Base_fiddle

When my Nikon 1 J1 computer bit the dust, I bought a new J5, because I wanted to be able to use the lenses for my J1. That worked. What I didn’t realize is that the J5 doesn’t accept the J1 batteries; the J5 batteries are a fraction of a mm smaller. Also the J5 doesn’t use the J1 memory card, but only uses a microSD card.

After taking a couple of internal shots what struck me is that the J5 does not seem to have as sensitive a sensor as the J1. The pictures are darker and need a flash, whereas, the J1 did not need a flash for the same type of shot. I don’t know if the difference is due to the sensor or because the J5 takes 20.8MP pictures which is roughly twice what the J1 had.

I’ll test it more this weekend – inside and outside and see if my impressions change.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

If you are taking pictures with the same settings for both cameras, I don't know why the J5 would have darker exposure. The J5 has much better low light sensitivity than the J1.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Thank God for our computers. We can lighten up those photos that are under exposed.

Base_fiddle

CJKorb - you could have fooled me. I just took the J5 out of the box and began shooting. I didn't change any settings. Assuming I can change settings, which ones should I change? Thanks.

BebuLamar

Try to set the exposure compensation to some plus.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

You need to do more than just "start shooting". What mode is J1 set to? What about the J5??

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Using new batteries for new model bodies is very annoying. When they design the camera, I doubt that the battery dimensions are a major concern. Can you adjust the ISO on the J5 to get better low light performance?

I look forward to your follow-up.

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

They did the same with the V series my V2 versus V3 have slightly different size batteries.

dylee8 Loc: South Florida

I am thinking about going from J1 to J5 as well, so I am interested in your follow ups.

Maybe you should also check color control settings I.e. Vivid, Standard, etc.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

It's a nice looking camera.

Base_fiddle

Rehess, forgive my complete ignorance, but I have no idea what you mean by check the Mode. In my ignorance and desire to learn, I eat humble pie all the time, so please explain what a Mode is. Thanks.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

It's extremely important to read and understand each page of your user's manual. As a former photographer trainer for a large portrait company, I can say with certainty that that is enormously helpful.

Yes, it's written in "Jenglish", English translated badly from Japanese, but all the information needed to use the camera properly is in there.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Yep!

A copy of Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" would likely be VERY helpful, too!

It's very unlikely that the new camera is "making darker images" than the old one. Odds are that the photographer doesn't know how to use the new camera very well yet and is setting things incorrectly.

If the new camera were underexposing when used correctly, that would indicate some fault that needs correction. But this is very unlikely. I'd wager that 99.6 out of 100 "camera problems" are actually no fault of the camera at all... but are actually "user problems".

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

A camera needs some way of choosing shutter speed, aperture {lens opening}, and ISO {sensitivity to light}, which together determine how bright the image will be. A camera usually makes various "modes" available to determine these three. For example, my camera has a "Tv" mode in which I set the shutter speed and ISO settings, and the camera chooses an aperture based on light coming through the lens; it also has an "Av" mode in which I set the aperture and ISO settings, and the camera chooses a shutter speed based on light coming through the lens. If your J1 were set to their equivalent of "Av" mode, then all of your images should be appropriately bright; if your J5 were set to their equivalent of "Tv" mode, then your images would be darkish if the set shutter speed required an aperture larger than the lens can provide.


added: I performed an on-line search for "camera exposure control"; I found several articles, including

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-exposure.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Understand-Camera-Exposure

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Alan, I learned that early in my photographic learning process, around age 12. I come from a family where we did NOTHING with a new piece of equipment until we read the instructions. My grandfather built a dairy business from scratch by reading how to do it, so it was family culture to understand exactly how things worked before using them.

I worked in the photo industry for decades. Some of that time was in a systems development/product development role. I had to read MANY manuals to learn how to use high speed electronic printers, imagesetters, laser printers, Macs, PCs, software, cameras, lights, video editing systems, etc. I'll venture to say only a handful of the other 750 employees in the lab were willing to do that. I'm not a technician. I'm a liberal arts grad. But I read over a hundred pages a day, and have since I was 18. I've also written software manuals, procedure manuals, and video training scripts for a living in multiple roles in the lab. So I learned long ago, to get the results I want, I have to pay attention to what the manufacturer of the device or software says I have to do to use it.