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To start with I do own the V1 and all the Nikon 1 lenses except for the 10-100 PD zoom. I just borrowed my friends V2 for the weekend and did some comparisons between the two to see if it would be worth upgrading to the new V2. These are only my initial impressions and only for still photography. I do not shoot video so I have no opinion on the video capabilities of this camera. I consider myself an advanced amateur when it comes to photography and have sold some of my work at local art shows and craft fairs. I use mainly a D3X and the D800 for my work but have come to enjoy the 1 series (it took awhile) for its light weight, compatibility with F mount lenses, and more than adequate image quality for those times when I do not want to carry a DSLR.
It seems that Nikon has not learned its lesson with the V1 and is still overpricing its top of the line 1 series cameras. Even with the $50 instant rebate the camera is seriously overpriced for what you are actually getting. At today's price of the V1; (Nikon is giving them away) of $299 there is no real reason to buy the V2. That difference in price is not getting you much more for the extra money that has to be spent; in fact you are giving up some features.
So what are you paying a premium price for compared to the V1:
Well you get:
An improved 14.2 MP sensor vs. a 10MP, not a big change in IQ but it is welcome. Base ISO has been increased to 160 vs. 100 from the V1. Just be aware the mechanical shutter has a maximum speed of 1/4000 of a second. If you shoot at large apertures this may present a problem in bright light. You may have to switch to the electronic shutter which has a maximum speed of 1/16,000 of a second. You get a better more direct way to access functions like white balance, ISO, metering, and exposure mode without going back into the menus. Image review can now be turned off if you desire. These items are much welcomed and are a big improvement over the V1.
Nikon adds yet another "silly mode" to the "smart photo selector" & "motion snapshot" called the "best moment capture" which allows you to pick the best frame of a 40 frame sequence. These are totally useless IMHO and should be ignored as should the auto exposure mode.
A redesigned body with a built in grip and flash. Also a rear command dial has been added which allows easier control of camera functions. The exposure mode dial has been relocated so that is less likely to be inadvertently changed. I have put gaffers tape on my V1 exposure mode dial to keep it where I want it. These are welcomed features and are big improvements to the handling of the camera.
The electronic viewfinder (EVF) seems different from the V1. During use objects seem to jump around almost like the refresh rate is not high enough and the color seems to be off sometimes. In low light it seems grainier and not as sharp as the V1. I wonder why Nikon changed anything from the V1 since the V1 has an excellent EVF.
HDR has been added to the shooting menu. IMHO Nikon should have added auto exposure bracketing rather than in camera HDR to allow the user to process their own images using an external program such as Photomatix or Photoshop instead of the camera processing the image on its own.
The camera will now provide 15fps vs. 5fps in AFC. There are some minor differences in the AF-C focus mode. There are now brackets in the "detailed" display of the LCD and EVF that shows you where your subject should be to acquire focus. Also the manual does not discuss any limitations of the AF system at the higher frame rates as the V1 manual does. Need to do more testing on that. Other than that the AF seems to be just as fast and accurate as the V1.
So far so good you say, but hold on; you are losing some things that you might have wanted:
No IR sensor in the back of the camera, if you want to use the IR remote you have to point it at the front of the camera now. The V1 had sensors in the front and back. This can be a real pain if you use a tripod since you now have to stand in front of the camera to use the remote.
You also lose the interval timer which is a nice feature to shoot time lapse photography, the feature was on the V1 but it looks like it has been dropped from the V2.
The V2 will only use the electronic shutter when you either put it in the silent photography mode or change your frame rate to greater than 5 FPS. So if you need a fast shutter speed say to take a picture in bright light with a large aperture to get that shutter speed greater than 1/4000 you have to go into the menus and either turn on silent photography or change your frame rate. The V1 allowed you shift from mechanical to electronic shutter by using the function button.
For all of you that own other Nikon equipment you will now have to buy yet another type of battery if you want spares. The V1 uses a battery that is used in the D600, D800, and the D7000. I guess that Nikon felt they were losing money because owners were not buying enough spare batteries and chargers so we have yet another battery to add to our collection.
