Thread: Nikon 1 does street

Noticed there is no street thread for Nikon 1 cameras so thought I'd start one. Feel free to join in! I'd also welcome your likes/dislikes regarding these cameras with regard to street shooting.

Personally I'm having a hoot with the J1 and 10mm pancake. Shooting from the hip using single point af and with face detection on it nails the focus frequently. Continuous mode works as
well as many dslr's and the buffer seems to clear pretty quick too. Silent shutter gives you the confidence to shoot up close. Metering seems to be very good. Only tested centre weighted so far but
I'm not getting many files that are spoiled as a result of over/under exposure. That's possibly because the dynamic range is impressive and the files can handle quite a bit of post. I'd definately rate the
files as being up there amongst mft cameras I've had. Not really checked out the high iso yet - I have it on auto iso 100-3200 but it invariably trys to keep the iso down.

Dislikes - jpeg preview that can't be disabled. LCD screen that can't be turned off.


DSC_1906 by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr


DSC_1503 by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr


DSC_1068 by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr

looks great Norman.....I had written this camera off last year, but it seems to have gotten into the hand of photographers, because suddenly I see good photos from it. I guess that tells me what I already knew. The photographer makes the photos. Good to see the tool doesn't get in the way.

Nice ones! From my experience, the V1 has one of the best metering systems of any camera I've ever used. Did a great job of exposing everything correctly. I'm sure the J1/2 are just as good.

me likey!
im shocked more st peops dont use one
easier to get more dof, quiet, small and not intimidating looking, fast af if you needed it...

I can see that the Nikon 1 models would have the qualities to be very good street cameras.

Originally Posted by Armanius

Nice ones! From my experience, the V1 has one of the best metering systems of any camera I've ever used. Did a great job of exposing everything correctly. I'm sure the J1/2 are just as good.

Good metering is extremely useful for street if you are shooting blind and I'm finding I can trust this camera to take care of that and leave me to focus on photography. Just tried matrix metering today and that worked
lovely too. Also just looked in the manual and it says if you are spot metering and have face detection turned on it will meter off the faces it detects! Now that is cool and sounds perfect.

Originally Posted by Gubrz

me likey!
im shocked more st peops dont use one
easier to get more dof, quiet, small and not intimidating looking, fast af if you needed it...

Ideal for beginners to street shooting also. None of this zone focusing with the lens stopped down!

Originally Posted by Luckypenguin

I can see that the Nikon 1 models would have the qualities to be very good street cameras.

I got mine because it was cheap and I was curious - never considered I'd hold onto it for long. Now I'm wondering if my Ricoh GRD IV will see much use. Had a session in the rain today and stopped the lens down a bit so that auto iso would up the iso to compensate. I'm undecided about the noise at higher iso's compared to the GRD. It's less noisy but I can't yet decide which noise is more aesthetically pleasing. I think that call will take a while because I still have to refine my sharpening and post processing for these Nikon files.



DSC_2095 by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr


The big sulk by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr


DSC_2059 by norman j shearer2010, on Flickr

I like the colour you are getting from this little Nikon. I've been considering it for some time but it still seems quite expensive to me! Look forward to seeing lot's more of your lovely pics. It's like sitting in an outside cafe and watching the world go by. Is it me or do the British seem particularly glum!

I'd be glum too if it were raining all the time

i love the gritty color shots :)

that spot metering face detect thing is nice!
i kinda like the tetris block look too... if they had some wacky case with tetris block shapes on it, id buy one :)

Originally Posted by christilou

I like the colour you are getting from this little Nikon. I've been considering it for some time but it still seems quite expensive to me! Look forward to seeing lot's more of your lovely pics. It's like sitting in an outside cafe and watching the world go by. Is it me or do the British seem particularly glum!

Yes, the colours are pretty accurate. I've not had to tweak them in post so far. I got mine 2nd hand off ebay for £190 with 10mm pancake and 6 batteries. The lens alone retails for about £200 in the UK.

Originally Posted by Luke

I'd be glum too if it were raining all the time

You would think acceptance would kick in after so many years of it but we still curse the weather. I used to love it when fishing and huddled under a very large brolly with my thermos. Now I'm back to cursing it like most Britains!

Originally Posted by Gubrz

i love the gritty color shots :)

that spot metering face detect thing is nice!
i kinda like the tetris block look too... if they had some wacky case with tetris block shapes on it, id buy one :)

It's quite pretty I feel. Plus it has a reassuring weight to it that speaks good build quality.