Prehistoric Battle. Nikon 1 V1 with 10-30mm kit lens. ISO 2800
I’ve spent some more time and some more money with my Nikon 1 V1 camera. You can read my initial review here. Since that time, I’ve gotten four accessories for the camera:
- Nikon FT1 F-mount adapter
- Nikon GP-N100 GPS receiver
- Nikon ML-L3 infrared remote
- Nikon AS-N1000 Accessory Shoe Mount
Of these, all of them are nice with the exception of the AS-N1000 shoe adapter. Nikon’s own web page was extremely vague: “The AS-N1000 Multi Accessory Port Adapter flets you connect a wide range of accessories to the hot shoe on the Nikon 1 V1 digital camera. Accessories that require a power supply can not be used.”
Given that the thing only set me back about $27.00 at B&H, it’s not a huge deal. But it doesn’t do anything. No electrical contacts. Nada. It’s basically a cold shoe for the Nikon 1 V1. I was hoping (fingers crossed) that this little gizmo would let me use a Nikon Speedlight (or better, the SU-800 commander) on my V1. No dice. So for $27 you get a cold shoe for mounting stuff to your camera, like the Nikon ME-1 stereo microphone, or maybe some other non-essential shoe-mount item. Oh well, at least now you’ve been warned.
As for the other accessories, they work as advertised. The FT1 mount adapter is great for attaching your F-mount Nikkors to the V1, and it works well. There are some limitations (full review here) with focusing, so don’t rush out to get that 300mm f/4 Nikkor just yet and think you’ll be shooting action sports with the equivalent of an 810mm lens.
The GP-N100 GPS receiver is small, compact, and fits into the powered flash/accessory port on the V1. It draws its power from the V1′s onboard battery, so no additional power is required. I took it outside and after a few seconds it acquired my position. When using the GP-N100, you have a GPS menu option in the Tools menu that lets you see your current coordinates and altitude. You can also choose to use GPS to set the camera’s internal clock.
The Nikon GP-N100 adds GPS data to your images.
The ML-L3 infrared remote is the standard Nikon remote that also works with many of their DSLRs. To use it, you need to enter the self-timer menu from the Command Dial and choose remote mode. I tested it and it worked as advertised. This little remote is perfect for group shots on a tripod or self-portraits where you don’t want to use a timer.
