Tell me about Nikon J1s

With my nearly £300 birthday money burning a big hole nn my pocket, I was thinking about one of these – has anyone used one, do they rate them? Any alternatives?

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Compact-System-Cameras/buy-NIKON-J1-BLK-TWIN-KIT-Compact-System-Camera/774286

When I was looking for a camera a couple of weeks ago I was advised by the store manager at a couple of my local Jessops to go for the Sony NEX-5N.

Whether they were trying to push that model from because they were told to I don’t know. But the one manager at the Wolves store was very enthusiastic. And cute.

I just bought one from Jessops a couple of weeks ago (through my work i was able to get an additional 10% off at Jessops), still playing about with it and getting used to using it but it seems nice so far.

There has been a few threads recently about the micro 4/3 or compact system cameras, below is the thread i started a few weeks ago.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/nikon-1-camera-any-better-price-than-jessops

There are a few suggestions for other cameras in there that could be worth a look as well. The Olympus Pen E-PL3 was another camera i looked at but was a little over my budget so in the end i went for the Nikon.

Despite the post above, my only recommendation is don’t buy anything from Jessops. Their customer service is virtually non existent if you have any issues and their staff are about as well informed as a piece of wood.

You can tell I’m a happy (ex)customer…….

Our local Jessops, in Cambridge, is really good – Nikon Pro Store, buy all my kit from there.

Yep. Bought my D80 from Jessops, Cambridge and got my SB-700 flash & P300 compact from Peterborough branch.
They were cheaper than anywhere online, I could buy online & collect in store (which I did with the d80) and when I asked about the P300 & P7100 prior to buying, they didn’t have the P7100 in store but ordered one in for me to have a look at with no pressure to buy. Ended up with the P300 as it suited my needs better.
They also dealt with sending my 18-135 back to Nikon when it developed a fault quickly and without fuss.

Anyway…a mate has got one of these little Nikons and we’ve also got one at work. Haven’t played with it much, but it seems pretty good. I seem to remember reading some reviews when it came out though that said that Nikon had missed the boat somewhat and it was a bit behind the competition. Not sure how true that is though.

Does it have a flash? That would be the thing putting me off the Sony nex range – the flash is a little push in affair that doesn’t really offer any benefits over a built in flash, but looks like something that could easily get lost, dropped, snapped…

Amazon have a good price on the basic kit – camera + 10-30 lens for £300 but then with £50 cashback from Nikon . . . tempted myself.

This website is pretty good at finding the best price on any particular camera, once you’ve decided what you want.

I’ve recently got one of the Sony NEX5 cameras and I must say its dry good. It came down to the Nikon J1 and the NEX5 and in the end I went for the Sony. It’s a great little camera that is very capable but it certainly had its flaws. I mainly chose the Sony as it felt a little nicer in the hands and came in a multiple lens kit which the Nikon didn’t (at the shop I was in at the time only had the 10-30 and 10mm whereas the Sony had the 16mm and the 18-55mm)

Thom Hogan’s review