors” 😉 it is the same sensor vs ergonomics discussion. The $400 price differential will quickly become insignificant when you start buying the lenses you need.

Entry Level Full Frame – Now there is yesterday’s top oxymoron! 😉 Not so anymore, courtesy of Nikon. The 24MP Nikon D600 surprised everyone by providing a very solid entry point into the full frame world for “only” $2,000. Based on the ergonomically excellent D7000 body design, this is possibly the ideal solution for the D5100/D7000 user looking to move up to full frame. It is worth mentioning that if you made a large investment in DX lenses, you will only get 10MP in crop mode. If this matters to you, consider the D800 with its 15MP DX crop mode. Canon’s answer to the new “full frame entry level” trend is the 20MP full frame EOS 6D. (Funny enough, I cannot find the 6D on Canon’s Canadian web site, so there is no link). The 6D sells for $2,100.

Full Frame Compacts (and other oddities) – My personal bias is that we are not there yet. Let’s get the rangefinders out of the way. The Leica M9 will cost you $7,000. Sorry, friends, but I will not go into this debate now. You make up your mind on your own.

Another interesting newcomer is the 24MP Sony Cybershot DSC-RX1. (I bet you didn’t expect to see Cybershot showing up in an article about full frame cameras, did you??!! 😉  ) This is the first full frame compact camera and you will be paying a premium for the bragging rights: $2,800, as much as the Nikon D600. Sporting a non interchangeable lens, contrast based AF and weighing as much as a small DSLR, I am feeling hard pressed to recommend this camera for any other reason than bragging rights.

Conclusion – as consumers we are fortunate to have a great selection of exceptional full frame DSLRs at unheard of price points from both Nikon and Canon. If you are already full frame users looking to upgrade, enjoy the feast. If you are a DX shooter looking to expand, proceed with caution, especially given the temptation generated by the low entry point: expensive lenses and the need to brush up on your technique are lurking around the full frame corner.

Compact camera and older DSLR camera users, wait for Part 2 – Mirrorless Cameras.

Nikon D5200 Announcement – UPDATED

(Nikon D5000, Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-105mm, ISO 200,HDR Efex Pro 2.0).
Early morning fog on a beautiful October morning in Romania’s countryside.
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

(Nikon D5000, Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-105mm, ISO 200, panorama)
There are occasions when no (existing) camera will do. The dynamic range of a sunrise is generally much higher than any sensor can cover. Sometimes HDR can come to the rescue. The size of the Monument Valley panorama is 45MP, large enough to print 50 inches wide at exceptional quality. The only digital camera that I know of which could take this in one shot is the Phase One IQ180 digital back ($43,000 just the back; add body and lens, please …)
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

UPDATE (November 7, 2012): Some sources contend that the 24.1MP is in fact DIFFERENT than the one found in the D3200. If this proves to be the case, we have one more possible improvement over the D5100 – image quality. We will have to wait and see…. Another concern I have and forgot to mention is the availability of affordable DX lenses capable of fully exploiting a 24MP DX crop sensor. As far as I can see, with very few exceptions, budget and even mid level lenses will be out-resolved by the sensor. In fact, they barely hold their own on the 16MP D7000.

Nikon announced today the new iteration of their mid range consumer DSLR: the D5200.

It features the 24.1MP sensor that we got with the D3200. As expected, the body is very similar to the D5100, as are many of the other specs. Going through the rumoured specs prior to the official announcement one thought weighed heavily on my mind: what could entice a D5100 or D5000 user to upgrade to the D5200? Frankly, I saw very little reason these users should upgrade. Even the D5000 is close enough in terms of image quality and handling that it makes the upgrade questionable (unless one needs to print really big and owns very good lenses or has the budget to buy them).

./rant on/ Those of you who are reading my posts know that I place little weight on video features. Sure, it is nice to have great video capabilities in our DSLRs or mirror less systems, but if you want to shoot video, buy a real camera./rant off/

Back to the question at hand: what does the D5200 bring to the table over the D5100?  Well, Nikon pulled a rabbit out of the hat and managed to find something we might really need/want. Actually, two things:

1. The D5200 has the same 39 point AF system as the D7000, a great improvement over the D5100;

2. The D5200 has the same 2,016-pixel RGB metering sensor as the D7000 and D600

In addition to these surprises, we also get another great improvement: the Expeed-3 processor found in all new Nikon interchangeable lens cameras, from the Nikon 1 to the D4.

