Introduction and features
The Nikon V range of compact system cameras was generally intended to be aimed at those looking for something a little more serious.
The last incarnation of the V range, the Nikon V2, was almost DSLR like in its styling, in that it had a good range of dials and buttons as well as an integrated viewfinder.
For the V3, Nikon has taken a slightly different approach, removing the viewfinder and giving the overall body design a more stylish, revamp.
It still has manual control, and if you want a viewfinder you can add one via the accessories port, while the decent number of buttons and dials stays with the added advantage of a new, tilting touchscreen.
As with all other Nikon 1 cameras, the V3 has a one-inch type sensor. This is smaller than most other compact system cameras, which generally feature a Micro Four Thirds or APS-C sized sensor. This however, does allow the overall size of the 1 system to be very small. The V3?s sensor has 18.4 million pixels, an upgrade from the V2?s 14.2 million.
Interestingly, the sensor’s optical low pass filter has been removed, which should mean an increase in detail resolution – it will be good to compare the V3 with the V2 in our lab to see if this is borne out in reality. It will also be interesting to see how well it compares with cameras that feature a larger sensor.
The V3 also now has an Expeed 4A processor, an upgrade from the 3A which was found in the V2. This should facilitate improved low-light shooting, and to reflect this, the V3?s maximum sensitivity has been increased from ISO 6400 to ISO 12800. We are curious to see how shooting in low light at such high sensitivities will fare during our test.
Nikon’s hybrid autofocusing system makes a return for the V3, with an increase in the number of autofocusing points – there are now 171 available (135 previously). Of these points, 105 are phase-detection points, for quick focusing. The remaining are contrast detection, which are used for accuracy.
Unsurprisingly, Nikon has kept some of the unique functions about the Nikon 1 series, including Best Moment Capture, which now features a new Active Selection Function that takes up to 40 full resolution images in less than a second and lets you choose the one to keep.
Along with manual control, there are semi-automatic and fully automatic modes to choose from. There’s also a new Creative Palette mode that allows you to select different effects to be applied to an image before you shoot.
There’s a good range of lenses available for the Nikon 1 system, and it seems that Nikon is investing fairly heavily in developing the system. At the time of the V3 launch, Nikon also introduced a 70-300mm lens. The V3 comes as standard with a new retractable “power zoom” kit lens.
Nikon’s 1 range of cameras have a 2.7x crop factor, meaning that the 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens offers an equivalent of roughly 27-80mm in 35mm terms. The lens automatically retracts when not in use to keep the overall size of the camera down for transportation. You can also attach existing Nikon F mount lenses via an adapter if you wish – which could make this an appealing prospect as a second camera for Nikon DSLR owners.
In terms of competition, the V3 is a little bit difficult to place. It sits at the top of Nikon’s CSC line-up, but the smaller sensor and price puts it closer to some manufacturers middle tier. In terms of other cameras with a one-inch sensor, it goes against the Panasonic GM1 and the Samsung NX Mini.
Build quality and handling
In comparison with the V2, the V3 has a much flatter appearance as it doesn’t have the angular, deep grip of the V2. Although this means you can’t get quite as good as grip on the camera, especially when using it one-handed, there is still a raised, textured portion that makes it feel secure in the hand.
On top of the camera is a switch for turning the camera on and off, which requires just a light touch. This means that occasionally when the camera is in a bag, it can be easy to accidentally knock it on.
There’s a mode dial on top of the camera for quickly switching between the various types of modes, such as manual, semi-automatic (aperture priority and shutter priority) as well as video, creative and the Nikon 1 unique modes, such as Best Moment Capture.
On the front of the camera, there’s a small dial that controls different functions depending on the shooting mode you’re in. In aperture priority, for instance, it controls aperture. Easily reachable by the thumb is another scrolling dial, which can be used for a number of different parameters, such as white balance or ISO, and can be customised via the menu system.
A range of different buttons can be found on the back of the camera. You’ll need to use both hands to operate the camera since four of them are grouped on the left hand side. These include the menu and playback button, so if you are shooting one-handed you can still set the majority of shooting settings using your right hand.
On the right hand side is a scrolling dial that surrounds a standard four-way navigational pad, with each directional key having its own function to include AF mode for the up directional key, exposure compensation for the right key and timer/drive mode for the left directional key.
