Nikon 1 J5 is discontinued

[Akira]

The official Nikon website (at least the Japanese site) lists Nikon 1 J5, the only remaining Nikon 1 body, as discontinued.

This is sad, as I thought that the 1" sensor offered a very well balanced format for the still-video hybrid camera, as proved by the Sony RX series.  And Nikon 1 cameras has been the only 1" sensor bodies on the market that offered interchangeable lenses.

Along with J5, the handy pancake 10mm/f2.8 is discontinued.

Considering that Nikon appears to put their full energy into the development of the full size mirrorless series, there doesn't seem to be any hope for the revitalization of Nikon 1 series.

Oh, well.

[richardHaw]

お疲れ様です

Nikon made it during the time when they still dont know what the mirrorless market would look like. they underestimated it by making the 1

[Hugh_3170]

Its a great shame that Nikon did not market the Series 1 with a bit more energy.

As mentioned, the Sony RX Series uses the 1" sensor (BTW its more like 16mm on the diagonal - the 1" is a carry over from the video tube era) and the Panasonic TZ110, TZ220, and LX10/15 use this sensor size (crop factor ~2.7).

Has the AW1 been discountinued?

[armando_m]

I still enjoy my V1

it is fun to read the initial reviews of the V1, and how people were saying it was a smart move by Nikon, but criticizing their choose of sensor size

Let's wait for next year and see if they actually do offer another mirrorless camera

[Akira]

Nikon made it during the time when they still dont know what the mirrorless market would look like. they underestimated it by making the 1

Rick, I would agree with that.  But, on the other hand, Nikon could have been too ahead of time.  I thought that the first 10MP sensor was fine.  I had and enjoyed both J1 and V1.  But the 14MP and 18MP sensors that came after that didn't perform well.  It was not until Sony's 20MP sensor that offered truly advanced performance, and it was a bit too late.

Its a great shame that Nikon did not market the Series 1 with a bit more energy.

As mentioned, the Sony RX Series uses the 1" sensor (BTW its more like 16mm on the diagonal - the 1" is a carry over from the video tube era) and the Panasonic TZ110, TZ220, and LX10/15 use this sensor size (crop factor ~2.7).

Has the AW1 been discountinued?

Oh, you are right, Hugh.  There has been more 1" sensor models than I mentioned.  In addition to the lack of energy, I think that their marketing strategy as well as the product design weren't very successful.  AW1 was discontinued prior to J5.

I still enjoy my V1

it is fun to read the initial reviews of the V1, and how people were saying it was a smart move by Nikon, but criticizing their choose of sensor size

Let's wait for next year and see if they actually do offer another mirrorless camera

Armando, I don't remember how many times I have been about to buy Nikon 1 J1 or V1 again after looking at your excellent and inspiring images made with V1!  Your most recent raindrops-on-the-leaves image is not an exception.

****

Another big mistake Nikon made was that Nikon didn't want to offer the fun of adapting various non-Nikkor lenses like old cine lenses by disabling the metering function, unlike other mirrorless cameras that enabled M mode with metering as well as A modes.

Personally I preferred the design of the simpler J1, but V1 was a very handy sub-camera that used the same EN-EL15 battery shared by many Nikon DSLR bodies.

J1 enabled me to shoot the literally once-in-a-life-time transit of Venus "thanks to" its smaller sensor which made my humble 300mm/f4.5 and 1.4xTC combo a 1134mm monster.

It is sad to point out that virtually all of Nikon's attempts seem to have been failed: the high-end compact DL (canceled during the development), action camera KeyMission (not discontinued yet, but Nikon seems to be trying to liquidate their stock by reducing the prices), and now Nikon 1.

I don't think I would jump on the full frame mirrorless series immediately after its release, but I strongly wish that Nikon will be blessed with the good luck "again".

The attached image is the "black drop phenomenon" during the transit of Venus shot with the above mentioned combo.

[armando_m]

....
Another big mistake Nikon made was that Nikon didn't want to offer the fun of adapting various non-Nikkor lenses like old cine lenses by disabling the metering function, unlike other mirrorless cameras that enabled M mode with metering as well as A modes.
...

Really ? well if the lens can be mounted to the fmount on the enel15 I think the meter works, I have taken pictures with no lens attached to the enel15, or having a pinhole as a lens, maybe I have old firmware on my V1 or ENEL15

if nothing is attached then the camera certainly complains about not being able to take a picture with no lens

PS: great shot of the transit of Venus !!

[Akira]

Really ? well if the lens can be mounted to the fmount on the enel15 I think the meter works, I have taken pictures with no lens attached to the enel15, or having a pinhole as a lens, maybe I have old firmware on my V1 or ENEL15

if nothing is attached then the camera certainly complains about not being able to take a picture with no lens

You mean, the genuine FT1 mount adapter?  Yes, it allows metering even with non-CPU lenses.  But the mirrorless bodies of any brand are supposed to allow, say, C-mount lenses to focus at any distances including infinity via a thin adapter, AND they can meter with those lenses just fine.  The Nikon 1 bodies are the only ones that won't meter in that situation, unfortunately.

PS: great shot of the transit of Venus !!

Thank you!  And the 300mm and 1.4x TC combo was, of course, mounted via FT1, so I could meter. 

[Øivind Tøien]

Actually metering capability with FT-1, at least with the AW1 is better than Nikon's consumer DSLR's with non-CPU manual lenses; only non-metered manual mode is available on the DSLRs while the AW1-will happyly do stop down metering in A mode.

I tend to disagree about image quality for the 14 MPix sensor, at least concerning the AW-1. As noted and shown in the reflections thread I currently have a wood frog image from the AW-1 displayed as one of the major display pieces in the lobby at Institute of Arctic Biology at a glossy print size of about 20x30" and it looks great even a close distance. Of course they are no world-champions at high ISO, but they are doing surprisingly well due to the variable gain of the sensor.

I think these small sensor cameras have their place as complements to their bigger sensors brothers, not as replacements. My use of the AW-1 goes way beyond just being a tough camera.

[MILLIREHM]

Nikon unfortunately never managed to supply a closeup/macro lens for the 1 System - so the usability of my Coolpix in this field was greater than the system.
Bought the 1V1 then - would have been a great high speed camera if equipped consequently (larger cache and individual "best shot choice" together with a better AF

[Akira]

I've found that Nikon had withdrawn the entire section for Nikon 1 series bodies from its Japanese website.  No item for the Nikon 1 body appears in the pulldown menu for selecting the product categories.

There is still the section for the Nikon 1 lenses, but the withdrawal of the section for the body would suggest that there will be no development for Nikon 1 anymore...

[Akira]

By the way, KeyMission360 is also moved to the discontinued item section.  The action camera section seems to disappear slowly...