Even with these upgrades, I am not sure the D5200 is a must for the D5x00 user. IMHO we are firmly planted in diminishing returns territory when it comes to DX DSLRs. There is still some room to improve on the FX side of the equation, but we have basically everything we need in DX, with the exception of a weather sealed, full featured body with an updated sensor. Once the D400 upgrade to the D300s is released, Nikon or anyone else for that matter will be hard pressed to iterate DX cameras based on higher specs alone. They will need new and innovative ways to grow. In the meantime, some fast, sharp and reasonably priced DX primes are long overdue.

Don’t get me wrong: I think the D5200 will be a spectacular camera. If I didn’t already own a D5000 it would be my DSLR of choice for many of my shoots.

Nikon 1 V2 – First Impressions

(Nikon D5000, Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-105mm, ISO 200, f/8, 1/25s).
Fall Colours in Romania’s Nera Canyon: beautiful display of colour on an amazing late October day.
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

The recently announced Nikon 1 V2 is (mostly) good news. At first glance, Nikon seems to have dealt with a few of the V1’s shortcomings that we were complaining about. Unfortunately, they also ignored a few major complaints we had. I will come back to the most important pros and cons of the new V2 in a minute, but first I want to talk about the one big surprise from my point of view, namely the new sensor.

Frankly, I was not expecting a new sensor in the V2. Nikon claims that the new 14.2 MP CX format sensor has enhanced low light capability. This would be a welcome improvement over one of the few performance characteristics of the old 10MP J1/V1 sensor that fell somewhat short of expectations: low light performance and noise/signal ratio in general (in absolute terms; don’t get me wrong: I think Nikon is already performing wonders squeezing this level of IQ from a CX format sensor). We will have to wait for performance measurements and real life tests to validate this statement.

This article is not meant to be a full review of the new camera. It assumes that the reader is familiar to some degree with the J1/V1 system and points out major changes. I think we can classify these changes in two broad categories:

1. Making a really good thing even better

2. Fixing some inexplicable misses that should have never made it into the V1 camera in the first place

I would like to point you to statement number 4 in an earlier article, where I was speculating on the direction Nikon might take with the Vx line. Funny enough, Nikon actually uses “enthusiast oriented” when describing the new V2 iteration. In the interest of full disclosure I admit I got the sequence of releases wrong. I was expecting the V2 to be launched after the refresh of the DX line.

Let’s review the enhancements that fall under the two categories I mentioned:

1. Making a really good thing even better

IMHO the Nikon 1 cameras are the (undisputed) king of speed among mirrorless system cameras. They even beat many DSLRs in terms of focus speed, continuous shooting and buffer size. The V1 shoots at 5 fps with full exposure controls and continuous autofocus and at 10 fps with continuous autofocus and programmed auto exposure (P). The new V2 betters that by shooting up to 15 fps with full focus and controls. Consider this: the tool of choice for the pro sports shooter is the Nikon D4 that can shoot 16 MP frames at 10 fps. It is true that the D4 can write 14 bit uncompressed raw, compared to the 12 bit compressed NEF for the V2, but in my book the V2s autofocus and continous shooting performance is nothing short of stellar (at a fraction the price of the D4).

Another nice feature of the V1 is the ability to shoot high resolution stills while recording HD video. The limitation is that the stills are 16:9 and about 8 MP. Well, no more! The V2 now shoots full resolution 3:2 stills during video recording. I may be wrong but I don’t know of any other mirrorless or DSLR that does that.

With the V2 we get a new shooting mode: Slow View. While the shutter is pressed half way, the camera captures 40 frames at high speed and then plays them back in slow motion. Press the shutter all the way down when you see the exact instant you wanted to capture and the frame of your choice is written to card.

The already small V1 camera shrunk a little more and lost some weight too.

The image processor is now called Expeed3a. Given that the V1 was sharing the Expeed3 processor with the pro bodies like D4 and D800, we are led to believe that the V2’s processor will surpass the one found in the current Nikon pro bodies. Brilliant!

Last but not least, pixel density, baby!! The 14.2 MP sensor now gives us even higher pixel density than its precursor. This means that wildlife shooters using the FT-1 adapter and long Nikkor lenses will be able to enjoy a huge reach in an unbelievably small (and fast) package. (remember that if you use a 300mm telephoto lens you get the 35mm equivalent of an 810mm lens).

2. Fixing some inexplicable misses that should have never made it into the V1 camera in the first place

We now have a built in flash.

