LMiller

Greetings to all. I have been a Nikon camera person for a long time. Drifted away from photography due to corporate America and the need to start over. Photography was my hobby until the late 80"s but I had to leave it all behind for 28 plus years.
Now I'm retiring at age 78 and with all of my Nikon equipment are looking to reinvent my hobby. The last Camera I purchased was the D100 if that tells you anything. I still have my 8008 and N90 film camera's. I have been considering the Nikon V101 mirror-less camera for its size. All of my lenses adapt to the camera which is good. Can anyone tell me if thy have the camera and what has been their experience. Thanks.
Lloyd Miller

Carlmk Loc: Naples, FL & Boston, MA

I have D5500 and 18-300mm. Works great as a light weight combo. I am 81 next week.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I have no experience with Nikon's mirrorless cameras, but these comparison links might help you. I tried Sony mirrorless and went back to my Nikon DSLRs. I wasn't happy with the small bodies and small controls. I didn't like the electronic viewfinder, either.

(Reviews) https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCameraStoreTV/videos
http://cameras.reviewed.com/
http://camerasize.com/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
http://snapsort.com/compare
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=mainmenu&utm_medium=text&ref=mainmenu

Pilot 6 Loc: Eugene, OR

Check out the Nikon D3300 for small size, light weight and IQ capability. It doesn't seem to recognize some of the older lenses, but the wide array of DX lenses, and (not to be scorned) excellent kit lenses available, presents a very fine system at low cost. Weight and simplicity are really important for me at 90 years.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Like you, I just retired and wanted an upgrade from my 10-year-old Canon Digital Rebel, returning to my Nikon roots (used to have a Nikkormat 35mm). My best friend just did the same, purchasing a Nikon D7200 which he loves. I wanted the same but really couldn't justify the expense for a hobby item so I went for the Nikon D5500. I'm very happy with the D5500 which has all the major features of the D7200; I consider it a "poor man's 7200." One nice thing about the 5500 over the 7200 is that it's considerably lighter and easier to carry around. I'd also go with an all-around lens like an 18 mm - 300 mm or something close; it'll add a fair amount of weight to what you have around your neck but it will handle just about all your needs as a hobbyist.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Welcome to the Hog LMiller, enjoy.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

A few folks love the Nikon 1 series for the extreme crop factor. But the Nikon mirrorless system is quite possibly the worst of the mirrorless lot. It has the smallest sensor, the most noise, and the greatest crop factor.

But worse than that, Nikon has DISCONTINUED the entire "1" series. That means stocks are limited to what's in the supply chain, or on the used market.

Adaptations of older lenses to mirrorless systems generally involve compromises. If you have Canon EF lenses, you're in luck, because MetaBones makes two kinds of expensive ($350 to $650) adapters that preserve automatic aperture, automatic focus, etc. However, as far as I know, Nikon lenses become manually controlled in ALL respects when adapted to mirrorless cameras. Adapters are less expensive, however.

I would encourage you to sell your existing gear on eBay or through B&H, Adorama, KEH, etc., and pick up a mirrorless system from one of the big four mirrorless providers: Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, or Sony. Check reviews online, at sites such as www.dpreview.com, or various YouTube channels.

There are three common sensor formats in use — Full frame (Sony), APS-C (Fujifilm and Sony), and Micro 4/3 (Olympus and Panasonic). The Micro 4/3 sensor is about 1/4 the size of full frame. Its format is the oldest among mirrorless cameras. The most lenses are available for Micro 4/3. However, all four manufacturers have features with benefits and drawbacks with disadvantages (as do all dSLRs). Do your research carefully.

But if you want mirrorless, be advised to steer clear of Nikon and Canon. They make great dSLRs, but they're playing catch-up to their competitors in the mirrorless market.

The Micro 4/3 format is what I use. My Panasonic GH4 and two zooms (12-35mm f/2.8 and 35-100mm f/2.8) does what I need (2X crop factor makes the lenses provide the fields of view of 24-70mm and 70-200mm). It's ONE FOURTH the size, bulk, and weight of the dSLR systems I used to use (both Canon and Nikon). Quality is excellent. Low light performance is around two stops less than full frame gear, but that's okay, I never used film speeds above 3200 anyway, and still try to maintain ISOs lower than 1600.

IowaGuy Loc: Iowa

That makes two of us Jerry. I have the A7R-II and while I do not mind the size and I love the decreased weight compared to my Nikon kit, I find the extreme limitation of native lenses maddening. I tried two converters for my Nikon lenses, one was sloppy loose and the other was so tight I could not get the Nikon lens mounted. The thing I liked most was the tilting LCD and focus peaking. The electronic viewfinder was okay.

I have decided to use the Cam Ranger to provide a tilting LCD for my Nikon for those times it is needed. I do not however like the excess weight of the Nikon kit compared to Sony.

