The third generation of Nikon’s interchangeable lens camera system is the J3, which costs $5999.95 directly with a 10-30mm lens (Amazon). Although it is a little Continue reading advanced than the J1, the J3 still occupies an entry-level position in the Nikon family. S1 is the smaller and more affordable body. It costs $100 less.
It can shoot at 60 frames per second and slow-motion video. The J3's 14-megapixel J3 burst also has innovative modes such as Motion Snapshot or Slow View. Although it isn't as good as the Editors' Choice Panasonic Lumix G5 ($649.95 Amazon), this camera has enthusiast-level features such a hotshoe and an EVF. However, casual photographers who want a compact camera that offers some unique features may be interested.
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Features and Design
The J3 can be purchased in many colors, just like its predecessor. The J3 was tested in white but can be ordered in silver, black, red or beige. The included 10-30mm lens (27-81mm equivalent), comes in the same color. Although the camera is only 2.4x4x1.1 inches (HWD), it adds about a few inches to its depth when mounted. You might be interested in interchangeable lenses, and not buying additional lenses, but you aren't sure you will ever need them.
The Editor's Choice Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 is $448.00 on Amazon. . Its image sensor is the same physical size, about 1-inch measured diagonally, and the lens is a faster 28-100mm f/1.8-4.9 design—you'll never be able to change lenses, but you can slide the camera into your pocket.
Although the J3 was designed to be used automatically, it also allows you to access some manual controls. The On/Off, Movie, Shutter Release, and Mode dial are located on the top of your camera. The dial contains settings for Motion Snapshot and Best Moment Capture as well as Advanced Movie, Auto, Creative, Advanced, and Creative modes.
Auto Mode is just as you would expect—it lets the camera take control of shooting settings, although you will still be able to control the Drive Mode, adjust the Flash output, and control Exposure Compensation (which adjusts the brightness of shots).
If you are not familiar with the settings of your camera, tap the F button at the rear to control Nikon's Active D Lighting system. This allows you adjust highlights and shadows via Background Softening, the Shutter Speed setting via Motion Control, the Shutter speed via Motion Control, and the Exposure Compensation setting via Brightness Control. While Shutter Speed and Aperture can still be controlled using traditional techniques when the camera is in Creative mode, it's helpful to see these options in a simpler format.
Advanced users can access Creative Mode, which opens Shutter priority and Aperture priority. There are also many scene modes within. There are preset modes that can be used to shoot in low light or when there is a strong backlight. Additionally, you have more options like an in-camera panorama and a simulation miniature effect. You can use the miniature effect to blur the area above or below your subject. The selective color mode allows you to shoot black-and-white photos with just one color in the spectrum.
There are two options for the Best Moment Capture setting. Smart Photo Selector debuted with the J1 and is unchanged—it captures a burst of photos at 60fps and chooses the best five. Slow view is when the shutter button halfway down is pressed.
This slows down the live feed for approximately six seconds. You can capture action shots at the perfect moment. The Motion Snapshot mode is still there as well—it captures a still as well as a few seconds of surrounding video and combines them into a short slow-motion video and still shot with music.
To frame or review your photos, you will rely on its rear view. It measures 3 inches and occupies the majority of the rear camera. The 921k dot resolution makes it sharp. Unlike some other interchangeable lens cameras, like Sony's NEX-F3($599.98 at Amazon), the screen is fixed—the NEX has a tilting display. An external electronic viewfinder can be added to the F3, which is not available on the J3. If you need an electronic viewfinder, the Nikon V2 is better.
The J3 uses an electronic shutter rather than a traditional mechanical one—again, you'll have to move up to the V2 to get a Nikon 1 camera with a mechanical shutter. The camera can be silent while you are shooting. But you do lose the ability to take flash photos at higher shutter speeds—the J3 tops out at 1/60-second when using the flash, while the V2 will let you snap photos with a flash at 1/250-second. For most people considering the J3, this won't matter.
The built-in flash can be used as a pop-up flash. This feature is not available on Olympus Micro Four Thirds cameras such the PEN Lite EPL5 (at Amazon). A flash that protruded from the J1's body and hung straight up on its neck was quite bizarre. The J3 uses a traditional flash, which raises by using a dual action hinge. The nicest thing about it is its ability to fire from any position—if you want to avoid the harsh look of direct flash you can tilt it back and bounce it off of a ceiling for a softer, more pleasant look. Similar hinged construction is used for the flash in the Sony NEX-F3.
