Nikon 1 V3 Comparison Review

The Nikon 1 V3 is a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that was officially introduced in March 2014 and is equipped with an one-inch sensor. It offers a resolution of 18.2 megapixel.

Is the Nikon 1 V3 a good camera? The V3 has a Camera Elo of 2106. This rating puts the V3 below average of all mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. In terms of its sensor size category (one inch cameras), the V3 also ranks below average. – Well, the Nikon 1 V3 is more than 5 years old, and there have been many other good digital cameras released since 2014.

Headline Specifications

Nikon 1 V3
Mirrorless system camera
Nikon 1 mount lenses
18.2 MP, 1" Sensor
1080/60p Video
ISO 160-12800
Viewfinder optional
3.0" LCD, 1037k dots
Tilting touchscreen
60 shutter flaps per second
310 shots per battery charge
111 x 65 x 33 mm, 381 g

Read on to find out more about the camera's size, sensor, features, reception by expert reviewers, and how it compares to other digital cameras.

Body comparison with a credit card

The side-by-side display below illustrates the physical size of the Nikon 1 V3 vis-à-vis a credit card. Three consecutive perspectives from the front, the top, and the back are presented. All size dimensions are rounded to the nearest millimeter.

The table below summarizes the key physical specs of the Nikon 1 V3 alongside a set of comparators. If you want to review a camera pair side-by-side, just select a right-side comparator from among the camera models in the table. Alternatively, you can also move across to the CAM-parator tool and choose from the broad selection of possible comparisons there.

Camera Body Specifications

	Camera Model	Camera Width	Camera Height	Camera Depth	Camera Weight	Battery Life (CIPA)	Weather Sealing (yes/no)	Camera Launch (announced)	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price (USD)	Used Price (USD)	Camera Model
	Nikon 1 V3	111 mm	65 mm	33 mm	381 g	310	n	Mar 2014	799	-		Nikon 1 V3
	Canon G5 X« »	112 mm	76 mm	44 mm	353 g	210	n	Oct 2015	799	-		Canon G5 X
	Canon 100D« »	117 mm	91 mm	69 mm	407 g	380	n	Mar 2013	549	-		Canon 100D
	Fujifilm X-T10« »	118 mm	83 mm	41 mm	381 g	350	n	May 2015	799	-		Fujifilm X-T10
	Fujifilm X-M1« »	117 mm	67 mm	39 mm	330 g	350	n	Jun 2013	699	-		Fujifilm X-M1
	Nikon D5500« »	124 mm	97 mm	70 mm	420 g	820	n	Jan 2015	899	-		Nikon D5500
	Nikon 1 J4« »	100 mm	60 mm	29 mm	232 g	300	n	Apr 2014	549	-		Nikon 1 J4
	Nikon 1 V2« »	109 mm	82 mm	46 mm	278 g	310	n	Oct 2012	799	-		Nikon 1 V2
	Nikon 1 V1« »	113 mm	76 mm	44 mm	383 g	350	n	Sep 2011	799	-		Nikon 1 V1
	Panasonic G6« »	122 mm	85 mm	71 mm	390 g	340	n	Apr 2013	599	-		Panasonic G6
	Panasonic GF6« »	111 mm	65 mm	38 mm	323 g	340	n	Apr 2013	499	-		Panasonic GF6
Convert to Imperial
Note: Measurements and pricing do not include easily detachable parts, such as interchangeable lenses or optional viewfinders.

The listed prices provide an indication of the market segment that the manufacturer of the cameras have been targeting. The Nikon 1 V3 was launched in the US market at a price of $799. Usually, retail prices stay at first close to the launch price, but after several months, discounts become available. Later in the product cycle and, in particular, when the replacement model is about to appear, further discounting and stock clearance sales often push the camera price considerably down. Then, after the new model is out, very good deals can frequently be found on the pre-owned market.

Sensor comparison with a 35mm slide

The size of the imaging sensor is a crucial determinant of image quality. A large sensor will tend to have larger individual pixels that provide better low-light sensitivity, wider dynamic range, and richer color-depth than smaller pixel-units in a sensor of the same technological generation. Further, a large sensor camera will give the photographer additional creative options when using shallow depth-of-field to isolate a subject from its background. On the downside, larger sensors are more costly to manufacture and tent to lead to bigger and heavier cameras and lenses.

