Nikon 1 AW1 - the little mirrorless that goes where others can't

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Spot on, Frank. Using whatever tool is at hand. My purpose was to document for the family chronicles the massive catch after < 1 hour in the forest. Weighing in at more than 5 kg, in fact.

[Øivind Tøien]

Thanks for the kind words Akira and Jakov.

[simato73]

Øivind,

The writing on the FCON-T01 says it is a fisheye converter, but the images you posted using the FCON-T01 showed that straight lines were preserved.
Can you comment on that?
Thanks!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Lines aren't exactly straight with this attachment, but on the other side, the appearance isn't very 'fishy' either. The effect probably depends on the lens onto which FCN-T01 is attached.

[Øivind Tøien]

The FCON-T01 is not rectilinear for sure, but it is not as wide as a 10.5mm fisheye on DX or 16mm on FX. Near infinity it is more like using a 16mm on DX or using the 10.5mm on DX with a 1.5x converter, where the fisheye effect is not as pronounced. If Fisheye hemi3  (designed for 16mm on Dx) is used for correction, vertical lines becomes almost straight (not used for any of the test images). The aquarium bottom  image is interesting though. At close range the 10mm alone  has pronounced pincushion distortion, and incidentally this was just enough to compensate the fisheye effect of the FCON-T01.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

In fact, the AW10 + FCON-T01 show a synergetic relationship as the whole is improved from both sides.

[simato73]

In fact, the AW10 + FCON-T01 show a synergetic relationship as the whole is improved from both sides.

Good to know, that was the impression I got from this thread.

[simato73]

At close range the 10mm alone  has pronounced pincushion distortion, and incidentally this was just enough to compensate the fisheye effect of the FCON-T01.

I am all for lucky coincidences. 

[simato73]

Just ordered one with 10mm and 11-27.5.
Wife not impressed 
Now the FCON-T01...

[Bjørn Rørslett]

You move fast when eventually your mind is made up, Simone

[simato73]

You move fast when eventually your mind is made up, Simone

 
I was already teetering on the brink.
Found an opportunity on ebay and couldn't resist.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Buy her something nice before the FCON-T01 then

[simato73]

Got the AW1 with both lenses; the FCON-T01 is on its way.

The camera is not as little as I assumed and it has quite a certain heft. It does feel very solid; my only regret is that a body this big could easily hold a m4/3 sensor (any larger would probably imply a need for larger lenses).
The controls are not intuitive to me, I'll have to read the manual and make sure I learn it.
One rather startling feature is that if one turns off all the silly sounds, the camera operates in utter silence.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The user interface is, like most compact cameras, an acquired taste. But you can get bigger cameras with worse than this (my recent addition, Sony A7, is an example). Set the camera to "A" mode and select a suitable aperture, then just fire away. That solves most handling issues.

An unexpected bonus is the fact that the protective glass preventing water drops coming onto the sensor, sits so far ahead of the sensor surface that any dirt on it hardly ever show up in the final image. My other mirrorless cameras are a nightmare in this regards as they simply suck all dust and grime from their surroundings onto the exposed sensor.

I recommend getting one of the silicone skins for your AW1. It does enlarge the camera slightly, but offers much better grip.

Remove the battery when you are not using the camera for a day or two. Otherwise you learn more than you care for about its voracious appetite for battery power. Spare batteries are a must anyway.

[simato73]

The user interface is, like most compact cameras, an acquired taste. But you can get bigger cameras with worse than this (my recent addition, Sony A7, is an example). Set the camera to "A" mode and select a suitable aperture, then just fire away. That solves most handling issues.

An unexpected bonus is the fact that the protective glass preventing water drops coming onto the sensor, sits so far ahead of the sensor surface that any dirt on it hardly ever show up in the final image. My other mirrorless cameras are a nightmare in this regards as they simply suck all dust and grime from their surroundings onto the exposed sensor.

I recommend getting one of the silicone skins for your AW1. It does enlarge the camera slightly, but offers much better grip.

Remove the battery when you are not using the camera for a day or two. Otherwise you learn more than you care for about its voracious appetite for battery power. Spare batteries are a must anyway.

Thanks for the suggestions.
I was coming to the same conclusion regarding using the A mode, but I would like to understand the practical value of some consumerish modes that are unique to the Nikon 1 cameras.
I have to understand better the AF options.
I have a spare battery but did not know batteries get depleted even when the camera is off - good to know.
Already planning to get a silicone sleeve, I will get one at some point.