We now have a PASM mode dial and a command dial.

We now have live image control: Nikon’s fancy way of telling us that we can see on screen the exposure settings we make

The F button now acts like a respectable Function button: it invokes a quick menu that gives direct access to the most important settings (ISO, AF Area, AF Servo, WB, PC, Metering).

We now have HDR

Collapsing the lens will turn the camera off, similar to the J2.

Really, Nikon??!! Was there any real reason to leave these out in the first place?

3. What is still missing?

There is still no Panorama mode. Why would the lower spec J2 have a Pano mode and not the V2 shall remain a mystery.

Live histogram seems to be conspicuously absent again.

The most glaring and inexplicable miss of them all is IMHO the lack of bracketing. How on earth can Nikon justify not providing bracketing in a $900 camera targeted at “enthusiasts” is baffling to me.

Conclusion

All in all, it appears that the V2 could be the long awaited highly competent mirrorless camera from Nikon. The final verdict it seems will depend on two things:

– how good is the new sensor, especially in low light/high ISO situations, and

– will Nikon FINALLY deliver the much needed lenses to complete the 1 Nikkor lineup (alternatively, Nikon could address the AF limitations of the FT-1 adapter allowing compatible Nikkor F-Mount lenses to use all of the V2’s AF capabilities)

We will have to wait in order to find out …

The D600 Scores Second to the D800/800E on the DXOMark Scale (or: How Much Better Is The New Camera, Really?!)

(Canon PowerShot G2, ISO 50, f/4, 1/200s).
Morpho butterfly at the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory. This is a JPEG straight out of the camera taken many years ago with a 4MP Canon G2. I could have squeezed more out of the raw file, but left it like this on purpose. 
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

Today, DXOMark published their lab test results for the new Nikon D600. Overall, they score the D600 second only to the D800/D800E.

There is no question that cameras and the sensors in them are getting better. The real question is, however: “How much better?!”. If we were to listen to the camera companies, lens and accessories makers the “new gadget” just rendered the “old gadget” obsolete, so you better go out there and buy it quickly, or else you will miss out.

Comparisons, reviews and lab tests are generally published shortly after new cameras, sensors or lenses are released. The reality is that the only true measurement of camera performance is done in the field by the photographer for which the data is being collected in real life use. There are so many variables that no single lab test or feature comparison can beat the owner’s personal field test. However, we do need a decision aid when planning for an upgrade or shopping around. We do need to understand what the real impact of those “bigger and better numbers” is and just how tangible and meaningful the differences are.

We have plenty of raw numbers to mull over. Sites like DXOMark publish detailed lab tests and measurements. Reviewers discuss the features and compare cameras. The difficulty lies in understanding what it means that the D600 has a maximum dynamic range of 14.2EVs! Is that a lot? We know it is second only to the D800E with 14.3EVs. So what?

The finding that I used to develop the comparison below is that cameras with different sensors will produce very similar results when down-sampled to a common size but at different ISO values. This means that an 8×10 print from a photo taken with an older 12MP DSLR at ISO 200 will look almost identical to an 8×10 print from a similar photo taken with a D800 at say ISO 800. Point in case, the photo at the top of the page could have been taken with a D800 at ISO 6400 with similar results.

Sensor Comparison v2.2

This spreadsheet provides data that can help evaluate the incremental improvement compared to a certain base camera. In this case, I picked the Nikon D5000 because it has one of the most widely used sensors today. The same sensor is used in the very popular D90 and D300/300s cameras. (Sony uses it as well, but they have a different image processing pipeline).

There are several sections to the spreadsheet:

• The header gives general information and the street price as of September 2012; some of the models are discontinued and only available used, so please take the numbers with a grain of salt;
• The middle section deals with sensor performance and has two parts:
  • The top four rows describe the absolute performance of the sensor; the maximum dynamic range and colour depth, irrespective of the ISO value they are obtained at; the low light ISO rating as per DXOMark;
  • The bottom twelve rows deal with three key image quality and sensor performance parameters – noise, dynamic range, colour sensitivity – at three ISO ratings – 200, 800, 3200 (read below for more on this)
• The bottom section lists the most important functional characteristics of the cameras; there are many more specs than the ones I included here, but IMHO these are the key elements likely to impact your ability to take the photo under most circumstances

As I mentioned, I used the D5000 as the base for the comparison. All sensor performance data is based on measurements published by DXOMark.

