Generic C-mount and the V1

One of the attractions of the V1 is the ability to use non-CX lenses, ranging from F-mount, C-mount, Canon, Minolta, Fujica, M42 and many more through the use of adapters. Other than with AF F-mount lenses, you will lose AF, all autoexposure modes, and won't record any EXIF information. There is no AF peaking, so focusing can be difficult as the AF confirmation dot isn't very accurate.

I got a generic C-mount adapter and a generic 35mm f/1.2 C-mount lens (branded 'Fotasy') on eBay. It's a challenging lens, with a non-uniform field plane of focus. OOF can get swirly (apparently common to C-mount lenses). But it is sharp when you nail the focus.

I used this lens a few times, but the results have been less than optimal. It hasn't found a regular place in my bag. I was considering other C-mount lenses, but that plan has been put on the backburner after buying the 18.5mm and the FT-1.

 More samples here

The cheap system that wasn't

Nearly a year has passed since my last post. I blame time for passing. What follows was sitting in the drafts folder for six months.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been almost a year since I got the V1. Since then, I've added an SB-5 (since the camera has no flash), the FT-1 F-mount adapter (since I want to use my Nikon lenses with autoexposure and AF), the 18.5mm f/1.8 (since it's the cheaper lens with the largest aperture that I can afford), and the 10mm f/2.8 (since it was less for a refurb than for a craigslist  one). I also added a 35mm f/1.8 AF-S DX because of a $100 discount from dpreview (thank you!).

Adding it all up, I've spent over $1k on what was supposed to be an under $400 replacement for a p&s. Yikes!

Welcome to my friend, feature creep. The SB-5 is needed as the V1 doesn't do too well at high ISO's, and I didn't have the 18.5mm f/1.8. The 18.5mm is needed so I can get some sort of subject isolation, and still use lower ISO's (see above on the SB-5). The FT-1 is needed because it was a good price, and I want to see how well this camera does with actual AF on the Sigma 500mm (MF doesn't work too well for surfing shots). The 10mm is needed so I can have a small kit for my upcoming trip. The 35mm is needed for portraits because the 32mm f/1.2 is just plain expensive.

 

What's next? The GP-N100 would remove the inconvenience of syncing GPX files from my phone. I have yet to upgrade the firmware for the FT-1 as I'm worried my Sigma lenses may not AF. I should send the Sigmas in to Sigma to have them upgraded. I haven't decided on whether I need a grip or not.

Decisions, decisions :-)

I've also been working through my backlog of photos. I didn't realize that I had some images from two years ago that I had yet to process (again, because life!). I'm now up to April of this year, which is quite a bit of progress. I should have some images up tonight, or in the next few days.

Yet another new toy, the Nikon V1

Welcome the Nikon V1. Getting old is not fun, and the D3 is starting to strain my shoulder. I've been looking at the interchangeable lens compacts, and settled on the V1 as a compromise between price and features.

Why the V1? A viewfinder is a must-have (refer to my post on the Olympus E-P1). It's a plus that there's an available adapter for AF-S lenses, but it's out of my budget for now. AF is very fast in bright daylight, slower in dim light. The viewfinder is bright and the refresh rate is high. I tried an OM-D and the viewfinder showed noticeable flickering. There's a slight lag before the viewfinder turns on, but this can be fixed with a little tape.

The camera has a 10mp sensor that's on the small side. With some PS retouching, I was able to make a clean 13x19 print. 

The rear LCD screen is the same as that in D3, but without the fogging issue (so far). I do enjoy the rotating rear controller, which makes it easy to go through the menu items (spin quickly instead of clicking or holding a button). So far the mode dial hasn't slipped, but the detents are on the loose side.

Now for the drawbacks of the V1. Noise is always present, even at the base ISO100. Very noticeable in blue skies and in shadows. Higher ISO's are a problem, limiting the usefulness of the camera. Battery life is also dismal, giving 160 shots with 20% left on one of my outings with the camera. That works out to about 200 shots maximum, much less than the 350 rating for the battery. It's the price you pay for an electronic viewfinder that's always on.

