Unexplored Ruins's reviews

  • Nikon 1 10mm f/2.8 Nikkor

    6 out of 10 points and recommended
    Size, weight distribution, durability
    cost, image quality, mechanical noise, no VR

    Pros: size and durability that comes naturally by giving up zoom. Good weight balance. The camera actually sits straight on the bottom. The kit lens is too nose heavy and the camera tips forward and rests on the lens barrel. Resists dust and mild water exposures much better than kit zoom. The kit zoom is really delicate and easily jams up from dust and mild rain exposures.

    Cons:
    Image quality. The aperture advantage over the 10-30mm that comes with the camera is only 2/3EV. Doesn't matter much to me. You will give up optical image stabilizer which is good for about 3 whole stops.

    It's quite prone to flare when there's a bright light source like a light bulb just outside the field of view and more susceptible to ghosting than stock lens.

    I noticed some purple fringing one day that i didn't used to get. So I compared it side by side with the 10-30 that came with the camera. A flashlight was used on the side to produce a glare. It's much more susceptible to flaring and ghosting than the kit lens and gives me lower image quality in the real world. I suppose I should give a hood a try but you really need to use the expensive proprietary hood to not lose the size advantage.

    AF mechanism is louder than the kit lens and I can clearly hear it in the audio track on videos.

    This lens:
    https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5713/22512278535_a57a2bf119_b.jpg

    10-30mm that came with the camera set on 10mm:
    https://farm1.staticflickr.com/704/22523404491_37ac55422e_b.jpg

    The price tag is too high for just duplicating what the kit lens can do with a huge compromise. You give up the zoom, VR and real life image quality. If you primarily shoot wide angle and you need the size and durability advantages, this is a must have. It's pointless if you don't.

    reviewed November 7th, 2015 (purchased for $110)

  • Nikon 1 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom Nikkor VR

    2 out of 10 points and not recommended
    Built-in cover
    no filter thread, extremely noisy AF, high distortion

    Only got to try someone else's.

    This is the kit lens that ships with newer "1" models. The pin-cushion distortion is very pronounced on the long end compared to the original 10-30mm manual zoom. The image looks like I'm looking at a dog bone.

    It's heavily dependent on in-camera distortion correction found only on later model bodies that ship with this lens.

    The PD features motorized zoom hence "power drive". the barrel ring issues directions electronically to zoom. Auto-focus is very loud. Don't even think about using it for any serious videos. You will hear the motor click so loudly in audio that it sounds like you're running your finger nails over your keyboard.

    It's not so bad that you couldn't use the bundled lens, but I definitely would not go buy one separately. If you have no plans on using other lenses, you might as well get a compact camera with a non removable lens.

    reviewed November 7th, 2015