Thursday, September 22, 2011

Nikon 1 mirrorless system



Nikon had finally announced their mirrorless system after years of anticipations & speculations. We had Micro 4/3 system from Olympus Pens & Lumix GF series to kick off the trend. Later joined by Sony NEX & Samsung with their own mirrorless system. Fujifilm X100 though it is not an interchangeable camera, but it does offer amazing image quality & breakthrough technology with it's Hybrid Viewfinder & etc. Next is Pentax trying hard to be different by using a compact size sensor in their Pentax-Q system. Mirrorless market since had become very competitive & ultimately benefited the consumers cause each brand trying to out do the other.

On Wednesday, Nikon announced their J1 & V1 mirrorless cameras & a series of accessories. To many disappointments, Nikon mirrorless cameras comes with 2.7 crop factor sensor. With a sensor smaller than Micro 4/3 & NEX, many were doubtful how Nikon is going to compete with them. Now, there is no turning back for Nikon 1 system. It's a gamble for Nikon to either make it or break it.

Nikon doesn't produce any huge aperture fix focal lens for their mirrorless system yet. I really wonder who would want to get Nikon J1 or V1 when one can easy afford a Olympus XZ-1 with f1.8 lens. Silly decision by Nikon.

To me, the best choice of mirrorless system is Sony NEX series. Olympus & Panasonic are both very good with their mirrorless line up as well. Panasonic made a mistake with their GF2 & GF3 & they are now reaping the result. Olympus Pens remains stable & trustworthy with EP-3, EP-L3 & a few newly announced huge aperture lenses. Sony NEX seems to be making the less mistake in terms of their pricing & camera designs. Sony NEX great success came from listening to what their customers wants in a camera, rather than introducing a product that no body wants. Just looking the positive comments online & the camera spec on NEX 5n & NEX 7.

Nikon mirrorless system is a product that is a little better compared to compact cameras, but far inferior to Micro 4/3 & NEX. When Nikon mirrorless is finally available, Nikon will definitely carry out a campaign to educate consumers on how their smaller sensor can capture better sharpness corner to corner compared to APS-C sensor. All these sales talk may work on amateurs, but professional or enthusiasts knows it is all bull shit.

I have friends whom I met would sometimes ask me for a camera recommendations. Nikon mirrorless will never be on my recommending list. In fact, I would ask all those who are looking for either a compact or mirrorless camera to avoid Nikon J1 & V1. Why I'm so against Nikon 1 system? Cause it is not value for your money on the current listed selling price.

I empathized with Pentax struggle to stay alive in camera bussiness. However I truly thought Pentax-Q system is a dumb mistake & it is not going to help Pentax current status. Just when I thought with all the success on Fujifilm X100, Olympus EP-3, Lumix G3 & NEX 7 versus the very obvious mistake by Pentax Q-system, Nikon 1 system emerge from the horizon to claim the prize of the champion of the most idiotic mirrorless system. Sigh......

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