The Nikon 1 V3 features an one-inch sensor and has a format factor (sometimes also referred to as "crop factor") of 2.7. Within the spectrum of camera sensors, this places the Nikon 1 V3 among the medium-sized sensor cameras that aim to strike a balance between image quality and portability.

Consistent information on actual sensor performance is available from DXO Mark for most cameras. This service assesses and scores the color depth ("DXO Portrait"), dynamic range ("DXO Landscape"), and low-light sensitivity ("DXO Sports") of camera sensors, and also publishes an overall camera score. The adjacent table reports on the physical sensor characteristics and the outcomes of the DXO sensor quality tests for a sample of comparator-cameras.

Many modern cameras are not only capable of taking still images, but can also record movies. The V3 indeed provides movie recording capabilities. The highest resolution format that the V3 can use is 1080/60p.

Feature comparison

Apart from body and sensor, cameras can and do differ across a range of features. The adjacent tables list some of the other core features of the Nikon 1 V3 along with similar information for a selection of comparators.

One convenient feature of the V3 is the presence of an on-board flash. While this built-in flash is not very powerful, it can at times be useful as a fill-in light to brighten deep shadow areas.

Connection comparison

For some imaging applications, the extent to which a camera can communicate with its environment can be an important aspect in the camera decision process. The table below provides an overview of the connectivity of the Nikon 1 V3 and, in particular, the interfaces the cameras (and selected comparators) provide for accessory control and data transfer.

It is notable that the V3 has a microphone port. Such an external microphone input can help to substantially improve the quality of audio recordings when a good external microphone is used.

Expert reviews

While the comparison of technical specifications can provide a useful overview of the capabilities of different cameras, it remains partial and cannot reveal, for example, the handling experience and imaging performance when actually working with the V3. At times, user reviews, such as those published at amazon, address these issues in a useful manner, but such feedback is on many occasions incomplete, inconsistent, and unreliable. This is why hands-on reviews by experts are important. The table below summarizes the assessments of some of the best known camera review sites (cameralabs, dpreview, ephotozine, imaging-resource, photographyblog).

Review Scores

	Camera Model						Camera Launch (announced)	Launch Price (USD)	Street Price (USD)	Used Price (USD)	Camera Model
	Nikon 1 V3	-	76/100	4.5/5	3/5	4/5	Mar 2014	799	-		Nikon 1 V3
	Canon G5 X« »	+ +	78/100	4.5/5	4/5	4.5/5	Oct 2015	799	-		Canon G5 X
	Canon 100D« »	+	78/100	4/5	4/5	4/5	Mar 2013	549	-		Canon 100D
	Fujifilm X-T10« »	+ +	80/100	5/5	4/5	5/5	May 2015	799	-		Fujifilm X-T10
	Fujifilm X-M1« »	+	77/100	4.5/5	-	4.5/5	Jun 2013	699	-		Fujifilm X-M1
	Nikon D5500« »	+	79/100	4.5/5	5/5	4.5/5	Jan 2015	899	-		Nikon D5500
	Nikon 1 J4« »	-	-	4.5/5	-	4/5	Apr 2014	549	-		Nikon 1 J4
	Nikon 1 V2« »	-	-	4.5/5	-	4/5	Oct 2012	799	-		Nikon 1 V2
	Nikon 1 V1« »	+	69/100	4.5/5	4.5/5	4/5	Sep 2011	799	-		Nikon 1 V1
	Panasonic G6« »	+ +	-	5/5	-	4.5/5	Apr 2013	599	-		Panasonic G6
	Panasonic GF6« »	+ +	-	4.5/5	-	4.5/5	Apr 2013	499	-		Panasonic GF6
Notes: (+ +) highly recommended; (+) recommended; (o) reviewed; (-) not available.

The above review scores should be interpreted with care, though. The ratings were established in reference to similarly priced cameras that were available in the market at the time of the review. A score, therefore, has to be seen in close connection to the price and market introduction time of the camera, and rating-comparisons among cameras that span long time periods or concern very differently equipped models make little sense. It should also be noted that some of the review sites have over time altered the way they render their verdicts.

Camera to camera comparisons

In case you would like to check on the differences and similarities with other camera models, just make a corresponding selection in the search boxes below. An an alternative, you can also directly jump to any one of the listed comparisons that were previously generated by the CAM-parator tool.

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