Nikon 1 J1: compact system camera

The Nikon 1 J1 may look like an ordinary compact camera but in a first for this manufacturer, the lens on the front can be changed. As with the Pentax Q, Sony NEX, Panasonic GF and others, the idea is to make a small camera that has the picture quality of a larger one.

We reviewed the two-lens double zoom kit, which included the camera body, a 10-30mm lens and a 30-110mm one, which are equivalent to 27-81mm and 81-297mm on an old film camera.

While some rivals have opted to leave out the flash to achieve a smaller body, the J1 includes a pop-up flash. However, unlike on most of its rivals the J1 doesn't have any expansion capability for such things as an external microphone for video recording (the more expensive V1 does).

Rather than trying to make the camera focus fast, Nikon has opted for more precise auto-focus, with an impressive 135 auto-focus points spread across the frame. Placing this in context, most entry-level digital SLR cameras have 9-point or 11-point AF. The J1 is still fast, however, shooting up to 60 frames per second at the maximum 10.1-megapixel resolution, with the result that we were more likely to get the shot we wanted when we wanted it.

However, since Nikon hasn't built image stabilisation into the J1's body, we found it difficult to avoid blurred images when shooting handheld with the 30-110mm lens, even though this is itself stabilised with a vibration-reduction mechanism. Also, both lenses have to be manually extended before use, by pressing a button, otherwise each lens retracts within its housing to maintain as compact a profile as possible.

We enjoyed the ability to shoot high-definition (1080p) video clips with stereo sound. The camera's auto-focus was impressively quick to keep up with each twist of the zoom lens, even if the resulting photographs could have benefited from a colour saturation boost.

The Nikon 1 J1 is fun and high-quality but less expensive rivals can do almost as well, making them better value.