The key to understanding how to use the data in the spreadsheet is the following:

• In the absolute sensor performance section I indicated the maximum values and the differential compared to the corresponding maximums for the D5000 sensor
• In the ISO dependent performance section I measured the value of the parameter for the D5000 at the indicated ISO and then determined the differential in exposure stops (EVs) for each other camera; for example:
  • at ISO 800 the D5000 has a dynamic range of 10.6EVs; in order to get the same DR with the D3200, you need to be at an ISO value lower by 0.4 stops (approx. ISO 640); in order to get the same 10.6EV DR with the D4, you can crank up the ISO by 1.7 stops, to about ISO 2600; or…
  • at ISO 200 the D5000 has a Colour Sensitivity of 22.5bits; the J1 never gets to 22.5bits, therefore it is shown as N/A; the D600 will display 22.5bits of colour at an ISO 1.5 stops higher, namely ISO 600;

It is interesting to note that the Low Light ISO Rating is a pretty good approximation of the parameter differentials for sensor performance. For example, the D600 LL ISO is ISO 2,980, or 1.7EV higher than the D5000. Looking down the D600 column we see that the ISO dependent values are  somewhere between 1.2 and 1.8EVs “better” than the D5000.

Normalizing sensor performance and image quality to equivalent exposure stops helps us understand what other components of the system or elements of our shooting style we can adjust to obtain similar results. For example, comparing the D5000 and the D7000, we can draw the following conclusions:

• if we are looking for the best dynamic range available, there is nothing we can do with the D5000 system (barring HDR photography) to get to the D7000’s 13.9EVs; at base ISO, the D7000 gives us a whopping 1.4EVs of additional dynamic range on top of the D5000 (more than 10%);
• if we are planning however to use the camera in various conditions between ISO 200 and 3,200, the story changes: the D7000 has less than half a stop advantage over the D5000; this is easily dealt with either in post-processing or by using slightly faster lenses
• again, if using the camera in day-to-day casual shooting, what does the D600 sensor give us: between 1.2 and 1.8EVs; assuming we already own good quality FX lenses, we can buy the D600 for $2,000; if we have slow DX lenses, we can keep the D5000 and upgrade the lenses to new ones that are two stops faster; the resulting snapshots taken between ISO 200 and 3,200 will look very similar on the web or printed at 8×10 or smaller.

There are many other ways the data can be interpreted. You can also figure out what the differentials are between two cameras besides the D5000. Just subtract the EV differentials and you get the relative performance of any two cameras in the table.

Google Acquires Nik Software

(Olympus Tough 8000, Olympus Underwater Housing, ISO 80, f/3.5, 1/125s).
JPEG made with a compact camera, then processed with Nik Software’s Viveza, Color Efex and Silver Efex. All of this took about 10 minutes thanks to the very powerful user interactions and high quality image processing filters built by Nik.
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

This is scary, my friends. To be honest, as a long time user of Nik Software products I am outright panicking now!!

The reason is simple, and it is not because I do not like Google. In fact, I think they are the best at what they do. They have revolutionized data collection, warehousing, mining, analysis and dissemination. They are deploying cutting edge data processing technologies, many of them quite unique and all very advanced. Herein lies the danger. Let’s compare the gmail interface on non Apple devices with the same gmail mailbox presented on an Apple iOS or MacOS device. Night and day from a user perspective. The non Apple presentations, even that using Google’s own Chrome,  look like a hack developed by someone in their garage. Unfortunately I have to use Gmail on non Apple devices for business purposes and it is horrendous.

As good as Google is with their core business, it is equally bad, I would say atrociously so, when it comes to UI refinement, user experience, ease of use, etc. Why does this worry me??!! It scares me to death because Nik Software’s products are ALL about elegance and ease of use combined with powerful user interactions. This is exactly what Google has no clue how to do! Other users of the Color Efex or Silver Efex software will certainly understand what I am saying. It is amazing how Nik Software products have transformed a processing nightmare that would take hours in Photoshop into an elegant point-and-click five minute affair.

I guess we still have one chance: let’s hope that someone high up on the Google ladder understands all this and decides to leave them alone to do their stuff…. Please Google, just give them money, access to data centres and even more good developers.

Nikon D600 – The Full Frame D7000 (a.k.a. The D7000 on Steroids)

(Nikon D7000, Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm, ISO 100, f/10, 1/400s).
Photo courtesy of Lucian Sirb. Consider this: more than 90% of digital photos produced and viewed are used in a fashion similar to this – posted on the web or printed small. How much camera do we need, really??!! 
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

As expected, Nikon announced the new entry level member of their full frame (FX) line of cameras: the D600.

