jourdaj
Well-known member
I received one of the first Nikon 1 V3 cameras at the beginning of May and have been putting it through its paces. I’ve posted several blogs w/ impressions and photos.
Initial attempt out of the box at ISO 800 digiscoping in the yard
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-high-iso-shots-01-may-2014.html
http://jerryjourdan2.blogspot.com/2014/04/digiscoping-for-science-28-apr-2014.html
Digiscoped images at ISO 160
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-iso-160-shots-13-may-2014.html
Where this camera really shines is attached to a prime lens using the FT1 Adapter. With my 300/2.8 VRII Nikon lens and 1.4TCEII Adapter the V3 gives an EFL of 1134 mm! On a tripod or out of a car window I found that this combo operates using ‘manually-assisted’ Autofocus, i.e., I need to manually focus until the bird is near focus, then depressing the shutter will allow autofocus to lock in. Image quality is quite impressive in my opinion!
V3 w/ FT1 and Nikon 300/2.8 VRII
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-ft1-adapter-03-may-2014.html
V3 w/ FT1 and Nikon 300/2.8 VRII and 1.4TCEII
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/more-nikon-v3-fun-03-may-2014.html
I’m finding as a digiscoping camera that RAW images come out a bit oversaturated for my taste, so I’m having to desaturate a bit during post-processing. I’m also finding that exposure compensation is a bit more fiddly than w/ the V1 in that I need to do more on-the-fly adjusting. With the V1 I could set the EVF at 0.0 to -0.7 and leave it.
At 20fps I’ve had to turn the sound ‘on’ so I could hear the camera taking exposures. You can turn all sound off (AF, menu, shooting) but it is easy enough to shoot 20-60 frames w/o even knowing it. Write buffer is a touch slow – I’ve had several moments where I’ve wanted to take video but had to wait for the camera to finish writing before I could start. A new user might think that the camera has locked up.
I got this camera as an upgrade to the V1 and am happy w/ the purchase. The image quality and faster fps, best-shot-selection in Movie mode, tiltable screen and brighter EVF make this a viable option for anyone interesting in digiscoping. The 10-30mm lens is a ‘Power-Drive’ and takes a bit getting used to, but I like it since I don’t have to worry about creep like we did w/ the V1’s original kit lens, and you don’t have to worry about over-extending the lens as the zoom ring spins freely. Good news is that I can use the older 10-30mm lens on the V3 and thus use my homemade adapter if I choose.
That said, I’m very intrigued by the new Sony RX-100III soon to be released in June. Always something to ponder…
Initial attempt out of the box at ISO 800 digiscoping in the yard
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-high-iso-shots-01-may-2014.html
http://jerryjourdan2.blogspot.com/2014/04/digiscoping-for-science-28-apr-2014.html
Digiscoped images at ISO 160
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-iso-160-shots-13-may-2014.html
Where this camera really shines is attached to a prime lens using the FT1 Adapter. With my 300/2.8 VRII Nikon lens and 1.4TCEII Adapter the V3 gives an EFL of 1134 mm! On a tripod or out of a car window I found that this combo operates using ‘manually-assisted’ Autofocus, i.e., I need to manually focus until the bird is near focus, then depressing the shutter will allow autofocus to lock in. Image quality is quite impressive in my opinion!
V3 w/ FT1 and Nikon 300/2.8 VRII
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/nikon-1-v3-ft1-adapter-03-may-2014.html
V3 w/ FT1 and Nikon 300/2.8 VRII and 1.4TCEII
http://jerryjourdan.blogspot.com/2014/05/more-nikon-v3-fun-03-may-2014.html
I’m finding as a digiscoping camera that RAW images come out a bit oversaturated for my taste, so I’m having to desaturate a bit during post-processing. I’m also finding that exposure compensation is a bit more fiddly than w/ the V1 in that I need to do more on-the-fly adjusting. With the V1 I could set the EVF at 0.0 to -0.7 and leave it.
At 20fps I’ve had to turn the sound ‘on’ so I could hear the camera taking exposures. You can turn all sound off (AF, menu, shooting) but it is easy enough to shoot 20-60 frames w/o even knowing it. Write buffer is a touch slow – I’ve had several moments where I’ve wanted to take video but had to wait for the camera to finish writing before I could start. A new user might think that the camera has locked up.
I got this camera as an upgrade to the V1 and am happy w/ the purchase. The image quality and faster fps, best-shot-selection in Movie mode, tiltable screen and brighter EVF make this a viable option for anyone interesting in digiscoping. The 10-30mm lens is a ‘Power-Drive’ and takes a bit getting used to, but I like it since I don’t have to worry about creep like we did w/ the V1’s original kit lens, and you don’t have to worry about over-extending the lens as the zoom ring spins freely. Good news is that I can use the older 10-30mm lens on the V3 and thus use my homemade adapter if I choose.
That said, I’m very intrigued by the new Sony RX-100III soon to be released in June. Always something to ponder…