The option for sound settings in the setup menu has disappeared. Now instead of being able to control the sound of the electronic shutter and autofocus/self-timer separately you now have a silent photography selection in the shooting menu which turns off both. In addition when you turn on silent photograph it automatically selects the electronic shutter. So if I want to turn off the beeps for autofocus but still have the shutter sound or keep the mechanical shutter active I am out of luck. If shooting flash with silent photography turned on I am now stuck with a 1/60 sync speed. In certain cases I like to hear the shutter to confirm the picture was taken but want to turn off the autofocus beeps because the beeps seem to disturb people more than the shutter sound. There should be way to control sound level for each function not just a master switch for all sound which also selects the electronic shutter. Nikon takes a step in the wrong direction.
So Nikon is giving some but it also taking back some with the feature set. I always thought that newer models take steps in the forward direction and not backwards.
But the real reason that the V2 is still not worth the extra money are the items that were wrong with the V1 and are still not incorporated into the V2. What are these you may ask?
The camera still does not have a standard hotshoe. This means that you will have to buy the 1 series flashes if want to use an external flash. Another thing that has yet to be incorporated is ability to use the built in flash as a remote commander. Since Nikon has not produced an adapter to use a standard flash on 1 series cameras you cannot use one of Nikons wonderful external flashes as a remote commander either.
Speaking of flashes, Sync speed is still 1/250 of a second for the mechanical shutter and only 1/60 of a second with the electronic shutter. My D40 had a sync speed of 1/500 of a second. There is no reason not to add either FP high speed sync to the mechanical shutter or a faster sync speed on the electronic shutter. The higher sync speed becomes very useful to stop motion in certain situations when using flash.
The Auto ISO feature still does not have the ability to for the user to input a minimum shutter speed that tells the camera when to increase or decrease the ISO. The thing that makes this annoying is that Nikons preset value shutter speed (seems to be around 1/30 of second) of when to increase ISO are still to low IMO for use on lenses without VR such as the new 18.5 mm 1.8. Not all of us are human tripods. The newer Nikons also take lens focal length into account when determining the correct ISO; the V2 does not seem to take this into consideration. So if you want to use auto ISO the camera now forces you to go into shutter priority so that you can maintain your shutter speed fast enough to prevent blur in your photographs.
The camera still does not display RGB histograms. This is totally unacceptable on camera in which costs this much and exposure is so critical to control noise due its small sensor size. The luminous histogram will not always show when a channel is blown out. My Canon S90 has this ability and it costs a lot less.
No programmable function button or user setting. There should be at least one function button that is user programmable for our shooting needs instead of only having only what Nikon thinks we need available. Also there should be at least two custom setting banks that allow the user to change from one bank to the other at will so that each setting does not have to be changed individually when conditions dictate a change in settings (i.e. switching from landscape to sports photography).
Also if you own the V1 you have probably have had to buy spare accessory port covers since they are small and easy to lose, well the V2 accessory port covers are also small and easy to lose and they are not the same.
Last but not least is that auto exposure bracketing has still not been added. Since this camera has a limited dynamic range, when you take a picture in a high contrast situation, HDR photography becomes important. Without this feature I am severely limited when I choose to use HDR because I must adjust the exposure manually which takes time and forces me to use a tripod. Nikons in camera HDR has limitations and is not as good as using a program such as Photoshop or Photomatix.
The worst part of all this is a lot of these things can be fixed with firmware updates, but Nikon has chosen not update the V1 and I do not see them doing it with the V2 either. So if you value these things in your photography do not expect Nikon to add features to the camera with firmware updates.
After weighing the good with the bad I feel that the V2 while a big improvement over the V1 still does not command the premium price tag Nikon has put on it. (Even with the $50 instant rebate) The V1 with its discount is a steal at this time and is a great camera once you adapt to it. Things like not being able to turn picture preview off or having to go into the menu to change ISO, WB, or exposure mode will probably annoy you at first but over time you tend to adapt to the camera. The V2 is also a great camera, better than the V1 in some respects, worse in others, but not worth the extra money you will need to spend to own it, remember most are going to have to buy spare batteries which are only used in the V2.
So in a nut shell if you are looking at a V2 should you buy it? The V1 price cannot be beat right now and the image quality of the V2 is not that much different than the V1. If I did not own the V1 already I would buy it in a heartbeat vs. the V2. Am I going to upgrade? No, not at this time, I am going to wait until Nikon discounts the camera to a price that is more reasonable as they have done with the V1 or wait for the V3.
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