For us users, this news is much better than the title of this article seems to indicate. Looking closely at the available specs, it becomes apparent that the D600 is a D7000 with the 24MP Sony full frame sensor already at the core of the RX1 and A99 cameras. Given Sony’s track record in developing superb sensors and Nikon’s ability to build the best image processing pipelines, I expect the quality of images produced by the D600 to be exceptional.

Adding to the mix the fact that the D7000 is most likely the best DX camera in the world, I think Nikon has a winner here.

A respected commentator observed that the D600 is probably the camera that many should/would have purchased instead of the D800. I completely agree. (by the way, this is product launch strategy 101 – release the high end product first, then the mainstream one, but only after the market hype drives the sales of the high end one).

As far as I can see, the D600 inherits from its older siblings the uncompressed video capability and not much more than that, which is a good thing. The D7000 handles much better than the D800/D4 (can you spell U1 and U2 … 😉 ) and weighs a lot less.

Last but not least, the price. I was expecting a price in the $2,000 range and hoping for $1,700. Nikon landed on $2,100, which is amazing, considering that the Sony RX1 full frame compact and the A99, both announced this week and using the same 24MP sensor, are listed at $2,800. Yep, folks, Sony really thinks someone will pay for a large sensor compact the same price as for the D800 and now 33% more than for the D600. Go figure! Then again, Leica is still selling cameras and apparently doing well financially.

So should you rush to the online retailers’ web sites and pre-order the D600? Well, that depends. If you have a D7000, I would definitely wait. If you need the megapixels because you print really really big, get the D800E. Otherwise, your DX lenses will get you a 10MP image with the D600. Your FX lenses may not be good enough to squeeze that resolution out of the sensor so you could end up with an effective image resolution closer to 16MP.

If you own anything older than the D7000/D5100 DX generation, or if you are a D700 user who hesitated to move to 36MP or spend $6,000 on a D4, your time may have come.

We will have to wait for the sensor performance measurement data to come out to understand whether the D600 can double as a “portable and affordable” D3X. I suspect it could.

In an upcoming article I will publish a comparison table that might help you Nikon users with your decision to upgrade now or wait. Check back soon. In the meantime, enjoy the D600 party! 🙂

UPDATE: After reading some of the feedback and the article again, I want to provide some clarifications: the D600 is indeed heavily based on the D7000 body. However, there are some significant changes beyond the upgrade to a 24MP FX sensor:

1. As I mentioned, the D600 is capable of streaming uncompressed 4:2:2 video via HDMI to an external storage device, just like the D4/D800/D800E
2. The major issue that the D7000 had with the buffer size seems to have been addressed; the D600 can buffer 15 or more 14 bit RAW uncompressed or lossless compressed images
3. The autofocus system now supports f/8 lenses, which means telephoto lenses with converters can autofocus
4. The catch with the AF sensor is that since it was originally designed for a DX camera it seems to cover a small area of the full frame sensor in the D600; this may prove to slow down shooting when the desired focus point is further away from the centre of the image.

No V2 at Photokina – UPDATED

(Nikon 1 J1, Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm, FT-1 Adapter, ISO 400, f/4.8, 1/125s).
My wife caught this Slender Anole with the Nikon 1 J1 using a Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm lens with the FT-1 adapter. 
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

UPDATE (September 24, 2012): Photokina ended and there was no Nikon 1 V2 announcement. However, not all hope is lost. Aptina has released a new 1″ 10MP sensor. Aptina provides the sensor for the current Nikon 1 line and it is widely expected that Nikon will use the new sensor for future iterations. General availability for the new sensor is Q1 of 2013, pretty much in line with my prediction that the earliest we will see a significantly updated Nikon 1 camera will be early next year.

 

(Original article, published September 6, 2012)

Looking at the access statistics for this site I noticed that many of you are searching for Nikon 1 V2 release information.  I have to disappoint those of you hoping for an updated V1 any time soon, like at the Photokina show. Nothing I have heard or read points to Nikon having a V2 camera ready.

I think there are a few possible factors that come into play:

1. Nikon is very much focused on their FX product strategy. If they get the D600 right (a good balance of features at a price point below $2,000) they will make the D800/D800E success pale in comparison. IMHO there is a huge market for a D600 “done right”, especially since …. (read on)

2. There is no new DX top of the line camera to replace the D300s. Don’t get me wrong: the D7000 is likely the best DX camera in the world today. However, there are a few things the D300s did better. Soon, the D7000 will show its age so Nikon must focus on completing their DX line of products soon.

