Nikon 1 J4 Review | 108 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Nikon 1 J4 as an exceptionally fast, stylish, and compact mirrorless camera, praising its 20fps shooting with autofocus, 60fps burst mode, and responsive touchscreen. Key strengths include excellent portability with the 10-30mm kit lens and high-quality video capabilities. Conversely, the review identifies a slippery, low-grip aluminum body that necessitates a secure strap, along with a high initial price point and a need for premium lenses to maximize the 18.4MP sensor's performance. Overall, it is recommended for its unmatched speed in action scenarios.

The What Digital Camera review of the Nikon 1 J4 highlights the mirrorless camera's key strengths in speed, processing, and physical design, praising its highly refined, lightweight 192g aluminum body and rapid, 20 frames per second continuous shooting. Image quality is considered respectable at lower sensitivities, making it capable for fast-moving subjects. Conversely, the review identifies significant drawbacks, including a shallow, non-responsive shutter button and a narrow dynamic range that loses detail in high-contrast scenes. Furthermore, aggressive noise reduction above ISO 800 and a lack of physical controls, paired with an underwhelming kit lens, hinder the overall user experience.

The Nikon 1 J4 ($599.95 MSRP) is a compact mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that serves as a user-friendly upgrade from a smartphone or point-and-shoot. It is built with an 18.4-megapixel CX-format (1-inch) sensor and an Exspeed 4A processor. This hardware allows the camera to achieve an industry-leading burst shooting speed of 60 frames per second at full resolution. The camera offers a minimalist, lightweight design and features an intuitive menu system alongside a 3-inch touchscreen LCD. Additionally, it includes built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for remote control and mobile sharing via an Android or iOS app, as well as high-speed slow-motion video capture ranging from 400 to 1,200 frames per second. While the camera excels in daylight color accuracy and delivers tack-sharp images, it suffers from several performance limitations. The primary pros include its blistering autofocus and burst-shooting speeds, accurate color rendering, high sharpness, and robust 1080/60p video options, which make it a great "familycam" for tracking fast action. However, its cons are notable: the small 1-inch sensor produces much higher noise at ISO levels above 400 compared to other mirrorless systems,...

In his review, Richard Haw highlights the Nikon 1 J4 as a failed yet highly enjoyable mirrorless camera system, particularly when paired with manual vintage lenses like C-mount cine-lenses. He values the camera as an excellent tool for street photography due to its completely silent operation and minimalistic, compact design. While the small 1-inch CX sensor is often criticised for high-ISO luminance noise, Haw embraces this "flaw," explaining that processing the grainy RAW files creates a convincing, film-like texture reminiscent of black-and-white film stocks like Kodak Tri-X or Kentmere 100. For users sticking to native 1 Nikkor lenses, the camera delivers remarkably fast and precise autofocus that reliably tracks subjects. However, the review outlines several prominent drawbacks, primarily driven by Nikon’s management treating the system like a glorified point-and-shoot. When shooting with manual lenses, the camera drops support for essential features like focus-aids and aperture-priority metering, forcing the user to expend significantly more effort to shoot. The dense photosite layout on the tiny sensor also means diffraction sets in early, limiting sharp imagery to apertures wider than f/11. Additionally, Haw...

The Nikon 1 J4 is a highly compact, mid-level mirrorless camera featuring an 18-megapixel high-speed CMOS sensor with a 2.7x crop factor and a fast hybrid autofocus system utilizing 105 phase-detect and 171 contrast-detect points. The camera excels in pure speed, offering a blazingly fast full-resolution continuous drive of up to 60 FPS with single-shot AF (or 20 FPS with continuous AF) and an electronic shutter reaching 1/16000s. Additional pros include an exceptionally accurate Matrix metering system, instant responsiveness when "Instant Review" is disabled, reliable built-in Wi-Fi, and highly capable 1080p video modes alongside extreme high-speed recording up to 1200 FPS. However, the J4 is significantly let down by its overall image quality, as aggressive noise reduction is present across the entire ISO range, severely destroying fine details and leaving images looking too soft to fully utilise the 18 megapixels. Major usability cons include the complete omission of crucial exposure-verification tools like a Live-Histogram and an Exposure-Priority preview, alongside a minimal number of physical external controls that make manual adjustments time-consuming. Furthermore, the camera suffers from a below-average battery life,...