So long as you have AF-area mode set to single point, you have a couple of options when setting the autofocus point. If you prefer physical buttons, you can hit the OK button in the centre of the navigational pad and then use the directional keys to move to the point you want. Or, if you prefer the ease and speed of the touchscreen, you can simply tap the point on the screen you wish to use. You can also use the touchscreen to fire off the shutter release, which is useful when shooting from an awkward angle where using the physical button might be tricky.
Speaking of the touchscreen, it’s nice and responsive to use, and can be used for changing other settings, such as ISO. It’s also useful for scrolling through images in playback, or using pinch to zoom to check critical focus. The fact that it tilts also makes it useful for shooting from awkward angles, and the hinge that it sits on feels pretty sturdy.
To access settings that you might commonly want to access, such as metering, picture style, and sensitivity, you can press a button labelled “F” and a number of different settings will pop up on the display. You can either touch the one you want to alter and use the rear scrolling dial to make changes, or use the directional keys to move to the setting you want to alter.
In order to access creative modes, you can either use the dedicated Creative mode, or you can use different Picture Styles in any of the semi-automatic or manual modes. Picture Styles include Vivid or Monochrome, and can be customised (such as by increasing the contrast), and also have the benefit of being able to be shot in raw format.
Alternatively, you can shoot different effects in the creative mode, but they can only be shot in JPEG format, so it’s not quite as flexible an option, and as these filters are more dramatic, you’ll be stuck with them should you change your mind about the filters down the line.
Performance
The Nikon 1 series has had mixed reviews in the past, but it still continues to be reasonably popular amongst consumers. We were fairly impressed with the image quality of the V2, so I had fairly high hopes for the V3, with its increase in pixel count and the removal of the anti-aliasing filter.
Colours straight from the camera are bright and punchy, without displaying too much saturation or vibrance.
The amount of detail on display is good, especially for a camera with a one-inch sensor, and removing the anti-aliasing filter does seem to have had a positive impact when compared with the V2 (or other cameras with a one-inch sensor). However, it’s still not quite able to compete with those cameras with a larger sensor, such as those from Olympus, Sony or Panasonic.
Overall images have a very good appearance of detail, but if you examine quite closely at 100%, you can see loss of detail, even at low sensitivies such as ISO 100 or IS0 200. It shouldn’t be too much of a problem though, unless you intend on making huge prints.
Generally, the camera’s metering system does a good job of producing accurate exposures in most normal, everyday shooting scenarios. Occasionally I found when shooting something with high contrast, or tricky lighting conditions, such as a backlit building, you might need to dial in some exposure compensation to get a well exposed image.
Similarly, the camera’s automatic white balance system is very good and I was particularly impressed by its performance under artificial lighting, producing very accurate colours. If you find it is erring slightly towards warmer tones you can switch to a more appropriate setting.
With its hybrid autofocusing system, one of the V3?s key selling points is its focusing speeds, which are indeed very swift. It is not quite on a par with the near instant speed of Micro Four Thirds cameras such as those from Olympus and Panasonic, but nevertheless they are very quick indeed – and also impressively so in lower light conditions. It is only when light levels drop very low that the camera struggles to focus at all, and understandably so.
With the addition of a new processor, the Expeed 4A, we can expect an improvement when it comes to noise performance when comparing the camera with its predecessor, the V2. On the other hand, the removal of the anti-aliasing filter also means that Nikon is putting an emphasis on detail reproduction.
At mid-range sensitivity speeds, such as ISO 800, the overall impression of noise is good, but if you examine closely you can see a little loss of detail, and some speckling in some areas of the picture. If you up that to ISO 3200, the overall impression remains decent, but zooming in just a little quickly reveals the presence of noise, while at 100% there is a large amount of noise. Crucially however, detail is still retained fairly well and image smoothing is kept to a minimum for such a high sensitivity.
Examining the differences between JPEG and raw format images reveals a huge difference in the amount of noise reduction, which is applied to JPEG images. Looking at a raw format image taken at ISO 3200, there is a huge amount of chroma noise compared with the corresponding JPEG image – you can apply your own noise reduction in post processing should you want to favour detail.
Different creative options are available for those that want to experiment with different shooting options. You can alter the Picture Styles. These are a good option as you can shoot them in raw format, so if you change your mind down the line you still have a clean version of the image to work with. These styles can be customised, so if you want to boost the contrast, for instance, you can. It’s a good way to shoot in Monochrome, in particular.
