# Complete begginer question Nikon 1 J3



## wikidd (Dec 31, 2013)

Hello everyone and happy new years!

I have actually never had any interest in photography until very recently actually. My girlfriend has wanted to get into photography for a while so for xmas i bought her what i thought to believed a good begginers camera. A nikon 1 J3 with a 10-30 lens.

I actually should of bought my self the camera because I am more interested in it then she is which is ok at lease it isnt going to waste, so making a long story short I want to try my hand in photography, not to make money just as a hobby of some sorts..

Well my first question is what kind of camera is the Nikon 1 J3? It has interchangable lenses so is it considered a DSLR?

I also have always had a keen interest in space, so Im leaning towards wanting to do astrophotography. Is it at all possible with the Nikon 1 j3 camera i have? If so, do i need a better lens than the 10-30?

I know im proboaly trying to do something a little advanced, but astrophotography is the field i want to get into, any insigt would be great. Thank you!


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## Derrel (Dec 31, 2013)

MILC or mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera is what I would call the Nikon 1 series cameras.

Before you get a bunch of weird replies, please go here Rob Galbraith DPI: Review: Nikon's J1 and V1 cameras and 1 Nikkor lenses

and read ROb Galbraith's review of the earlier Nikon 1 cameras, and SEE for yourself what those little cameras can actually DO before you listen to a bunch of hot air about how incapable they are,etc. Just do it. SEE what those small-sensor cameras can actually do!

Astrophotography? I have no idea about that subject field.


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## Juga (Dec 31, 2013)

Buy the most expensive stuff you can find and don't listen to Derrel...



DISCLAIMER *** HEAVY SARCASM USED FOR THIS COMMENT ***


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## wikidd (Dec 31, 2013)

Maybe that's not the correct term, when I said astro photography I mean taking.photographs of stuff like the milky way center stars in the sky. Stuff like that and thank you I will read that. 

So in general do you believe this a good camera for begginers or should I get something else.


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## Tinderbox (UK) (Dec 31, 2013)

I use to have the Nikon 1 V1 and i was very surprised at the quality of the photo`s for a 10mp camera.

From Derrels link, i have never heard of this before



> The J1
> 
> 
> 
> include a "dust shield," which is an optically-clear filter that sits * several millimetres* in front of the sensor and keeps debris from ever  reaching the sensor area



John.


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## Tailgunner (Dec 31, 2013)

wikidd said:


> Maybe that's not the correct term, when I said astro photography I mean taking.photographs of stuff like the milky way center stars in the sky. Stuff like that and thank you I will read that.
> 
> So in general do you believe this a good camera for begginers or should I get something else.



We bought our son a Nikon 1 J2 for Christmas. It came with a 10mm 2.8 wide-angle and 10-30mm standard zoom. Anyhow, the camera does surprisingly well, much better than any of our previous Point and Shoot cameras. I think the Nikon 1 J or V models are a good cameras for people looking for decent quality in a compact package.

Now with that said, I'm not sure how well it will work on Astrophotography. A lot of the Astro-photos you see are done using a technique called long exposure. This basically means leaving the shutter open for a length of time vs a quick open shut motion. A long exposure shot can range from 3 sec to 60 minutes. I don't have my son's J2 with me but I'm not sure it's capable of such. You also want to use a remote cable button to help reduces blur/vibration and I'm not sure if they make one for the J or V models.


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## wikidd (Dec 31, 2013)

I believe I do have a setting called long exposure nr in the j3, would that be what your referring too?


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## PaulWog (Dec 31, 2013)

wikidd said:


> Hello everyone and happy new years!
> I have actually never had any interest in photography until very recently actually. My girlfriend has wanted to get into photography for a while so for xmas i bought her what i thought to believed a good begginers camera. A nikon 1 J3 with a 10-30 lens.
> I actually should of bought my self the camera because I am more interested in it then she is which is ok at lease it isnt going to waste, so making a long story short I want to try my hand in photography, not to make money just as a hobby of some sorts..
> Well my first question is what kind of camera is the Nikon 1 J3? It has interchangable lenses so is it considered a DSLR?
> ...



My girlfriend picked up her Nikon 1 J3 about 9 months ago. The Nikon 1 J3 is nice as far as the automatic settings in good lighting is concerned. When it comes to flash or night-time, you'll pretty much have to throw the camera into manual. Manual settings are really tricky with the Nikon 1 J3.

I've gotten to try the camera out somewhat extensively, only with the 10-30mm lens. It's a good camera during the day, and it's great in automatic mode. However, if you're looking to step it up, you'll be looking at aperture priority or manual, and in my opinion the Nikon 1 J3 isn't too good for that. Even at very low ISO (ex. ISO 200), you can end up getting noise grain from the camera. 

All-in-all, it's a good camera. However, I think it was designed from the ground up for automatic mode.


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## Tinderbox (UK) (Dec 31, 2013)

An good alternative is an Sony NEX-3N is has a larger aps-c sensor and is about the same price as the Nikon

John.


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## Tailgunner (Jan 1, 2014)

I used our's son's Nikon 1 J2 last night at a Club over looking the Dallas Big D NYE. Things moved way to fast for me to fart around with manual settings. So I full auto only deploying the flash here and there. Anyhow, it did pretty good. I'll try and post some photos as time permits.


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