Photo taken with a Nikon J1 and a 25mm C Mount lens, a large aperture lens with “swirly” bokeh
Nikon hasn’t announced any native large aperture lenses (yet…) for the 1 system, but there are options out there. I’ve been shooting with the Cosmicar 25mm f/1.8 Television Lens via a C Mount to Nikon 1 adapter, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite bizarre combos. That particular lens was neat on Micro 4/3, but I think it is an even better fit for the silent Nikon 1. Using this lens isn’t easy though, it is all Manual Focus, Manual Exposure and Manual ISO. The lens also lacks an aperture ring so you have to shoot wide open for every shot, resulting in some interesting swirly bokeh like below:
The lens seems more like a 60mm-ish lens on FF, but I’ve had good results hand holding at pretty low shutter speeds.
Tofu House Side Dishes: ★★★★★
These two examples could be confused for photos taken with a larger sensor camera, but nope, little ol’ Nikon 1 and an orphaned lens that mates nicely to the 1″ sensor.
One of the best features of the Nikon 1 is that you can shoot HD videos and snap pictures and not interrupt the video stream. Depending on the video size you won’t get the full 8 megapixel file. These were image snaps when rolling in the 720p 60fps mode, giving you basically a screen capture image, but still good enough to get the point across.
My photo work is actually about color believe it or not, and this new combo ranks up there with the Olympus E-PL1 and Fuji X100. All great cameras that can be shot in jpeg mode with no need for post processing. For pictures of people, the haziness and blurriness of the TV lens is an advantage.
Mini Hot Pot: ★★★★☆
Pretty nice for a $15 lens on a “small” sensor camera, huh? 🙂 The results are artistic enough to pass for Full Frame images, and the combo is light enough for when I don’t want to look so serious with the big gear. There are “toy” lenses with the same specs being sold right now for various cameras, but for much more than my bargain bin find.