Alternatively, different digital filters are available in Creative Mode, and while they’re not able to be shot in raw format, they’re still worth experimenting with to see if you like any of them – my favourite is the Cross Process effect.
As standard, the V3 comes packaged with a new kit lens. As with previous 1 series cameras, it keeps the same focal length and aperture range of 10-30mm and f/3.5-5.6, but it is now collapsible, making it ideal for transport. It’s a good all-round performer for your first lens, but it’s definitely worth exploring the other options that are available for the 1 range.
During my testing of the camera I also used the 18.5mm f/1.8, which gives a field of view of approximately 50mm, making it a classic focal length for portraits and street work, and with a wide aperture, it’s ideal for low light work.
Image quality and resolution
As part of our image quality testing for the Nikon V3 review, we’ve shot our resolution chart. These images were captured using a full-production sample of the camera.
For a full explanation of what our resolution charts mean, and how to read them, check out our full explanation of our camera testing resolution charts.
Examining images of the chart taken at each sensitivity setting reveals the following resolution scores in line widths per picture height x100:
Raw
ISO 160, Score: 22. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 200, Score: 22. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 400, Score: 20. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 800, Score: 20. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 1600, Score: 20. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 3200, Score: 20. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 6400, Score: 16. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 12800, Score: 16. Click here to see the full resolution image
JPEG
ISO 160, Score: 22. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 200, Score: 22. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 400, Score: 22. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 800, Score: 20. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 1600, Score: 18. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 3200, Score: 18. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 6400, Score: 16. Click here to see the full resolution image
ISO 12800, Score: 14. Click here to see the full resolution image
Noise and dynamic range
We shoot a specially designed chart in carefully controlled conditions and the resulting images are analysed using DXO Analyzer software to generate the data to produce the graphs below.
A high signal to noise ratio (SNR) indicates a cleaner and better quality image.
For more more details on how to interpret our test data, check out our full explanation of our noise and dynamic range tests.
Here we compare the Nikon 1 V3 with the Nikon 1 V2, Panasonic GM1 and Samsung NX Mini.
JPEG signal to noise ratio
In terms of signal to noise ratio, the V3 fares worst compared with the other cameras on chart, including its predecessor, the V2. Here we can see that the Panasonic GM1 is actually the best performer on the chart – it’s worth noting that the GM1 has a much larger sensor. As the V3 features an AA filterless design, the results here could be an indication of detail resolution being favoured over noise reduction.
Raw signal to noise ratio
Again, it is the V3 which performs worst on this chart when compared with the other cameras on test. The line follows a similar progress to the V2?s, but again, puts in a worse performance. This can probably also be attributed to the design of the sensor producing more detail than previously. For raw format images, the Panasonic GM1 performs best for low to mid-range sensitivities (ISO 200 – 800), from where the Samsung NX Mini and the Nikon V2 take over.
JPEG dynamic range
The Nikon V3 puts in quite a flat performance for JPEG dynamic range, which is reflected in real world shooting by images with a pleasingly warm appearance. It fares worse than all of the other cameras on test though, including its predecessor, the Nikon V2. It is the Panasonic GM1 and the Samsung NX Mini which are the best performers here.
Raw dynamic range
Again we can see that for raw format images, the Nikon V3 fares worse than its comparison cameras, one of which is its predecessor, the V2. Here we can see that the Panasonic GM1 performs the best throughout the majority of the sensitivity range, being over taken at the higher scores by the Samsung NX Mini.
Sensitivity and noise images
JPEG
Full ISO 160 image, see the cropped (100%) versions below.
