Nikon V3 Shooter’s Report I: Should this super-speedy mirrorless persuade you to give the 1-series another look?

 

 

Ever since Nikon's 1-series launched with the V1 -- predecessor of today's Nikon V3 -- way back in 2011, the company has taken flak for choosing a smaller image sensor than its main rivals, most of whom have opted for Four Thirds or APS-C type sensors in their mirrorless cameras. Nikon has stuck to its guns, though, firm in its belief that the 1-series cameras offer important advantages over the larger-sensored competition.

The Nikon V3 hones the flagship 1-series design with changes throughout, aimed at playing to the strengths of its sensor format. It's an amazingly speedy camera, besting professional DSLRs costing many times as much in terms of performance -- and yet it's also unusually compact. And the same is true of its lenses, an important fact that doesn't usually hold true for its APS-C rivals in particular.

 

 

This super-swift mirrorless faces a tough challenge, though. It seems many photographers have already made up their minds about the 1-series based on its predecessors' image quality concerns. Even though the same sensor size is now used in well-received, fixed-lens cameras like Sony's RX100-series, getting photographers to reconsider their verdict on the 1-series is a big ask.

 

 

In the first part of his Nikon V3 Shooter's Report, Imaging Resource reviewer Jason Schneider takes a look at what's changed since the earlier models, and makes some convincing arguments for giving the 1-series another chance. Perhaps the key lies in his early appraisal of image quality, which he describes as being noticeably better than past models in the line.

Could this be the first Nikon 1-series to gain a cult following? Read our Nikon V3 Shooter's Report Part I, and find out!