The camera does not have Wi-Fi, however you can purchase the WU-1b Wireless Mobile Adapter for $59.95. The adapter plugs in to the USB port at the J3 and allows you to transfer photos to your phone. The Samsung NX1000 (at Amazon, $49.95) or the Sony Alpha NEX-5R (at Amazon, $49.95) are compact interchangeable lenses cameras with Wi-Fi. You can transfer images to both your smartphone and social media sites without the need to use an adapter.
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Conclusions and Performance
The J3 is an extremely fast-resolving camera. Its start-up time of 1.4 seconds is plenty fast, its shutter lag is as close to 0 seconds as you can get, and it can shoot a burst of 20 photos at 60 frames per second—even in Raw shooting mode. Although the recovery time can vary depending on what format is being used, it's not too bad. To write a JPG burst from a SanDisk95MBps memory cards, it takes 8.9 seconds.
Raw takes 11.1 seconds to write a JPG burst, while Raw+JPG takes 17.4 seconds. Before the burst has been saved, you can shoot again. Olympus' PEN Mini EPM2 (Amazon: $1,599.00) opens in a new browser. It is slightly slower but has a bigger Micro Four Thirds sensor. The camera takes 1.6 seconds to fire up and shoots at 7.7 frames per minute with a shutter delay of 0.1 second.
The J3 has a short shutter lag due to its autofocus system. It's almost instant in good lighting, however it slows to 1.1 seconds to fire and focus in dim conditions. The Panasonic Lumix G5 is a little slower to focus in bright light—requiring about 0.2-second—but manages to lock and fire in an impressive 0.8-second in dim conditions.
Imatest was used to verify the sharpness and quality of the 1 Nikkor 10-30mm VR lens f/3.5-55.6. To mark sharp photos, we use 1,800 lines per photo height. The kit lens doesn't quite get there. It can reach 1,702 lines when zoomed to 10mm at f/3.5, and 1,775 lines when it is zoomed up to f/5.6. At 20mm, it will produce 1,778 lines. It can also zoom to 30mm and get 1,696 lines.
Like most kit zooms you'll have to deal with a little bit—2 percent—of barrel distortion at the widest angle. Straight lines can appear curled due to this. The kit zoom that is included with Olympus PEN cameras is much better—the 14-42mm that is bundled with the E-PL5 delivers the same field of view, resolves a more impressive 2,263 lines at its widest angle, and does better than 1,800 lines throughout its zoom range.
Imatest can also check photos for noise. This could cause them to lose their sharpness if the ISO is raised, or camera's sensitivity. JPG images taken at ISO 3200 by the J3 have a lower noise level than ISO 1.5. JPGs shot at this setting show a noticeable loss of detail compared to those made at lower settings. We recommend that the ISO 1600 setting is used.
To get sharpest photos possible, ISO 800 and lower are preferred. If low-light shooting is a major concern, consider a camera like the Sony NEX-F3, which does a great job balancing noise and detail through ISO 3200, or the Panasonic G5—it does a better job with detail at ISO 6400, although photos at that setting are somewhat noisy.
QuickTime video is recorded by the J3 at 1080i60 and 1080p30 resolutions, as well as 720p60 and 720p60 quality. The quality of the footage is excellent, and it can focus with great ease during recording. You can capture JPG stills while video is being recorded, and it won't interrupt the footage.
There's also a slow motion mode—although the resolution is lacking when compared with HD video, you'll be able to shoot for a few seconds at 400fps or 1,200fps in order to capture impressive slow-motion clips that are perfectly suitable for sharing on the web. The camera has a mini USB and mini HDMI connections. It supports SDHC and SDXC cards.
The J3 is a small interchangeable lens camera that's ideal for compact use. Its speedy operation and compact size are great reasons to consider it. Even if you aren't an expert in photography, it's simple to use and offers exclusive shooting modes such as Slow View or Motion Snapshot that you won't get elsewhere.
There are some downsides to the J3: the 1-inch sensor doesn't perform well in low light, the 10--30mm lens kit isn’t sharp, and there is no way to add an external flash or viewfinder. Although the 1 lens system has advanced since its launch two years ago it is still not as mature as it used to be.
You may be interested in a small interchangeable lens camera for better image quality. If this is your goal, then you might want to consider the Editors Choice high-end point and shoot, the Sony RX100. It has a 1-inch sensor, a faster zoom lens and costs $50 less than the J3.
More advanced users will likely appreciate the built-in viewfinder and SLR-style design of our Editors' Choice in this category, the Panasonic Lumix G5—but at $800, it's a more sizeable investment. Olympus PEN E-PM2 and Sony Alpha NEX-F3 are comparable in cost and size to the J3, perform better in low-light and offer more accessories and lenses to improve their function.
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