ISO 160 (Click here to see full resolution image)
ISO 200 (Click here to see full resolution image)
ISO 400 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 800 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 1600 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 3200 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 6400 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 12800 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
Raw
ISO 160 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 200 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 400 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 800 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 1600 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 3200 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 6400 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
ISO 12800 (Click here to see the full resolution image)
Sample images
The 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 lens is a good all round performer. At the widest point, you can get lots of the scene in. Click here to view the full resolution image
Even with its maximum aperture of f/3.5, you can still get some decent shallow depth of field effects with the 10-30mm lens. Click here to see the full resolution image
Occasionally, if the lighting is tricky or mixed – such as with this backlit building, the camera’s metering system can be confused and you’ll need to dial in some exposure compensation to get an accurate exposure. Click here to see the full resolution image
Additional lenses, such as the 18.5mm f/1.8 allow you to get the most out of the Nikon 1 system. Here you can see that 50mm equivalent focal length and wide aperture has combined to create an attractive shallow depth of field effect. Click here to see the full resolution image
Shooting at high sensitivities, such as ISO 3200, reveals quite a lot of noise. Comparing this JPEG image with the raw format (.NEF) equivalent shows how much noise reduction is applied to JPEG images which are output from the camera by default. Click here to see the full resolution image
Different Picture Styles can be used to great effect, and you can also customise the style within the camera’s menu system. Click here to see the full resolution image
Colours are bright and punchy straight from the camera. Click here to see the full resolution image
At its widest point, the 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens offers an equivalent focal length of around 27mm.Click here to see the full resolution image
At the telephoto end of the optic, the 10-30mm kit lens offers an equivalent focal length of roughly 80mm. Click here to see the full resolution image
Verdict
Nikon has taken a bit of a departure from the V2 for the V3, making it look more sleek and sophisticated, but taking away the viewfinder which made the V2 quite an appealing prospect to enthusiast photographers.
It will be interesting to see how removing the latter, making the body more attractive, and adding a touchscreen impacts on the enthusiast, who is likely to be attracted to this camera.
Personally, I like the improvements that Nikon has made to the appearance of the camera, but I did find myself missing that viewfinder when composing – especially for certain subjects such as portraits. While it’s true that you can buy one as an additional extra, that adds cost to a camera which isn’t exactly cheap to start with.
Still, the addition of a touchscreen and integrated Wi-Fi is a smart move, which makes using the camera a breeze. It’s good that Nikon has still kept a good variety of physical buttons, so you can use the touchscreen to enhance and complement the usability of the camera, rather than at the expense of easier-to-use physical buttons. The touchscreen is especially useful when it comes to setting the autofocus point, and more so when you’re shooting from a slightly awkward angle and want to fire off the shutter release. The fact that the screen tilts is also useful for said awkward shots.
It’s also nice to see the introduction of the new collapsible kit lens. This makes the overall body size nice and compact, and while it’s nowhere near pocketable, it fits nicely into a small bag. This makes it a great choice as a backup to your DSLR when you don’t want to lug something heavy – probably especially so for existing Nikon owners who will be used to the menu system.
Unlike Canon, Nikon has several different models for its CSC range, and this gives more confidence that the company is determined to develop the system. The addition of new lenses also adds to that feeling.
Image quality is good, especially so for a camera with a one-inch sensor. Removing the anti-aliasing filter has increased detail reproduction, but it’s still not on a par with those cameras with a larger sensor. However it is also true that the Nikon 1 system is generally smaller than those cameras – with notable exceptions, such as the Panasonic GM1.
The addition of the new Expeed 4A processor has enabled the camera to shoot at a greater sensitivity than the previous version of the camera. At high sensitivities, the amount of noise present is only acceptable if you’re sharing or printing at normal sizes – anybody wishing to make large prints, or crop into areas of the photo, may be left disappointed. Again, cameras with larger sensors cope better in this area overall.
We liked
The tilting touchscreen is a great new addition. It’s responsive and easy to use. It’s great to be able to quickly set the autofocus point as and when you need to, and it also comes into good use when playing back images – you can swipe and pinch to zoom just as you might on a smartphone. The fact that Nikon keeps a large array of different physical buttons and dials also helps with the usability of the camera.
We disliked
It’s a shame to lose the viewfinder. While it keeps the sleekness of the camera in check to get rid of it, it also means that the V series loses one of its unique features when compared to other cameras in the Nikon 1 range. Enthusiast photographers are likely to miss having this traditional method of composition, and although there is one available to buy at additional expense, that will add cost to a system which is already pretty expensive.
Verdict
The Nikon V3 is a great camera to use, and produces images which are of a good, if not exceptional, quality. It’s great to see Nikon experimenting with different body types to suit different customers, and it’s also nice to see a traditional company such as this fully embracing touchscreen and Wi-Fi technology in a way that some other manufacturers seem to be leaving out. It would have been nice to have kept the viewfinder though.
By Amy Davies, TechRadar
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