The Nikon 1 J4 is an entry-level mirrorless camera that inherits several high-end features from its premium sibling, the 1 V3, including an 18-megapixel CX-format CMOS sensor without an anti-aliasing filter, an Expeed A4 processor, and a highly capable hybrid autofocus system boasting 171 AF points (with 105 phase-detection points). Priced at $599 with a 10-30mm kit lens, it stands out for its contemporary, highly compact design, an impressive 20 fps burst shooting mode with continuous autofocus, and built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. It also features a 3.0-inch touchscreen LCD and a built-in popup flash, making it an appealing, well-rounded option for casual shooters who value speed and portability. However, the camera's sensor performance is somewhat discouraging when compared to its competition, earning a modest DxOMark overall score of 53 points. A major disadvantage is its lack of an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and the absence of an accessory shoe to add one. Furthermore, its smaller sensor size means it is easily outperformed in dynamic range, low-light performance, and color depth by Micro Four Thirds rivals like the Olympus PEN E-PM2 and Panasonic...

In this field review, Thomas Stirr evaluates his recently purchased Nikon 1 J4 kit bundled with the 1 Nikon 10-30 mm f/3.5-5.6 PD zoom lens during an overcast morning walk around Grimsby harbour. The pros of this specific kit primarily revolve around its economic value and practical utility. Purchased at a highly attractive price point, the camera is compact and integrates seamlessly with the Nikon 1 WP-N3 underwater housing. This combination makes it a cost-effective, specialized tool for occasional underwater shooting and an excellent, worry-free option for traveling in inclement or wet weather. Additionally, the lens performed acceptably when experimented with at a tight f/8 aperture, displaying no significant sharpness penalties or loss of detail from diffraction. smallsensorphotography.com However, the review outlines several prominent cons, particularly regarding image quality and handling. Stirr notes that the files produced by the 10-30 mm PD zoom lens appear "flat and lifeless," requiring an unusual and tedious amount of time in post-processing. He found himself forced to manually adjust curves, levels, and add color saturation in Photoshop CS6—a correction he rarely has to make...

Nikon 1 J4 Review Summary The Nikon 1 J4 is a mid-range compact system camera that shares many advanced features with the higher-end V3 model, including an 18.4-megapixel CX-format (one-inch) sensor and a rapid Expeed 4a processing engine. It is equipped with a highly capable Hybrid Autofocusing system boasting 171 contrast-detect and 105 phase-detection points, enabling incredibly fast continuous shooting speeds of up to 60fps with fixed focus or 20fps with continuous tracking. The camera comes bundled with a retractable 10-30mm power zoom kit lens, which benefits from the small sensor size to deliver a highly portable overall system. While the system allows users to attach standard F-mount lenses using an adapter, it introduces a heavy 2.7x focal length conversion factor. A major highlight of the J4 is its intuitive three-inch touchscreen, built-in Wi-Fi, and unique shooting modes like Best Moment Capture and the Creative Palette live filter preview. However, the camera makes several compromises to maintain its sleek profile, completely lacking both a viewfinder and a hotshoe to attach one. Additionally, the three-inch touchscreen is entirely fixed and cannot...

The Trusted Reviews assessment of the Nikon 1 J4 highlights the camera as a small, well-made device featuring exceptionally fast autofocus and rapid shooting speeds, yet it is criticized for a user interface that relies too heavily on a fiddly, touchscreen-based menu system rather than dedicated physical controls. While praised for speed, the camera's 1-inch CX-format sensor underperforms against competitors in its price bracket, offering limited dynamic range that struggles with high contrast and results in poor performance at ISO 3200 and above due to aggressive noise reduction. The review concludes that with its soft kit lens and limited,, the Nikon 1 J4 is unsuitable for advanced photography or challenging lighting conditions.