Is a used Nikon 1 J3 any good?

dieselnutjob

Senior Member
I have my D750 and some lenses, and I have a Sony DSC-HX20V for when I'm out and about and not planning to take photos but it's small enough to carry anyway.

I notice that one can get Nikon 1 J3 with 10-30mm now for about £120 on ebay. It seems like a lot of small camera for very little money. I'm kind of thinking I would chuck one in the glovebox of the car or carry it around a lot so that I would never miss a photo.

How does the quality of photos compare with something like my HX20V or a high end smartphone (I also have an Zperia XZ premium)? The sensor is significantly bigger in a 1 than in either of those.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
J3 is 14M, and the J5 is 20M... There's about a $20 difference between the two here... If I were looking at that camera, I'd probably look for a J5
 

dieselnutjob

Senior Member
I have had very little luck buying stuff from the US.
Sellers always want to charge massive shipping fees to send stuff internationally, and then the UK government charges import duties on both the item and the shipping.
I don't really understand why shipping from the US to UK is so expensive, but it is.
 

dieselnutjob

Senior Member
actually I think that the sweat spot might be the J4. Not too much more than a J3, better ISO, touchscreen etc.

So will a J4 take significantly better photos than my very portable HX20V or a high end more modern smartphone?
 

dieselnutjob

Senior Member
After several hours reading, watching reviews and looking at ebay prices I have come this conclusion on used J4s.
For similar money on ebay if it is portability that you after then the Nikon 1 is beaten by the Sony RX100 (the RX100ii seems to be the one to go for on a budget). The RX100 has a similar size sensor but will fit in a pocket.
For similar money if is picture quality that you are after then you can get a Sony Nex 6 which has better low light sensitivity and a much bigger APS-C sensor.

The a6000 is a fair bit more expensive.
 

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
After several hours reading, watching reviews and looking at ebay prices I have come this conclusion on used J4s.
For similar money on ebay if it is portability that you after then the Nikon 1 is beaten by the Sony RX100 (the RX100ii seems to be the one to go for on a budget). The RX100 has a similar size sensor but will fit in a pocket.
For similar money if is picture quality that you are after then you can get a Sony Nex 6 which has better low light sensitivity and a much bigger APS-C sensor.

The a6000 is a fair bit more expensive.

I wouldn't disagree with you, I love my V2 but sensor technology is way behind modern units.
 
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