3. (here I am purely speculating) Contrary to what many observers are saying, I believe Nikon hit THEIR mark with the Nikon 1 system launch. They may have not hit yours, but they certainly achieved what I think they set out to do: create a camera that makes taking good pictures easy by providing a fantastic and unique blend of performance (AF is still unsurpassed in the mirrorless world, continuous shooting is at prosumer DSLR level), usability (weight, size, simple menus, FT-1 F-mount adapter) and IQ (the Expeed 3 processing pipeline performs wonders with the small CX format sensor). The recent J2 announcement seems to confirm that Nikon will stay this course.

4. (speculating again) As I wrote in an earlier article, Nikon may be looking at making the V2 a much more enthusiast oriented camera. With the DX lineup in transition, they may be reluctant to launch a camera that may cannibalize their own DX DSLR sales even more than today. I expect a V2 to come after a refresh of the D5100/D7000/D300s combo. This puts the forecasted date squarely into next year.

In the meantime, the J1/V1 prices have come down significantly. If you are looking for a small, competent camera now, I suggest you get one and go out there an take great pictures. Shopping can wait …..

How Will the Nikon D600 Influence Your Upgrade Plans?

(Nikon D5000, AF-S DX VR 18-105mm, ISO 320, f/6.3, 1/160s).
IMHO the sine-qua-non condition to getting a shot is to have the camera ready to shoot when you need it. The D5000 was small and light enough to hide under my coat until the rain stopped. Sure, the D3X is weather sealed, but it is huge and costs a small fortune. Would you risk it for a double rainbow shot?
See more like this at Sorin Vacaru Photography

It is almost certain that Nikon will introduce in September a new full frame camera, the D600. We now have a very strong line of full frame (35mm FX) products that covers some ground previously held by high end DX format cameras. With the price point for the D600 expected to be below $2,000 and no replacement for the D7000 or D300s in sight, current DX users are facing a tough choice.

It almost seems like Nikon is trying to polarize the DX user base and guide them towards FX or CX. Users previously held back by the hefty price tag of the D700/D800 cameras will now take a good look at the D600. At the other end, DX users that want a competent lightweight alternative to the bulky DSLRs now have the CX format Nikon 1 line. I believe that within the next couple of Nikon 1 sensor iterations the IQ penalty due to the small sensor will be wiped out and the CX format will become a solid option for producing top quality images (not that you cannot get great shots with the current Nikon 1 cameras; on the contrary).

From a bottom line perspective, this move may make sense to Nikon. Both CX and FX lines are very high margin compared to DX DSLRs. The only element lacking is the volume.

From the photographer’s perspective, however, things are a little more complicated. Those contemplating an upgrade from DX to FX should be prepared for a steep learning curve and a significant impact to their bank accounts.

In order to master the new FX cameras and extract the performance they are capable of, photographers need to pay very close attention to shot discipline and technique. The AF system performance is stellar, but demands that the photographer understands it well and is proficient with using it in the field. The high pixel count of the sensor will reflect all the flaws in the shooting technique and pixel peepers are likely to be bitterly disappointed unless they master the cameras.

Assuming shooting discipline is good enough, we are likely to hit the next obstacle: lens quality. The 36MP sensor of the D800 and especially the D800E will out-perform many lenses that work great on the 12 – 16 MP cameras. All previously unseen imperfections now become visible and they will likely frustrate photographers who are trying to realize the full potential of these cameras. Another major problem for the DX shooter moving up to FX is the fact that many of the lenses they already own are likely to be DX format lenses. You may be looking at a full lens re-alignment with all the financial penalty it comes with.

The D600 will have a 24 MP sensor. While not as high as with the D800/800E, the pixel density is still more than enough to make technique and lens flaws clearly visible.

The upside to the new FX cameras is that even if you are not able to expose every last pixel correctly, image quality when downsized and low light performance are still likely to surpass what you can do with most DX cameras. They will also automatically switch to DX crop mode when they detect a DX lens. Given the high pixel count of the sensors, you still get a 12 – 18 MP image in DX crop mode, which is more than enought for most applications.

The real question is whether these benefits are enough to justify the higher cost and steeper learning curve. Time will tell whether the D600 is the answer to this question or not.