Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Should I get the Nikon 1 J1?

I really love film. I've always loved documentaries (thank you, Ken Burns) and music videos. In high school I started writing video treatments for songs I liked. And then I'd be totally disappointed when I saw the video and it was nothing like what I'd imagined. Even now I develop a music video for a song as I'm listening to it. It makes listening to music more of an experience for me. If I could film a documentary on the history of music videos...that would be HEAVEN.

I cannot wait to spend more time making movies. I have some videos posted on YouTube, but they're not movies by ANY means. It's just me. In front of my camera. Talking about my hair. WOMP WOMP. What I really want to do is capture scenes from my life and set them to music. Then I may move on to writing scripts. I don't know. I want the process to remain really organic.

I'm not quite ready to purchase a movie camera--I don't know what I'm doing, and I wouldn't know what to look for. My Nikon S8100 is good for capturing quick moments (if there's enough light...), but I need a camera that can make a professional quality film without too much extra equipment. I took a look at the Nikon 1 when I was in Target the other day, and I'm in LOVE. I'm thinking about buying it as a birthday present for myself.


 Now, there are some pretty angry photogs out there who have written scathing reviews of the Nikon 1 J1 and V1 models. Reviewers hate the price, hate the simplified buttons and complicated menus, are doubtful of the cameras' small sensors, and are disappointed that the Nikon 1 isn't what they were hoping for--a compact DSLR. I haven't made up my mind yet. I'm not trying to be a professional photographer! I just want to take really good pictures and high-quality video, and the Nikon 1 does that. Eventually, I do want to invest in my own DSLR (I use a borrowed D8 on this blog sometimes), but I'm more interested in capturing the moment quickly and easily. I just want to get really clear images in low light (without using the flash), manipulate my depth of field, and make good movies (with autofocus!!!) If there's a cheaper way to do it than with the Nikon 1, will you guys let me know?



Little Miss Knight