Selecting simple things like exposure mode, ISO, AF settings, and other basic features are hidden in the menu system. The V1 is targeted at the p&s user, and the novice user to be specific, hence the simplified controls. It's not likely that Nikon's going to change the firmware, so this is just something that I'll have to accept.

The lens selection is limited for now, and given the small sensor, it's doubtful that buying a lens for isolation is going to be cheap. Third-party lenses are non-existent, although there several adapters available for other mounts.

Surprisingly, it's not that hard to manually focus. I've tried the 50mm f/1.8E and 75-150 f/3.5E, and it's easy to get accurate focus with either lens. They also perform decently on the camera. Metering doesn't work with these lenses, so it's back to the sunny 16 rule and guesstimating.

I considered the OM-D, Nexus 6 and 7, but they're all more expensive than the V1. The Panasonic G3 is now a steal at $300 with the kit lens, but the AF isn't up to the V1's speed. I also looked at the Nikon D3200, but the price is a bit high, and it's not as small or as light.

The V1 is not a D3 replacement, but then again at $350 for the body and kit 10-30mm lens, it's definitely a bargain.

Things to order: a second battery, a handgrip, a lens hood, and a strap.

Hit rate: 59/162, or 36%. Click here for more photos.

Addendum on 12/02/13: B&H is now offering the V1 for $300. Definitely a bargain. Now, do I take the savings and buy the 30-110mm, or the FT-1....

Check before you pack

Rushing out to an event when you're half-awake is never a good idea. I thought I grabbed my 35mm f/2, and was I surprised to find the 50mm f/1.8 in my bag when I got to Lincoln Park for the Lion's Cars-in-the-Park event.

I made do with what I brought. I had to step back more for some shots, and the bokeh isn't ideal (check out the heptagonal OOF highlights). But when you're around so much beautiful metal, it doesn't matter what your hardware is like.

Hit rate: 45/114

Time does more than fly

It simply disappears.

Several updates:

1. The Nikon S3100 is gone, replaced by a Canon A3300IS. The delay between shutter press and release when the flash was used was a major inconvenience, so the camera's gone to a different home. The Canon is about the same size, with about the same image quality, but a much better flash implementation.

2. My Dell P1100 has been replaced by an ASUS PA246. The Dell (well over 15 years old) sometimes would not turn on, requiring several on-off-on cycles before it fired up.

3. The ASUS is a lovely screen, but I am having problems with calibration. The first one had a green tint, so back it went. The replacement cost $50 less (thanks Amazon for not allowing me to get a replacement and requiring me to order a new on instead), and has less of a green tint, but it's still there.

4. Related to #3, Datacolor is sending a replacement for my Spyder3 Elite after concluding that it's the unit that's at fault. I'll find out if that's true when the new one arrives next week.

5. The Nvidia GeForce 8800GT in my Dell XPS 420 finally died. An EVGA GTX 560 has replaced it. Slightly faster according to Windows, but now there's an occasional stutter in my audio. I'm still trying to figure out what happened. The 420 has been given a new breath of life with an additional 3GB and Windows 7 64-bit.

6. My Dell Inspirion 1420 bit the dust. The video problem finally killed it, and wouldn't you know it, the extended warranty is also over. Yet another Nvidia problem.

7. My Dell 2209WA also suffered an untimely death. A yellow vertical line shows up when the monitor is cold, and goes away once it's warmed up. Dell tech support naturally blamed user damage, and I had to argue with them that there's no way this could be my fault. They replaced it with a refurbished Dell U2212. Slightly smaller screen size at a higher resolution, so not exactly the ideal situation for an aging photographer. I calibrated it with the Spyder3 and it has a smaller color space than the 2209, so it's not the best replacement. I wish they could fix my 2209, but that's not the way things are done in this day and age. I wonder what will happen to it; I was tempted to ask Dell if I could buy it for $50; it would still work for web browsing.

That's what happens when you don't update your blog .