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Canon announces the EOS-M2 but only for Japan. Canon releases patents for more lenses with built-in teleconverters. DP Review likes the Nikon AW1, turnaround for the maligned Nikon 1? Sigma announces some lenses will not autofocus on Nikon Df. Adobe extends PS/LR deal. DxO updates software. CamRanger wireless tripod head.
The first run of Nikon's 1 series cameras has been a questionable success. The J1, in local experience, had a huge number of returns related to customer satisfaction. I liked the V1 although I called it the 688 given its resemblance to a Los Angeles class submarine. The J2 lasted about a week. The J3 doesn't seem a lot different from its predecessors and the V2 is, well it has a face only its mother could love. When I heard about the AW1, a waterproof 1 series camera, I first had to cry because the "credible" writer indicated it was the first underwater camera with interchangeable lenses. This is of course a complete load of poo given that Nikon themselves brought the world the Nikonos line of very serious and very credible underwater cameras and lenses.
I was more intrigued because of the possibility of a compact system camera with very good glass, a much better than PS sensor and hardened system. As readers know, I work part time at a camera store and we have the AW1 in stock. It was a bit slow today and I had some short time to play with the AW1.
The Good
This feels serious. Construction is very solid. There is plenty of metal involved. The O Ring system that makes a seal for the lens when mounted is simple and yet very innovative as it doesn't preclude using other 1 mount lenses on the AW1, but does add the ability to use the waterproof 11mm-27.5mm lens that comes with the body. Everything is solid.
The shutter button is clean and actuates smoothly without any rocking. Same is true for the video start / stop button. The rockers on the back of the camera have similar feel and the rear LCD is bright and easy to read. The seals for the battery / memory card area look robust and the locking mechanism is both effective and easy to use.
Despite the CX sensor being the smallest of the Compact System Camera sensors, it still produces very good images. I confess that I shot it as the buyer would out of the box, default of JPEG medium and that is never anything to write home about, but easily as good an image as one would get from an M43 sensor.
There is a simple yet effective finger grip ridge on the front and a slightly tacky thumb pad on the back. Surprisingly there is a built-in popup flash and the spring deployment is quite aggressive so it should still deploy effectively underwater.
The zoom ring on the 11-27.5 lens is pleasantly stiff. It's not screaming fast, at f/3.5-f/5.6 but with a top ISO of 6400 should be more than suitable for the use cases. For those who think in full frame focal lengths, as I do, the lens is like a 30mm to 75mm. Decent but not really compelling. I suspect that the limited range is due to the constraints of making the thing waterproof.
That the little AW1 can shoot 15 fps with autofocus for each shot is very impressive. The AF is blazing fast and the multiple focus points are very usable. You can actually get up to 60 fps if you let it lock focus and just fire away.
As one would expect, the camera shoots HD video at up to 1080i. Video is decent, like any camera of similar sensor size.
Battery has a CIPA rating of 220 frames which is quite good considering the small size of the Li-On battery.
Given the camera's use cases, I will forego my typical bitching about the lack of a proper viewfinder. It gets the job done.
The AW1 comes in white, black and silver. None of which is particularly useful if the thing gets away from you in the lake or the ocean but pleasant enough out of the water. The web site does show some fluorescent orange gel type cover. You don't need it but it would be a good idea if you were going to dive with this thing regularly. And by dive I mean no more than 50 feet, which in most cases is not going to be a problem.
The Not So Hot
Nikon is not a software company. I and many others find their menu layout to be designed with the apparent intent of unintelligibility. The AW1 is nowhere near as horrible as the Android powered point and shoot, but it could be so much better. Too much time wasted on graphics could be better spent getting to the point. It's a small camera, so the buttons are small.
I am not a diver, but would be inclined to use the camera in cold and wet weather and I'm not sure that I could manipulate the buttons with gloves on. I also believe I would inadvertently move the rocker while wearing gloves.
The flash is going to be of limited value underwater. A guide number of 5 isn't going to drive much light at all. Certainly no worse than any of the underwater point and shoots, but no better either.
It would have been nice if the zoom range was a bit greater. The underwater PS market is typically 4x or 5x optical zoom, this lens is less than 3x. Not a lot of versatility.
While the autofocus is blazingly fast, I did find that when face tracking engaged it slowed down a fair bit.
While I like that the camera has built-in GPS, the fact that you have to go off-board to get WiFi is just plain goofy. Having to use the DSLR designed WU-1b WiFi adapter takes goofy to the level of stupid.
Why Go This Route
My Canon 1Dx is a professional grade camera. I shoot it in crappy conditions. But if I want to make GPS encodings on the images, I need to buy an insanely expensive add-on that gets in the way. If I want WiFi transfer, same deal. Stupidly high price for a nothing piece of kit. I would consider putting one of these things in the bag and grabbing the first shot at a location with it for the GPS and also for quick updates for field level work. The lens is Nikon, so sharp and with great contrast and the little beast is surprisingly tough. It actually feels like Canon's EOS-M in construction quality but with autofocus that doesn't suck.
I haven't yet gone the route of a compact system camera. Technically, the Leicas are mirror less cameras but I don't think of them the same way I might think of a Sony NEX or Lumix. I like the GX-7 and the Olympus OM-D EM-5 very much, but not so much that I would drop coin on either of them. I do think that the AW1 is overpriced in its space, but it will likely drop in price as Nikon gets the market sizing right. This is a very spiky vertical marketplace. At $799 it's a tough sell. If they could get it to $499 it would slay the other vendors by adding use cases beyond the "smaller lighter interchangeable lens" banner.
The three sample shots here are literally fully auto JPEGs right out of the camera. Had I more time, or better mentally engaged, I would have switched over to RAW or at least JPEG Fine. Given ISO selections between 800 and 1250 by the camera, noise is well handled and contrast is ok. I did NO processing on these shots at all, and am confident that working in RAW I could get significantly better colour and contrast even at higher ISOs.
Thanks to Henry's of Newmarket for letting me use the camera for this First Look
Specifications courtesy of Nikon
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