My Sony sits in a case in the closet, and there it will stay until Sony fleshes out its stable of lenses. Sony jumped the gun, and now so has Hasselblad with their new mirrorless camera that has only two native lenses. Oh sure there is an adapter for the other Hassy lenses, but what good is a mirrorless camera if you have to lug 50 pounds of $3000-$5000 lenses, that are bigger than the camera body, around.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

When I started looking at mirrorless cameras in 2012, I thought I wanted a full frame model for all the obvious reasons of best bokeh, lowest noise, highest MP count, etc. ad nauseam. Then a pro friend of mine, Will Crockett (noted photo educator and commercial photographer), loaned me a Micro Four Thirds camera and three lenses for a couple of weeks.

That was what hooked me! When I learned about all the lenses available, and about how good, pro quality glass is available from Leica, Panasonic, and Olympus to fit both Panasonic and Olympus bodies (which share the same mount), I decided to jump.

At least 50 NATIVE autofocus lenses are available for Micro 4/3, including a good mix of primes, zooms, and macros, in a wide price range. Another 35 or more NATIVE manual focus lenses are also available.

Adapters can mount lenses from:

Alpa
Arriflex
C Mount
Canon EF and FD
Contarex
Contax G and Contax Yashica
Leica M and R
Minolta MD
Nikon F and G
Olympus OM (film body lenses)
Rollei QBM

...and probably more lenses. Adapters come "dumb" (no focus or aperture control), "smart" (retaining AF and auto-aperture control), and "SpeedBooster" (focal length reduction adapters that improve MTF performance and add a stop or more of light intensity). Some of the SpeedBoosters are "smart" adapters, and some are not, depending on the camera system.

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

Check out Tom Stirr's site to see what the Nikon 1 is capable of.
http://tomstirrphotography.com
Tom uses the Nikon 1 V2 (available on line from Amazon or eBay) for birds-in-flight and video and the Nikon 1 J5 for almost everything else. He has adapted Nikon full frame lenses, but prefers the Nikon 1 lenses. His heaviest camera/lens combination has an effective focal length of 810mm and weighs less than two pounds.

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

If you have a collection of older Nikon f/mount lens that you want to use be sure to check compatibility with the Nikon Camera that you are interested in. Some may not autofocus with some of the Nikon cameras. I have the Nikon 1 V1, V2 and V3 cameras and they are small and lightweight with the Nikon 1 lens. Using an f/mount makes the system larger and heavier.
The Nikon 1 cameras have worked OK for me in most situations especially when I want to take a light system. The cameras that I use the most are the D500 and D810.

sholland98 Loc: Benbrook, Texas

The D5500 is a a good unit with some nice features but, does not have an autofocus motor built into the camera body, so it will not be compatible with the full range of (old school) Nikon lenses. Might want to consider D7100, since due to attrition, is in a "best value" category.

JPL

I have a Nikon 1J2 camera and it is a nice little camera. But even though I can adapt all Nikon lenses with it it does not really work well with anything but the dedicated Nikon 1 system lenses. And manual focus lenses are even harder to use as there is no assistance from the camera to help you get the focus correct. And from what I have read this goes for all cameras in the Nikon 1 lineup. Another problem you would face is that it has a crop factor of 2.7 which means you will get a very narrow angle of view with all your old glass. Even with 20 mm lens your pics will look as if you took them with a 54 mm lens on your old cameras and 30 mm lens will give you the angle of view of 81 mm lens on your old cameras so you will be totally lost on the wide end and need to buy a new lens for that.

I would recommend for you to seriously look at the Sony A7xx series of cameras. They are full frame and all your old lenses can be adapted easily, plus you will get focus magnifier that makes is just as easy and fast to fokus with the old lenses as on your old cameras. And your wide lenses will be just as wide as they were in the old days. If you have good old lenses they will be as good on this kind of camera as they ever were before. The Sony A7xx cameras are absolutely the best and most affordable solution for you if you want to use your old lenses on modern full frame camera, actually those Sony cameras are the only option for you.

If you want to use the Nikon 1 system because of its small size and weight you should sell your old gear instead of adapting it and get 2-3 lenses from the Nikon 1 system. You could f.x. start with 10-100 mm zoom lens for general use and 70-300 mm zoom lens for birds and wildlife and sports. And there are some prime lenses available also.

marsdad Loc: NE Florida

I know what you are going through. My first Nikon was the D40 which still have and use as a back-up camera. I purchased a D3300 a couple of years ago and the lenses from theD40 fit perfectly. It is light and has more than enough whistles and bells to do most of the things you can imagine. I have a 18-55, a 50-200 and a 70-300 lens plus a 1.4 extender. that just bout covers the waterfront. You can rent one and try it out for a few weeks and see if it fits your needs. I am 80 years old and believe in the KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple Stupid). also have some of the older lenses that in these cameras I have to use manual focus. My eyes are not what they once were so that is a very infrequent event. The main the is to have fun and keep on clicking!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

This is the info (Tom Stirr's) you want to look at ! .......- also check the Nikon DL series -

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-dl24-500/nikon-dl24-500A.HTM