Thread: Nikon V1 for sale at $299 at B&H

Actually, the deal wasn't THAT good. The total purchase price came to $592, which is certainly more than $500. I must have been more excited about my purchase than I thought.

And if you're like me, you hate waiting. Sounds like a nice kit

Originally Posted by MoBokeh

Actually, the deal wasn't THAT good. The total purchase price came to $592, which is certainly more than $500. I must have been more excited about my purchase than I thought.

Considering the price the camera started at, though, and that there are still places where the 10-30 kit is selling for $600, you did not do badly. My 10-30 V1 black kit with the 18.5 f1.8 prime came to $495 with shipping for the latter. It's not as versatile in focal length choices, but the fast prime gives it other advantages.

You still did pretty well, I think, for a body and three lenses. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better.

Originally Posted by Lawrence A.

Considering the price the camera started at.......you still did pretty well, I think, for a body and three lenses. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better.

Thanks Lawrence, you're very kind. Actually, I'm going to cancel the 10mm pancake. I debated about getting it to begin with(the $100 discount sucked me in), but thought the small size would be nice to have and make the V1 truly pocketable.

In thinking more about it, however, I really question how much use it would get. It's duplicating a focal length without much benefit, other than being a bit faster and smaller. Frankly, the camera with the kit 10-30mm should be small enough and eminently more practical, for me at least.

With the money saved, I might just get that fast 18.5mm prime sooner, rather than later. There seems to be a lot to like about that lens. I look forward to your feedback on the 18.5mm once you receive your camera body and are able to put it through its paces.

I also thought the 18.5 had more advantages. The 10mm pancake's only real advantage would be its size. At only 2/3 of a stop faster than the zoom at the same focal length, speed is not much of a factor, especially as the zoom has stabilization (VR in Nikon's world). I haven't seen a aperture/focal length chart, but my guess is that the 18.5 is at least two stops faster than the kit zoom at that focal length. It's not stabilized, so may not offer much advantage in the way of shutter speeds, but it's been reviewed as very sharp, with nice bokeh when used properly. The camera comes tomorrow - late in the day probably, as that is when UPS gets here -- but I'll post some images from it with the 18 when I can.

The v1 came Monday, so I've had it a couple of days now. I have tried getting some samples with the 18mm up in the Nikon 1 samples thread, but I appear to have bumped into a 10MB limit, and am not sure how to get around it. No matter what I do to try to get a picture into a thread does not work. If I upload from my computer I get a red exclamation point indicating the upload failed, and if I try a link I'm told it's invalid. So no more pictures samples until I figure it out. I did not like Flicker when I used it several years ago, so I guess it's time to get the SmugMug account I've been mulling over.

The 18mm is sharp, as is the kit zoom, but the zoom has already reached f4.5 at 18mm, so even with no stabilization the prime allows more options in low light. Given the realities of DOF with this sensor, the prime is perfectly usable at 1.8, where it is also sharp, and held carefully using the eye level finder, I have found I can hand-hold it down to 1/13 second with acceptably sharp results. 1/15 is better, and 1/20 is what I'd consider the normal "low" shutter speed for hand-held photography using this lens. As the camera does quite well at higher iso, easily up to 1600, stabilization is not much of an issue, though I've gotten spoiled by the near miraculous IBIS of the E-M5.

I like the camera, but do not know if I'll keep it. It's bigger than I anticipated, and though it fits into my vest pocket, it's not really the "take anywhere" machine I was looking for. The search for that continues, and it is likely that only the RX100 will satisfy my requirements in that area. Meantime, I may sell both the V1 and the XZ-1, and then look for a deal on a used Leica X1, which I've wanted since it came out. The used prices are starting to drop; even Leica products -- at least the digital ones -- eventually depreciate. I know the limitations, and slow focus is not a deal killer for me (I still think the E-P1 is a perfectly usable camera).

The V1 is a fun shooter, and at $299 is really a steal.