Coming to America: The Nikon J4 will go on sale here, after all!

 

 

Early last month, Nikon announced its newest mid-range 1-series compact system camera, the Nikon J4 -- but there was a bit of a surprise. Although the camera launched in Europe and Asia, the company's US branch remained silent, implying the camera might not make it stateside. (It wouldn't be the first time we've seen a product simply passed over in one particular market, nor will it likely be the last.)

Today, though, we can confirm that the Nikon J4 will indeed be arriving in the US market. Nikon USA has now officially launched the model, which makes quite a few changes when compared to last year's J3. Most importantly, the J4 adopts a new body style, and swaps in a new image sensor and processor combination that promise the trifecta of greater resolution, performance, and low-light shooting.

 

 

There's also a more sophisticated hybrid autofocus system, a higher-resolution monitor with touch-screen capability, support for image sharing direct from the camera, and more. All that, and yet the Nikon J4 is just a little smaller and lighter than its predecessor.

The Nikon J4 is available in four colors -- silver, white, black or orange. It ships either with the new 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 PD-ZOOM power zoom lens for US$650, or with the existing 10-100mm f/4.0-5.6 VR lens for US$1,050. A two-lens kit bundles both the 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom and 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 VR lenses, and lists for US$850. The Nikon 1 J4 went on sale from April 24th in the Japanese market, and followed in the US market from May 2014.

 

 

If you want the full story on the camera the rest of the world already knew about (and admit it, so did you!), be sure to read our updated Nikon J4 preview!