Posted by Martin Dunn on March 14, 2013 at 3:44 PM
A while ago I posted on a DPREVIEW forum asking for advice about teleconverters for a Nikon.
I got into an intersting chat with someone who is experimenting using a Nikon V1 plus FT1 Mount Adaptor to use his FX & DX lenses with the smaller sensor, giving him an effective crop factor of 2.7.
This turns a 300mm lens into an effective 810mm etc.
he's been trying it out for bird photography with some interesting results.
Has anyone here done anything similar?
Instead of investing in a new long lens I am seriously considering getting a V2 body and FT1 adaptor that will double the focal length of every lens I have whilst retaininbg full AF.
Posted by Luke Ormand on March 14, 2013 at 7:30 PM
Martin - I have the V1 and adapter. I've used it with my 300mm, my 300mm + 1.7X TC and my 18-200mm (which I've recently sold). It's a really awesome setup and can work very well - particularly with the 300 (no TC). There are some drawbacks though if you don't have the best glass (i.e. 200 f2, 70-200 f4, 300 f/2.8).
First off, you can only use the center focal point with autofocus - so that kills creativity on many shots. It doesn't focus track - so forget shooting BIF. The V1 is only 10 MP - so what you gain via the crop factor is nothing special when you could just crop the image from a D7000 for example (of D7100). It can be awkward to use a larger lens on the V1 because you can't rely on a neck strap and forget holding it by the body.. you have to hold it by the lens (or what's easier, the tripod collar).
Where the V1 really excels is video - it can produce some really beautiful stuff with the adapter and nice lenses. For more info - you can google Brad Hill's review where he has all sorts of examples and actual in-depth analysis (he's excellent with this type of stuff).
Posted by Dan Roberts on March 15, 2013 at 1:21 AM
I've been using a V1 with adapter a bit also. Ditto everything said in the previous post plus a couple of more details. One frustrating thing is that VR stays on continuously rather than turning on when you focus. Wears batteries down and who knows what it does to the life of a lens. Another thing to remember is that you are stuck with contrast focus. It has a good frame rate but it freezes your view between frames so shooting anything that is moving is problematic.
OK, now the good stuff. I used to shoot a D200 and I would say that image quality is about on par as far as noise performance etc. Used well it is pretty awesome for the reach you can get out of it. But as mentioned, you can get similar pixel count by cropping a D7100/5200 without the downsides. And if you're hauling the long lenses plut adapter around you're not saving any size/weight vs a small DSLR. Now all that speaks to using long lenses.
For landscape work with the native 1 series lenses. It's basically like carrying a tiny little D200 around with you. Not quite pocket size, but pretty small for the quality and NEF images. Plus video. So for what they cost nowadays, it's not a bad gadget to add to the inventory.
Posted by Martin Dunn on March 15, 2013 at 8:25 AM
Would the fact that the newer V2 has 16 mp make any difference to your opinions?
Posted by Luke Ormand on March 15, 2013 at 10:49 AM
Yes - I was upset when the V2 was introduced shortly after I got the V1 due to the pixels. BUT, to me the V2 is ugly as sin! At least he V1 looks good haha...
I also don't understand why Nikon makes a (reasonably priced) waterproof housing for the J series, but not the V series... having a waterproof housing (made by nikon) would be really useful
Posted by Dan Roberts on March 15, 2013 at 10:03 PM
More pixels are hard to argue against unless they compromise noise performance. Definately for the landscape work it would be nice. It would also make it that much easier (for me at least) to leave the heavy gear at home when I'm on vacation. The image quality of these little guys makes that possible for me.
I will stress the point that wildlife photography with 1 series is doable but it is a whole different experience and very limited relative to a DSLR.
Discussion
5 repliesI got into an intersting chat with someone who is experimenting using a Nikon V1 plus FT1 Mount Adaptor to use his FX & DX lenses with the smaller sensor, giving him an effective crop factor of 2.7.
This turns a 300mm lens into an effective 810mm etc.
he's been trying it out for bird photography with some interesting results.
Has anyone here done anything similar?
Instead of investing in a new long lens I am seriously considering getting a V2 body and FT1 adaptor that will double the focal length of every lens I have whilst retaininbg full AF.
First off, you can only use the center focal point with autofocus - so that kills creativity on many shots. It doesn't focus track - so forget shooting BIF. The V1 is only 10 MP - so what you gain via the crop factor is nothing special when you could just crop the image from a D7000 for example (of D7100). It can be awkward to use a larger lens on the V1 because you can't rely on a neck strap and forget holding it by the body.. you have to hold it by the lens (or what's easier, the tripod collar).
Where the V1 really excels is video - it can produce some really beautiful stuff with the adapter and nice lenses. For more info - you can google Brad Hill's review where he has all sorts of examples and actual in-depth analysis (he's excellent with this type of stuff).
OK, now the good stuff. I used to shoot a D200 and I would say that image quality is about on par as far as noise performance etc. Used well it is pretty awesome for the reach you can get out of it. But as mentioned, you can get similar pixel count by cropping a D7100/5200 without the downsides. And if you're hauling the long lenses plut adapter around you're not saving any size/weight vs a small DSLR. Now all that speaks to using long lenses.
For landscape work with the native 1 series lenses. It's basically like carrying a tiny little D200 around with you. Not quite pocket size, but pretty small for the quality and NEF images. Plus video. So for what they cost nowadays, it's not a bad gadget to add to the inventory.
I also don't understand why Nikon makes a (reasonably priced) waterproof housing for the J series, but not the V series... having a waterproof housing (made by nikon) would be really useful
I will stress the point that wildlife photography with 1 series is doable but it is a whole different experience and very limited relative to a DSLR.